Merzbow Archive Series / 1991 Series
Sampling Revolution (1991) Introduction of sampling delays (Next, Digitech) transforms Merzbow's approach. Record scratching and cut-up techniques create a more rhythmic, fragmented sound distinct from 1980s collage methods.
Untitled 1991 Vol. 3
Volume 3. The fifth chapter focuses intensively on 1991 - a transformative year for Merzbow. New sampling delay effects from Next and Digitech enabled more rhythmic, cut-up approaches, marking decisive evolution from previous decade's collage techniques. These sessions were originally produced by mixing multiple 4-channel cassettes, but for this release appear largely unedited - raw material preserved without typical layering and processing.
New mixes were created using a TASCAM MFP-01 to replac…
Untitled 1991 Vol. 2
Volume 2. The fifth chapter focuses intensively on 1991 - a transformative year for Merzbow. New sampling delay effects from Next and Digitech enabled more rhythmic, cut-up approaches, marking decisive evolution from previous decade's collage techniques. These sessions were originally produced by mixing multiple 4-channel cassettes, but for this release appear largely unedited - raw material preserved without typical layering and processing.
New mixes were created using a TASCAM MFP-01 to replac…
Phillo Jazz
Phillo Jazz winks at improvisational traditions Akita has always both honored and subverted. Jazz's spontaneity finds its noise equivalent - though the relationship is more conceptual than sonic. Where jazz improvisation operates within harmonic frameworks, Merzbow improvisation occurs in texture and density, shape and duration.
The "Phillo" prefix remains mysterious - perhaps referencing philosophy, philology, or simply playing with sounds. These recordings demonstrate fluidity at its best: not…
Bluedelic+
The playful title suggests psychedelic blue - chromatic synesthesia rendered in noise. Akita has always been interested in the intersection of sound and color, titles throughout his catalog evoking visual qualities. These 1992 sessions capture Merzbow in experimental mode, the psychedelic reference connecting to traditions of consciousness expansion through intense sensory experience.
Blue carries particular associations: melancholy, depth, the infinite sky and sea. "Bluedelic" suggests psychede…
Untitled 1991 Vol. 1
The fifth chapter focuses intensively on 1991 - a transformative year for Merzbow. New sampling delay effects from Next and Digitech enabled more rhythmic, cut-up approaches, marking decisive evolution from previous decade's collage techniques. These sessions were originally produced by mixing multiple 4-channel cassettes, but for this release appear largely unedited - raw material preserved without typical layering and processing.
New mixes were created using a TASCAM MFP-01 to replace the unav…
Travelling
Travelling suggests movement through sonic landscapes - each passage a journey into unknown territory. The title invites traveler's mindset: openness to unfamiliar sounds, acceptance of discomfort, willingness to be transformed by the journey. This 1990 recording captures Merzbow testing new configurations in preparation for the decade's major works.
The traveler enters foreign territories without expectation of comfort or comprehension. Similarly, listeners approaching Travelling should abandon…
Crash For Hi-Fi Tapes
A wry commentary on audiophile culture, Crash For Hi-Fi Tapes revels in deliberate destruction of fidelity. While enthusiasts pursue ever-more-transparent reproduction, Merzbow embraces distortion, clipping, and overload as expressive tools. The title suggests violence directed at the medium itself - tapes crashed, pushed beyond design parameters.
High-fidelity recording promised perfect reproduction; Akita responds by demonstrating that imperfection and degradation carry their own aesthetic val…
Cloud Cock OO Grand (Another Mix)
This alternate version of legendary Cloud Cock OO Grand material offers fresh perspective on one of Merzbow's most celebrated early-90s works. The title's surrealist absurdity reflects Akita's Dadaist engagement - language pushed beyond sense into pure sonic evocation. "Cloud," "Cock," "Grand" - the words resist logical combination, instead creating irrational poetry.
The existence of multiple mixes raises questions about identity and authenticity in experimental music. If noise is supposed to b…