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Post by andypandy380 on Mar 21, 2017 12:57:22 GMT -5
Been trying to find some more dirt on this. It's a CD to be released by Japanese label Black Smoker Records on 17th May. A description translated from Japanese says its a wall of noise album with elements of beat... hard to tell at this time if that's more of what we've had recently or something different entirely.
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Post by trollh on Mar 25, 2017 15:23:55 GMT -5
I really hope "wall of noise" doesnt means HNW. I like HNW as I like meditation, both means "Emptiness", which hard to find in my brain, but its compiled with beats... Sounds freaky, I dont want it. And would be surprising if Masami could prepare something magical in that experiment. If its just a harsh noise album of Merzbow with beats/real drums its welcomed to listen
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Post by andypandy380 on Mar 30, 2017 16:20:06 GMT -5
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Post by andypandy380 on May 19, 2017 13:27:13 GMT -5
This album is out now, but as far as I can gather, only available from Japanese retailers. I found samples of the album on one site. It's very beat heavy and kind of a bizarre change of pace for Merzbow, almost a throwback to some of the digital sounding releases from the mid 2000s. Strangely, the beat on part 3 is exactly the same as the beat from Tract 1 on Senmaida... I did wonder whether these were the right samples at all, but I think they probably are. Some translations from Japanese have also described the album as a Mix CD, hard to tell from the translations alone whether it's simply a new Merzbow album, or a sort of Masami Akita DJ mix of his own material. I guess that wouldn't be completely out of the question. There is also a release party for the album in Tokyo in July
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Post by andypandy380 on May 19, 2017 14:25:07 GMT -5
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Post by qweasd on May 19, 2017 19:25:35 GMT -5
Thanks for the heads up on this (and on Muen before).
The track 1 material was more of a throwback to 13 Jap Birds for me with the drum sounds. Multiple glimpses across each track show varied material which seems promising.
Yes the Senmaida beat is there in track 3... though a portion of the track appears to not have it. It would be disappointing if most of that Senmaida track was in there (like Hodosan using Turmeric 1:4 in its entirety basically... and this happens elsewhere unfortunately - e.g. Merzbird/Tamago, Maschinenstil/Springharp).
I really enjoy small references (e.g. Wilderness in Akasaka from 13 Jap Birds 6 with a small amount of Rattus Rattus (trk 2) samples, which themselves stem from 1930's Degradation of Tapes... etc) but not wholesale copying of tracks...
Still, quite a fresh sounding release with (hopefully) something of a different treatment of consciously rhythmic elements (curious to see how he deals with loops and the layers surrounding the loops).
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Post by andypandy380 on Jun 1, 2017 8:36:23 GMT -5
Managed to import a copy of this one because I'm impatient and found a Japanese record shop that was a little more reasonable with international orders than the others. Haven't listened to it yet, but will let y'all know what its like. Its packaged in one of those half-size DVD cases.
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Post by andypandy380 on Jun 12, 2017 14:14:18 GMT -5
It's taken some time for me to get into this one, I've listened a handful of times here and there, it's a bit of a slow-burner but has definitely grown on me. Although recorded in 2016 and into 2017, it's almost completely different from any of his other recent recordings. There is a definite emphasis on beats, percussion and rhythm - not in a straight drum beat sort of way, or indeed in a free jazz sort of way. The beats are playfully chopped and screwed with. Part of me wants to say the album sounds more akin to Hip-Hop (kill me) There is no 'wall of noise' or any harsh feedback sounds at all really. Every sound is very prominent on it's own in it's own space. There are also some recognisable moments from other Merzbow recordings, although I couldn't tell you which ones in particular (other than the Senmaida beat which is a prominent part of track 3)... some sounds feel like they tread some familiar ground, I am reminded of the material on albums from the mid 2000s, that said it doesn't sound too stale, it's all chopped up and completely screwed with to the point that it sounds fresh. Other notable things would be the extensive use of tape machines (i think), or perhaps even turntables... and some very 'wobbly' almost cartoonish synthesizer parts that are a definite standout feature of the album, especially on the second track which is a little more similar to the spacey Merzcow style. There is a real variety and mix of sounds. It's hard to know what to say about the album really, it isn't harsh on the ears, there is a lot of manipulation of other sounds, everything is very much chopped and screwed with, and it's a sound from Merzbow that I really wasn't expecting to hear in 2017, not in a bad way of course but it's definitely quite far removed from other styles incorporated into his recent albums. I still don't completely know how I feel about it but think it could grow to be a standout album of recent years, it's different... I hope it gets some more international distribution though.
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Post by acsenger on Jun 13, 2017 10:48:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the review, it got me interested in buying the CD. Where did you order it from?
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Post by andypandy380 on Jun 13, 2017 11:28:05 GMT -5
No worries. I got it from Newtone Records, A Japanese mail order record shop. For overseas orders you have to contact them directly for an invoice (order@newtone-records.com), they accept Paypal, which it seems many Japanese retailers don't. Cost about £17 inc shipping, looking back at it I think I was overcharged slightly for postage, compared to the costs listed on their site (which were actually considerably cheaper than most). This album feels a bit under the radar at the moment, it isn't on the label's bandcamp or anything, perhaps a distributor outside of Japan will pick it up.
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Post by acsenger on Jun 13, 2017 15:53:27 GMT -5
Thanks, I've just sent them an email. Black Smoker Records have also released a Keiji Haino DJ mix CD which I was disappointed by at first but then got to like. It's also in a half DVD case. I'm really curious about Eureka Moment. I haven't bought a new Merzbow recording in years (although I've heard a few), but the unusual and rhythmic nature of this one based on your description has me interested.
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Post by qweasd on Jun 14, 2017 1:11:04 GMT -5
Let me know of a contact for this anyone who finds a good distro for this release...
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Post by andypandy380 on Jul 5, 2017 8:56:24 GMT -5
Its now available on CD and digital from the black smoker records bandcamp
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Post by qweasd on Jul 6, 2017 22:05:53 GMT -5
Thanks for the heads up!
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Post by soleilmoon on Jul 26, 2017 18:46:40 GMT -5
Hi, this is my first post here. I was searching the web for a description of this album when I stumbled across this forum.
I ordered copies of the CD from Masami last week and I'm expecting them to arrive soon. I'm not sure if commercial posts are welcomed or even allowed here, so I'll try not to be be too blatant about it, but anyone looking for "Eureka Moment" might consider checking at Soleilmoon.com.
Thanks! --Charles
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