Mort Aux Vaches

Release date: available now!! (8/4/98)

If Muslimgauze is too over-active for you, but you want to keep up with his recent works, then this is an item not to be missed (although this is the usual record biz bullshit, this is true). Muslimgauze is an active one-man band, but mainly in the studio. His live concerts are rare. In the 20 years of existence, he played only a handful of shows, and one of those shows is captured on this CD. Recorded at the VPRO studio in June 1997.

Muslimgauze live uses local musicians to join. Muslimgauze brings along his precession and pre-recorded material, and together with the guest musicians, a wild improvised concert is held. On this recording you'll hear the skills of Ryan Moore (known from his bass work for Legendary Pink Dots as well as his own dub music project Twilight Circus, as well as occasional guest for Download) who plays percussion, bass and theremin and Werner Durand, German composer and player of wind instruments. The whole recording has been edited by VPRO's Berrie Kamer, mastermind behind the selection of Muslimgauze's 'Beyond The Blue Mosque'. All the known Muslimgauze ingredients are there, but with that extra icing put on the cake by the guest musicians.

Mort Aux Vaches is an ongoing series of recordings made at the Dutch national radio VPRO, and hosted by Berrie Kamer and Jan Hiddink. Packaged in a carton sleeve, that is now slowly building into a library of unique concert recordings.

Press release from Staalplaat.

The following appeared on the Islamaphonia mailing list.

This CD is just one track and around an hour long. This is Muslimgauze live with the help of Ryan Moore and Werner Durand. The CD is laid back
and has a free form about it. It starts off with ethnic drumming with looped Arabic melodies that are processed. Bass lines are brought in and
a nice minimal groove is created. At the proper time an almost urban like beat is brought in and the music changes to compliment the new beat.
The theremin work on here is superb by the way. This CD is not as loop based as previous releases and has a definite sense of movement. Highly
recommended.

review by: Daniel

The following appeared in Ambience.

The 'Mort Aux Vaches' CD series records live events for an Amsterdam radio station and released by Staalplaat, and have showcased some interesting alternative musicians and groups, and are worth looking into. Here, Bryn Jones is joined by Ryan Moore (bass, percussion, theremin) and Werner Durand (wind) for this concert, which comes as a single track 52 minutes long. And I must say, it has become a favourite Muslimgauze: the context and the introduction of other musicians adds a dimension and 'organic-ness' to the music. Moore places some lovely bass work and synth noises into the mix and theremin touches (very understated) while Durand blows some mean 'horn' lines - not only flute and recorder, but something which sounds like a plastic hose - which add a free jazz feeling.

While there are no track or index marks, I identified about 12 parts to the music, where the beat or instrumentation changes leading to a new mood. The tempo shifts from slow drums at the beginning through faster sections, ebbing and flowing throughout the performance. At one stage, after a voice says 'assassins' the beat slows right down, theremin wails and there is a flute solo accompanied by shakers and weird synth noises. There are periods of rapid fire crackling percussion, pieces with familiar voice samples or a singer deep in the mix, various synth crack and woobles and a welter of different percussive samples and live grooves.

Not wanting to detract from the studio explorations of Muslimgauze, this disk suggests some of the directions that Bryn could have taken the group in collaboration with other musicians. You can sense the flow of energy and excitement amongst the three extended-Muslimgauzers, the edge of live instrumentation, the new range that Durand takes the wind instruments into. I recommend you try and find this, and hope that there are more live recordings in the archives.

Review by: Jeremy Keens
This text originally appeared in Ambience magazine March 1999.
Reproduced by permission.

The following appears in All Music Guide.

One of the few live Muslimgauze recordings, Mort Aux Vaches finds Bryn Jones at the VPRO studios with some pre-recorded material and samples, plus a band of local musicians and guests including "percussionists" Ryan Moore and Werner Durand. Consisting of one long track, the music begins with atmospheric effects with an Arabian air, then picks up with distorted live drums, forbidding vocal samples and effects from Jones plus several solos on flute and theremin. The balance between live interaction and programming makes for a great recording.

Review by: John Bush
All Music Guide

see also Erectile DysfunctionLahore & Marseille, Mort Aux Vaches & Syrinjia

November 20, 2006