Merzbow
(Copyright © 1999-2024 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )
Metal Acoustic Music (1980), 5/10
Material Action For 2 Microphones (1981), 5/10
Solonoise (1982), 6/10
Yantra Material Action (1982), 5/10
Mechanization Takes Commando (1983), 6/10
Antimonument (1986), 5/10
Crocidura Dsi Nezumi (1988), 5/10
Storage (1988), 5/10
Rainbow Electronics (1990),
Music For Bondage Performance (1991), 6.5/10
Flare Gun (1994), 6/10
Noisembryo (1994), 6/10
Venereology (1994), 6/10
Magnesia Nova (1996), 7.5/10
Green Wheels (1995), 6/10
Noizhead (1995), 5/10
Locomotive Breath (1995), 5/10 Pulse Demon (1996), 6/10
Spiral Honey (1996), 5/10
Mercurated (1996), 6.5/10
Oersted (1996), 6/10
Rainbow Electronics 2 (1996), 6.5/10
Space Metalizer (1997), 6/10
Hybrid Noisebloom (1997), 6.5/10
New Takamagahara (1998), 5/10
1930 (1998), 6.5/10
Vibractance (1998), 6/10
Door Open At 8am (1999), 6.5/10
Aqua Necromancer (1998), 6.5/10
Tauromachine (Release, 1998), 6/10
Dharma , 7/10
Amlux (2002), 6/10
24 Hours - A Day Of Seals (2002), 5/10
A Taste of Merzbow (2002), 6/10
Timehunter (2003), 6/10
Animal Magnetism (2003), 6/10
Sha Mo 3000 (2004), 7.5/10
Metamorphism (2006) , 5/10
Bloody Sea (2006) , 5/10
Coma Berenices (2007) , 5/10
All the others are 4/10 and lower
Links:

(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)

Merzbow, the project of Japanese hyper-prolific noisemaker Masami Akita, originally a reclusive musician, inspired by the surrealist dogma and the Freudian theory that everything is ultimately erotic (and apparently by Kurt Schwitters's architectural masterpiece Merzbau), explored sonic spaces inhabited by only the most radical works of Borbetomagus and Einsturzende Neubauten. While somehow related to the practice of the most vicious Western avantgarde, Akita's art is faithful to canons of Eastern philosophy: noise is for him the vehicle to achieve sonic ecstasis.

His career started in earnest with amateurish and indulgent cassettes of free-form noise such as Metal Acoustic Music (1980), containing the 47-minute Balance of Neurosis, Material Action For 2 Microphones (1981), the double Solonoise 1 & 2 (1982), 69 minutes of chaotic and tumultuous pandemonium for distorted guitar, objects and electronic noise, and the totally inept Yantra Material Action (1982).

Mechanization Takes Commando (1983) already shows progress as it contains the creative and even comic collage Electric Pygmy Decollage (14:12), the mad torture and radiation storm of Suicidal Machine (14:17), and the percussive orgy Peaches Red Indian (10:46). Sonic Command (1984), Age of 369/ Chant 2 (1985 - Extreme, 1996), and Antimonument (ZSF Produkt, 1986), which contains the ten-minute Tatara, all influenced by Italian noisemaker Maurizio Bianchi.

As if this wasn't enough, the double album Batztoutai With Memorial Gadgets (RRRecords, 1993) collected recordings of 1985-86.

Collaborative (Extreme, 1988) was his first widely-distributed release.

Merzbow tries to be more sophisticated on Storage (1988), whose pieces War Storage Pt. 1 (23:02) and War Storage Pt. 2 (23:48) flirt with electroacoustic chamber music, despite the presence of the usual aberrant dadaistic collage, War Storage Pt. 3 (21:08). Ditto for Crocidura Dsi Nezumi (1988), whose 20-minute suites Mustela Erminea Nippon and Mustela Sixasa Namiyei refrain from erecting walls of noise. The latter in particular is built around ominous drumbeats although it ends in a sort of feverish Brazilian dance.

Nil Vagina Tape Loops (Extreme, 1990) is a reissue of the cassette Lowest Music 2.

