''MU.ZZ.LE'' is the second studio album by

Gonjasufi Sumach Ecks (born 1978), better known by his stage name Gonjasufi, is an American vocalist, producer, disc jockey, and yogi. Life and career Ecks was born in 1978 to a Mexican mother and an American-Ethiopian father. He spent his formative year ...

(Sumach Ecks), following his first album, ''

A Sufi and a Killer ''A Sufi and a Killer'' is the debut studio album by Gonjasufi (Sumach Ecks). It was released by Warp (record label), Warp on March 8, 2010. The album was produced by Flying Lotus, The Gaslamp Killer, and Mainframe. Ecks said of the album: "I didn ...

''. The record was released by

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

on 24 January 2012 and produced one single "The Blame". Reviewed by 23 critics on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the album received an average score of 69% which means "generally favorable reviews". Meanwhile, the song "Nikels And Dimes" was sampled in the track "Nickels And Dimes" by rapper Jay-Z from his 2013 album ''

Magna Carta Holy Grail ''Magna Carta Holy Grail'' (alternatively written and stylized as ''Magna Carta... Holy Grail'') is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was made available at first for free digital download for Samsung customers via the Jay-Z ...

''.

Reception

At AnyDecentMusic?, that collates critical reviews from more than 50 media sources, the album scored 6.8 points out of 10, based on 23 reviews. ''MU.ZZ.LE'' received an average score of 69/100 from 23 reviewers on

, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Nate Patrin of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' commented "MU.ZZ.LE might be a transitional point on Gonjasufi's path and it shows just one face of an eclectic, multifaceted performer. But it's also that rare album that feels meditative and cathartic all at once." Jonathan Linds of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' added "If ''A Sufi and a Killer'' introduced us to an engaging new presence, then ''MU.ZZ.LE'' is his first artistically cohesive statement: a bold first stab at playing with space and mood. It’s a compelling reason to keep watching to see what he’ll do next, because if this is what Gonjasufi sounds like muzzled, we should all be very afraid when he finally decides to unleash." Daniel Paton of '' musicOMH'' stated "However, dark and compelling though MU.ZZ.LE undoubtedly is, there is the niggling sense that this greater focus and narrow tempo range doesn’t really suit Gonjasufi. A track like The Blame seems almost conventional, and maybe even a little pedestrian by this artist’s fearless standards. Clearly, expecting mere repetition of the wheel is unfair – but MU.ZZ.LE does seem to work more as a more concentrated appendix to A Sufi And A Killer. It doesn’t necessarily suggest the most effective way forward." Reef Younis of '' Clash'' wrote "Notably shorter than its predecessor, ‘MU.ZZ.LE’ is just as rich and arresting, cataloguing Sumach’s echoes, mumbles and stumbles through an album of lethargic trip hop and uneasy paranoia."

Track listing

Personnel

*Sumach Valentine – executive producer *Noel Summerville – mastering *Mr. IMD – mixing, sequencing, design, layout *Angelo Arce – producer (tracks: 3 4 7) *Gonjasufi – producer (tracks: 3 5 6 8 9 10), mixing *Psychopop – producer (tracks: 1 2 4 7)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muzzle 2012 albums Gonjasufi albums Warp (record label) albums