Merzbow Archive Series / Laptop Transition (1999-2000)
Laptop Transition (1999-2000) In 1999, Merzbow abandoned analog equipment and transitioned to computer-based production. These recordings document the very beginning of his laptop style—a pivotal technological shift that would define his work for years to come.
Necro 2000
As the millennium turned, Necro 2000 marked both ending and beginning - death imagery presiding over Merzbow's laptop era birth. The "Necro" prefix invokes death and decay; the year "2000" signals apocalyptic transition. Y2K anxieties, millennial dread, end-of-history discourse - all contributed to the moment's charged atmosphere.
These morbid associations belie the forward-looking nature of recordings demonstrating that digital transition maintained continuity with Merzbow's essential character…
Process 9611
The clinical title emphasizes methodology over mysticism - appropriate for this period of technological transition when Akita was systematically exploring new tools' capabilities. "Process" suggests procedure, algorithm, step-by-step transformation. The numbered designation reflects systematic investigation as he developed fluency in his new digital language.
Unlike more poetically titled works, Process 9611 announces its interest in how sounds are made rather than what they mean. This transpare…
Tentacle (1st Mix)
Tentacle suggests oceanic creatures, reaching appendages, multiple simultaneous touches - apt imagery for Merzbow's newly expanded digital toolkit. Where analog equipment imposed physical limits on simultaneous operations, computers enabled unprecedented complexity. Tentacles reach in all directions at once, grasping multiple objects simultaneously.
This "1st Mix" preserves initial instincts before subsequent revision, documenting Akita's first responses to new capabilities. The cephalopod image…
Mighty Ace
Mighty Ace is a large-scale work spanning 50 minutes in a single track, showcasing remarkable sonic variety within unified form. According to Akita's notes, it shares characteristics with companion piece Tenshinkaku. The mix of digitally generated electronic sounds and highly inorganic looping reminiscent of machine operation - sounds not previously heard in Merzbow's work - creates impressions so diverse it's hard to believe this represents just the beginning of computer use.
The treatment of l…
Tenshinkaku
Tenshinkaku was originally recorded with the intention of releasing an album under the same title, but it never materialized. Some tracks were excerpted and edited into one track as "Tenshinkaku 01" on the bonus CD "Early Computer Works" accompanying the special edition of Scene (Waystyx, 2005). This Archive Series release presents the material in its original, complete form for the first time.
The title suggests "celestial tower" - an elevated metaphor for recordings from Merzbow's digital dawn…
Wa
These recordings represent the very beginning of Merzbow's laptop style - the birth of a new methodology that would reshape the project's sound and process. The album references "Wa 30.25" from Collapse 12 Floors (Ohm, 2000), including the extended mix alongside previously unreleased re-edited material.
"Wa" carries multiple Japanese associations: harmony, circle, Japan itself - suggesting meditation on identity and continuity at a moment of technological rupture. As Akita traded physical equipm…