Merzbow
Merzbow | |
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![]() Masami Akita performing live at ISSUE Project Room in 2010 | |
Background information | |
Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
Genres | |
Years active | 1979 | –present
Labels |
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Members | Masami Akita |
Past members |
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Website | Official website ![]() |
Merzbow (メルツバウ, Merutsubau) is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by Masami Akita (秋田 昌美, Akita Masami),[1][2] best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 500 recordings and collaborated with numerous artists.
The name Merzbow comes from the German dada artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork Merzbau, in which Schwitters transformed the interior of his house using found objects. The name was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic. In addition to this, Akita has cited a wide range of musical influences from progressive rock, heavy metal, free jazz, and early electronic music[3] to non-musical influences like dadaism, surrealism and fetish culture.[4] Since the early 2000s, he has been inspired by animal rights and environmentalism, and began to follow a vegan, straight edge lifestyle.[5][6]
In addition to being a prolific musician, he has been a writer and editor for several books and magazines in Japan, and has written several books of his own. He has written about a variety of subjects, mostly about music, modern art, and underground culture. His more renowned works were on the topics of BDSM and Japanese bondage. Other art forms Akita has been interested in include painting, photography, filmmaking, and Butoh dance.[1]
In 2000, Extreme Records released the 50 CD box set Merzbox. Akita's work has been the subject of several remix albums and at least one tribute album. This, among other achievements, has helped Merzbow to be regarded by some as the "most important artist in noise".[7]
Life and career
[edit]Early life
[edit]Masami Akita was born in Tokyo, Japan on December 19, 1956. He listened to psychedelic music, progressive rock and later free jazz in his youth, all of which have influenced his noise.[7] In 1972, he became the drummer of various high school bands,[8] which he left due to the other members being "grass-smoking Zappa freaks".[9] By this time, he and school friend Kiyoshi Mizutani had started playing improvised studio sessions that he described as "long jam sessions along the lines of Ash Ra Tempel or Can but we didn't have any psychedelic taste".[9]
He later attended Tamagawa University to study fine art, at which he majored in painting and art theory.[1] While at university, he became interested in the ideas of dada and surrealism and also studied Butoh dance.[9] At Tamagawa, he learned of Kurt Schwitters' Merz, or art made from rubbish, including Schwitters' Merzbau (meaning Merz building, German pronunciation: [ˈmɛʁtsˌbaʊ̯]), which is the source of the name Merzbow.[10]
Beginning (1979–1989)
[edit]Merzbow began as the duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, who met Akita in junior high school.[11] Akita started releasing noise recordings on cassettes through his own record label, Lowest Music & Arts, which was founded in order to trade cassette tapes with other underground artists. The earliest recording he made was Metal Acoustic Music. Various other early releases included Remblandt Assemblage and Solonoise 1.[12] The Collection series consisted of ten cassettes, the first five were recorded in a studio for an independent label called Ylem, which went defunct before they could be released. So, Akita released them himself, and recorded five more at home.[13][14]
I threw all my past music career in the garbage. There was no longer any need for concepts like 'career' and 'skill'. I stopped playing music and went in search of an alternative.
