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Post by andypandy380 on Jan 6, 2014 12:40:36 GMT -5
Just wanted to start a thing to bring in the new year. Last year felt a bit slow for new Merzbow releases, but in the end, I think (almost) everything that was confirmed eventually got released. - Cuts - Takahe Collage - Partikel III - Grand Owl Habitat - Samidara - No Closure - Amniocentesi / Envoise 30 05 82 - Merzbow Meets M.B. - Fragment B / 28th Flux - Tamayodo - Cat's Squirrel - Kookaburra I didn't get to hear everything on that list, the biggest surprise for me might even be that Scott Miller/Lee Camfield/Merzbow thing - No Closure. Cuts was okay too. Which brings us to 2014. Could there be a few surprises on the way? It sort of feels like a fresh start, there's a bit of stuff in the pipeline, but nothing set in stone just yet... - Pulse Vegan 7" - is available to stream on Soundcloud, but confirmed to be released by Elevator Bath at some point TBC - Cold Spring are apparently planning a set compiling the three 'Partikel' albums on coloured vinyl. - Calling The Rain 7" - Very weird situation, was announced ages ago, along with the finished artwork. I'm not even convinced it has been recorded at all... but who knows. - The Merzgrind thing caused a lot of hype, but no solid news about a release just yet. Merzgrind has signed to Relapse records, so there's a possibility of a release this year, but it's all very much in the dark. - There was talk about a DVD of the Merzbow/Pandi/Gustafsson trio performing with Atilla Csihar, with a (possible) release towards the end of 2014 courtesy of Rarenoise. There were a handful of other projects, work in progress, mentioned in interviews. - A 3-way split (produced in Norway)? - A 3CD Boxset (produced in Hong Kong)? Of course a whole lot of this is speculation, nothing to say it will definitely see the light of day, thinking back a few years there was talk about albums that got changed or cancelled altogether... I think that's about it... (don't know if I've missed anything out?) Personally, I have my fingers crossed for some more solo CD albums this year. And that Pulse Vegan 7" has wet my appetite for some more singles. What were everybody's favourites from last year? And do you have a 'Merzbow wishlist' for 2014? Happy New Year
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Post by neokorosu on Jan 9, 2014 18:12:31 GMT -5
Thanks for the flashback, andypandy380. Well, I am also hoping that this year will have more standard CD releases. Solo, new material and CD as medium, that are my wishes for 2014. Beside new music releases, I'm hoping for another good interview. With thoughtful questions, like the one from witchdoctor. A video-interview where Akita himself is speaking would be so great. And a concert in my town or at least in my country would be also nice. Let's see what the new year will bring... I wish you all a happy new year!
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Post by acsenger on Jan 9, 2014 20:39:43 GMT -5
Happy new year to everyone! Having only heard 2 releases from 2013 ( Samidara and Tamayodo, and Samidara wasn't even recorded in 2013), I can't say I had a favourite/favourites. Regarding a "wishlist" for 2014, I'm too much of an opportunistic record collector to have such a thing: I rarely seek out releases actively; if something comes my way, as it were, through Soundohm (a distributor I regularly order from) or I see something by chance selling for a good price (like the MAZK CD I just ordered from Indiemerch), then I buy it, but I don't really wish for particular releases. Especially with Merzbow by whom I already have so many releases that I still haven't listened to a good number of them properly. Given the little time I have for listening to music and my fairly large music collection, I simply don't think about what kind of releases I'd like to see in the future. Of course, if (as an example) I see that future 3CD set on a Hong Kong label for a good price, I'll probably order it. After all, I do very much get excited by new releases . Like Neokorosu, I also appreciate good interviews, although truth be told, there are few good ones with Merzbow. I'm sure this is mostly due to the language barrier. I also wish at least one of his books were translated into English, although this is most likely not going to happen (not the least because with the exception of his vegan-themed book, all of them are fairly old now: the one I'd like to read the most, Noise War, was published over 20 years ago). A good documentary would also be awesome but again, after Beyond Ultra Violence (what a wasted opportunity that was), what are the chances someone will make another film about a musician in such an obscure genre as noise? Anyway, here's hoping this year will be full of surprises in terms of Merzbow!
