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2LP
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UMA 183LP
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Merzbow's impact transcends the confines of traditional music, embodying an ethos of constant innovation and fearless exploration into uncharted realms of sound. Navigating through the annals of Merzbow's extensive career reveals an artist who, for over 40 years, has remained dedicated to reshaping understanding of music and pushing the boundaries of sonic expression. Now, Urashima unveils the highly anticipated vinyl reissue of Merzbow's groundbreaking album Oersted. This album, originally released on CD in 1996, marked a significant milestone in the experimental noise music scene, showcasing the unparalleled sonic explorations of the legendary Masami Akita, known as Merzbow. Oersted is a sonic journey through realms of noise, texture, and intensity that have solidified Merzbow's status as a pioneer in the realm of noise music. The album features a collection of meticulously crafted tracks that push the boundaries of sound manipulation and composition, creating an immersive experience for listeners daring enough to delve into its sonic landscapes. The vinyl reissue, masterfully remastered for the first time by the esteemed James Plotkin, renowned for his unparalleled expertise, breathes fresh life and depth into the album's already rich and intricate sonic landscape, unveiling new detail within its reverberant dense tapestry and complex noise palette. Features four untitled tracks originally on CD, each occupying an entire side of the vinyl, except for the track on side D, which shares the side with two bonus tracks. These tracks epitomize a profound and multifaceted sonic odyssey, harnessing various tapes and the raw power of analog instruments and tools such as EMS Synthia, metallic electronics, various filters, and processed audio mixer. The original artwork for the 1996 CD digipack, curated by Masami Akita, stands out for its minimalism and visual impact. The vinyl reissue faithfully replicates the graphics with a gatefold cover, enhancing the visual impact of the original artwork. The blending of pink and green colors creates a striking visual effect, highlighting the beauty of simplicity in Akita's graphic design. This limited vinyl reissue, expertly remastered by the wizard of mastering, James Plotkin, with 299 copies available on black vinyl, is a must-have for collectors, audiophiles, and fans of avant-garde music alike. Immerse yourself in the mesmerizing world of Merzbow's Oersted and experience the raw power and beauty of noise in its purest form.
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LP
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MOM 049LP
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Merzbow (aka Masami Akita), animal rights activist, writer, and musician, an iconic figure in international noise scene. Renowned for his pioneering contributions to the noise music genre, Merzbow has solidified his position as one of its most significant and recognizable figures. From his groundbreaking utilization of tape loops to craft expansive industrial landscapes in the late 1970s, to his transition to laptop-generated static noise at the turn of the century, Merzbow has consistently pushed the boundaries of sonic experimentation. Modern Obscure Music now unveils Merzbow's debut release on the label, Tsubute Mosaic.
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2CD
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CSR 331CD
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A documentation of prolific Japanese noise master Merzbow's double show at London's Cafe OTO in October 2016. Rhythm-driven and rammed with highly sculpted frequencies, Akita's sound is entirely remorseless. Furious squalls and delicate sine-warps post this one on the more psychedelic end of Akita's output. Truly relentless, it is still hard to believe he created "Untitled Knife I" on a casual Saturday afternoon. Be careful with that volume. Double CD in a matt-finish gatefold ecopak with photography by Masami Akita.