— Masami Akita[15]
Early methods included what Akita referred to as "material action", made by making quiet sounds with household objects which were recorded with close miking or rubbing the microphone directly on things and overloading the recording levels.[9][11] This method was used on Material Action for 2 Microphones and Material Action 2 N.A.M.. This led to a technique he termed "environmental percussion", where instrumental sounds were made with non-instruments such as banging on the floor, gas stove, spring of a table lamp for percussion sounds. As well as using a violin bow on objects like plastic cassette cases or cards, rubber bands as a guitar sound, blowing in a toilet paper tube as horns, scratching metal as electrical sounds, etc. At this time, Akita also made a homemade instrument consisting of a metal case strung with piano wires, guitar strings, and springs. It was played by bowing or placing objects inside and shaking it. This can be heard on albums like Crocidura Dsi Nezumi, Ecobondage and Storage.[9][16]
Among early releases like the box set Pornoise/1kg, Merzbow created artwork using photocopies of collages made out of manga and porn magazines he found in trash cans in the Tokyo subway. Akita explained this as trying to "create the same feeling as the secret porn customer for the people buying my cassettes in the early 80s".[17]
ZSF Produkt (pronounced zusufu, from an ancient Japanese word meaning "magnetic")[15] was founded in 1984 to release music by similar artists within the industrial movement but eventually became the successor to Lowest Music & Arts.[18] Numerous Merzbow releases were recorded at ZSF Produkt Studio, Masami Akita's home studio.[19]
During this era, Merzbow found much wider recognition and began making recordings for various international labels.[20] Batztoutai with Memorial Gadgets was his first LP released outside of Japan.
Merzbow's first performances outside of Japan were at the Jazz-on-Amur festival in March 1988 in Khabarovsk, USSR. Merzbow were invited along with computer composer Kazuo Uehara. Apparently Merzbow was mistaken for a group using hi-tech equipment.[8][21] The first set was typical Merzbow style, but was stopped for being too noisy.[22][8][21] For the show the following day, the duo were asked to play "more musically".[22] and featured Akita on drums and Mizutani on piano and guitar.[8][21] Following this, touring would become an important activity for Merzbow, especially for the connections made with artists and labels.[8] Merzbow would tour Europe in 1989 and the United States in 1990.[23] Kiyoshi Mizutani left Merzbow after the 1989 European tour and continues to pursue a solo career.
Noise electronics era (1989–1999)
[edit]During a European tour in September–October 1989, Merzbow could only bring simple and portable gear; this led to the harsh noise style Merzbow became known for in the 1990s. Cloud Cock OO Grand (1990) was the first example of this new style, Merzbow's first digital recording (on DAT), and the first recording made for the CD format. It also includes live material recorded during the tour.[24]
But when I started live in late 1980s I didn't like to use tape on stage. I like only live electronics. So, my studio works changed to more live composition style. I'm still using many tapes in studio works, but difference is I treat tapes and instruments. Before, I used tapes as overdubbing concept. But now tapes are crashing together, no static overdub. I found that style on Cloud Cock OO Grand.
— Masami Akita[24]
Beginning in the mid-1990s, Merzbow began to be influenced by death metal and grindcore.[25] Recordings from this time are mostly recorded at extreme volume, some mastered at levels far beyond standard (Noisembryo, Pulse Demon).[26] In 1994, Akita acquired a vintage EMS synthesizer. From 1996, plans were made to release a "10 (or maybe 12)" CD box set on Extreme Records.[27] In 2000, Extreme Records released the Merzbox, a fifty CD set of Merzbow records, twenty of them not previously released.
Throughout most of the 1990s, Merzbow live was a trio with Reiko A. on electronics and Tetsuo Sakaibara (aka Bara) on voice and dance. Masami Akita occasionally played drums for Hijokaidan during the early–mid 1990s.
In the early 1990s, Masami Akita composed the soundtracks to numerous kinbaku videos by Fuji Planning (不二企画, Fuji Kikaku) and seppuku-themed videos by their sub-label Right Brain.[25] Akita also directed Lost Paradise (失楽園 乗馬服女腹切り, Shitsurakuen: Jōbafuku onna harakiri) for Right Brain.[28] Some of this music was included on Music for Bondage Performance and Music for Bondage Performance 2, co-credited to Right Brain Audile. Director Ian Kerkhof would use a Merzbow track for his 1992 film La séquence des barres parallèles, and Akita composed original music for Kerhof's 1994 film The Dead Man 2: Return of the Dead Man.[25] Kerkhof made the documentary Beyond Ultra Violence: Uneasy Listening by Merzbow in 1998.[29] Akita also created music for Ilppo Pohjola's Asphalto (1998)[30] and Routemaster (2000).[31][32]
Laptop era (1999–2009)
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Masami_Akita_5267969.jpg/220px-Masami_Akita_5267969.jpg)
Since 1999, Akita has used computers in his recordings, having first acquired a Macintosh to work on art for the Merzbox. Also at this time he began referring to his home studio as "Bedroom, Tokyo". At live performances, Akita has produced noise music from either two laptop computers or combination of a laptop and analog synthesizers/guitar pedals.[citation needed] Reiko A. and Bara left Merzbow during this time; Reiko Azuma now has a solo career. Since 2001, Jenny Akita (née Kawabata) started being credited for artwork on various releases.