Rainbow Electronics (Alchemy, 1990) is a 73-minute noise improvisation in four parts, each a mammoth pile of sonic excrements. Part A is particularly effective in evoking alien, post-human worlds in which future-primitive languages evolved that humans cannot comprehend and cannot even hear. Part B is rather aimless and redundant. Part C feels more cinematic, as if Akita were trying to tell a story, the soundtrack to a movie in his mind. Part D is simply a long sequence of blistering clatter, a continuum of violence. Throughout the album there is a sense of destruction, disintegration, decomposition, devastation. Civilization is crumbling.

Music For Bondage Performance (Extreme, 1991) documents 1989-90 soundtracks for performance artists: the concentrate of anguish of Seishi Seppuku Kei (10:47), the warped psychedelic soundscape of Aimei Nawa (12:08), and Bondage Performance At Homo Fixas (26:17), one of his dynamic kaleidoscopic collages. This would be followed by Music For Bondage Performance 2 (Extreme, 1994).

Among his countless early recordings are: Antimonument (Art Directe, 1991), the seventy-minute live performance of Great American Nude (1991); the collaboration Grav (Silent, 1991) with PGR and Asmus Tietchens; the Continuum (Cheeses, 1994), composed remotely with a Dutch musician; the colossal improvisation Deus Irae with KK Null; the Eleven Live Collaborations (Selektion, 1995) with Achim Wollscheid; the collaboration Sleeper Awakes At The Edge Of The Abyss (Streamline, 1992) with Heeman (HNAS) which Akita credited to Heeman, etc.

As he mastered the electronic instruments, his style became even more ferocious. Hole (Heel Stone, 1994) and especially Venereology (Release, 1994), which contains the deranged 29-minute bacchanal Ananga-Ranga and the bombastically distorted Klo Ken Phantasie, punch the listener in the abdomen with superhuman violence.

Locomotive Breath (Staalplat, 1995) contains three lengthy suites of pure white noise (feedback, metal, electronics, loops), but a bit trivial: Intercity 215 (19:25), standout Verocity World (15:49), a relentless maelstrom of industrial pulsations and emissions, and Abstract Ear (13:36), a thick and ebullient magma.

Noizhead (Blast First, 1995) documents a live improvisation in dark electronic mode which is powerful when it begins but doesn't change much during its 45 minutes, thereby losing momentum and resulting in a monotonous experience.

Magnesia Nova (ZSF Produkt, 1995), whose compositions are all titled after texts by Athanasius Kircher, boasts the brutal symphonic poem Rituale Lucis - Magnesia Nova (22:12), a noise of epic proportion and a peak of his anti-aesthetic of de-composition. Specula Naturalum (8:10) is shorter, but no less aggressive, frontal attack. Oedipus Organum (7:53) doesn't have the same surges of violence of those two pieces but it paints a fresco of extreme unrelenting pain. Pantometrum Erotica - Sphinx Mystagoga (22:41) is like a steamroller plowing through a minefield and intoning a duet with a helicopter.

Pulse Demon (Release, 1996), the ideal follow-up to Venereology, is even "uglier" in the way it indulges in violent noise. The opener, Woodpecker No. 1 (6:42), is already devastating. Ultra Marine Blues (11:29) is another shroud of vicious distortion abrasive, and the 25-minute Worms Plastic Earthbound is a crescendo of cacophonic spasms with few equals in the history of music.

Spiral Honey (1996) contains the explosive Spiral Honey.A (18:02), but also much uninspired music.

Mercurated (Alchemy, 1996) is another painstakingly architected monument of chaos: Electricwatersheep (26:36) is a tidal wave of ugly noise; Tree Of Kusukusu (17:38) is a volcanic eruption of screaming dissonance; and Surfactant (19:06) is a story of destruction told by the machines that carried it out.

Rainbow Electronics 2 (Dexter's Cigar, 1996), second part of the 1991 symphonya, is less intense but still contains a good dose of strident dissonance in between some cosmic drones.

Akasha Gulva (Station R, 1996) documents a 73-minute live performance.

Scumtron (Blast First, 1996) contains remixes performed by guests.

