Merzbow
Masami Akita was born in 1956 in Tokyo, Japan. Akita is a graduate of Tamagawa University, Art Department, and majored in Painting & Art Theory. Akita formed the premier Japanese Noise group Merzbow in 1979. Merzbow have released over 300 recordings, on tape, LP and CD, to date, working with many different media such as video, film and CD-ROM, both in the directorial and soundtrack role.
Masami Akita was born in 1956 in Tokyo, Japan. Akita is a graduate of Tamagawa University, Art Department, and majored in Painting & Art Theory. Akita formed the premier Japanese Noise group Merzbow in 1979. Merzbow have released over 300 recordings, on tape, LP and CD, to date, working with many different media such as video, film and CD-ROM, both in the directorial and soundtrack role.
雀色 1 Sparrow Color 1
Sparrow Color 1 marks a significant departure in Merzbow's methodology - a rare instance of Masami Akita returning to keyboard-controlled synthesis after decades of predominantly laptop-based and analog noise production. Here, he employs a carefully curated arsenal of classic instruments: the legendary EMS SYNTHI 'A' (beloved by everyone from Brian Eno to Pink Floyd), the Moog Mother 32, and Behringer Model D, all manipulated via a Korg Monologue keyboard controller.
This configuration yields re…
Indigo Dada
Celebrating four decades of uncompromising sonic exploration, Merzbow marks the 40th anniversary of his artistic journey with Indigo Dada—released simultaneously with its companion piece Kaerutope in 2019. This twin release strategy itself constitutes a statement: even at this career milestone, Masami Akita refuses to rest on a single achievement, instead offering parallel visions that illuminate different facets of his current practice.
The album pays homage to the centennial of Dadaism with "D…
Kaoscitron
Masami Akita, the relentless force behind Merzbow, delivers a crystalline distillation of his sonic universe with Kaoscitron. This album represents a remarkable synthesis—a deliberate reset that channels decades of noise experimentation into something startlingly fresh yet unmistakably essential. After more than four decades of relentless sonic exploration, Akita proves that reinvention remains not just possible but inevitable.
The album unfolds as a triptych of sonic approaches. Opening track "…
Paulownia
Paulownia by Merzbow is a 2025 full-length statement comprising two lengthy compositions that fuse intense electronic manipulation with Merzbow’s enduring fascination for natural phenomena. Across both pieces, the album merges organic inspiration and harsh digital process, producing a hypnotic yet confrontational experience.
Animal Magnetism
*Limited Edition of 99 copies. Purple vinyl * Masami Akita has been making noise since before most people understood noise could be made on purpose, and Animal Magnetism is what happens when forty years of sonic terrorism suddenly decides to sit you down and explain itself without raising its voice. Originally released on CD in 2003, this double LP reissue—remastered by Lasse Marhaug and pressed on black or purple vinyl in a gatefold sleeve featuring Akita's own photographs—adds a previously unr…
Earthen - A Cold Spring Sampler
With two exclusive tracks by Coil and Psychic TV.
Mimesis
Tip! Tip! Tip! This work consists of sound and a collection of AI-generated images. The image collection is a compilation of AI-generated images used in a projection at the Merzbow Free Noise concert held on January 6, 2025, at WWW in Shibuya, Tokyo. The use of such visuals in Merzbow is rare in recent years, and of course, the use of AI-generated images in a live performance is a first.
The concert was divided into two parts, and one of the rehearsal recordings of the songs performed in the fir…
Merzphysics
*300 copies limited edition* First released in 2012 on Japanese label Youth Inc. as a 10xCD Box and long time sold out. After 13 years this completely re-mastered Super-Merz-Sonik album is finally going to be re-released on OEC!
The Merzphysics set features previously unreleased recordings from 1993 to 1995, focusing on pure noise made before the introduction of synthesizers and other electronic instruments. The noise is described as being linked to grindcore, having a sense of speed, and was re…
Sporangium
*300 copies limited edition* A sporangium (from Ancient Greek sporá 'seed' and angeîon 'vessel') is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other groups form sporangia at some point in their life cycle. Sporangia can produce spores by mitosis, but in land plants and many fungi, sporangia produce genetically distinct haploid spores by meiosis.