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2LP
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UMA 174LP
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Reissue, originally released in 1997. Merzbow is the moniker of Japanese artist Masami Akita inspired by dadaism and surrealism. During the mid-1990s, the Japanese artist went through his most prolific and inspired period of the analog era, releasing masterpieces such as Noisembryo, Venereology, Hybrid Noisebloom, or Green Wheels. In that same period, one of his notable and iconic releases, Space Metalizer, released in 1997 under the Canadian label Alien8 Recordings on CD, stands as a testament to his ability to create immersive and mind-altering soundscapes. This album takes listeners on an otherworldly journey, fusing electro-psychedelic noise, EMS Synthesizer, filter and electronics with techno-oriented resonance into a unique sonic experience. Opening with a surge of swirling noise and cosmic echoes, "Space Metalizer Pt. 1" immediately establishes a sense of vastness and otherworldliness. Merzbow masterfully combines layers of distorted metallic sounds, oscillating frequencies, and disorienting textures, creating an immersive soundscape that feels like traversing the depths of the universe. The intensity builds gradually, capturing the listener's attention and propelling them into a sonic voyage. Closes the A-side of the first record of the vinyl reissue "Mirage" a sonic exploration of interstellar phenomena in non-silent way. This track features a swirling combination of celestial textures, shimmering frequencies, and cosmic bursts of noise. The B-side, that include the bonus track "Spaceout" introduces a more pronounced metallic element, intertwining with the dense layers of noise, filtered with techno resonance. Merzbow's intricate use of metallic samples and distorted textures creates an industrial, almost mechanical, atmosphere with an interspatial rhythmic patterning. The tracks on second vinyl pulsates with a relentless energy, akin to the cosmic machinery of the universe. The cacophonous climax leaves a lasting impact, cementing "Space Metalizer Pt. 2" as a standout moment on the album. Through a combination of cosmic atmospheres, metallic elements, the use of the EMS, the Theremin and the filters, Merzbow takes listeners on a transcendent journey through the depths of space. Reissue for the first time, in a doble vinyl in sole 199 copies, this album stands as a testament to Merzbow's artistic vision and his relentless pursuit of pushing the folds of noise. A must-listen for enthusiasts of noise music and anyone seeking a transformative and immersive sonic experience. Comes with original cover collage plus a bonus postcard and poster with amazing colored new and old collages by Masami Akita.
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2LP
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UMA 169LP
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Reissue, originally released in 1990. Merzbow came roaring onto the Tokyo scene in 1979. To this day, the project remains one of the most prolific and aggressively forward-thinking acts in experimental music. Initially a duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, before settling as the moniker of Akita alone, the project took its name from German artist Kurt Schwitters's pre-war architectural assemblage, The Cathedral of Erotic Misery or Merzbau, and quickly set out to challenge entrenched notions of what music could be. Embracing technology and the machine, even in its earliest iterations, Merzbow broke boundaries and pushed toward new territories of the extreme, arriving at an unadulterated manifestation of sonic expression that has continued across the last 44 years, setting the pace for the entire genre of noise along the way. When it comes to Japanese noise, few projects have pushed boundaries or risen to a more iconic status than Merzbow. The mutant child of punk and experimental music, the project's blistering sounds -- as singular and wild as they are unique -- are among the movement's most important, definitive statements, continuously laying the groundwork for countless artists who have followed in its wake. Cloud Cock OO Grand marks a new era for Merzbow, the first of many CDs that will go in the direction we'd see in the '90s. It is also the first time that this seminal document from Merzbow's '90s period has ever appeared on vinyl. Composed and performed on synthesizers, metal devices, noise electronics, and string instruments, all recorded at extreme volumes, Cloud Cock OO Grand's five tracks present an enthralling sonic assault, deeply driven by the presence of electronic sounds, played against the sparse interjections of Akita's heavily processed strings, that push toward new territories of the extreme, while subtly nodding toward historical gestures from the early years of the avant-garde. On the double vinyl, the tracks are not only remastered by Merzbow, but are recontextualized and open up a new sense of his studio experimentation at the time. Cloud Cock OO Grand is a stunning feat of remarkable importance within the genre of noise, delivering this long unavailable masterstroke back into our hands, while further illuminating the project's crucial work from the 1990s. This is an absolute must for the indoctrinated Merbow fan as much as those just entering this incredible world. Cover faithfully reproduces the original artwork; includes a poster; edition of 299.
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2LP
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MA 007LP
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Merzbow (Masami Akita), the seminal Japanese noise project since 1979, remains one of the most influential and prolific figures in modern electronic composition. Originally a limited CD-only release on Waystyx in 2005, Scene is now available on vinyl for the first time with remastering by Masami Akita and an exclusive bonus track from the original recording session. Scene is revered by fans as one of Merzbow's best surrealist works from the mid-2000s "laptop era". The intro track, "Part 1", immediately grabs listeners with hysteric carnival music. The ascending parts then warp into hallucinatory passages with rhythmic drum patterns, metalworks, echoing bird calls, and eerie wind chimes tinkling atonally in the gossamer moon. Ultimately, Scene is a vital part of Merzbow's ever-evolving experimentations with analog and digital manipulations. Artwork by Masami Akita; design by Takashi Makabe. Remastered by Masami Akita on 2022. Vinyl mastering and lacquer completed by Kassian Troyer. Sleeve printed on heavy reverse cardboard; edition of 300.
