Masami Akita has been the name most people reach for when they say "Japanese noise". He started Merzbow in Tokyo in 1979, taking the name from Kurt Schwitters's Merzbau, the collage that slowly filled his house, and treated sound the same way: layers of feedback, tape, junk metal and later laptops piled up until only density is left. Since then he has released well over four hundred records, including the fifty CD Merzbox of 2000.
'We kick-off 2010 with possibly the most essential Merzbow release for many years. This 3CD set is culled from appearances on various compilations, ranging from the most obscure cassette releases, to long out of print gems on labels such as Blast …
Merzbow's 13 Japanese Birds is a 13 month series of releases inspired by Olivier Messaien's Catalogue D'Oiseaux. Beginning in January 2009 one volume of 13 Japanese Birds will be released each month. The 13th and final volume will be released January…
'MERZBOW's 13 Japanese Birds is a 13 month series of releases inspired by Olivier Messaien's Catalogue D'Oiseaux. Beginning in January 2009 one volume of 13 Japanese Birds will be released each month. The 13th and final volume will be released Januar…
Merzbow's 13 Japanese Birds is a 13 month series of releases inspired by Olivier Messaien's Catalogue D'Oiseaux. Beginning in January 2009 one volume of 13 Japanese Birds will be released each month. The 13th and final volume will be released January…
The 10th installent in Merzbow's ambitious 13 Japanese Birds series is devoted to the Japanese word for "chicken." One composition, "Niwatori Obsession," divided up into three parts. Inspired by Olivier Messiaen's Catalogue D'Oiseaux.
Merzbow's 13 Japanese Birds is a 13 month series of releases inspired by Olivier Messaien's Catalogue D'Oiseaux. Beginning in January 2009 one volume of 13 Japanese Birds will be released each month. The 13th and final volume will be released January…
Merzbow's 13 Japanese Birds is a 13 month series of releases inspired by Olivier Messaien's Catalogue D'Oiseaux. Beginning in January 2009 one volume of 13 Japanese Birds will be released each month. The 13th and final volume will be released January…
Merzbow's 13 Japanese Birds is a 13 month series of releases inspired by Olivier Messaien's Catalogue D'Oiseaux. Beginning in January 2009 one volume of 13 Japanese Birds will be released each month. The 13th and final volume will be released January…
Merzbow's 13 Japanese Birds is a 13 month series of releases inspired by Olivier Messaien's Catalogue D'Oiseaux. Beginning in January 2009 one volume of 13 Japanese Birds will be released each month. The 13th and final volume will be released January…
Merzbow's 13 Japanese Birds is a 13 month series of releases inspired by Olivier Messiaen's Catalogue D'Oiseaux. Beginning in January 2009 one volume of 13 Japanese Birds will be released each month. The 13th and final volume will be released January…
Chances are that most of Smegma's fans are already familiar with Merzbow's music. This collaboration, occasionally referred to as Smegma Plays Merzbow Plays Smegma or even Plays, features two 20-minute tracks. In "Electro Smegmacoustic Music," Masami…
This album finds Merzbow in full-on, harsh-noise mode, at least at first listen. The more one becomes acclimated to the sound, the more layers of activity emerge: electric groans and roars, bird-call-like feedback, moog sirens, percussive analog st…
Volume three of Merzbow's 13 Japanese Birds series. Limited edition of 1000. Merzbow's 13 Japanese Birds is a 13 month series of releases inspired by Olivier Messiaen's Catalogue D'Oiseaux. Beginning in January 2009 one volume of 13 Japanese Birds wi…
Merzbow's 13 Japanese Birds is a 13 month-13 CD set that begins January 2009 and ends February 2010. These are pressed in a limited edition of 1000 and once they are sold out they will not be repressed. This series was inspired by Olivier Messiaen's …
Masami Akita serves up a cacophony of high tension frequencies and blasting rhythms in his newest evolution, Senmaida. Housed in a digipak featuring cover art by Val Denham and photos by Jenny Akita.
Brooding harsh malevolence packed into a 4 disc box-set with luxurious foil stamped slip cover & photos of the in-flight bomber taken by Jenny Akita. Abrasive analog and digital wings give Tumeric flight as an altogether different bird. Limited editi…
Opening up Merzbow's new 13-disc series of monthly releases themed around Japanese birds, Suzume gets underway with even more of a bang than the usual Merzbow fare, combining those familiar, expertly wrought noise emissions with wild, flailing drums.…
The first track on Merzbow's latest opus was recorded at Tin Pan Alley studios, London, on 20th April 2008 - the day after his momentous performance at ULU. Akita created an astounding and very unique 20-minute track, playing freestyle drums over his…
Recorded live at Victoriaville, 5/20/02; one 68-minute piece performed by Masami Akita, Mika Vaino & Ilpo Vaisanen. The festival's closing act, Pan Sonic vs Merzbow, was worth the long wait. Their complete absence of stage presence notwithstanding, t…
Author, activist, painter and sound artist Masami Akita had been at the foreground of experimental music for over 25 years. Inspired by psycedelic rock, free jazz, early electronic composition as well the physical arts, especial Kurt Schwitters' Merz…
1996 release on Jim O'Rourke's old label, surprisingly repressed for 2008. First non-reissue on this label - an unreleased companion to the 1990 Alchemy label masterpiece. The designation 'Rainbow' contrasts with the odd colorlessness of the many noi…
An incredible collaboration that sweeps across the generations of electronic music. Richard Pinhas is internationally recognized as one of France's major experimental musicians: the 'father' of French electronic music. He was the founder of Heldon, a…
Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth is an album by Sonic Youth with Mats Gustafsson and Merzbow. It is the eighth release in the SYR series. It was released on July 28, 2008. It will not be released on vinyl. The album is recorded the first July 2005 on the R…
An awesome CD resulting from mail collaboration between experimental two noise legends. A dynamic mix of whirr, crystalline drones, and staticky noise abstractions.1-26: Electro Smegmacousic Music Merzbow used Smegma tapes. All composed by Masami Aki…
Introducing Masami Akita's homage to free-jazz. Door Open at 8am is one of the most adventurous outings made by Merzbow. Recorded during the same era as Aqua Necromancer, this new recording also incorporates the use of sampled sounds. However, this t…
CD1 : 'Batztoutai with material gadgets'. Re-create version of 'Batztoutai with memorial gadgets' Previously released on RRR-04. CD2 : 'Loop panic limited'.
Over 60 minutes of total analog destruction by noise king Merzbow and Brooklyn noise boss Carlos Giffoni, this live collaboration was recorded during Giffoni's Synth Destruction Japan tour in September of 2006. This is Sound Totalism and is as heavy …
As can be gleaned from the title, this is a recording of Merzbow live in Switzerland. Abrasive noise, big rhythms and (to be expected) and onslaught of noise. Recorded at Cave 12 on 10th March 2005, there is apparently no editing involved on this re…
Author, activist, painter, and sound artist Masami Akita has been at the foreground of experimental music for over twenty-five years. Inspired by psychedelic rock, free jazz, and early electronic composition as well the physical arts (especially Kurt…
Japan's king of noise returns with Zophorus. Speaker massaging pulsations of psychic skree & frequency abuse housed in a deluxe 5 color digipak designed by Masami Akita, in february of 2007.