Merzbox (Extreme, 1997) is a 50-disc box-set, including 30 reissues and 20 unreleased albums, that "summarized" his career when he had just passed the 200-album mark.

Hybrid Noisebloom (Vinyl Communications, 1997) opens with the torrential Plasma Birds (9:31), then indulges in the massacre of Minotaurus (10:46), and intones the alien birdsong of Mouse Of Superconcetion (17:11) in a tunnel of mechanical bats, before plunging into the nervous system to extract the pulsating neurosis of Neuro Electric Butterfly (20:28), one of his artistic peaks, and closing with the usual infernal vomit, The Imaginary Coversation Of Blue (14:55).

  1. Om Electrique (79) Unreleased
    Masami Akita discovers electronics and the world is never the same again
  2. Metal Acoustic Music (80)
    The first MERZBOW release ever and the source of much to follow
  3. Rembrandt Assemblage (80) Unreleased
    The first MERZBOW recording using tape manipulations
  4. Collection Era Vol 1 (81)
    The premier release from 'Lowest Music & Arts'
  5. Collection Era Vol 2 (81)
    The influence of Kurt Schwitters Merz-bau is manifested musically
  6. Collection Era Vol 3 (81/82)
    Includes bonus tracks from the 'Tridal Production' release
  7. Paradoxa Paradoxa (81) Live
    MERZBOW's first ever live event at Kid Airak Hall
  8. Material Action For 2 Microphones (81)
    Improvisations for home objects, akin to John Cage's 'Cartridge Music'.
  9. Yantra Material Action (82)
    As approved by Fred Frith, this was once destined to be the first LP
  10. Solonoise (82)
    The ugliest, cheapest sound in the world
  11. Expanded Music 2 (82)
    Inspired by Stan Brakhage's scratched film
  12. Nil Vagina Tape Loop (82)
    MERZBOW and tape machine are in minimalist harmony
  13. Material Action 2 (83) LP Reissue
    The first MERZBOW LP release ever
  14. Mechanization Takes Commando (83)
    MERZBOW in their industrial hey day
  15. Dying Mapa Tapes 1-2 (83)
    Rare gems from the days on Aeon
  16. Dying Mapa Tapes 2-3 (83)
    The mayhem continues unabated
  17. Agni Hotra (84) Unreleased
    Once destined to be the second MERZBOW LP, now rediscovered
  18. Pornoise 1kg Vol 1(84)
    The first in a series of very harsh, rough, tape noise music
  19. Pornoise 1kg Vol 2 (84)
    The sound of demolition, literally and metaphorically
  20. Pornoise 1kg (84)
    Degradation of sound makes MERZBOW Noise all the better
  21. Pornoise Extra (84)
    The peak of MERZBOW's industrial period
  22. Sadomasochismo/Lampinak (85)
    Noise as a shamanic and ritual experience
  23. Mortegage/Batztoutai Extra (86) Unreleased
    Collage gems from the same period that brought 'Batztoutai...' double LP
  24. Enclosure (87)
    'Ecobondage' LP provides the source for sonic manipulation
  25. Vratrya Southward (87)
    This is what can happen with piano strings and a metal box
  26. Live in Khabarovsk, CCCP - I'm Proud by rank of the workers (88) LP Reissue
    MERZBOW kicks up a storm in Russia (original versions without effects)
  27. Storage (88) LP Reissue + Extra
    Once again, the full length original versions that didn't make it to vinyl
  28. Fission Dialogue (88) Unreleased
    MERZBOW as electro-acoustic sound sculpture
  29. MERZBOW + SBOTHI (88) LP Reissue
    The LP that started it all for Extreme, including limited release solo works
  30. Crocidura Dsi Nezumi (88)
    Environmental drums make unplugged noise music
  31. MERZBOW + Achim Wollscheid - NIR Transformation (89) Unreleased
    Wollscheid simultaneously reinterprets MERZBOW live in Hamburg
  32. Scum Vol. 1 (89) LP Reissue
    The original long versions and extra tracks
  33. Scum Vol. 2 (89) LP Reissue
    More of the brilliance from the last MERZBOW LP on ZSF Product
  34. Scum/Severances (89)
    Decompositions of already decomposed SCUM works
  35. Scum/Steel Cum (89)
    The original and official version of 'Steel Cum'
  36. Cloud Cock OO Ground (90) CD Reissue
    MERZBOW with speed, power and distortion - a classic
  37. Newark Hellfire, Live at WFMU, USA (90) Unreleased
    Imagine crossing NYC by taxi, listening to MERZBOW
  38. Hannover Cloud (90) Unreleased
    Malignant, dizzying, bleak, black noise
  39. Stacy Q, Hi-Fi Sweat Leaf (91) Unreleased
    "Crash for Hi-Fi" raw materials are decomposed and deconstructed
  40. Music For True Romance Vol. 1 (92) Unreleased
    If this is the soundtrack, just imagine the videos they accompanied
  41. Brain Ticket Death (93) Unreleased
    The birth of the fusion-powered electronics of the 90s
  42. Sons Of Slash Noise Metal (93) Unreleased
    MERZBOW's passion for metal takes shape
  43. Exotic Apple (94) Unreleased
    Recorded soon after the 'Dadarotenvator' LP
  44. Liquid City (95) Unreleased
    You can blame the Hanshin earthquake for this album
  45. Red Magnesia Pink (95) Unreleased
    Sonic gems from the 'Red Eyes', 'Magnesia Nova' and 'Pink Ream' sessions
  46. Marfan Syndrome (95) Unreleased
    Featuring the talents of Reiko A
  47. Rhinogradentia (96) Unreleased
    Take an audio generator and EMS and stand back
  48. Space Mix Travelling Band (96/97) Unreleased
    Includes raw material for 'Brisbane-Tokyo Interlace' CD
  49. Motorond (97) Live Unreleased
    The most recent live recording, with Bara providing Hommy chant of Mongol
  50. Annihioscillator (97) Unreleased
    New studio works for Noise and Theremin