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Post by neokorosu on Jan 10, 2014 12:31:34 GMT -5
I've tried to read all interviews which I could find. And there are still too many open questions. For me, there can't be enough of them I have no problems with understanding the interviews, they were not written very difficult. The best source for information would be indeed one of his books. But the only book which is about music, is Noise war? Is this book only about his own work or the noise genre in general? I wonder, if I would even read "Cruelty free live" when it would be translated. It depends on the context between the the two subjects of music and veganism. When the book is only about his vegan lifestyle, I wouldn't be motivated enough to read it.
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Post by Bucketfel on Jan 11, 2014 2:01:27 GMT -5
I would love to own some of his books in English, but i highly doubt it will happen.
However, it was a very quiet year on the Merzbow camp this 2013. Mostly tour dates, not so much album releases. At least not as much as 2012 with the million boxsets being released. I hope we see more material being released this year, specially Rare Noise's project of the DVD which had me very exited,
But aside from that, what i really like is the sporadic release. The one that appears out of nowhere and impresses people.
Also, i think ill try to be on the look out for the label Urashima. If history is any guide, we should expect another reissue from the 80's catalog which we know very little of. And this should be in February. If you remember "Kibbutz" was reissued on February 2012 and "Collection 009" was reissued on February 2013. Both sold out.
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Post by acsenger on Jan 12, 2014 11:09:58 GMT -5
I think Noise War is the only one that deals exclusively with music. Scum Culture has several chapters about music (I think they're about Throbbing Gristle and SPK). Noise War is about the history of noise. It generally covers the period from the late seventies until about 1992 (when it was published). I'm not sure how frequently Merzbow is mentioned, but there's only one of his records in the record list and among the pictures.
Somewhere I read that music is covered in the book. Two examples I remember are The New Blockaders (who, if memory serves me right, influenced Akita to become vegan) and a compilation LP from the 80s, Devastate to Liberate which, according to Discogs, was a "benefit album for the Animal Liberation Front".
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Post by andypandy380 on Mar 2, 2014 13:46:57 GMT -5
First announcement of 2014... other than a vinyl re-issue of Sun Baked Snow cave and a few other rumours of new releases on the grapevine. Elevator Bath just put some info about the Pulse Vegan 7" on Facebook with a link to the Discogs page. www.discogs.com/Merzbow-Pulse-Vegan/release/5454719I also got this reply: "Hi Andrew. Thanks for the interest! I'll have more details soon. This record was conceived as a kind of fundraiser, so the price will be relatively high. It's a beautiful item though! Stay tuned...." I'm not sure how I feel about that... limited to 26 copies? I suppose it does make sense that the whole thing was uploaded to Soundcloud if the physical copies were intended as a fundraiser from the start. I still very much have my fingers crossed for a nice string of CD digipaks this year, rather than every new release being like this (like we discussed on here before) But farbeit from me to judge what happens behind the scenes, cos I've really no idea how it all works.