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2LP
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HOS 801LP
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Clear vinyl FE exclusive. Noise Matrix unleashes material from the same sessions as Noisembryo and counterpart Hole and selected recordings from the time period. Originally released as a bonus disc on the definitive Noisembryo double-CD edition, Noise Matrix absolutely can't be missed for fans of this period of noise deity Merzbow. When people ask where to start with Merzbow or the entire '90s noise movement in Japan -- this is an answer! Masami Akita's surrealism of the past stands prominently relevant to this day combining the expansive textures of electronics, effects, aluminum-soaked winds of the Tokyo metropolis and metals. Deluxe wide spine metallic reflective "mother of pearl" jacket. Includes digital download code.
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Cassette
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UMA 149CS
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Green Wheels is Merzbow in its most straightforward, most genuine, most uncontrolled and refined form. Originally released by the legendary US label Self Abuse Records in 1995 on CD and 5-inch vinyl record, both housed in a foil-lined cardboard box with the abstract and impressive art work created by the artist himself, which has become another of the fetishist objects of Merzbow and now incredibly hard to find. Like all of his work since the early '90s, Green Wheels is an uncompromising cascade of brutal noise. In this album you find nothing of the minimalism of his early '80s, completely overwhelmed by synthesizers and handmade objects that become his unconventional weapons to create bursts of noise. The three tracks of the original CD, radiate the listener from the rackets of a rain of nails on metal plates, the synthetic crashing bombing, industrial percussion and the metal (green) wheels that roll and scrape. The two very short 5-inch tracks hurt you with thousands of jabs in just a matter of minutes. Then closes with two unreleased tracks from the same fantastic mid-1990s period which can undoubtedly be considered two wonderful discoveries for their intensity and beauty; musical pieces that blend perfectly and complete the reissue on this cassette. When you get to the end of the tape, you will feel purified, once the granite landslide subsides. It is like mental liposuction, eradicating all anguishes and hesitations. Everything was perfectly recorded and mixed in March-May 1995 at ZSF Produkt Studio, Masami Akita's home studio from the late '80s to late '90s; the outcome it's warm and bright as the bare steel of Shinjuko skyscrapers under the (rising) sun of hot Japanese summers. Tape reproduces the original art work; edition of 199; O-card 300g wrapping clear box with j-card and laser print green shell; includes download code.
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LP
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SONG 008LP
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Music recorded and mixed by Masami Akita at Munemihouse specially for I Shall Sing Until My Land Is Free in April 2022. Previously unreleased. Mastering and lacquer cut by Noel Summerville. Artwork and design by Zavoloka. Release produced by Dmytro Fedorenko. Includes download code; edition of 500.
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Cassette
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UMA 144CS
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Originally released on CD in 1990 by Alchemy Records as part of the Good Alchemy Series, Rainbow Electronics marks the pinnacle of Merzbow's late '80s noise phase. Selected and transformed from about 21 hours tape of primitive raw material recorded during three years (1987-1990) in 14 fragments lasting about 74 minutes, this monumental work is an aural trip through a cold plotted universe of intergalactic space ships and golden celestial bodies. Remastered in December 2019 and split into two parts directly by the artist for the cassette version it opens up with a slow, kind of creepy tempo, reaching from dirty harsh noise flows coupled with eerie reverbed screeches and scrapes of iron objects. Noise and blasts come from every angle, and all you can do is sit and take it. Then continues with solid drumbeats briefly emerging from the static and disappearing just as quickly, again long stretches of subdued electronic drones buzzing along sleepily and the occasional sudden shift of noise into something more violent, though it all happens kind of slowly and gradually. A truly mesmerizing and immersive body of sound and its intense finish is something of pure artform. "I don't need a lot of words about Merzbow. All you have to do is immerse yourself in the sound." translated from Japanese liner notes of Alchemy Records CD by Toshiji Mikawa. Edition of 199; O-card 300g wrapping clear box with j-card and laser print orange shell; includes download code.
