Merzbow

In the continuing onslaught of Merzbow releases, the Japanophile Italian label Menstrual releases a new CD from everyone's favorite Japanese noisemonger, the mighty Merzbow. This is very early period Merzbow. Originally released as a private tape and distributed in a very few copies.Remastered from original cassette tape in 2017 at Munemihause, Tokyo.Masami Akita : Prepared Guitar, Tabla, Synare-3, Junk Percussion, Drums, Radio and TapesOrgan and Piano source material by Kiyoshi Mizutani.Recorde…

Limited edition of 99 copies, includes an extensive booklet of artwork and a hand-numbered official certificate. Housed in a black varnished and silkscreened wooden box. This is the friends edition with an additional 7", a cassette, and a long sleeve T-Shirt. The records are pressed on red vinyl. This 10Lp-Set in a black varnished and silkscreened wooden Box is a comprehensive Anthology of the „Godfather of Noise“ early works, carefully selected and mastered by Merzbow himself. Is there anything…

An epic 1984 masterpiece from Masami at the peak of his creativity. & CD set plenty of hectic and lumbering rhythms, weird vocal warble, frantic noise, fucked up grooves, spooky synth ambience, droning chant ranging from silly to sublime, musique concrete, and echoing psych weirdness. Despite the seeming chaos, Merzbow has structured into 24remarkably cohesive individual tracks identities. Recorded and Mixed at ZSF Produkt Studio in 1984 and published in tape format in 1987 by ZSF Produkt. I…

Another Merzbow re-issue for salivating Japanese noise junkies, recorded and Mixed at ZSF Produkt Studio in 1983. Merzbow blasts out of the gates with volcanic noise eruptions with all of the violence we can hear in these analog recordings from the early 80s. Mechanical grindings, claustrophobic scapings, train-wreck rhythms...Harsh energy indeed!! Limited edition of 200 copies.

This album consists of improvisations between Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, who began his career working in Merzbow (when Merzbow wasn't just Masami Akita alone, but he began as the duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, who met Akita in high school It was recorded on July 3, 1983 at Music Studio Kichijoji, Tokyo and mixed at Merz-Bau. It was released by Stratosphere Music in 1983 on a cassette, and at some point was reissued on cassette re-released in few copies by Lowest Music & Arts /…

Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails) and Japanese noise legend Massami Akita (Merzbow) bask in their mutual love for the EMS Synthi, a British synthesizer from the early 70's notorious for it's patch matrix, portability and distinct tone. Astonishingly, these two disparate artists meld into a single sound as they flex the analog circuitry of the EMS Synthi in new ways; giving this classic synth a modern workout and proving that, in capable hands, a 40 year old analog synthesizer is a tool for th…

First ever vinyl re-issue of this classic Merzbow album. The first two track were originally published on LP on the ZSF label in 1988. Masami Akita creates in Storage a very experimental and atmospheric album with a masterful use of scraping sounds and metal percussions but also with a very effective use of silence. A strongly hypnotic and creepy sounding early analog Merzbow album. The third track was published as an extra track for the CD reissue issued in the Merzbox is re-issued here for …

Remblandt Assemblage was recorded and mixed at home in 1980 and originally released on cassette the following year on own label. For the recording of this tape Masami used wide range of instruments: tapes, prepared acoustic guitar, tabla, junk percussion, microphone, radio, egg cutter & noise. Also this is the very first Merzbow album to use tape manipulations Only a few copies were made and distributed on cassette in 1981, but otherwise it was not widely available until being partially re…

Merzbow stands as the most important artist in noise music. The moniker of Japanese 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' 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 cal…

First ever re-issue Lp re-issue of this classic Merzbow recording originally released on Chaos. Originally issued in 1983 in Lp format by Chaos in Japan. Masami Akita is aided here by Kiyoshi Mizutani. Classic old school junk noise for an intense and quite psychedelic album! A must have.Cover and labels are a near exact replica of the originals. Includes a 30 cm x 30 cm cardboard insert with cover artwork. Clear / white / yellow splatter vinyl! Edition of 302 numbered copies.

