Merzbow - Merzbient ( 12xCD box set)

[Phrank]

 

“Merzbient” is a twelve CD collection of Merzbow’s previously unreleased ambient recordings. The music was recorded in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, at a time when Masamik Akita (Merzbow) was becoming famous for his live performances, which featured some of the harshest sounds ever heard. The records he released mirrored these peformances, and helped establish his reputation as the prime mover in the Japanese noise scene. The electronics he used for his recordings were the same ones he used for live shows. Out of necessity he toured with gear that was small, simple and portable.

 

But all the while he was secretly recording quieter, more atmospheric music, and using a wide variety of acoustic instruments including an impractical monstrosity he describes as a “big handmade junk instrument made from a metal box with piano wires”, which he played with a violin bow. He made hours and hours of recordings, but kept them private and never released them, until they were eventually set aside and forgotten. He recently rediscovered the multi-track mastertapes in a box and remastered them for release on CD. And what a discovery they are! These twelve discs represent a side of Merzbow never before heard. The music bears many of the signature styles expected from Merzbow – think of the theme of long-form drones pierced by random bursts of sound, for example – but it’s enticingly different from what we’ve heard before, with spacious sounds evoking prehistoric misty landscapes, desolate abandoned industrial sites, and sci-fi/horror film soundtracks. If the familiar and traditional Merzbow is like a jet plane taking off at full-throttle then “Merzbient” is the hanger where the plane was built. Not a violent assault on the ears, but something more interior, more personal, and more gentle.

 

The twelve CDs in this collection are presented in a custom-made hard-cover box with red foil block printing. Each disc is packed in its own slipcase. When the slipcases are arranged togther in a rectangle a large image is revealed. A large and heavy (5 x 11cm, 84 gm) die-cast metal medallion with the Kanji characters representing “Animal Liberation” completes the set, which is limited to 555 numbered copies. “Merzbient” is Merzbow’s third release for Soleilmoon, following “Ouroboros” (May 2010) and “Eucalypse” (July 2008).

 

Masami Akita, recording under the name Merzbow, with more than 200 albums to his credit, is considered one of the preeminent artists in the field of noise music. In recent years his output has centered on animal themes, following his concern for the protection of animal rights. Albums for chickens, whales, seals and dolphins have been released on a variety of labels. Important Records of Newburyport, Massachusetts (USA) has released a series of thirteen CDs, each dedicated to a different Japanese bird.

 

http://www.soleilmoon.com/store/pressdetail.lasso?release=33026

http://boomkat.com/cds/357978-merzbow-merzbient

 

I'll buy it as soon as I have 80 quid to spare.

[o00o]

they are still very noisy for ambient

[Silent Member]

lol 12 cd release. It's impossible to keep up with all the stuff he's putting out.

[o00o]

lol 12 cd release. It's impossible to keep up with all the stuff he's putting out.

 

yeah lol 196 albums

 

Releases (295)

Albums (196)

Singles & EPs (41)

Compilations (3)

Videos (4)

Miscellaneous (51)

Appearances (221)

 

I wonder how he actually sells all this

[Guest Kracker]

Wait... A Merbow box set that's ONLY 12 CDs?

[Silent Member]

Haha, yeah, the merzbox was 50 cd's or something like that wasn't ìt?

[Guest the anonymous forumite]

they

 

lol

[o00o]

they

 

lol

 

fixed

[4d0]

Haha, yeah, the merzbox was 50 cd's or something like that wasn't ìt?

yeah, merzbox 50 cd's, 21gb on what go on I'm seeding it...

[purlieu]

Only Merzbow could release an album with tracks of clanging and distortion and call it ambient.

[modey]

i personally don't see what's so amazing about his work. i mean, this stuff is more tolerable than his usual extreme noise, but i've made stuff similar to pulse demon in 5 mins using a couple of distortion pedals and an oscillator.

[Dan C]

The more I look at this the more I want it... I will probably succumb and end up ordering it.

[kichiguy]

Fuck I really want this.

[Candiru]

i personally don't see what's so amazing about his work. i mean, this stuff is more tolerable than his usual extreme noise, but i've made stuff similar to pulse demon in 5 mins using a couple of distortion pedals and an oscillator.

 

And when there's 200+ albums of it, how much time are we supposed to believe he spends on each release?

 

I dunno. I have 1930 on my computer, given a few other albums a listen and I think I get the gist of Merzbow. Seems like a novelty that wears out quickly to me. But I'd like to hear other people's opinions.

[modey]

i can imagine it'd be pretty intense in a live situation. but then again i've been to extreme noise shows before that have taken my ears days to recover from. they all sound the same, the only extreme noise artist i've been able to get into is pita, at least his stuff has an underlying layer of nice melodies.

[joshuatxuk]

i personally don't see what's so amazing about his work. i mean, this stuff is more tolerable than his usual extreme noise, but i've made stuff similar to pulse demon in 5 mins using a couple of distortion pedals and an oscillator.

 

And when there's 200+ albums of it, how much time are we supposed to believe he spends on each release?

 

I dunno. I have 1930 on my computer, given a few other albums a listen and I think I get the gist of Merzbow. Seems like a novelty that wears out quickly to me. But I'd like to hear other people's opinions.

 

I had pulse demon years ago, cool stuff but the replaying value is nil, so the only time I played it again was when I mixed it with random moody indie rock songs for shits and giggles. I've enjoyed his Boris collaborations and listened to the AE remix. That's it. I find him insteresting and talented, and I find noise music appealing in ways, but it's really hard to take an experimental artist seriously when it seems they release everything the record. Muslimgauze seems the same way in terms of an overwhelming discography (but at least his stuff has beats and melodic loops!)

 

This pitchfork review of Pulse Demon sums it up:

"Trey Parker once said the end of reality TV would only come when they started airing baby-fucking shows. Once that show starts production, it will be viewers' fault, not the baby-fucker's. Merzbow is the aural baby-fucker. Wherever your ideology lies on the experimental scale, and whatever your religious affiliation, music cannot get much more extreme than this. Maybe John Cage's 4'33", and that's so far to the limit, it's probably cheating. This is the edge of music, of sound in general."

[Guest Scrambled Ears]

why listen to merzbow when you could just run through your house breaking bottles, rattling pots and pans while raping an orange juice carton...wouldnt this be more the noise experience anyway?

[Silent Member]

why listen to merzbow when you could just run through your house breaking bottles, rattling pots and pans while raping an orange juice carton...wouldnt this be more the noise experience anyway?

but that would sound totally different

 

Try this instead:

1. Find three radios, place them around your head, tune them to static and turn the volume up as far as you can.

2. Get an old vacuum cleaner, set it to max, turn on and use it as a pillow.

3. Mic your stereo's speakers, set your amplifier to play back the mic input, again, full volume.

4. Enjoy noise and newly blown speakers warping the feedback.

[Capsaicin]

why listen to merzbow when you could just run through your house breaking bottles, rattling pots and pans while raping an orange juice carton...wouldnt this be more the noise experience anyway?

but that would sound totally different

 

Try this instead:

1. Find three radios, place them around your head, tune them to static and turn the volume up as far as you can.

2. Get an old vacuum cleaner, set it to max, turn on and use it as a pillow.

3. Mic your stereo's speakers, set your amplifier to play back the mic input, again, full volume.

4. Enjoy noise and newly blown speakers warping the feedback.

This is how I go to sleep every night