Since 2001, Akita started utilising samples of animal sounds in various releases starting with Frog. Around 2002, Akita became a vegan. He later stated:
I started raising four bantams, the little ornamental chickens. With this experience as a start, I gradually started to be concerned and care about chickens and all the barn animals I used to eat without giving it a second thought before. So I started reading books and researching on the internet about Animal Rights and that triggered an awareness of "evil" that human society has done.
— Masami Akita[33]
During this period, Akita also became a supporter of PETA, which is reflected in his animal-themed releases.[34] An example of this is Minazo Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, dedicated to an elephant seal he visited often at the zoo and Bloody Sea, a protest against Japanese whaling.[35][36] He has also produced several works centered around recordings of his pet chickens (notably Animal Magnetism and Turmeric).[37]
Also in 2002, Akita released Merzbeat, which was seen as a significant departure from his trademark abstract style in that it contains beat-oriented pieces. This has sparked some controversy among fans,[38] though some reviewers pointed out that it sounded very similar to Aqua Necromancer (1998), which features samples of progressive rock drumming.[39][40] Merzbird (2004) and Merzbuddha (2005) followed in a similar vein with sampled beats combined with Merzbow's signature harsh noise.
Current era (2009–present)
[edit]Starting in the mid-2000s, Masami Akita began to reintroduce junk metal and effects pedals back into his setup. In 2008, Akita reintroduced the drum kit, his first instrument.[41] This can be heard on the 13 Japanese Birds series. At this time he changed the name of his home studio to Munemihouse. By the early 2010s, he was using a large number of pedals, oscillators and tone generators, and reduced to a single laptop running granular synthesis software.[41] In 2014, he toured without a laptop.
Beginning in November 2009, Merzbow started releasing archival material from the 1980s and 1990s, both reissues and previously unreleased material, several of which were released on cassette. The Blossoming Noise label reissued the 1980s cassettes E-Study, Collection 004, Collection 005, Normal Music, and Flesh Metal Orgasm. The Kibbutz cassette was reissued on vinyl by Urashima. Other cassettes of unreleased material include Untitled Nov 1989, 9888A, April 1992, and Variations for Electric Fan. 2010–2013 saw the release several archival box sets; Merzbient, Merzphysics, Merzmorphosis, Lowest Music & Arts 1980–1983, and Duo.
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Merzbow_%2B_Balazs_Pandi_at_Le_Poisson_Rouge.jpg/220px-Merzbow_%2B_Balazs_Pandi_at_Le_Poisson_Rouge.jpg)
Akita began collaborating with the Hungarian drummer Balázs Pándi in 2009, initially Pándi served as a live drummer for Merzbow. This resulted in the live albums Live at Fluc Wanne, Vienna 2010/05/18, Ducks: Live in NYC, and Katowice. Akita and Pándi then began to record studio albums collaborating with additional musicians, Cuts (2013) with the Swedish saxophone player Mats Gustafsson, Cuts of Guilt, Cuts Deeper (2015) with Gustafsson and Thurston Moore, and An Untroublesome Defencelessness with Keiji Haino (2016), all released by RareNoiseRecords. Akita, Pándi, and Gustafsson also toured together and released the live LP Live in Tabačka 13/04/12.