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Cassette
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SONG 003CS
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Cassette version. Originally released by Quasi Pop Records in 2007. Music by Masami Akita. Recorded and mixed at Bedroom in Tokyo, August 2007. Artwork and design by Zavoloka. Release produced by Dmytro Fedorenko.
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CD
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SONG 003CD
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Originally released by Quasi Pop Records in 2007. Music by Masami Akita. Recorded and mixed at Bedroom in Tokyo, August 2007. Artwork and design by Zavoloka. Release produced by Dmytro Fedorenko.
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CD
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CSR 314CD
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Cold Spring Records presents the new studio album from Merzbow. As a life-long campaigner of animal rights, Masami Akita has delivered a brutal assault on those that cage and murder animals. Animal Liberation - Until Every Cage Is Empty is five tracks (49 minutes) of total noise assault that only the King of Japanese Noise can provide. "There is a theory that Covid-19 broke out from the poor conditioned wet markets where live animals are sold. If there were no poultry farms, there would be no mass destruction of chickens due to the spread of bird flu. Human beings' cruelty to animals, animal abuse and species discrimination are all adding up to a disaster for mankind and the whole planet. The pandemic is an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between animals and humans. Veganism is the future for humanity" --Masami Akita, 2021. The artwork is a reflection of the animal rights and anarcho-punk movements of the '80s. Proceeds from this release will benefit animal rights charities. Presented in a matt-laminate digipak.
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2LP
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UMA 160LP
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Exquisitely recorded and mixed between February and May 1995 at ZSF Produkt Studio, Masami Akita's home studio from the late '80s to late '90s, Magnesia Nova is stunning immersion into the world of Merzbow during one of the project's most engrossing and important period. Inspired by the intersections between Greece and Japan and between Western and Eastern civilization along with work of Athanasius Kircher (all of the track titles have been taken from Kircher's works), is a true blasts of noise, meticulously crafted into gorgeous sound collages. For the first time that this seminal document from Merzbow's '90s period has ever appeared on vinyl, in double LP, featuring last side of second LP with 20 minutes of unreleased bonus track took from the same period of the recording sessions. Like all of his work since the early nineties, Magnesia Nova is an uncompromising cascade of brutal noise. In this album you find nothing of the minimalism of his early '80s, completely overwhelmed by synthesizers and handmade objects that become his unconventional weapons to create bursts of noise. The album begins with "Rituale Lucis" and "Magnesia Nova", a parade of overloaded, layered and pulsating synthesizers and feedback. Two minutes are enough for the artist to take us to the territories of the most creative experimentation in the history of noise. There are sounds from a parallel universe suspended in time and straight out of an old amp that mumbles before going back to freaking out with synth razors. The sounds are unlike anything else played before or after. You find yourself in the world of dreams and the rhythm of the sound construction thickens, until the great progression of eternal noise materializes. On the second side of the first record the crashes of noise return and the gates of primordial chaos open with "Oedipus Organum", while "Specula Naturalum" comes to an end, as if it had never begun: perhaps it has been there since the beginning of time, an explosion of synthetic sounds, which seem like the spatial drifts for minor chords by Klaus Schulze. The second record open with "Pantometrum Erotica" that begins with a dark modulation, where an obsessive rhythm alternates with screams of noise and the now familiar synthesizer sound and continue with "Sphinx Mystagoga" where everything collapses into a single otherworldly synthesizer voice that explores an uninhabited planet. Magnesia Nova is a stunning piece of work, that blur the boundaries between pure noise, performance and experimental music. Redesigned reverse cardboard gatefold sleeve LP with original paint art by Masami Akita; edition of 299.
