Marid – Shaam (2014)

Azawad

Azawad

• Dark ambient 
• Musique concrète 
• Illbient  
• Post-industrial 
• Leftfield 
• Spoken word 
• Noise 
• Avant-garde 
• Rhythmic noise 
• Field recording 
• Experimentalism 
• Non-music

Comment: the 10-notch issue of clocking in at a 59 minute is a part of the discography of AZAWAD Records. As usual, it is related to Islam and military aspects though there are some moments hinting at atrocities and violence against the civil population. Indeed, I hope is not a pro for terror and havoc being the platform for the (Islamic) terrorists. At least at Homs some violent acts against the civil population are enumerated and one cannot be wrong about a disapproving attitude with regard to it. I guess it is because of bloodthirsty actions by ISIS. Stepping aside from the political platform it could be admitted musically it is a very intriguing issue because of being an interface for such genres as noise, rhythmic industrial, ambient, spoken word, musique concrète all of them being seamlessly mixed up together. For instance, Yabrud is one of the finest moments on it because a trance-led Islamic chant is merged with a bold rhythm and shrill noisy pulsation. At times it chimes like the synchronized translation in Russian through tight hisses coming to the surface through broken transmissions and warped radio waves. In a word, the outing is highly intense and arousing of which rhythmic phases could freely be compared with Muslimgauze. In fact, it is quite embarrasing to have been downloaded for 10 times so far only.  

Grozny 93 – Dysproporcja (2014)

Azawad

• Harsh noise 
• Brown noise 
• Avant-garde 
• Experimentalism 
• Non-music 
• Abstract 
• Psychoacoustic

Comment: I am aware of the fact that a very great part of people are terrified possibility that they have to listen to noise music. Let’s imagine such a dystopic universe or planet where they have to deal with it. However, noise music was probably one of the first protest music genres stepping against war and decay in general within the Western culture area. It was very clever to attack the adverse phenomena of the Western civilization in a provoking manner and frequently with their own attributes in a slightly bent way. Furthermore, it is a kind of music because of being articulated and composed. For instance, let’s listen to this handful of pieces to make out of how much elements is going to happen throughout the course. This is a play on different levels, playing with intensity, playing with stereo effects and timbres, playing with terror and silence. More profoundly, it starts off with a brown-hued flow as if having no equilibrium between the two channels therefore by searching for it the soundscape begins to swing. In the third composition those brownish bits are all of a sudden saturated by more shrill and higher frequencies and subsequently timbres changing its course from muddy field to abandoned junk yard full of metallic garbage. I guess to be submerged by these sounds might have been very inspiring for such geniuses like Edgar Allan Poe, and HP Lovecraft if they had lived nowadays. At first glimpse one may see the austere formalism behind the sounds but by listening to it more carefully one can perceive fleshed out emotions and sensations behind those menacing developments. And there is also enough place for full-fledged fantasies. For instance, at times it chimes like an audible representation to depict a monstrous octopus moving on a the bottom of the ocean to find out the slot to surface and then devastatingly attack. The last piece is an intense chugging due to spasmodic bass frequencies, however, being buried and veiled appealingly. The mind-provoking issue is a notch in the discography of Azawad.

Mutawwa`in + Noise Jihad – Split (2015)

Azawad

• Noise 
• Avant-garde 
• Experimentalism 
• Leftfield 
• Non-music 
• Spiritual music 
• Post-industrial 
• Ethnic music
• World music

Comment: I am honoured to review a first issue (AZWD-156) from the discography of Azawad for Recent Music Heroes. This net-label started off in spring of 2013 to would have released more than 150 issues thereafter. However, it is surprising in 2016 there are no issues therefrom. In a word, do much, die fast. I really hope I am wrong in this case. One of the most prolific artists from the imprint is Noise Jihad and the project is also represented there in liaison with Mutawwa`in. Both artists provide just one composition – Noise Jihad`s one is a very fierce and incisive noise attack chiming like an industrial opus for dead men and unhappy ends. Mutawwa`in`s one is a quite different case because it is an organic bond between uplifting islamic singing, mid-range rhythms and the buried noise wall. In a nutshell, the experience is really captivating and staggering. Indeed, one can trace down the label’s and the artists` close relation with the Islam culture and some very reluctant aspects from the underground music thereby being obviously culturally influenced by such leftfield artist as Bryn Jones aka Muslimgauze who lived too short but reached much to convey some problems to us related to Middle East and Israeli-Palestinian conflict.