Atsusaku is the collaborative output of Gareth Davis (Oiseaux Tempete, Scanner, Elliott Sharp, Machinefabriek etc) and Japanese noise mastermind Masami Akita aka Merzbow. A massive wall of sound over two tracks that moves from the shifting low-end structures and the ricochet of howling reeds to the blistering haze of dense white noise and rapid-fire electronic tones. The title Atsusaku, suggests pressure or mechanical compression and it was from this starting point, the idea of Davis' reed sound…

Originally released in 1987 and first reissued in the mid 1990s on CD, Ecobondage is one of Merzbow’s seminal works, and also one of my earliest experiences with his vast discography. Presented as a double LP reissue (with included CD), the album feels like an appropriately deluxe edition that captures a high point of Masami Akita's too often overlooked, but superior junk noise era. As I have surely mentioned in previous reviews of his albums, my first exposure to Akita's work was Venereology. L…

Flying Basket is a double album of avant jazz, discord and deconstructed rock by five master practitioners. It also marks the debut collaboration by a pair of Japan's legendary transgressors  -- saxophonist Akira Sakata and noise pioneer Masami Akita, aka Merzbow. For the past ten years Sakata has rededicated himself to fiery free jazz alongside guitarist Jim O’Rourke and the monstrous rhythm section that is Chikamorachi -- Chris Corsano (drums) and Darin Gray (double bass, percussion). Sakata's…

Antimonument was recorded in 1986 and shows a large use of loop based material and a great deal of harsh metal noise sounds in all its analogic greatness! Antimonument was originally issued by ZSF produkt in 1986 in an edition of 225 copies picture discs LP. Copies of the original are now very rare and very expensive. This re-issue was remastered in 2014 by Masami Akita and contains extra material for a total of 61:55 in lenght.

This strictly limited premiere release comprises a vibrantly coloured LP on green/blue/yellow splatter vinyl, plus an additional seven inch, the fuchsia coloured seven inch is a noisy split with a  with a xeroxed cover, with a numbered insert included.

The third and final part of the Partikel trilogy is finally here! Another beautifully constructed collaboration from the two noise giants - Japanoise King Masami Akita (aka Merzbow) and Swedish Overlord Henrik Nordvargr Björkk (MZ.412, Folkstorm, Toroidh). The styles on ÔPartikel III' range from total noise barrages, to intelligent electronics, to subtle dark ambient pieces. Essential! Presented in a luxurious matt laminate digipak.

For The Death Of Rave, Masami Akita aka Merzbow submits two petrifying pieces of psychedelic, technoid sturm und drang. Harking back to the feral attack and pulsing rhythmic disciplines of his early work (recently collected on V-o-D's excellent 'Lowest Music & Arts 1980- 1983' boxset), the howling 12 minute pummel of A-side 'Grand Owl Habitat' appears on vinyl after release on Handmade Birds' Dark Icons series. An ecstatically abusive, furious maelstrom of coloured noise is rail-eroded by a pist…

Both of these projects hardly need an introduction. Merzbow is since the late 70s the project of Masami Akita working in the field of noise music, having released a few hundred CDs/LPs/cassettes by now.In 1987 Kapotte Muziek was then the solo project of Frans de Waard, after Christian Nijs left the group early '87. De Waard concentrated on working with other musicians, and started trading tapes with a few musicians he was already in contact with, and one of them was Merzbow. The first release w…

Two unreleased long tracks recorded in 1982. These tracks were originally submitted for the Mail Art Music Project compilation LP. Only one minute of each track was published on the now extremely rare compilation album.Remastered from original master tapes. Cover photo taken in 1982 in Milan. Numbered edition with paste-on cover.

