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Post by japanesebird on Dec 18, 2012 20:44:51 GMT -5
in the year 2006 masami akita became the merzbuddha. every single thing about that release is complete perfection. i am proud to say i own that cd. from the music to the front and back and inside cover art it is all perfection. i cannot believe it even exists. someone heard it and said it sounded like a modem. i think it is merzbow programming his beloved listeners into enlightenment via his expert brainwave entrainment tones and mind melting abstract insectoid soundscapes. i like to imagine the buddha on vulture peak after a 7 hour meditation requesting that someone put merzbuddha on the big speakers on the side of the mountain and they'd all sit there like buddha frogs eyes closed meditating to the music.
it's one of his most unusual releases, would you not agree? i cannot think of another except perhaps merzbuta which is similar. the persistent bass is its most distinctive quality initially. it anchors the brainwaves into the flow. the abstract insectoid noise frees the mind of its usual sense of space-time. 'right brain audible'. merzbow is hypnagogique music. i love to put on a merzbow album and know i can be immersed in it for at least 40 minutes, saturated with merzbience.
i think the titles of his releases have more significance than he lets on in his old interviews. merzbuddha is definitely not an arbitrary name, for the artwork reflects it and one could argue that the music does likewise. kamadhenu - i knew the name meant something about cows and knew of his 'meat is murder' stance, so i interpreted the music initially as the sounds of slaughter of cows. it was horrific to hear and believe it or not, by painting a vivid grotesque scene of immense suffering in my mind, hearing it helped solidify my views regarding 'meat'. although these days i hear kamadhenu as a 12/21/12 kind of music, the sound of aliens up to something. surabhi is like that, like an alien lobotomy. that particular noise on track three is like their main part of the brain surgery. merzbient and merzphysics and merzphosis are all tied together and are released in this cosmic year of 2012.
it is my dearest hope that masami akita lives to extreme old age in good health and produces masterpieces even in his 80s, 90s, 100s, 110s, etc. can you imagine how incredible it would be to hear a merzbow album when he is 112 years old? he is 56 or so these days and releasing albums that blow my mind with their brilliance. katowice is the best live album i have. surabhi is so good i can barely speak about it. when i consider how many amazing albums he has put out i am stunned. people unfamiliar with the albums might assume they are all alike. nothing could be further from the truth, when i think of an album title i think of all its distinctive unique qualities. they all fit a certain mood. for example, tempi is a great lighter mood album, relaxing with some merzjazz, while surabhi or spiral honey are intensive listening, serious moods, surabhi is mystical in places. hodosan is extremely intense listening with a very bright silvery sound both in the noise and drums, yet it does not have a sinister feel. it is more reminiscent of red bird of summer part II though less red psychedelic.
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Post by japanesebird on Dec 18, 2012 20:50:07 GMT -5
also, i feel compelled to find a way to live forever due to my intense attachment to merzbow music and inability to come to terms with the thought of parting with it - forever.
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Post by ashessehsa on Dec 19, 2012 2:20:07 GMT -5
I like your descriptions for his work. Merzbuddha is definitely one of my favorites from him, and I agree, it stands out. I personally don't see the connection between Merzbuddha and Merzbuta. It's one that's especially different from the rest of his work, I can't think of another album that is like it. Still, there are some similar moments (if not in sound, in feel) on Merzzow, Inside Looking Out in particular. I think you could maybe compare it to Frog as well. Still, not much of his other works combine the spacious ambient feel with the dubby bass loops like this one does.
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Post by trollh on Dec 19, 2012 6:37:27 GMT -5
Btw has anybody Merzbuddha Variations tape?
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Post by andypandy380 on Dec 19, 2012 10:35:29 GMT -5
I do own a copy of Merzbuddha, but I'll have to admit it's not really one I gave a great deal of TLC. upon the first few listens it did really just seem to drag... but I'm giving it another shot as I type this. I do like that fat 'bassline', actually some of my faves of his are definitely built around that kind of idea. I'm not entirely sure we're all on the same page as regards to 'analyzing' Merzbow's music... but I guess that's a good thing, everyone seems to have their own interpretations of it, I do share a similar idea with you about getting images/a story in my head when I listen to an album. When I hear Marmo I think of an abandoned old ship yard with a pinball table in it... which I guess sounds kinda odd. when you refer to tempi, is that as in the tempi/metatabi double 7" ? if i had to pick a least favourite Merzbow release that I own, I'm almost certain it's that one lol
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Post by ashessehsa on Dec 19, 2012 16:08:38 GMT -5
I'd love to hear the Merzbuddha variations tape, but I don't have it and haven't found it anywhere online.