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Post by Riffwraith on Mar 2, 2014 15:45:30 GMT -5
First announcement of 2014... other than a vinyl re-issue of Sun Baked Snow cave and a few other rumours of new releases on the grapevine. Elevator Bath just put some info about the Pulse Vegan 7" on Facebook with a link to the Discogs page. www.discogs.com/Merzbow-Pulse-Vegan/release/5454719I also got this reply: "Hi Andrew. Thanks for the interest! I'll have more details soon. This record was conceived as a kind of fundraiser, so the price will be relatively high. It's a beautiful item though! Stay tuned...." I'm not sure how I feel about that... limited to 26 copies? I suppose it does make sense that the whole thing was uploaded to Soundcloud if the physical copies were intended as a fundraiser from the start. I still very much have my fingers crossed for a nice string of CD digipaks this year, rather than every new release being like this (like we discussed on here before) But farbeit from me to judge what happens behind the scenes, cos I've really no idea how it all works. That wooden box is a pretty sweet house for it, if a little excessive just for one 7". I was thinking about getting that box for Ko To No, good thing i didn't if wooden cases are going to be a continuing trend, we might end up with hundreds! 4 minutes a track sounds like a nice length
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Post by andypandy380 on Mar 2, 2014 16:53:37 GMT -5
Almost everything about it seems odd. A clear, square 7" record in a wooden box, and there's only 26 of them. I'll keep an eye open for more updates... but I suspect when they say it won't be cheap, it's more like 'It's gonna be ludicrously expensive'... but we shall see. Riffwraith: Have you heard it on the Bandcamp page? The music itself is really good! which is the main thing I suppose
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Post by acsenger on Mar 2, 2014 19:33:16 GMT -5
I also expect this to be rather expensive (and it will be made even more expensive by the shipping cost which is already high for a standard 7" from the US). I'll probably never understand the logic behind microeditions, even if a release is meant to be a fundraiser or whatever... What is also concerning though is that this is apparently gonna be a lathe cut. I could be wrong but I think I've read lathe cuts gradually deteriorate over a number of listens (and it's a very low number too, like 20-30 or so) so the sound quality gets worse with each listen (never being as good as proper vinyl to start with) until total unplayability. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me. I personally also don't get why in 2014 the digital download format is mp3 and not WAV or FLAC which sound better.
EDIT: I did a search on Google and based on the FAQ of two lathe cut record manufacturers and some other websites, these records should be as durable as pressed vinyl records. However, their sound quality is definitely worse than vinyl's.
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Post by andypandy380 on Mar 3, 2014 4:58:31 GMT -5
Yeah, that's a good point actually. Shipping won't be cheap. I think it's very strange when an artist releases such small quantities. If you look through Prurient's discography for example, there are countless cassettes and things limited to 20, limited to 40. I don't understand the motivation behind it really. I've never really heard about lathe cuts before, so can't really say a lot regarding that. I don't like the way there is so much speculation and arguing about sound quality by the listeners of vinyl, a friend told me picture discs don't sound nearly as good? People say that 180g LPs sound much better than standard ones, while others say it makes no difference because the grooves are cut in exactly the same way... I've no idea, none of my vinyl sounds great cos I have a cheap crap budget turntable from the 70s
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Post by Riffwraith on Mar 3, 2014 8:30:30 GMT -5
Just gave it a listen, really liked it !! From what i know of him it reminds of Hybrid Noisebloom, mostly for the pulsating.. ness. It says only 20 out of the 26 are being made public as well haha
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Post by acsenger on Mar 3, 2014 20:09:01 GMT -5
Andypandy380, I try not to be snobbish about vinyl (or tapes, or CDs) and I don't know what the difference in sound is between a picture disc and a normal or coloured record (other than having read black sounds best of all -- but whether this is a widely accepted opinion I don't know!). I think one would have to have a pretty decent hi-fi to hear the possible differences, plus there's everyone's subjective hearing and other variables. However, the difference soundwise between a properly pressed record and a lathe cut record is apparently pretty big, noticeable to everyone. Yeah, Prurient has heaps of tapes in ridiculously low editions, along with other artists' tapes on his Hospital label. I don't get the point either. I mean you might as well not release anything then, just make a copy for yourself.
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Post by andypandy380 on Mar 5, 2014 5:18:52 GMT -5
More announcements about the Pulse Vegan 7"... Seems it was never really Merzbow's project to start with and is part of a campaign to launch a guys new vegan sandwich bar... I just wish we had known that from the start. The music itself is great so had my hopes up about owning a copy... But in short... you donate $200 to the sandwich bar, you get one of the records. :/
"The new Merzbow 7" on Elevator Bath will be available at the following link starting at 8:00 PM tonight (US Central Standard time):
It is not technically being offered for sale, it is instead being offered as a gift incentive for a pledge of $200.00 to my Kickstarter campaign. All pertinent information can be found at the above link. Only 28 copies of this record exist and only 20 of those are being offered to the public. The record will only be available through Kickstarter and will not be sold elsewhere (so please don't ask). If the link above happens to not work, please just go to Kickstarter.com and search for "pulse vegan.""