In just one year he released New Takamagahara (Ohm, 1998), Pinkream (Dirter, 1998), and 1930 (Tzadik, 1998), one of his least challenging works (everything is relative), contains three lengthy pieces: 1930 (19:39), a loop of industrial noise that morphs into a slimy substance and then into a monster growl, Degradation Of Tapes (12:29), that merges turntable scratching and bombing-like electronic effects culminating in a sequence of extreme noise, and Iron, Glass, Blocks & White Lights (21:50), a less cohesive work.

Tauromachine (Release, 1998) contains three of his most intriguing sonic aberrations (Cannibalism Of Machine, Minotaurus, Soft Water Rhinoceros) which bridge random noise and ambient music (and even the harsh Heads Of Clouds, upon close inspection, aims for trance rather than killing fields).

Half of Aqua Necromancer (Alien 8, 1998) is almost atmospheric by his standards: Aqua Necromancer (7:34) is one of his most original Dada creatures, and Soft Drums (9:10) is just nine minutes of frantic drumming. However, Contrapuntti Indian (12:42, misspelled Italian) is instead a manic screaming collage of musique concrete, a boiling cauldron of impossible counterpoint. Contrapuntti Patto (17:19, misspelled Italian) feels more arbitrary, just a catalog of savage sonic events that Akita liked, chaotic for the same of chaos.

Door Open At 8am (Le Grand Magistery, 1999), ostensibly a tribute to free jazz, contains the convoluted rhythmic anti-dance Jimmy Elvins In Traffic (9:49), which sounds more like a criminally remixed jam of drum'n'bass, Lyons Wake (10:45), a cute novelty built around a hypnotic syncopated pulsation that gets completely disintegrated, The Africa Brass Session Vol.2 (19:51), which deconstructs and disembodies John Coltrane so its music becomes a choir of ringing and gurgling alien beings, and Metro And Bus (7:50), another rhythmic nightmare.

Merzbow also recorded dozens of collaborations with other musicians. In particular, he collaborated with Zbigniew Karkowski on two albums, both titled Mazk (TIgerbeat, 2001).