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Post by japanesebird on Dec 19, 2012 19:53:44 GMT -5
I like your descriptions for his work. Merzbuddha is definitely one of my favorites from him, and I agree, it stands out. I personally don't see the connection between Merzbuddha and Merzbuta. It's one that's especially different from the rest of his work, I can't think of another album that is like it. Still, there are some similar moments (if not in sound, in feel) on Merzzow, Inside Looking Out in particular. I think you could maybe compare it to Frog as well. Still, not much of his other works combine the spacious ambient feel with the dubby bass loops like this one does. i think of merzbuta as like the 'traveling companion' of merzbuddha. the latter is for the intensive meditation seshes, the former is for wandering, movement, journeying. this is just my way of appreciating his releases i suppose, so i don't want to impose it on anyone else. that said, i see merzbuddha and anicca as his most buddhistic albums in concept and music. merzbuddha, the brainwave entrainment kind of effect of the bass gives me the image of someone intensely meditating, very focused. anicca, which is a primary concept in buddhist philosophy, meaning impermanence, as an album perfectly embodies such meaning and by the third track it is a whirling, psychedelic, 'sound picture' of anicca, this is the sound of impermanence. I do own a copy of Merzbuddha, but I'll have to admit it's not really one I gave a great deal of TLC. upon the first few listens it did really just seem to drag... but I'm giving it another shot as I type this. I do like that fat 'bassline', actually some of my faves of his are definitely built around that kind of idea. I'm not entirely sure we're all on the same page as regards to 'analyzing' Merzbow's music... but I guess that's a good thing, everyone seems to have their own interpretations of it, I do share a similar idea with you about getting images/a story in my head when I listen to an album. When I hear Marmo I think of an abandoned old ship yard with a pinball table in it... which I guess sounds kinda odd. when you refer to tempi, is that as in the tempi/metatabi double 7" ? if i had to pick a least favourite Merzbow release that I own, I'm almost certain it's that one lol yes, that tempi/matatabi release. admittedly when i first heard it it had a small impact, but now i see it in its context as a "less serious" merzbow album, masami akita having, dare i say it, fun and i find it very enjoyable as a kind of interlude album or intro album to a lengthy merz listening session. i'm not always up for an instant blast into space like with spiral honey or surabhi, or instant blast into methamphetamine noise rock like hodosan, so tempi/matatabi really has its place. plus, i enjoy the texture of the sound on the vinyl rip. i have enjoyed all the merzbow vinyl rips i've had the pleasure of hearing, and may even prefer it over cd. difficult to determine - for example, minazo vol 1 on vinyl is such a great release, very eliane radigue, very insectoid or aquatic or alien, impersonal and inhuman. the vinyl rip i have of it has the characteristic vinyl space sound and it is very complimentary to such a "quiet" merzbow release like vol 1. however minazo vol 2 has such juicy sounds as a cd release that when played at loud volume are intensely engaging. i love marmo also, even though it's mastered very loudly. that album is brother to camoflauge in my grouping of the releases. camoflauge makes me feel like a chameleon blurring and blending colors everywhere i move. and i am also very interested in hearing the merzbuddha variations.
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Post by andypandy380 on Dec 20, 2012 5:11:42 GMT -5
Other way round, Minazo vol 1 is on CD, Vol 2 is on Vinyl. theyre both incredibly bleak and inhuman in my opinion, very harsh. I've never really seen the difference between CD and Vinyl first hand, In terms of sound quality 'vinyl warmth' and all that nonsense. obviously I own merzbow releases on both formats, but I've never considered myself an audiophile or anything like that, its just a collectable thing. The Minazo vol 2 package is absolutely lush, very much worth having.
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Post by japanesebird on Dec 20, 2012 11:12:58 GMT -5
Other way round, Minazo vol 1 is on CD, Vol 2 is on Vinyl. theyre both incredibly bleak and inhuman in my opinion, very harsh. I've never really seen the difference between CD and Vinyl first hand, In terms of sound quality 'vinyl warmth' and all that nonsense. obviously I own merzbow releases on both formats, but I've never considered myself an audiophile or anything like that, its just a collectable thing. The Minazo vol 2 package is absolutely lush, very much worth having. you mean the albums are bleak and inhuman? i love when masami akita goes full alien. reveal your true form, akita. i'm onto you. part of what really fascinated me about merzbow was his interest in creating an impersonal music, inhuman. in the context of his youth, it may be assumed that he was surrounded by the music the pop culture favored which was very human, grounded in normal level human emotions and such. born in 1956 he would've been saturated with beatles and 60s american pop music, and it seems that by his teen years he was into more alternative experimental styles. it is interesting that still at age 56 he continues with his characteristic sound. aging has not softened merzbow or made him more human on the normal level. if anything, he has been continually evolving higher and higher. 2006 merzbuddha confirmed this, and the peak releases since have proved it over and over. there are many other persons in their 50s who are still listening to the radio pop rock they grew up on. meanwhile their contemporary masami akita is making alien music ripe for the next cosmic age beginning tomorrow on 12/21/12. the vinyl minazo is pure ambient music to me. the other one is harsh, i will agree, but i think it is the one inspired by the death, so it is an appropriate noise emotion. that one is brother to dolphin sonar, which also has a feeling of discontent pulsing through it.
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Post by qweasd on Feb 10, 2013 3:11:37 GMT -5
Merzbuddha was 2005 btw (not 2006) japanesebird Merzbuddha can't win the most unusual Merzbow album unfortunately - that would have to go to Vibractance. I like track 1 of Merzbuddha very much, the standout for me. 2 is surprisingly mild for Merzbow. 1 and 3 are relatively mild but still have enough noisiness/distortion to feel like Merzbow. I was underwhelmed when it first came out due to the super repetitive nature of the bass loops. They still lag for me a bit musically speaking, yet there is still care in the way the other layers work around them which is typical of that GREAT (for me) era of 2005 (and let's say 2004 leading up to that). That was before he turned his back on the long reign of digital loops for a little while. In hindsight, it has a pleasant and unique quality to it, Merzbuddha that is. I found Kamadhenu to have a similar quality for me and I still find it interesting to compare the two in terms of different approach to structure. I don't see much association between it and Merzbuta either, I must confess. I think Minazo is a fantastic release, part 1, the CD, that is. I don't think 'harsh' is the right word for it, 'powerful' works better for me and for me it is an album that actually does seem to express dark emotional content relating to death and the poor treatment of animals. I find it a very beautiful album, gentle in parts, heavy, rather intense in the final track though still spacious enough (hence not really 'harsh Merzbow' for me). Some nice comments regarding Merzbow albums from you japanesebird I have chided you elsewhere on some perhaps far flung ideas, but I do enjoy hearing people's personal experiences of albums.
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