From Pulse, a monthly magazine that was (and for all I know still is) published by Tower Records.  This is from the December 1991 issue.

Anne Dudley and Jaz Coleman:  rock like an Egyptian

by Linda Kohanov

Take two seasoned pop artists with classical training, send them to Cairo to record with a group of Arabic musicians, and you've got the exotic orchestral washes, melismatic solos and driving rock beats of Songs From The Victorious City (licensed in the US by TVT).  For former Art Of Noise keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley and Killing Joke founder Jaz Coleman, however, the trip was more than just another recording project.

"Creating a piece of music became a pilgrimage," says Coleman, himself of English, Hindi and Persian extraction.  "I realised that the way we play our lives is as valid as the way we play our instruments."

Voices and sounds emerging from these tightly woven compositions reflect the people they met and the places they visited during their 1990 stay in the Victorious City (the translation of Cairo).  The distinctive flavour of the location is further enhanced by masterful performances on nai, kowala and qanun.

"The musicians were extraordinarily broad-minded," says Dudley, who was surprised at the lengths they would go to adjust for the differences between Middle Eastern and Western styles.  "The only problem was that they'd straggle in an hour or two late.  As each one turned up, the other musicians would give a roaring welcome like this guy had just crossed the desert or something to actually make the session."