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CD
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IMPREC 510CD
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First time on CD for this classic Merzbow duo album from 1983. Material Action is a favorite among early Merzbow free-music, junk-noise workouts. Psychedelic improvised instrumental energy abounds on this essential early recording that is PURE MERZ. Masami Akita plays tapes, percussion, electro-acoustic noise, organ. Kiyoshi Mizutani overdubs tapes, synthesizer, violin, machine noise.
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CD
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IMPREC 004CD
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Merzbow's Merzbeat is one the most unique and legendary titles in the artist's vast archive. This 20th anniversary repress is being issued at the same time as CD reissue of his 1983 album Material Action 2 (IMPREC 510CD) and a brand new collaboration with Arcane Device IMPREC 511CD), all on Important Records. Originally released in 2002, Merzbeat contains over 50 minutes of aggressive, psychedelic, organic, analog beat oriented Merzbow compositions. Drummed rhythms, massive looping samples, a punk spirit and a return to analog Merzbow. KID 606 called it "one of the greatest thing Merzbow has ever done."
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2LP
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UMA 158LP
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Merzbow stands as the most important artist in noise music. The moniker of Japanese artist Masami Akita was born in Tokyo in 1979. Inspired by dadaism and surrealism, Akita took the name for his project from German artist Kurt Schwitters's pre-war architectural assemblage The Cathedral of Erotic Misery or Merzbau. Working in his home, he quickly gained notoriety as a purveyor of a musical genre composed solely of pure, unadulterated noise. Embracing technology and the machine, first in an absolutely analog way and then welcoming digital innovation, Merzbow broke boundaries and pushed toward new territories of the extreme. Hybrid Noisebloom, originally issued by Vinyl Communications on CD in 1997, is the latest in this trilling bread crumb trail. It is also the first time that this seminal document from Merzbow's '90s period has ever appeared on vinyl. Composed and performed on EMS and Moog Synthesizers, Theremin, metal devices, noise electronics, and voice, all recorded at extreme volumes, Hybrid Noisebloom's five tracks present a fascinating sonic assault, heavily driven by the presence of electronic sounds, played against the sparse interjections of Akita's heavily processed vocals, that push toward new territories of the extreme, while subtly nodding toward historical gestures from the early years of the avant-garde. "Plasma Birds" investigates timbral relationships, the fragmentation of melody, and abrasive, provocative noise -- shifting from the sparse, airy, and restrained, to dance clusters of interplay and back again. "Minotaurus" finds a strange middle ground between the intuitive logics of their instruments; synth and electronics taking on decidedly percussive approaches, while metal device's fractured polyrhythms and beats often veer toward the presence of a notable tonality. "Mouse Of Superconcetion", formed by screeches and from swinging and chugging to stepped back and sparse combinations of rhythm and tone, moves from the lingering sensibilities of straight-ahead synth to radically out hard blow fire. Launching from a total wall of sound, "Neuro Electric Butterfly" takes the listening on an endlessly surprising journey through its devices' inner world, shifting between airy open passages that feature endless combinations of one or more effects, to furious moments of sonorous lashings where the sound falls in together in brilliant dialogical periods of conversant texture and psychedelic intervention. "The Imaginary Coversation Of Blue" embeds bristling fragments, percolating tones, and poignant dissonances within a sweeping field of echoes rumbles and drones. First vinyl release; edition of 299.
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2CD
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HOS 594CD
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Noisembryo definitively presented here with bonus disc titled Noise Matrix including unreleased material from the same sessions as Noisembryo and counterpart Hole and selected recording from the time period. The bonus disc alone makes this essential for any Merzbow fanatic as well as new listeners. When people ask where to start with Merzbow, this is the answer. The holy grail, not only of Merzbow's obsessive discography, but of the entire '90s noise movement. You've heard the stories surrounding the infamy of this release, but beyond that stands the depth and wild energy over two decades later that Noisembryo encapsulates. Velocity loops, roving automotive bass, and cacophonic drum machine gel together with the surprising inclusion of a sound rarely heard within Merzbow's many years... Masami Akita's own voice. Akita's surrealism of the past stands prominently relevant to this day. The original Noisembryo on disc one; disc two, Noise Matrix, includes: Track 1 - taken from original DAT tape which including Noisembryo recording on 1994; Track 2-5 - taken from original DAT tape which including Noise Matrix (in Hole) on 1994; Track 6 - a track recorded on 1995 for releasing Eskimo compilation; Track 7 - taken from original cassette tape which recorded on 1994 and remixed on 2019. Remastered in 2020 at Munemihouse, Tokyo. Deluxe foil stamped gatefold tip-on CD wallet cover with mini poster; includes art images from unseen classic paintings and collages of Masami from the original Noisembryo session; includes digital download code.