Merzbow also released several collaborations with industrial/noise musicians he had known since the 1980s: Spiral Right / Spiral Left with Z'EV, The Black Album with John Duncan, and a trio of releases with Maurizio Bianchi, Amniocentesi / Envoise 30 05 82 (a split with two tracks from 1982), Merzbow Meets M.B., and Amalgamelody.[42] Gensho, the seventh collaborative releases with Boris, was released in 2016. It is a double album, one disc is by Boris and one by Merzbow, that are meant to be played at the same time.
Beginning in April 2018, the Japanese label Slowdown Records began releasing a series of archival recordings spanning Merzbow's career on a semimonthly basis, starting with Hyper Music 1 Vol. 1 and 23 November 1979 (B). Groups of six releases were later compiled in 6 CD box sets. These boxes were themselves later compiled in larger boxes: 10×6=60 in 2021[43] and 35 CD Box in 2022.[44] Slowdown has also released several new recordings in addition to the archival releases. By the end of 2022, Slowdown has released 96 archival CDs and 116 CDs total.
Musical style
[edit]Merzbow's sounds employ the use of distortion, feedback, and noises from synthesizers, machinery, and home-made noisemakers. While much of Merzbow's output is intensely harsh in character, Akita does occasionally make forays into ambient music, as in Merzbient. Vocals are employed sometimes, but never in a lyrical sense. Contrary to most harsh noise music, Akita also occasionally uses elements of melody and rhythm.[45]
Akita's early work consisted of industrial noise music made from tape loops and conventional instruments. Similar to his present albums, he produced lengthy, disorienting pieces. He also became famous for the sheer volume of his releases.[22]
During the 1990s Akita's work became much harsher and was generally mastered at a louder volume than usual. These were heavily influenced by death metal and grindcore bands of the time (a prime example is Venereology).[25] The mid-1990s saw Akita being heavily influenced by psychedelic bands and this was reflected in various albums.
Side projects
[edit]In addition to Merzbow, Masami Akita has been involved in a number of side projects and groups.
Aliases
[edit]- Abtechtonics (or variations of this) was used by Akita for his artwork on Merzbow releases and his books.[9]
- House Hunt Hussies is credited for a track on the Sexorama 1 compilation. ZSF Produkt is listed as the contact address.
- Lotus Club was used for the tape Le Sang et la Rose in 1983 because of the difference in musical style.[46]
- Pornoise was a mail art project Akita had in the 1980s where he made collages using discarded magazines – in particular pornographic magazines – taken from the trash. These were then sent along with his cassettes, the idea being that his art was like cheap mail order pornography. Pornoise/1kg was released as part of these activities.[9][10] Pornoise was credit as the artist for a track on the Sexorama 2 compilation and co-credited for artwork on Scissors for Cutting Merzbow.
- Right Brain Audile is co-credited on the two Music for Bondage Performance albums, as they're soundtracks he did for several S&M and faux-Seppuku films produced by Kinbiken/Right Brain. The abbreviation RBA appears in track titles on Merzbient, which features recordings from this era.
- SCUM was a project where Akita made new releases out of previous Merzbow sessions using cut-ups, effects, and mixing.[9] SCUM is an acronym, standing for something different on each release, including "Society for Cutting Up Merzbow" (a reference to the SCUM Manifesto), "Scissors for CUtting Merzbow", "Steel CUM", etc.
- Zecken was used for two solo synthesizer performances in 1996.[22][47]
Groups
[edit]- Bustmonster was a "conceptual death metal" group (because they couldn't play death metal)[48] with Tetsuo Sakaibara, Fumio Kosakai, Masahiko Ohno, Shohei Iwasaki, Maso Yamazaki and Zev Asher.
- Flying Testicle was a trio with Yamazaki and Asher.
