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Post by acsenger on May 12, 2013 23:29:29 GMT -5
Listened to Green Wheels last night, it was quite a blast. Not an outstanding album in my opinion, but still a very satisfying listen and I'm glad I have it. It comes with a 5" vinyl which I might actually like even more than the CD: it's subtler, with EMS playing a more emphasized role. It's very short, of course. Just curious if anyone has heard the 5"? I'm asking because I seem to recall reading some posts on the net over the years that certain people couldn't play it due to their turntable not being fully manual (and therefore it not playing 5" vinyl).
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Post by trollh on May 15, 2013 9:59:05 GMT -5
Its ripped
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Post by andypandy380 on Jul 31, 2013 17:01:19 GMT -5
Got a copy of this in the post today Gave the 5" a quick listen earlier, sounded OK, my turntable managed to behave itself, sometimes it refuses to play 5" records altogether. Wasn't sure if I was playing it at the right speed though, Its near impossible to tell. Giving the CD a blast now, quite impressed so far. Like you said, I think 'Satisfying' is a good way of putting it...it's noisy but not quite as harsh on the ears as I thought it might be. It has an altogether different vibe to a lot of the harsh noise releases of that era... sort of buzzy and choppy I suppose. The one thing that strikes me is how ENORMOUS the packaging is! I assumed it came in the same plastic box as Batzoutai With 'Material Gadgets'. Very cool though.
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Post by acsenger on Aug 3, 2013 15:25:20 GMT -5
The 5", I'm pretty sure, is meant to be played at 45 RPM . Hmm, I thought the CD was quite harsh... One thing that I wonder about in relation to this is, Are there any other Merzbow albums that sound as piercing as Pulse Demon? It's got a high pitched tone that I haven't heard on any other Merzbow. There are outtakes from the PD sessions on the Merzmorphosis box but even those don't sound like it (if the titles didn't say P.D. Variation or something, I wouldn't even associate them).
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Post by diablocountach5 on Aug 3, 2013 18:14:16 GMT -5
I just got a copy of this one, there was like 3 copies on ebay sold in a period of like 3 weeks that went pretty cheap, two even sold on the same day, one sold for $20, one for $15.50, and I got mine for $14, pretty sweet price. Love the packaging on it, but I took the cd out of the normal cd spindle and put the cd in a slimline jewel case since the spindle is a bit tight and I was worried it might crack the cd, the slimline case I put in the plastic sleeve on top of the booklet and vinyl which prevents the booklet and vinyl from sliding out also which they were doing before. I really like this one, one of his better works for sure. Haven't played the vinyl yet.
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 3, 2013 19:47:14 GMT -5
mine was one of the $20 dollar ones, worth it though. $14 was a steal didn't see any others for sale, I suppose they didn't appear for me if they didn't offer international shipping. I admit the more I listened to green wheels, it did begin to feel rather more harsh. I think there is enough variety within the sounds to keep an album like that feeling fresh and interesting. definitely enjoyed it. I found Akasha Gulva to be an incredibly difficult listen, but not as harsh sonically as pulse demon. I can't think of one that goes overboard on the harsh noise scale quite as much as PD. I just got a copy of Merzphysics, maybe that'll unveil a few bits and pieces.
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Post by qweasd on Aug 4, 2013 21:11:47 GMT -5
I'd argue that Venereology as an album is the pinnacle of harsh sounding Merzbow, more so than Pulse Demon. PD has moments of respite in it, which make it a contoured journey. Green Wheels isn't as harsh, and isn't as riveting as both of those albums. Akasha Gulva is long and dense, sonically not as punishing, it's live after all. Merzphysics in its entirety is really the most unrelenting Merzbow set around BUT sonically is nowhere near as 'harsh' - it came from tape recordings.
Other significant harsh moments in the output: Medamaya, esp track 3, is noteworthy and disc 2, track 2 of Turmeric for high pitched feedback sound. Mercurated packs a fair punch too, I've always thought, but not in a particularly 'harsh' manner.
Personally, I think the 'harsh' observation is ultimately not that interesting. Albums end up being mastered differently. They're all relatively harsh. 'Density' is more specifically related to the material present and how it is used throughout tracks/albums and therefore a more useful concept in relating to the information present.