It is difficult to tell whether Dharma (Hydrahead, 2001) is a masterpiece or another Merzbow self-parody... but maybe that's precisely what Merzbow is all about. One of his most savage noise recordings, it includes the massive (32 minutes), gargantuan, arcane musique concrete of Frozen Guitars and Sunloop/7E 802, that after eight minutes turns into a maelstrom exuding a sense of desperation and after sixteen enters an endless accelerating free fall into a black hole. The crescendo of I'm Coming to the Garden No Sound No Memory achieves a screeching intensity. The nuclear radiation over tribal dancing of Akashiman is one of his horror peaks. The eight-minute Piano Space For Marimo Kitty is an austere (or satirical?) chamber composition for random piano notes and alien electronic interference.

By the same token, on Frog (Misanthropic Agenda, 2001), a sequence of variations on frogs, Masami Akita seems to make fun of the fans who take him seriously.

The highlight of Amlux (Important, 2002) is the 16-minute Looping Jane, whose ambient beginning turns into industrial mayhem and then manic distortion, whereas the 22-minute Luxurious Automobile (Krokodil Texas Mix) is rather monotonous.

The 4 CD box-set 24 Hours - A Day Of Seals (Dirter Promotions, 2002) is almost a catalog of his techniques, the manic loops, the white noise, the methodic glitches. Everything is very self-indulgent.

A Taste of Merzbow (2002)

Merzbeat (Important, 2002) is his version of "dance music", meaning that the usual dissonant bacchanal is coupled with loud and hallucinated drumming.

Ikebana (Important, 2003) collects other people's remixes of Merzbow music.

Timehunter (Ant-Zen, 2003), issued as a four 3" cd-set, is one of his least monolithic releases, a sign maybe that even he is getting bored of Merzbow's noise.

Animal Magnetism (Alien8, 2003) returns to what Akita does best: massive walls of distortion. There is more variety than on his earlier albums, possibly the influence of his recent experiments.

Satanstornade (Warp, 2003) is a collaboration with Russell Haswell.

V (Victo, 2003) is a live collaboration with Pan Sonic.

Last of Analog Sessions (Important, 2004) is a 3-cd box-set of new material.

Partikel (Cold Spring, 2005) and Partikel II (Cold Spring, 2007) are collaborations with Swedish ambient musician Nordvargr, and probably the most original Merzbow recordings of the decade.

Merzbird (Important, 2005) continues the dance project of Merzbeat.

Thanks to the upgrade to the digital technology of the laptop, Sha Mo 3000 (Essence Music, 2004) is one of his most extreme and savage works, if not his best work ever. His masterpiece Sha Mo 3000 (19:29) opens with a tribal beat, conjures a million electric birds, drowns in a Suicide-style pulsating pattern, indulges in a garage-rock rave-up, unleashes an infernal cacophony, and ends with a hyper-propulsive tribal dance. Dreaming K-Dog (22:08), another peak of pathos, begins like a machine that is repairing itself but soon escalates into full-throated industrial pyrotechnics, into an explosive set of distorted whirwinds, an implacable flow of evil sounds that seems to lead to an underground robotic civilization. Hen's Teeth (12:34) evokes a variety of drilling sounds before turning into a wild psych-rock jam. Merzbow shoots indiscriminate dissonance in all directions hoping to hit a target, but he doesn't quite know what a target looks like.

Merzbuddha (Important, 2005) contains three calmer (but far from calm) mantras.

Dust Of Dreams (A Thisco, 2005) is traditional Merzbow fare (another wall of noise), whereas Senmaida (Blossoming Noise, 2005) is industrial music with distorted beats and expressionist cacophony.

The chaos and the dissonance were untamed on Metamorphism (Very Friendly, 2006), Bloody Sea (Vivo, 2006) and Coma Berenices (Vivo, 2007), but the musician began to show the limits of his inspiration.

Keio Line (Cuneiform, 2008) was a double-disc collaboration with Richard Pinhas. Metal/Crystal (Cuneiform, 2010) was another double-disc collaboration with Pinhas, this time with the addition of Wolf Eyes. Live collaborations between the two were documented on Rhizome (Cuneiform, 2011) and Paris 2008 (Cuneiform, 2011). The former, in five parts, mostly unleashes waves of evil radiations, fibrillating quasi-drones that do little more than drill their way into the listener's brain. The 16-minute Rhizome 1 is particularly ferocious, reaching an orgasmic peak around the ten-minute mark and then fading slowly into a glitchy cosmic nebula. Rhizome 2 has more of a horror feeling. Rhizome 3 adds processed and looped voices to the wall of noise that soars to an apocalyptic crescendo.