- Merzbow Null was a collaboration between the groups of Merzbow and Null. In addition to Masami Akita and Kazuyuki Kishino, it featured several other members of both groups such as Reiko Azuma, Asami Hayashi, Kiyoshi Mizutani, Yushi Okano, Ikuo Taketani, etc. They did many improv performances during 1983–84 and released over a dozen cassettes.[49]
- Tibeta Ubik was a duo of Akita and Kishino active at the same time as Merzbow Null.[22][49]
- True Romance was a performance art project in the early 1990s with Tetsuo Sakaibara (who became a live member of Merzbow) and Toshiyuki Seido. The performances included fetish equipment, simulated gore (including autopsy), mechanical devices, nude models, etc. It was inspired by Viennese Actionism. Masami Akita was a performer in addition to composing the backing music.[48]
Other groups include: 3RENSA with Duenn and Koji Nakamura, Abe Sada with S.M.U.T., Commando Bruno Sanmartino with Fumio Kosakai and Masaya Nakahara,[50][51] Kikuri with Keiji Haino, Maldoror with Mike Patton,[52] MAZK with Zbigniew Karkowski, Melting Lips with Hanayo,[53] Muscats with Hanayo and Masaya Nakahara, Metalik Zeit with Aube,[54] Merz-Banana with Melt-Banana,[55][56] Satanstornade with Russell Haswell (they later released an album entitled Satanstornade under their real names), Secrets with Tetsuya Mugishima (aka Seven),[57] and Shalon Kelly King with Fumio Kosakai.[58]
Discography
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]After completing his degree, Akita became a freelance writer and editor for various magazines in Japan. He frequently wrote on a variety of topics such as sexuality (including pornography, S&M, and Japanese bondage), underground and extreme culture (including music and art), architecture, and animal rights. None have been published in English.
Year | Japanese title | English title | Publisher | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | 倒錯のアナグラム 周縁的ポルノグラフィーの劇場 Tōsaku no anaguramu: Shūenteki porunogurafī no gekijō |
The Anagram of Perversion | Seikyūsha | ISBN 4-7872-1005-X |
1989 | 異形のマニエリスム 「邪」の民俗 Ikei no manierisumu: "Ja" no minzoku |
ISBN 978-4-7872-3022-5 | ||
1990 | フェティッシュ・ファッション 変貌するエロスと快楽身体 Fetisshu fasshon: Henbō suru eros to kairaku shintai |
Fetish Fashion | ISBN 4-7872-1010-6 | |
1991 | セックス・シンボルの誕生 Sekkusu shinboru no tanjō |
The Power of Goddess of Love | ISBN 978-4-7872-1011-1 | |
1992 | ノイズ・ウォー ノイズ・ミュージックとその展開 Noizu wō: Noizu myūjikku to sono tenkai |
Noise War: Noise 10 Years | ISBN 4-7872-7035-4 | |
1993 | 快楽身体の未来形 Kairaku shintai no miraikei |
Terminal Body Play | ISBN 4-7872-1018-1 | |
ボディ・エキゾチカ Bodi ekizochika |
Body Exotica: Sexual Atrocity | ISBN 4-89176-288-8 | ||
1994 | スカム・カルチャー Sukamu Karuchā |
Scum Culture | Suiseisha | ISBN 4-89176-303-5 |
性の猟奇モダン 日本変態研究往来 Sei no ryōki modan: Nihon hentai kenkyū ōrai |
Modern Sexuality Bizarre | Seikyūsha | ISBN 4-7872-3087-5 | |
1995 | 裸体の帝国 (ヌード・ワールド Vol.1 ヌーディズムの歴史 1) Ratai no teikoku (Nūdo wārudo vol. 1: nūdizumu no rekishi 1) |
Nude Empire | Suiseisha | ISBN 4-89176-312-4 |
1996 | 日本緊縛写真史 Nihon kinbaku shashinshi |
Jiyu Kokuminsha | ISBN 4-426-73800-8 | |
1997 | アナル・バロック Anaru Barokku |
Anal Baroque | Seikyūsha | ISBN 4-7872-3134-0 |
1998 | ヴィンテージ・エロチカ Vintēji erochika |
ISBN 4-7872-3149-9 | ||
1999 | 女陰考 性学古典より Nyoinkō: Seigaku koten yori |
Think Vagina | Outou Shobou | ISBN 4-7567-1131-6 |