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LP
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RM 4147LP
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Flare Blues reimagines two of Merzbow's long out-of-print EPs from 1994, Flare Gun and White Blues. Revisiting the original pieces and adding previously unreleased materials recorded during these sessions, Flare Blues tethers together a set of Merzbow's most exploratory work, creating a visceral linkage between a pair of vital works. Originally recorded in June 1994, Merzbow's Flare Gun is a pulsating and hammering collection of pieces that grinds ever forward with a sense of bludgeoning determination. By contrast, White Blues recorded the following month (which draws its title from several of the samples used as raw material that originate from blues inspired British rock bands), maintains a more unsteady sense of movement and musicality, matching degraded samples against a flurry of theremin and electronics which are overdriven and saturated in ways that would later go on to become some of the trademark sonic actions of Merzbow's live performances. On Flare Blues not only are the pieces remastered by Merzbow, but they are recontextualized and when heard together with the previously unreleased bonus materials open up a new sense of his studio experimentation at the time. What marks these recordings as critical is they trace a line through a period of significant discovery and refinement for Merzbow. Having been recorded just months after Venereology, this set of works bares the marks of Merzbow's deepening awareness of extreme forms of distortion, compression and also his dynamic mixing approaches that simultaneously allow multiple or singular elements to occupy the entirety of the available sound spectrum. Ultimately, these works are morphic, often churning and erupting with a magma like quality. When they do fall into waves of pulse, those patterns are never held long and the intense sense of cutting into the sound creates a feeling of endless anticipation as Merzbow guides you through an ever-evolving sound world that is uncompromisingly restless and relentless.
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2LP
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UMA 149LP
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Originally released in 1995. Merzbow stands as the most important artist in noise music. Inspired by dadaism and surrealism, Japanese artist Masami Akitatook the name for his project from German artist Kurt Schwitters's pre-war architectural assemblage The Cathedral of Erotic Misery or Merzbau. Working in his home, he quickly gained notoriety as a purveyor of a musical genre composed solely of pure, unadulterated noise. Green Wheels is Merzbow in its most straightforward, most genuine, most uncontrolled and refined form. Originally released by the legendary US label Self Abuse Records in 1995 on CD and 5-inch vinyl record, both housed in a foil-lined cardboard box with the abstract and impressive art work created by the artist himself, which has become another of the fetishist objects of Merzbow and now incredibly hard to find. Like all of his work since the early nineties, Green Wheels is an uncompromising cascade of brutal noise. In this album you find nothing of the minimalism of his early '80s, completely overwhelmed by synthesizers and handmade objects that become his unconventional weapons to create bursts of noise. The three tracks of the CD which are neatly reissued on the first three sides of the vinyl, radiate the listener from the rackets of a rain of nails on metal plates, the synthetic crashing of bombing, industrial percussion and the metal (green) wheels that roll and scrape. The last side of the record contains the two very short 5-inch tracks that hurt you with thousands of jabs in just a matter of minutes. Then closes with two unreleased tracks from the same fantastic mid-1990s period which can undoubtedly be considered two wonderful discoveries for their intensity and beauty; musical pieces that blend perfectly and complete the reissue on this double vinyl. When you get to the end of the fourth side, you will feel purified, once the granite landslide subsides. It is like mental liposuction, eradicating all anguishes and hesitations. Everything was perfectly recorded and mixed in March-May 1995 at ZSF Produkt Studio, Masami Akita's home studio from the late '80s to late '90s; the outcome it's warm and bright as the bare steel of Shinjuko skyscrapers under the (rising) sun of hot Japanese summers. Of all the incredible artists to have emerged from Japan's thriving noise scene, it is hard to call to mind a figure as iconic, visionary, or influential as the composer and performer Masami Akita. Edition of 299.