Sporangium is brand new "merzsoniks"! Equipments used b…
Merzbow Mixed Total
The two masters, thousands of miles apart, released this fearsome collaboration in 1997 on Sterilized Decay. Matthew Bower's source sounds were processed, mangled and reassembled by Masami Akita for 50 minutes of unbridled destruction. At once a summation and reconfiguration of both artist's incredible work throughout the 1990s. Remastered and with a new layout based on the original tape.
Red Magnesia Pink
First released by Extreme in the massive, infamous 'Merzbox,' "Red Magnesia Pink" is extracted and recontextualized as a standalone release for the first time. Recorded in 1995, "Red Magnesia Pink" sees Merzbow in peak form. A psychedelic whirlwind of synthetic transmissions; harsh, wet, screeching sounds that could only be produced by Masami Akita. Featuring two previously unreleased bonus tracks from the same era.
Collection 001-010
Carrying on their longstanding dedication to the seminal output of Merzbow, Urashima returns with what is unquestionably their most ambitious release to date: “Collection 001-010”, a deluxe, 10 LP vinyl box set limited to 299 copies, gathering together the entirety of the project’s first ten releases, originally released in 1981. Encountering the band in its early incarnation of the duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, raw, exposed and bristling with energy, foreshadowing numerous trajector…
Batztoutai with Memorial Gadgets
Merzbow’s Batztoutai with Memorial Gadgets finally restored in its original 1985 form. A sprawling 3LP of raw tape collage, political subtext, and proto-noise abstraction—essential listening from the dawn of Japanoise.
Noise Forest
Tip! A classic compilation that emanated out of Osaka, "Noise Forest" brings together a powerhouse of early 90's Japanese noise stalwarts: Merzbow, C.C.C.C., Solmania, Dislocation, Monde Bruits, Masonna, Violent Onsen Geisha, and Incapacitants. The ultimate Japanoise collection, originally released in 1992 on the cult Les Disques Du Soleil label / record store on CD-only, and now impossible to find. Remastered and presented here on deluxe 2LP in matt-laminate gatefold sleeve (first time on vinyl…
Inside Richard Serra Sculptures
Pedro Vian and Merzbow release their first joint work, an unbounded expression of creativity and experimentation. Over the album's forty-minute duration, listeners can experience a blend of field recordings made by Pedro Vian at the DIA Bacon Foundation, specifically inside Richard Serra's sculptures. These recordings are interwoven with the ambient percussion and melodies characteristic of Vian's work, alongside the piercing and sharp frequencies produced by Merzbow, one of the most acclaimed a…
Oersted
*Limited Edition of 299 copies. Black vinyl * Masami Akita's exploration of noise as a musical form has influenced generations of artists and reshaped the way we perceive sound in the context of contemporary music. Oersted stands as a testament to Merzbow's ongoing artistic evolution and his unwavering commitment to pushing sonic boundaries. 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 coll…
Merzbient
From deep within the Soleilmoon warehouse, and just in time for its 10 year anniversary, come the leftover/extra copies of the LPs from the “Merzbient” LP box sets, originally released in 2012.
Extinct
Cold Spring is proud to present a unique collaboration between Industrial Breakbeat pioneers Meat Beat Mamifesto (Jack Dangers) and the undisputed king of Japanese noise, Merzbow (Masami Akita).
Cloud Cock OO Grand
**Limited Edition of 299 copies.** 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' pre-war architectural assemblage, The Cathedral of Erotic Misery or Merzbau, and quickly set out to challenge entrenched notions of…
Vibractance
*50 copies limited edition* Originally released in France in 1998, Vibractance is one of the most unique and haunting titles in Merzbow’s vast catalog. It’s unique drone, noise, almost ambient like qualities makes this a great starting point for adventurer ears but also an essential album for the initiated. A true journey into the unknown where pulsating sonar waves swim between a sea of eerie beauty and tangible dreams. Celebrating it’s 25th anniversary, Aurora Central Records proudly presents …