Muslimgauze – Narcotic (Staalplaat)

It seems like never a month goes by without a new Muslimgauze release and their Dutch label, Staalplaat has even set up a subscription system where listeners can receive each new release, with the cost being deducted from their virtual balance. 'Narcotic' is full of Eastern promise and is probably one of Muslimgauze (a/k/a Bryn Jones) most colourful works to date. Think of the percussion you hear from world music artists like percussionist Hossam Ramzy (which often show up as samples in tracks by William Orbit and 808 State) and you're half way there. But this album is more than just a collection of samples, or a mere replication of other styles. There's a fusion going on that you can actually here developing across the first few tracks. The pounding rhythms of 'Medina Flight' soon give way to more Gulf Stream backstreet atmospheres on 'Ramadan' and 'Effendi'. But when the two merge (and some western production is brought into full effect) you get the most unlikely - yet truly unique - trance sound ever in tracks such as 'Believers of the Blind Sheikh' and 'Gulf Between Us'. This album rises to a climax with three different versions of the title track, the first a pulsating, repetitive eastern percussion work-out which - following an interlude - builds into perfect chill-out soundtrack music. Perfect for any club with an international attitude in its more laid back areas. 7/10