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Post by neokorosu on Mar 6, 2014 15:45:14 GMT -5
Supporting a vegan sandwich bar with a extremly overpriced 7"... This must be a joke.
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Post by andypandy380 on Mar 7, 2014 8:17:40 GMT -5
This is a little more like good news!
"news about the trio recordings with Mats Gustafsson and Merzbow: we enter a studio to record the follow up to Cuts in april. this time we will have a very special guest with us on board who we will reveal later on. meanwhile dont forget to pick up your copy at RareNoiseRecords of Cuts! also if you can make it, we play our first show in 2 years, and most likely the only in 2014 in London on the 14th of April on a double-bill with Tim Hecker at the Oval Space in London."
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Post by andypandy380 on Mar 13, 2014 13:50:03 GMT -5
Anyone given the new tracks on Soundcloud a listen? Both are on an upcoming Merzbow album 'Nezumimochi' to be released by Cold Spring. This is some even better good news I like what I hear, almost reminds me of Merzbear, Coma Berenices... those kind of albums
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Post by acsenger on Mar 20, 2014 23:04:06 GMT -5
I finally listened to the new tracks on Soundcloud. Rat is quite catchy, but after a while they both became a bit too monotonous for me.
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zedd
Newbie
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Post by zedd on Apr 13, 2014 6:36:49 GMT -5
Cold Spring have a Vinyl & cd set out later in the year.
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Post by andypandy380 on Apr 13, 2014 11:14:41 GMT -5
They do, 'Nezumimochi', a few tracks from which are on Soundcloud. Apparently it's a picture disc and CD set, at first I assumed that meant the same album available on two formats, but I think this is an LP and CD as part of the same thing (due to a single catalogue number). I wonder whether it's different music on each or the same. Multi-format sets like this seem a bit of a funny idea to me.
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Post by andypandy380 on Apr 22, 2014 6:41:01 GMT -5
Found the cover art on Facebook for the upcoming Merzbow album 'Nezumimochi' Hasn't been given a release date by Cold Spring just yet, but I don't think it's too far away
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Post by neokorosu on Apr 22, 2014 10:52:22 GMT -5
Now that is a beautiful artwork!
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Post by venereologist on Apr 22, 2014 22:32:40 GMT -5
Now that is a beautiful artwork! Yes, the artwork is very pretty and very cool. I haven't checked the samples on soundcloud yet, though. Anyone know the artist?
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Post by andypandy380 on Apr 23, 2014 13:17:41 GMT -5
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Post by Bucketfel on Apr 24, 2014 21:48:44 GMT -5
I was just looking for that cover.
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Post by acsenger on Jul 18, 2014 8:42:32 GMT -5
A month or so ago I tried looking for the label's website that was supposed to release the Calling the Rain 7", but couldn't find it. Somewhere (maybe on Discogs) I found an email address for them, so I sent them an email asking when this 7" would be out. I haven't received a reply. It looks like that label doesn't exist any more. I wonder if the 7" will be released by someone else.
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Post by andypandy380 on Jul 18, 2014 11:23:44 GMT -5
Regarding 'Calling The Rain', I recall seeing somewhere that the 7" was no longer happening but the music would appear on an album TBC from Noisoke Records, I've been following them on Facebook, but no word from them about Merzbow so far. That could all be gossip though...
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Post by qweasd on Jul 24, 2014 6:06:57 GMT -5
What a quiet year... Well, in general things have certainly slowed down since 13 Japanese Birds and grinding to a halt almost in terms of solo Merzbow full lengths. Shame that... Tamayodo is pretty fantastic though.
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Post by neokorosu on Aug 18, 2014 15:36:55 GMT -5
News about the upcoming Full of Hell & Merzbow album! I have a good feeling with this one. Attachments:
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 21, 2014 4:38:50 GMT -5
There's a new CD/Boxset to be released next month via Essence-music, the same guys who put out Camouflage and Sha Mo 3000. That's kind of all the details there are at the moment, but that's good news for now! I thought Nezumimochi may have been out by now, but no such luck, still looking forward to that. The collaboration with Full Of Hell is causing a bit of a stir, I really ought to check those guys out as I've no idea what they're like.
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