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Post by acsenger on May 15, 2013 18:39:00 GMT -5
I'm curious what others think of Merzbow's 7" releases. I only know a couple: I have White Blues (sometimes called Now) but I only ever heard it maybe twice cause it's in my parents' house on another continent. I remember liking it but I haven't heard it in quite a few years. I know it had samples from a (rather light) prog rock band, East of Eden. I just got Electroknots yesterday and it's awesome! It's rhythmic, with plenty of sound collages and "concrete" sounds rather than overwhelming distortion. It was recorded in October 1993 but it's very different from other recordings I know from around that time, like Noisembryo or Venereology. Perhaps the first track on disc 3 of Metalvelodrome is somewhat similar, or maybe Music for Bondage Performance 2 (since he remixed the 7" for that CD). I only have Music for...'s first volume, will have to listen to it to see if it's similar. By the way, Electroknots is a beautiful picture disc, especially the side with the girl lying on the floor (and I'm not even into bondage). I also have the collab with Tea Culture and the split with MSBR; again, due to them being in my parents' house, I haven't heard them in 10 years, but I remember them being very good. I've written about Ko To No O To elsewhere on this forum, and that's the last 7" I know. I'll have to get more of them...
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Post by andypandy380 on May 16, 2013 15:40:52 GMT -5
I have a handful of them, I think they're pretty good because there's usually a lot of variety crammed into 5 minutes or so. I'm not really a vinyl addict, I'd sooner have albums on a CD, but It feels like certain things just belong on 7", the simplicity of a track on each side... etc. I've got:
- Ko To No O To - pretty solid, very much along the same lines as some of the recent albums.
- Hummingbird - I kind of like to think of this as a sort of 'Merzbow hit single' Which sounds stupid, but it's an altogether different sound, chopped up orchestral music, film soundtracks and things, very fond of it. It's also on the Merzzow album, so I guess the fact it's split across both sides of the 7" is a little odd.
- Electroploitation - pretty much sounds like what the name suggests... not quite sure what to say about it, quite a bit of variety though.
- Music for 'the dead man 2: return of the dead man' - starts off with a wall of noise hissing sound and then stops dead... completely, and alternates between some rhythmic work and a 'refrigerator' noise
- Tempi/Metatabi (double 7") - really don't like it, if I had to pick a Merzbow release was least fond of, this is it... sounds like an outtake from the Japanese Birds series, The artwork is a little boring with a gold leaf over a photo of Akita's face... It does come on a green/orange splatter vinyl which is nice to look at.
- Free Piano (Merzbow/John Weise) - I remember thinking it was really good when I last listened to it, but less variety and more FUZZ, I'm not really familiar with Weise's work outside of Bastard Noise, but it could quite easily be Akita on his own if I hadn't been told otherwise.
- Che Trading Ltd. Compilation (Double 7"), The Merzbow Track 'Iro Moyo' is really great, noisy and choppy. Apparently it's also on the 'Disco Sucks' compilation. I'm almost certain it's a cut from a Merzbow album, I can't quite place it, but it sounds scarily familiar. The other artists are a bit of an odd pairing, more of a 90's indie rock thing, the band 'Bis' is also on there which makes me laugh because their singer appears every now and again in the Identity Parade on 'Nevermind the Buzzcocks' (UK comedy show)
- Graft bonus 7" - really really good, sounds like a malfunctioning computer, all bleeps and loud smashing sounds, makes me think of the original series of Star Trek for some reason, very science fiction... would be excellent as a standalone release.
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Post by acsenger on May 17, 2013 1:04:31 GMT -5
I'd love to hear those 7"s. So Hummingbird is on Merzzow in its entirety and with no changes? Cause I have Merzzow and if that's the case, it's one less 7" off my wantlist . Electroploitation and Music For 'The Dead Man 2: Return Of The Dead Man' are on my wantlist. I love the bizarre cover of the former (and its back cover too, hehe). I've heard Multiplication (with John Wiese) and I liked the Merzbow track but not Wiese's tracks, so the Free Piano 7" would probably not be up my alley either.
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Post by madein on Jun 5, 2013 12:41:33 GMT -5
I see a problem, when noisemusic is saved on a analogue medium. A vinyl record is always adding noises (crackles, sizzle, high peaks lead to distortion etc.) to the music. So you don't know, if these sounds are part of the (noise)music or made by the medium itself. I couldn't live with that. That's why i have sold my record player
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Post by andypandy380 on Jun 5, 2013 13:59:18 GMT -5
My record player is dirt cheap rubbish from the 1970s anyway, so nothing sounds quite right... I like how collectible the 7" is as a format, but that's about as much fondness I have for the whole thing. regarding noise music on vinyl, the only problem i really have is that I'm never quite sure I'm playing it at the right speed
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Post by acsenger on Jun 5, 2013 22:05:09 GMT -5
I think if you have a good turntable, you take care of your records and they're in good condition, you shouldn't have serious problems with ticks and pops, distortion etc. It's true that some records have subpar/crap pressing, but aside from extreme cases in this regard I personally still prefer to have any music on vinyl than not to have it at all. I recently listened to Merzbow's Ko To No O To 7", Electroknots 7" and Flare Gun 12" and my copies are in good condition with good pressing. It was great listening to them, an experience just like listening to stuff on CD or tape (assuming good quality in all formats). That's just me, of course.