Kikuri's Pulverized Purple (Victo, 2008) documented a collaboration between Merzbow's Masami Akita and Keiji Haino.

And the Devil Makes Three (Truth Cult, 2009) was a collaboration with Porn, featuring Melvins' Dale Crover, guitarist Tim Moss and bassist Billy Anderson.

The 12-CD box-set Merzbient (Soleilmoon, 2010) collects unreleased ambient recordings dating back to the 1980s.

Cat's Squirrel (Black Truffle, 2013) that documents a live performance between Merzbow and Oren Ambarchi.

Cuts (RareNoise, 2013) documents a collaboration with Hungarian drummer Balazs Pandi and with Mats Gustasfsson on sax and clarinet.

Masami Akita and Henrik Nordvergr completed the "Partikel" trilogy with III (Cold Spring, 2013), recorded in mid 2011.

Merzbow's Grand Owl Habitat (The Death Of Rave, 2013) contains two lengthy pieces.

Merzbow (aka Masami Akita) on noise electronics, Mats Gustafsson on sax and clarinet, Thurston Moore on guitar and Balazs Pandi on drums improvised the jams of Cuts Of Guilt, Cuts Deeper (april 2014).

Kouen Kyoudai (Mego, 2016) was a collaboration with singer-songwriter Eiko Ishibashi (also on piano, drums and synthesizers).

An Untroublesome Defencelessness (april 2015 - Rare Noise, 2016) documents Merzbow (electronics), Keiji Haino (guitar, electronics) and Balazs Pandi (drums) in two lengthy improvisations

Hatobana (Rustbladed, 2016) was a concept double album.

Strange City (Cold Spring, 2016) documents two remixes of Sun Ra's pieces.

Gensho (Relapse, 2016) is a collaboration (or, better, a split) between Boris and Merzbow. The latter contributes four of his self-indulgent electronic mayhems: the noisecore apocalypse of Planet Of The Cows (18:44), one of his best, the imaginary videogame soundtrack Merzbow Goloka Pt 1 (20:10) and Merzbow Goloka Pt 2 (19:34), and the neurotic nuclear monster Merzbow Prelude To A Broken Arm (16:02).

His compositions rank among the most vicious tortures in the history of music.

Between 2016 and 2024 he released the solo albums: Hanakisasage (2016), Aodron (2017), Wildwood II (2017), Gomata (2017), Muen (2017), Eureka Moment (2017), Hyakki Echo (2017), Kaoscitron (2017), Tomarigi (2017), Merzopo (2018), Indigo Dada (2019), Kaerutope (2019), Hermerzaphrodites (2019), Dead Lotus (2019), Screaming Dove (2020), Mukomodulator (2021), Hikaru Hane (2021), Kazakiribane (2021), Triwave Pagoda (2021), Bit Blues (2021), Kotorhizome (2021), Double Beat Sequencer Vol. 1-6 (2021), Janus Guitar (2022), Purple Fish (2022), Beetle (2022), Seven Sides (2022), Persimmon Mask (2022), White Bird (2022), New Ear Control (2022), Hope (2022), CATalysis (2023), Hatomatsuri (2023), Bluedron (2023), Lacrima (2023), Nil Cluster (2023), 450Q (2024), Noise 5706 (2024), Orthogenesis (2024), Mukotronics (2024), Animal Matiere (2024), Hinawave (2024), Magnetic Rain (2024), Tarsometatarsus (2024), Gecko Raga (2024), Tsubute Mosaic (2024), Barrack Baroque (2024), Circular Reference (2024), Hatomosphere Variant (2024), Nine Studies of Ephemeral Resonance (2024), Muko Pitch Bender (2024), Variations for Live Performance 2023 (2024), etc.

By 2024 he had released more than 450 albums, including collaborations.

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