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 5, 2013 3:36:00 GMT -5
A few fair points there. Venerology is the other album people seem to associate with his harahest works. I think album art for both pd and venerology has a lot to play in terms of making those albums among his most well known. Id also suggest FID if we're talking about density. Some very fierce moments on that album. A bit of a favourite of mine and quite a surprising release for a 2006 album. I think the sound of it os more in line with his output from the mid - late 90s.
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Post by acsenger on Aug 5, 2013 5:03:41 GMT -5
Those are interesting points indeed, but perhaps my original question was misunderstood: I was referring specifically to the sound of Pulse Demon, not its harshness (I agree there's not much point in talking about harshness per se). I have yet to hear a Merzbow album with that high pitched, sharp sound throughout its entirety. Regarding artworks, I think it's interesting to note Akita has said the visuals of Pulse Demon are a tribute to this series: www.discogs.com/label/Prospective+21e+Si%C3%A8cle and specifically to Ivo Malec LPs. I think it's quite easy to see the similarities indeed. And musically too: a sizeable part of Merzbow's output for the most part can be thought of as really harsh and sped up "classic" electroacoustic music; at least that's how I see it.
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Post by qweasd on Aug 6, 2013 21:24:36 GMT -5
Id also suggest FID if we're talking about density. Some very fierce moments on that album. A bit of a favourite of mine and quite a surprising release for a 2006 album. I think the sound of it os more in line with his output from the mid - late 90s. Ok, FID I agree sounds pretty intense, I wouldn't say density though is a particular feature of it. It's similar to Turmeric in some ways and that is noteworthy for lack of density, listen to track 2 of disc 1, track 1 of disc 2 for instance: single threads going nuts. Likewise with FID, track 1 of both discs, you have strident sounding individual layers that are in your face and bubbling background textures, not so many things vying for one's attention. Texturally, there's not so much going on as on other releases. Much of the earlier Houjoue by comparison is more intricately textured and information-wise more dense.
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 7, 2013 6:41:19 GMT -5
It does get more and more difficult finding words to describe and compare this sort of music. The single threads going nuts/ strident individual layers was sort of what I meant by describing it as dense, kind of one thing compressed to the max so it takes up all of the space around your head. The very first part of FID is an example of that, and when another sound enters it's like they're really having to fight with each other for that limited amount of space. I guess 'dense' would also be a word to describe a release with lots of layers/different sounds piled on top of each other which I think is what you're saying. Could something like Dead Zone, Yaho-Niwa or Part1 of Don't Steal My Coat be described as dense? Certainly an awful lot going on, those kind of releases seem to demand my full concentration.
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Post by diablocountach5 on Aug 7, 2013 21:51:49 GMT -5
I played the 5 inch vinyl today, played fine on my turntable, its meant to be played at 33 rpm by the way.
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Post by acsenger on Aug 8, 2013 5:31:18 GMT -5
Does it say it's meant to be played at 33? If yes, I must've played it at that speed and remembered incorrectly that I played it at 45; if not, then does it sound right at 33 rather than 45?
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Post by diablocountach5 on Aug 10, 2013 17:50:21 GMT -5
It doesn't say anywhere on the packaging what speed to play it. I played it at both speeds, and I timed it also to make sure the times matched the times on the vinyl, and the 45 was too fast, and sounds like it. I also listened to it on spotify and it sounds like when its played at 33 rpm.
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Post by acsenger on Aug 12, 2013 2:17:17 GMT -5
OK, thanks! I played it today at 33. I wish they had indicated the speed somewhere!
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Post by davebowman on Jun 10, 2017 6:50:33 GMT -5
I know this is an old conversation, but I finally managed to get hold of one of these at a decent price today, and the vinyl is definitely 33 rpm - sounds right, and the timings match up. I had quite a battle with the auto-arm-return function on my record player to actually play the damn thing, but after several attempts of coming in low and slow, I managed it! The vinyl is actually kinda pointless when I think about it, as they had plenty of room to add those 5.5 minutes of tracks on the end of the CD itself (which is only 60 minutes long), but I guess it makes it fairly unique!
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Post by acsenger on Jun 10, 2017 20:54:55 GMT -5
Yeah, I guess the label made a 5" because it could and it's a cool concept. Not that I was into this kind of music back then, but it seems the 90s were the golden age for 7" releases as they were cheaper to manufacture than today, and I guess the same applies to 5" vinyl too.
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