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Post by madein on Jun 6, 2013 6:02:20 GMT -5
Of course, I wouldn't say you can't have fun listening to vinyl records. Analogue mediums are interesting, but they are nothing for me. There are some albums which I really would listen to, like protean world (which is only available on vinyl?). But there were some things which drove me crazy with vinyl records. Once i saw on the internet a photomicrograph of the grooves of a record. They were so uneven and dirty. And the needle!It looked so crude and heavy. When I saw that the stroboscope dots on my record player began to move, i couldn't concentrate on the music more. That's why I only listen to CDs today, the sound reproducing is crytsal clear and perfect. And that was my story of listening to vinyl
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Post by acsenger on Aug 5, 2013 5:32:16 GMT -5
I got a bunch of 7" EPs not long ago: Electroploitation, Neo Orgasm, Nil Vagina for Mice, Music for 'The Dead Man 2: Return of the Dead Man', the split with Lasse Marhaug and Happenings 1000 Years Time Ago. My favourite might be Electroploitation (also gotta love both the front and back covers!), but Neo Orgasm and Nil Vagina... are pretty much just as good: varied, colourful and harsh noise. Music for 'The Dead Man 2...' is great too but if I didn't know it was made for a movie, I'd never guess: it's just like his other releases, which of course is not a bad thing at all. The split with Marhaug is quite unusual in its structure from memory and is also great. The only one of the bunch I'm not very happy with is Happenings...: sadly, that's just a weak release. It's from early 1999 and I believe is one of the earliest digital Merzbow releases. (Apparently it samples Happenings Ten Years Time Ago by The Yardbirds.) Maybe Akita hadn't yet mastered the use of the laptop/computer cause it's an uninteresting and uninvolving listen.
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 7, 2013 6:23:12 GMT -5
I very much enjoy the 7"s, I only have a couple of those you mentioned.
I have the 12" with Lasse Marhaug but not the single, The LP has a drastically different sound to some of Merzbow's recent works. a lot of acoustic stuff, clanging, battering of bits of metal I suppose... layered with some very buzzy digital sounds that remind me more of Bastard Noise. I don't think I really gave it a lot of TLC at the time but definitely need to give it a relisten. I don't know if the 7" follows a similar style.
The 'Calling The Rain' 7" still hasn't been released, to my knowledge. I get the impression they got all excited about Merzbow agreeing to record some material using nothing but a mouth harp (cool idea I suppose) and announcing it before he had even had a chance to record it. I don't like the cover art they already made for it.
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Post by acsenger on Aug 8, 2013 5:41:33 GMT -5
I don't know the LP with Marhaug (should get it though) but from what you wrote the split 7" is probably different. Both pieces on it are dense electronics without quieter or acoustic parts.
Calling the Rain does have a strange cover: what do kangaroos have to do with the title? On the other hand, there are quite a few Merzbow covers that are, in my opinion, way worse (at least this is a photo).
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 8, 2013 9:48:18 GMT -5
I ended up giving the LP another listen last night, was an interesting listen for sure. sounds like someone throwing a load of lightbulbs down a flight of stairs oh yeah, they are kangaroos, I thought they were rats at first! I think it would be an alright cover if it was just the faded picture of the kangaroos, but whats with all the other clutter? doesn't look right to me
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Post by acsenger on Aug 8, 2013 14:29:45 GMT -5
I checked the cover again and that square something underneath "MERZBOW" is pretty strange indeed; that pattern coming down from the top too (although that I can accept as an abstract decorative element).
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 8, 2013 14:53:11 GMT -5
The thing at the top is a mouth harp, I bought one in a silly gift shop once, It's just a curved piece of metal you put in your mouth with a springy bit on it. It makes quite a cool sound. The way the gap in the border doesn't line up with the text sort of bothers me...
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Post by acsenger on Aug 9, 2013 2:46:22 GMT -5
Oh, I didn't know that was a mouth harp... I see now what you don't like about the cover. I didn't even notice it but now that you've pointed it out, it does look a bit strange. I wonder when it'll be out; I'm definitely going to get a copy.
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 9, 2013 11:36:19 GMT -5
I'm surprised it hasn't come out already. There seems to be two kinds of Merzbow releases... ones that get announced by the label 9 months before they eventually get it pressed... and ones that just appear out of nowhere
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 9, 2013 12:21:52 GMT -5
Also, which Merzbow covers in particular do you think look worse? Dolphin Sonar, Hodosan? Those are pretty bad
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Post by acsenger on Aug 9, 2013 13:29:55 GMT -5
Haha, that's spot on about how Merzbow releases appear! Really bad Merzbow covers? There are plenty I think, let me see: New Takamagahara, Ikebana, SCSI Duck, Merzbuta, Senmaida, Minazo vol. 2, Merzbear, Jigokuhen, ZaRa (WTF is that cover?!)... And there are probably more. Dolphin Sonar is pretty nutty . Hodosan's cover is taken from a weird angle, that's for sure... I like the inner pictures of Akita and his friends though, haha!