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2LP
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UMA 144LP
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Urashima reissue Merzbow's Rainbow Electronics on vinyl, originally released on CD in 1990. Merzbow stands as the most important artist in noise music. The moniker of Japanese artist Masami Akita was born in Tokyo in 1979. Inspired by dadaism and surrealism, Akita took the name for his project from German artist Kurt Schwitters's pre-war architectural assemblage The Cathedral of Erotic Misery or Merzbau. Working in his home, he quickly gained notoriety as a purveyor of a musical genre composed solely of pure, unadulterated noise. Originally released on CD in 1990 by Alchemy Records as part of the Good Alchemy Series, Rainbow Electronics marks the pinnacle of Merzbow's late '80s noise phase. Selected and transformed from about 21 hours tape of primitive raw material recorded during three years (1987-1990) in 14 fragments lasting about 74 minutes, this monumental work is an aural trip through a cold plotted universe of intergalactic space ships and golden celestial bodies. Remastered in December 2019 and split into four parts directly by the artist for the double vinyl version it opens up with a slow, kind of creepy tempo, reaching from dirty harsh noise flows coupled with eerie reverbed screeches and scrapes of iron objects. Noise and blasts come from every angle, and all you can do is sit and take it. Then continues with solid drumbeats briefly emerging from the static and disappearing just as quickly, again long stretches of subdued electronic drones buzzing along sleepily and the occasional sudden shift of noise into something more violent, though it all happens kind of slowly and gradually. A truly mesmerizing and immersive body of sound and its intense finish is something of pure artform. Gatefold cover, faithfully reproduces the original art work plus a 12" size insert; edition of 299.
Translated from Japanese liner notes of Alchemy Records CD by Toshiji Mikawa: "I don't need a lot of words about Merzbow. All you have to do is immerse yourself in the sound."
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CD
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RM 4148CD
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Scandal collects together three newly unearthed and revised pieces from Merzbow recorded between 1992 and 1995. Each of the pieces here typifies work that sits at a nexus between the experimental cassette and electronic collisions of Masami Akita's late 1980s works and the emergent noise language that resolved into a series of now legendary recordings completed during the mid-1990s. Scandal marks out a decidedly tandem path and acts as a critical linkage, forging the trajectory of Merzbow's music across that decade. One critical aspect these recordings capture, in a very essential way, is the role that field recordings and tape manipulation play in his music. Throughout the 1980s, cassettes, tape editing and found sound played a significant role in the development of Merzbow's sound. On "Tokyo Blue Sky", Merzbow collates a series of field recordings made around his home during a period of construction in his neighborhood and merges these with sampled recordings from various ritual records. In these recordings are striking, hammered blasts that feel innately tied to the aggressive metal percussion work that was featured heavily on numerous live recordings during this time. They also maintain a sense of dynamic eruption that characterizes the shifts between states of intense noise that are the core of Merzbow recording strategies. The editions final piece "Evening Scandal" was originally released in 1992 on RRR as part of their recycled music project; a project that sought to reuse thrown away cassettes, re-recording over them with various recordings including some of those heard here. "Scandal" bares the marks of its medium, tape wow and flutter flicker across various sections of this piece, revealing a tactile relationship with the medium. The version collected here is different to that which was released in 1992, this version being uninterrupted by the pop song from which it borrows its name. This piece, in moments, maintains a decidedly minimalist compositional form, using repeated single strikes as a means of creating a deep sense of unease and recurrent tension. It's a technique later deployed with devastating ferocity later in the 1990s. This edition is also published with a special fold out poster featuring a previously unseen collage from Masami Akita.