ストレンジ・ヌード・カルト 不思議の裸体天国 (ヌード・ワールド Vol.2) Sutorenji nūdo karuto: Fushigi no ratai tengoku (Nūdo wārudo vol. 2) |
Strange Nude Cult | Suiseisha | ISBN 4-89176-313-2 | |
2000 | ラブ・ポジション Rabu pojishon |
Love Position | Outou Shobou | ISBN 4-7567-1141-3 |
2005 | わたしの菜食生活 Watashi no saishoku seikatsu |
Cruelty Free Life | Ohta Publishing | ISBN 4-87233-979-7 |
Note: English title refers to English writing on the cover, sometimes it's a translation of the Japanese title, or a completely different phrase.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Merzbow". Extreme Music. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
- ^ "On the Floor – Merzbow at Red Bull Music Festival Chicago". Red Bull Radio. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
- ^ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-646-38326-2.
- ^ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-646-38326-2.
- ^ Batty, Roger. "Animal instincts". Musique Machine. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
- ^ "Fifteen Questions with MERZBOW | Lost and found". 15questions.net. 2013. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2014-06-25. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
- ^ a b Couture, François. "Biography". Allmusic Guide. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ a b c d e English, Lawrence (June 2019). Noise Mass (booklet). Australia: Room40. p. 11. RM4108.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-646-38326-2.
- ^ a b Hensley, Chad. "The Beauty of Noise". EsoTerra. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
- ^ a b "Merzbow about Improvisation". Fifteen Questions. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. pp. 84–85. ISBN 978-0-646-38326-2.
- ^ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-646-38326-2.
- ^ Akita, Masami. Collection 001-010 (liner notes) (in Japanese). Merzbow. Milan, Italy: Urashima. USHI 016.
- ^ a b Pouncey, Edwin (August 2000). "Consumed by Noise". The Wire. No. 198.
- ^ Yorosz (2019). Environmental Percussion Vol. 1 (liner notes) (in Japanese). Merzbow. Japan: Slowdown Records. SDRSW 54. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ Brennan, Gerald. "Merzbow Biography". Enotes. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- ^ "Merzbow – Age of 369/Chant 2". Extreme Records. Archived from the original on March 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-646-38326-2.
- ^ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-646-38326-2.
- ^ a b c Volohov, Danil (18 October 2018). "Interview with Masami Akita (Merzbow)". Peek-a-boo Magazine. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. ISBN 978-0-646-38326-2.
- ^ Pozo, Carlos. "Expanded Noisehands – The Noise Music of Merzbow". Angbase. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ a b Dixon Christie (January 1997). "MERZBOW'S Discipline, Decibels, and Diety Japan's Minister of Sonic Terror Turns On The Feedback". Digi-zine Online Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 1, 1998. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Corridor Of Cells - Interview - Merzbow". Corridor of Cells. 1997. Archived from the original on November 30, 1999. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ Hegarty, Paul (2007). Noise/Music – A History. London, New York: Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-8264-1727-5.
- ^ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. vi. ISBN 978-0-646-38326-2.
