Representative Albums: "Soup of the Century," "Friends, Fiends & Fronds," "Heart of Uncle"
Biography
Before the term world music was a twinkling in anyone's eye, 3 Mustaphas 3 were doing it, mixing up different cultures into a gleeful grab bag of music and leaving a heritage that has influenced musicians all over the world. Legend -- their own legend -- has it that the Mustaphas were smuggled out of their mysterious Balkan hometown of Szegerely (where they played at the Crazy Loquat Club) in refrigerators, ending up in England. Not only did they play Balkan music, but a crazy quilt of pieces that they'd first heard on the (extremely eclectic) jukebox at the Crazy Loquat. At great story, but utter rubbish, of course. The truth was more prosaic. In 1982, Ben Mandelson (Hijaz Mustapha), a guitarist and musicologist, began playing with bassist Colin Bass (Sabah Habas Mustapha) and a revolving door of people all of whom assumed bizarre Mustapha relative names, including former Damned member Lu Edmonds, who proved himself adept at the saz and various other ethnic stringed instruments. What they ended up stitching together, both on record and live, drew from Latin, African, Indian, filmi, country, Balkan -- if it was out there, it became a Mustaphas influence. They played frequent shows in Britain and throughout Europe, and even toured the U.S. before releasing their debut album, Shopping, on Mendelson's Globestyle label in 1987. With world music gaining a higher market profile thanks to Paul Simon's successful Graceland, there was a more receptive audience for the strangeness the Mustaphas were purveying, and their touring schedule became more frantic. But they did still find time to record, coming out with the magnificent Heart of Uncle in 1989 and then Soup of the Century a year later. They became a cult act, with an audience that ranged from world music snobs to hippies to punks, all attracted by the band's wicked sense of humor; they had an outright refusal to take anything, especially themselves, seriously. Underscoring it was an excellent, if anarchic, musical sensibility, and respect for the cultures from which they drew their music. The question was, how far could they take it? 1991 brought Friends, Fiends & Fronds, a compilation of alternate mixes, singles, and rare tracks, which filled in some time. And the band continued to tour, although not as heavily as before. By 1992 there was still no "new" album, and the group seemed to be giving up the ghost. Certainly a year later, with no album in sight and dates sporadic at best, it seemed as if 3 Mustaphas 3 had gone the way of all flesh. Sabah Habas Mustapha began to focus on his solo career, playing Indonesian dangdut music and writing a massive Asian hit, "Denpasar Moon," in addition to filling the bass slot with aging prog-rockers Camel. Lu Edmonds became a Mekon, touring and recording with them, and Mendelson turned his attention to producing records for Globestyle. However, no one has ever knocked the Mustaphas completely on the head. The band has always maintained that they would reform if the money was right, but no one has yet to come up with a suitable offer. The closest to a reunion has been Mendelson and Edmonds playing together as part of Billy Bragg's backing band, the Blokes, beginning in 1998. Although no gigs were mentioned, Mendelson and Bass did get together in a recording studio in early 2001 to select tracks for a much-belated Mustaphas live album, due to see the light of day in the summer of that year. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
3 Mustaphas 3 is a BritishWorld music band formed in 1982. Core members are Ben Mandelson (under the name Hijaz Mustapha), Tim Fienburgh (1954-2008) (under the name Niaveti III) Colin Bass (under the name Sabah Habas Mustapha), and Nigel Watson (under the name Houzam Mustapha), around which orbit many other Mustaphas - all supposed to be the nephews of Uncle Patrel Mustapha. They claim to originate from the Balkans, but play music from almost every continent; their slogan, "Forward in all directions!", is an expression of this musical diversity. Active at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, they have now stopped producing and performing together, but haven't officially disbanded.
Liner notes from their albums would have it that the band was created in a Balkan town called Szegerely, where it played at the Crazy Loquat Club, before the members were transported inside refrigerators to England.
In truth however the creation of the band began in 1982 when guitarist and musicologist Ben Mandelson, also known as Hijaz Mustapha, and Uncle Patrel, also known as Lu Edmonds, started playing together, along with Patrel's other "nephews", namely Houzam, Isfa'ani, Oussack and Niaveti III. Before World music became a genre, they were already playing musical styles from all around the globe. According to band members the first concert was held in a London restaurant that year. A concert in Berlin made them more, and two mini-albums were subsequently released, but their first full length album, Shopping, was recorded in 1987. The album covered a wide array of genres also including a cover of Moroccan Najat Atabou's Shouffi Rhirou. By then Oussack had left the band, but bassist Sabah Habas Mustapha, who may in fact be Colin Bass, and accordionist Kemo Mustapha had joined.
Their second full length album, Heart of Uncle, was released in 1989 and showed Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Irish and even Latin American influence. Soup of the Century, released in 1990, was their most acclaimed success however.
Soup of the Century cover
With tracks ranging from a Country song in Japanese to a Mexican traditional sung in Hindi, and going through a mix of Irish, Scottish, Greek, Albanian, Klezmer and many more styles, the Mustaphas had broken the last barriers separating ethnic music styles.
Daoudi joined during the recording and performed woodwinds. The Mustaphas had also been assisted on occasions by Lavra Tima Daviz on vocals and Expen$ive on trumpet, while guests Israeli singer Ofra Haza, and kora players Dembo Konte and Kausu Kuyateh from Gambia and Senegal respectively have played alongside them in the 80s.
The band would not be able to live on for long though, primarily due to a lack of money to keep such a big band together. A final album, Friends Fiends & Fronds was released in 1991, although it contained mostly remixes from previous albums. By the end of the year the band was no longer playing together. Sabah Habas pursued a solo career, releasing albums as Colin Bass, or performing with his band Camel as well as the Jugala Allstars from Indonesia, and Hijaz became a producer. The two were featured in an album from Zimbabwean artist Stella Chiweshe. Oussack (Ray Cooper) joined the Oysterband under the name Chopper.
Another album was released in 1997 containing live performances, and Sabas Habas and Hijaz came together again in 2001 to pick songs to include in their final live album, Play Musty for Me.
During the height of their fame, their live concerts were a delightful mix of humor, mystery and superb music played by musicians who had a deep understanding and appreciation of the music and the cultures from which that music arose. The audiences at these concerts were invited to bring ripe cheeses, which the Mustaphas would attempt to identify on stage.
Members
Founding members
Uncle Patrel Mustapha bin Mustapha (aka Lu Edmonds) (Saz, taxi)
