MU.ZZ.LE

After releasing the excellent A Sufi and a Killer, and allowing artists to remix that material for The Caliph's Tea Party, Sumach Ecks returned as Gonjasufi in early 2012 with what looked to be another full LP comprising ten tracks. In fact, with each song averaging around two minutes long, it's regarded as a "mini-album" and plays the part of a stop-gap very well. MU.ZZ.LE sounds like outtakes from the last LP -- that is, short underwater dub/downtempo emotronica cast-offs -- except it is darker. The tin can production still plays a large part, but there is little regard for song structure. Most tracks sound like fragmented interludes and repeat in a four-chord loop, while delayed textures wash over electronic breakbeats, organs, and Ecks' battered voice. His wife sings on two of the highlights, "Feedin' the Birds" and "Skin," and Psychopop assists in producing three of the tracks, which are similarly spooky, but Gonjasufi is flying solo for the rest, which might account for MU.ZZ.LE's deep sense of loneliness. ~ Jason Lymangrover