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LP
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UMA 137LP
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Merzbow stands as the most important artist in noise music. The moniker of Japanese artist Masami Akita was born in Tokyo in 1979. Inspired by Dadaism and surrealism, Akita took the name for his project from German artist Kurt Schwitters's pre-war architectural assemblage The Cathedral of Erotic Misery or Merzbau. Just as Schwitters attacked the entrenched artistic traditions of his time with his revolutionary avant-garde collages, so too would Akita challenge the contemporary concept of what is called music. Merzbow would draw further influence from the futurist movement. Not only would he embrace the futurists' love of technology and the machine civilization, he would push their fondness for noise to the very boundaries of the extreme. Working in his home, he quickly gained notoriety as a purveyor of a musical genre composed solely of pure, unadulterated noise. By 1990s, Merzbow had a significant underground reputation for creating harsh and power electronics album. Dadarottenvator was released in 1995 by the magnificent German label Praxis Dr. Bearmann in a limited edition of 175 hand-numbered copies, pressed on green vinyl, and housed in a wooden box. The tracks fall right in-between the atmosphere of Merzbow's early '90s work and his more hyper-aggressive mid-90s power electronics work and it's a charming mix, presenting the listener with some of the best elements from each phase of his evolution. Along with Noisembryo (1994), Venereology (1994), and Pulse Demon (1996), it represents the top of the immense artist's production. All tracks performed using cheap electronics and junk, no use for synthesizer and midi sampler. Remastered at Munemi House in 2019 by Masami Akita. 140 gram vinyl with full color label and sleeve plus poster everything housed in wooden box. Artwork by Masami Akita.
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CD
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RM 4131CD
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Room40 continues its series of archival releases from Tokyo noise maestro Merzbow with an unreleased work originally recorded in 1997. EXD is like some kind of pulse driven industrial electronics experiment. It grinds with an uneasy sense of determination, rupturing outward into caustic waves of Merzbow's trademarked harsh noise. Across the middle years of the 1990s, Merzbow (Masami Akita) refined a stochastic language for harsh noise that had emerged from his studio experiments at the beginning of that decade. This technique, which involved a combination of self-made instruments, synthesizers, tabletop effects and, in the case of EXD, drum machines, often recorded at incredible levels to create a uniquely visceral distortion, has essentially become the benchmark for noise music in the 21st century. A devout archivist, Merzbow's unreleased works from this period are finally getting the attention they deserve. Editions like Noise Mass, issued by Room40 in 2019 (RM 4108CD), are amongst a growing number of releases that document the gradual unfolding of his signature approach to overabundance of frequency and ceaseless sonic chaos. Recorded at the end of 1997 and early 1998, EXD owes its title to the Bias Rockaku-kun EXD 5ch analog drum synthesizer. It is an exercise in maximal minimalism. Using repeated phrases, atmospheric, but reductive drum patterns, and tightly wound pulses, Merzbow calls up a vision proto-industrial technoscape. Bathed in white noise, it is a music in which the reassurance of the kick drum is largely torn away, sending the music into an uneasy orbital decay. It's the sound of warning systems onboard a satellite as it begins to burn up, falling back to earth. An exquisite sonic evisceration. What makes EXD quite unusual is it reveals, in part at least, some of the skeletal structures Merzbow deploys in the creation of his works. It's especially revealing, as this period is mostly recognized for its unending shower of brutalizing harsh noise. On the title track "EXD" a Roland TR-606 drum machine folds into and out of focus. Its grooves ruptured by, and then become gradually consumed in, a field of phasing noise and distortion. Includes poster.
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CD
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EDRM 428CD
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In June/July 2019, Masami Akita, better known as Merzbow traveled to Australia to take part in Room40's Open Frame festival. Across a week he delivered a series of performances to sold out audiences in Sydney and Melbourne. The performances were viscerally explosive, a channeling of intensities of frequency and volume -- the kind of trademarked bodily affective noise Merzbow has become renowned for. Between the concerts, Akita spent his days visiting a variety of forests, spending time with legendary Australia fauna icons like the Australian White Ibis, Little Penguins, and various other native species. As a vegan, his affinity for the natural world is unconditional. With this in mind he has announced all profits from this edition will be donated to assisting wildlife recovery in the wake of the Australia bushfire crisis of the past few months. Room40 will be matching all money raised. StereoAkuma is a live recording made on Friday July 5th 2019 at The Substation, Melbourne.
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