If jazz, as the eminent critic Whitney Balliet once wrote, is the “sound of surprise,” Cuts, an intensely cathartic, fiercely turbulent collaboration between Japanese noise purveyor Masami Akita (aka Merzbow), Hungarian drummer Balazs Pandi and Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustasfsson, is the “sound of shock and awe.” A sonic assault of epic proportions, it blends the bombast of Merzbow’s grinding white noise barrages with Pandi’s thunderous pulse on the kit and Gust…

Recordings from Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani. Kiyoshi was a member of Merzbow in the 80's and has made solo works since 1989, though main man Masami Akita has been the backbone of the band since 1979. These recordings are mainly from the '87-'89 era, but some of the earliest recordings were released in 1979. The first Merzbow tour abroad was in 1988 in Russia, featuring Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani. The second was in Europe (Holland, Germany, and France) in 1989 where Kiyoshi als…

"Cat's Squirrel is a live recording of Masami Akita and Oren Ambarchi's performance in Campbelltown, Australia in May 2012. Although Akita and Ambarchi have known one another since 1993 and performed together as part of larger ensembles, this was their first performance as a duo. Together they create a massive wall of sound that moves from the cavernous to the blisteringly psychedelic, laying down shifting low-end structures over which pointillist details ricochet across the stereo field. Akita …

This amazing early Merzbow work (reissued for the first time) comes from the legendary 10 tape set Merzbow - Collection. Originally self released as C46 cassette, Collection 009 contain some previous studio and live sessions & raw-material. This earliest music was made with recorded tapes, audio feedback, percussion, metal and other acoustic instruments as source. All sounds were mixed by Masami Akita at Lowest Music & Arts Studio, Machida, Tokyo in 1981 and Kiyoshi Mizutani played several instr…

This 10xCD box set composed of previously unreleased recordings from 1993–95, it focuses on pure noise from 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 recorded live to cassette. Merzphysics can be considered to be a sequel to Merzbient, which also features unreleased vintage cassette recordings.As with some of the tracks on Merzbient, the titles are taken from cassette brands: AX…

Both of these projects hardly need an introduction. Merzbow is since the late '70s the project of Masami Akita working in the field of noise music, having released a few hundred CDs/LPs/cassettes by now. In 1987 Kapotte Muziek was then the solo project of Frans de Waard, after Christian Nijs left the group early '87. De Waard concentrated on working with other musicians, and started trading tapes with a few musicians he was already in contact with, and one of them was Merzbow. The first release …

Recorded at Studio GOK Sound, Tokyo April 7 2010 by Hamamoto Yohei.Produced by Masami Akita and Lasse Marhaug. Cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. Cover design by Lasse Marhaug. Masami Akita and Lasse Marhaug have been working together since the mid 90ies. The first release on Marhaug's (now deleted) label Jazzassin Records in 1995 was the First Rock split single. In 2001 Merzbow and Jazzkammer (Marhaug's project with John Hegre) released a live album. Later, Akita and…

Outstanding reissue, one of the best Merzbow albums ever made, originally released in 1983 on cassette by the Milanese label Adn, Kibbutz is a mélange of sounds made by Masami Akita aka Merzbow on drums, guitar and effects supported, in those years, by Kiyoshi Mizutani at the keyboards and recorded at Kitijoji Music Studio in Tokyo. In this first period, the sounds produced by the duo were amplified up to the distortion producing long sonic-anti psychedelic  jam session. The three tracks on Kibb…

Masami Akita alias Merzbow, the king of noise music, the defender of the vegan cause, the animals lover is coming back with a cosmic and devastating magma, a spinning metal tapestry-work with loops of echoes in a whale rutting way. As usual, to be listened to very loudly. Mix realized at Munemihouse in Tokyo during the month of April in 2011.

