As Bush sold his brand of the American Way™ at the 2004 Republican National Convention in NYC, the Badawi quintet exhaled 10 hours of noise a few blocks away. Their clash of timeless Middle Eastern trance rhythms and outrage shined bright in the belly of Babylon–all of it remixed well on Unit. There is DJ Spooky’s appropriately sarcastic collage of various war hawks declaring victory in Iraq. The best moments magnify the sweat and grit of Badawi’s poly-rhythms, as heard under the hand of DJ /rupture and in Kode 9’s switchblade dubstep beats. As a product of those strange days in ’04, Unit is an excellent artifact that is more relevant now, as more aspiring saviors will parade into next year’s GOP convention.