- ^ "Masami 'Merzbow' Akita's "Lost Paradise"". J-Sploitation. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Beyond Ultra Violence: Uneasy Listening by Merzbow (1998)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Ilppo Pohjola: Asphalto". pHinnWeb. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Ilppo Pohjola: Routemaster". pHinnWeb. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Masami Akita". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ Masami Akita's vegan origins, taken from interview released in January, 2011 Archived 2011-06-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Anderson, Rick. "Merzbird". Allmusic Guide. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ Akita, Masami. "imprec097 Merzbow, Minazo Volume One". Important Records. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
- ^ "Merzbow – Bloody Sea". Vivo Records. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ "Merzbow: Animal Magnetism". Alien8 Recordings. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
- ^ Tausig, Ben. "Noise with a Beat". Dusted Magazine. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ "Merzbeat – Review". Couture, François. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
- ^ "Merzbeat". Howard, Ed. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
- ^ a b Pozniak, Alex (May 6, 2012). "Merzbow". Ears Have Ears. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
- ^ Burnett, Joseph. "Razor Blades In The Dark: An Interview With Merzbow". The Quietus. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- ^ "Merzbow – 10x6=60CD Box Set". Soundohm. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
- ^ "Merzbow – 35 CD Box". Soundohm. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ "Merzbow/Fennesz/Antenna Farm Interview". Archived from the original on 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
- ^ デンシノオト (2018-09-21). Le Sang Et La Rose (insert) (in Japanese). Merzbow. Slowdown Records. SDRSW-39.
- ^ "Memorial page of Shohei Iwasaki". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
- ^ a b Trevor Brown. "Trevor Brown interviews Masami Akita". Archived from the original on 1997-06-25. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
- ^ a b Wehowsky, Ralf (1987). "Masami Akita aka Merzbow: Eine Cassettographie". Bad Alchemy. Vol. 7. pp. 45–46.
- ^ "I've posted this before, but I have some great new..." NOISE. September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ^ "[none]". Ongaku Otaku. No. 1. Automatism Press. 1995. p. 51. ISSN 1081-1761.
- ^ She - Maldoror | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2021-01-20
- ^ "Salon Tetra events". Retrieved 2010-09-15.
- ^ "[音楽][公演]AUBE: 中嶋昭文トリビュート For The Heart Of G.R.O.S.S.(ベアーズ)". かけらを集める(仮)。 (in Japanese). September 23, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
- ^ Burgess, Aaron. "Melt-Banana interview". Retrieved 2010-09-15.
- ^ Sudoh, Toshiaki. "Past shows 1995". Retrieved 2010-09-15.
- ^ 「日本絶滅動物記」其の18~「独り遊びの思想」開催告知!!(終了). Mr.エレクトの独り言 (in Japanese). July 26, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
- ^ "Jungle club scene, Jan-1998". Retrieved 2010-09-15.
Further reading
[edit]- Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Extreme Records. ISBN 978-0646383262.
- Hegarty, Paul (2007). Noise/Music: A History. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0826417268.
- Bailey, Thomas Bey William (2009). Micro Bionic: Radical Electronic Music and Sound Art in the 21st Century. Creation Books. ISBN 978-1840681536. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
- Edwards, James Rhys (2011). "Silence by my noise: An ecocritical aesthetic of noise in Japanese traditional sound culture and the sound art of Akita Masami". Green Letters. Vol. 15. pp. 89–102. doi:10.1080/14688417.2011.10589093.
- Novak, David (2013). Japanoise: Music at the Edge of Circulation. Duke University Press Books. ISBN 978-0822353928.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Merzbow discography at Discogs
- Merzbow discography at MusicBrainz
- Merzbow on Facebook
- Merzbow on X
- Japanese electronic music groups
- Japanese experimental musical groups
- Japanese noise rock groups
- Japanese industrial music groups
- Musical groups established in 1979
- Musical groups from Tokyo
- Japanese noise musical groups
- Alien8 Recordings artists
- Drag City (record label) artists
- Important Records artists
- Relapse Records artists
- Tzadik Records artists
- Third Mind Records artists
- Cuneiform Records artists
- RareNoiseRecords artists
- Smalltown Supersound artists
- Soleilmoon artists
- Straight edge groups