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 10, 2013 11:44:52 GMT -5
yeah, on the whole those are some bad ones lol, I bought Senmaida cos I thought it was a cool cover at first, but the rabbit's hand is on back to front which is really quite irritating Zara is a weird one for sure, I quite like the Jigokuhen one though, Wish I had an actual copy of it... I downloaded it and was surprised how good it sounded actually. I'm not too keen on the covers for Fantail, Dharma, EMU, Peace For Animals, Tempi/Metatabi, Tombo, Merzzow, Pinkream...
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Post by acsenger on Aug 11, 2013 3:11:53 GMT -5
I just checked Senmaida's cover and that hand is shocking indeed... I still don't like the rest of the cover either . Interestingly, I quite like all of the covers you listed... About EMU I especially like the Arabic-style text. I remember there's another release like that and there's also one which has text written in Hebrew-style -- I just can't remember now which one it is! I don't get the inner sleave of Peace for Animals: are there animals that are sent to war in this age? Perhaps there are, but surely not pigeons? I fail to see the connection between that text and the pictures. I really like the cover of Pinkream: the Indian god and the layout of an electronic equipment is a great Surrealistic combination, I think.
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 11, 2013 12:27:56 GMT -5
Looking back at the text on EMU, that is quite cool actually. Still not completely sold on the cover picture. The Hebrew style text does sound familiar, I can't quite picture it either though I always found the use of Gothic/Old English style text on a whole lot of his more recent albums somewhat strange.
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Post by acsenger on Aug 12, 2013 2:53:33 GMT -5
I found the Hebrew style letters: they're on Camouflage. Yeah, the Gothic letters are a bit strange... Perhaps they're an influence from black metal?
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Post by acsenger on Jun 24, 2014 0:50:55 GMT -5
A few words about some 7"s I got recently:
Merzbow: Steel Cum - a good one from 1991, although the final mix wasn't done by Merzbow apparently. According to the Merzbook, it was remixed (I assume by the label?) and released without his permission, although he thought the result was fine. The music is not the very dense 90s style, but it does get quite harsh in places. Overall the music is more random, with some sounds standing out as quite characteristic (I think on side A I heard a kind of sound that Merzbow has used elsewhere too). There's also some manipulated drumming.
Merzbow/Black Leather Jesus split - Merzbow is very good, from 1994: extremely harsh yet varied stuff with the occasional loop. BLJ is also good harsh noise. Merzbow's sound, as usual, is top notch. I've noticed how his releases always sound extremely good (except for live albums but that comes with the nature of live recordings, I'm sure). When you compare the two sides of this 7", it's clear how much sharper and "fuller" Merzbow sounds, thereby having a more physical impact.
Abe Sada: Original Body Kingdom / Gala Abe Sada 1936 - the only release of this duo of Akita and a certain S.M.U.T. The material is from 1994. It's similar to Merzbow's style in that year, but a bit more varied. Still very dense, but underneath there's a rhythm most of the time. Great stuff.
Bustmonster/Xper Xr: Whitehouse/You Don't Have To Say Please split - this 7", on the other hand, is basically total rubbish. Bustmonster was a "supergroup" with members from several high-profile Japanese noise bands plus Akita. Apparently they have only 2 7"s. I haven't heard the other one, but after hearing this split, I'm not sure I want to. You might have guessed from the title that this is a tribute of sorts to Whitehouse (and their Great White Death album in particular, I guess). The Bustmonster side consists of someone screaming the original Whitehouse lyrics, crude drumming and some weak feedback, all seemingly recorded on a cheap walkman 2 rooms away from the rehearsing space of the band. Xper Xr plays a techno version of the original track. I've listened to this split twice and I'll probably never listen to it again.
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Post by acsenger on Dec 25, 2016 5:18:43 GMT -5
I recently got back the 7 inches that I had no access to for a long time:
Now -- also known as White Blues. From mid-'94, this is pretty harsh, with some rock samples here and there (I only recognised an East of Eden sample on side A). The rock guitar samples on side 2 are not really my cup of tea, but overall it's a good and slightly unusual release for the period. I love the cover, by the way.
Merzbow/MSBR split -- excellent harsh noise split, would make an ideal introduction to someone curious about what noise music is. The Merzbow side is from '95 and features EMS, although not very obviously (to me). MSBR is good too, somewhat less hectic than Merzbow.
Merzbow/Tea Culture collab -- Merzbow is more experimental than harsh on his side, obviously using Tea Culture source material which results in a relatively rhythmic track with a loop of someone saying "oh yeah" repeating in the background towards the end. The Tea Culture side uses Merzbow source material and is fairly simple, often rhythmic electronic music. According to Discogs, Tea Culture made their music on an Amiga computer. Honestly, their side is quite unremarkable, and this 7" is far from essential, but it's still not a bad purchase if you can get it for a reasonable price.
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