Second official release from CX records, Italy. “Guya” new and unreleased track from the master of japanese noise Masami Akita, 18 minutes of noise bliss, a powerful sonic  trip structured by feedbacks, digital and analog electronics. A devastating masterpiece. 3 new tracks recorded, composed and mixed in Berlin, Rome and Tokyo by Cris X/Cristiano Luciani in collaboration with underground japanese musicians, Keiko Higuchi (vocals, piano, lyrics) and Sachiko (vocals, electronics): a dark and visi…

Jigokuhen is the final instalment in Masami Akita's 15 part Bird Series for Important Records. Inspired by Olivier Messaien's Catalogue D'Oiseaux, the Bird Series saw the release of one CD per month for 13 months while a 14th disc was released free via download to series subscribers and on CDr with the purchase of Merzbow's EcoBag. This 14th Bird Series release is being issued on the 2 year anniversary of the start of the Bird Series and in conjuntion with Vampilla's new album on Important …

Sold out at source, few copies available: Merzbow, Mats Gustafsson and Jim O'Rourke, legendary figures of experimental music, meet in the studio in Tokyo, 2009, to create this LP-only release of "face-melting intensity". Three titans of experimental music with more than three decades of experience clashing together for a monster studio session in Tokyo, 2009, resulting in two blistering sides of wax full of face-melting intensity."-Editions Mego

Shortly after ordering this 14 CD set; I read a newspaper article about the plight of the Eurasian cuckoo whose habitat is being gradually destroyed both in Britain and abroad. It is this type of threat to birdlife that inspired Japanese ‘noise music’ meister and long-time animal activist Masami Akita’s (aka Merzbow) 2009 album series, “13 Japanese Birds”. Now the entire set, plus a new CDR and piece of screen print art-work have been reissued as “13 Birds In A Bag”, with a navy blue eco-f…

Restocked: The old adage "nothing exceeds like excess" is inversely defined in Merzbow's latest exploit, a beguiling, gargantuan and limited (to 555 hand-numbered copies) 12 x CD boxset of "quieter" material, housed in hardcover box with red foil block print, featuring sounds recorded between 1987 and 1990 and accompanied by a die-cast metal medallion enscribed with the word 'dōbutsukaihō' meaning 'Animal Liberation' in Japanese. When Masami Akita (Merzbow) started touring internationally around…

Masami Akita’s Merzbow project is the biggest name in noise music. Few other artist enjoys the kind of respect within their fields as Merzbow does within the noise scene. If talking about noise music there is simply no way getting around Merzbow. Since 1979 Akita has worked relentlessly producing hundreds of records. He also has a long list of collaboraters: Richard Pinhas, Sunn 0))), Autechre, Pan Sonic, Jim O’Rourke, Boris, Gore Beyond Necropsy, Smegma and many others.Merzbow performed …

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Graft is an album by Japanese noise master Masami Akita aka Merzbow. This LP album is pressed on lime-green vinyl in a "bootleg"-style sleeve and sealed with a sticker. Limited to 300 regular copies. According to the Merzbow blog, the design was inspired by a '70s Jethro Tull bootleg called My God, and the recording was inspired by the plant illustrations in the Voynich manuscript. Recorded in November 2009 at Munemi House, Tokyo.

*Limited edition of 150 copies* Recorded Live at ZSF Produkt Studio, Tokyo on Sep 1988. Remastered from Original Master Tape on Jan 2010. Originally Released on ZSF Produkt 1988.

Early merzbow works featuring Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani. Recorded & Mixed at Various Studios on 1982. Remixed by Masami Akita at Lowest Music & Arts Studio, Tokyo. Remastered from Original Master Tape on Jan 2010. Originally Released on Lowest Music & Arts 1982.

Early merzbow works featuring Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani. Recorded & Mixed at Gap Works, Tokyo on 16 June 1981. Remixed by Masami Akita at Lowest Music & Arts Studio, Tokyo. Remastered from Original Master Tape on Jan 2010.

Limited 150 copies, Early Merzbow works featuring Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani. Recorded & Mixed at Gap Works, Tokyo on 16 June 1981. Remixed by Masami Akita at Lowest Music & Arts Studio, Tokyo. Remastered from Original Master Tape on Jan 2010. Originally Released on Lowest Music & Arts 1982.