Urashima continues their long-standing, deep dedication to making the out-of-print back catalog of Merzbow available, with the first ever vinyl release of the project’s seminal 1996 full-length. Newly remastered and expanded by two full tracks, this incredible double LP encounters Masami Akita weaving a profound sense of delicacy amongst the boundary pushing psychedelic swirls of extreme noise, texture, and intensity, created on his then newly acquired EMS SynthiA Synthesizer, magnetic tape, and a small handful of effects. Immersive, groundbreaking, and consciousness altering, these are the heights of Japanese noise.

Since its founding during the late 2000s, the Italian imprint, Urashima, has become a definitive voice in the landscape of noise. Bringing forth beautiful limited edition releases, they’ve sculpted a singular vision of one of the most vibrant and revolutionary bodies of experimental sound to have graced the globe. Among the many projects that Urashima have supported over the decades, there has been an undeniable dedication to the output of the seminal Japanese noise outfit, Merzbow, making a significant amount of the project’s out of print back catalog available across a range of formats. Now they return with the first ever vinyl pressing of Merzbow’s stunning 1996 full-length, “Oersted”, originally issued as a CD edition by Vinyl Communications, newly expanded to include two bonus tracks from the period, adding a full 12 minutes to the album’s length.

Merzbow came roaring onto the Tokyo scene in 1979, and remains, to this day, one of the most prolific and aggressively forward-thinking projects in experimental music. Eventually becoming the solo vehicle for the efforts of Masami Akita, in its earliest incarnation the project was the duo of Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, taking their 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 what music could be. Embracing technology and the machine, even in its earliest iterations, Merzbow pushed toward new territories of the extreme, arriving at a space of pure, unadulterated sonic onslaught that has continued, for over 40 years, to set the pace for the entire genre of noise, and has remained one of the movement’s most important, definitive voices, continuously laying the groundwork for countless artists who have followed in its wake.

Recorded across 1995 and 1996, and originally released as a CD edition in the autumn of the latter year, "Oersted" encounters Masami Akita, under the guise of Merzbow, in the midst of the radical creative shift that largely defined his output during the second half of the 90s. Having largely abandoned the use of hand-made instruments and objects, this period blossomed from Akita’s purchase of EMS SynthiA Synthesizer in 1994. It is that instrument, in addition to elements of magnetic tape, various electronics, and effects, that is the guiding force within "Oersted" - a significant milestone in the experimental noise, showcasing unparalleled sonic explorations - as well as many of the landmark releases that followed in its wake.

Urashima’s first ever vinyl pressing of "Oersted" comprises the four untitled tracks that originally appeared on the 1996 CD edition, three of which occupy an entire side each, as well as two bonus tracks. Working as a cohesive whole across its entire length, the album is a meticulously crafted, immersive sonic journey into the depths of extreme noise, texture, and intensity, with each shifting moment and movement finding new ways to push the boundaries of sound manipulation and composition. While unquestionably occupying the other side of the sonic spectrum, similar to minimalism and drone, the music that Merzbow unfurls across the length of "Oersted" maximises the perceived potential of fairly reduced means - blistering synth tones, feedback, and layers of texture - and draws the ear and mind toward the monumentality of subtle shifts in interplay and material make up, altering consciousness again and again in its brutal and deeply engaging psychedelic swirl.

A hugely significant contribution to Merzbow’s reemerging, long out of print back catalog, Urashima’s newly expanded edition of “Oersted” is a thing of beauty, representing one of the project’s most significant and groundbreaking works from the 90s.