Merzbow

"The Merzbow Archive Series from Slowdown Records is a collection of unreleased or unearthed Merzbow recordings. So far, fourteen series have been released, each series distinguished by recording period and musical theme. Each individual series consists of six albums. In its 15th series, six albums were released, "Purple Fish", "Janus Guitar", "Beetle", "Seven Sides", "White Bird", and "Persimmon Mask", containing material from 2014 to 2015. This box set "After Hours" is a compilation of those six albums. Since the previous series, "Double Beat Sequencer" featured sequenced recordings from the same period, this series focuses on non-sequenced performances (although a few tracks are sequenced). Among the previously released original albums, "Wildwood" (Dirter Promotions, 2015) and "Torus" (Jezgro, 2017) were recorded during the same period as this series. The works in the "After Hours" have a variety of characteristics and backgrounds, including some with guitars, a few with sequencers, tracks that have been used as material for collaborations, and some that show the use of gadget synths. The direction of the performance also varies widely from album to album, with guitar and sequencers being included in some of the more ear-catching elements, while drone-like sounds are naturally incorporated, or a polyphonic soundscape is created. Since the recording period of "After Hours" coincides with that of the previous "Double Beat Sequencer" series, this box is an excellent collection of Merzbow's various trials from this period that could not be fully contained in that series." - Yorosz