fred
New Member
Posts: 55
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Post by fred on Jul 20, 2017 8:13:37 GMT -5
New record by Merzbow that seems to be already available via Dirter Promotions. One side is a CD album, and the other one is a small one track vinyl (compact vinyl) www.dirterpromotions.com/releases/merzbow/hyakki-echo/From the website of the label : Brand new release from Merzbow, which sees a totally new direction for this true innovator. Whatever you may have expecting, this will surprise and thrill. With much more of a move towards free improvisation, than the more traditional psyched out extreme “noise” that you may have come to expect; this is a masterpiece in experimental music. The format should surprise and intrigue too. One side is a 3 minute piece that is a vinyl record, the other a full length CD. The package comes with the necessary adaptor you need to play the vinyl side. The set is packaged in a die cut digipac sleeve; all artwork is by Masami Akita. It is available in limited quantities and is bound to sell out very quickly. Tracks are: CD Side: 01. Hyakki Echo Part 1 02. Hyakki Echo Part 2 03. Hyakki Echo Part 3 04. Hyakki Echo Part 4 Vinyl Side: Amadare Guitar N.B. This disc must not be used with a “slot-in” CD player In stock and shipping NOW!!!
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Post by andypandy380 on Jul 21, 2017 0:40:11 GMT -5
Brilliant news! That one crept up on us. Looking forward to listening to it. Not completely sold on this vinyl on one side idea. I have a CD which has a vinyl track carved into the surface of the CD but i've never played it... looks like an actual side of a 5"record glued to the CD though, kind of another 'weird format' for the sake of being a novelty but yeah.
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Post by acsenger on Jul 22, 2017 5:59:11 GMT -5
Let us know what it's like after you've heard it. A "slot-in" CD player, I take it, is one which has no tray, instead you have to push the CD into a slot? I also wonder what the "necessary adaptor" is to play the vinyl side.
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Post by andypandy380 on Jul 22, 2017 8:26:13 GMT -5
The other CD/vinyl thing I have comes with a little rubbery donut that fits inside the CD hole, I guess this'll be the same. I'm hoping the CD will fit into my laptop drive, I assume it probably will. It'll be too thick to fit the CD players like the ones in cars and on apple macs. I think many of the high end CD players also have a 'slot in' system, there may be people out there who get a bit stuck. I'm wondering just how different this album will be, based on it's description. It doesn't give us a lot to go by with regards to a style, but I'm excited to hear it. The cover art almost suggests it's a follow up to Hanakisasage, but who knows.
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Post by andypandy380 on Jul 26, 2017 9:57:39 GMT -5
So it's bizarre...they weren't lying when they said this was a completely new change of direction. No feedback, no synthesizers, at all. The album is built around chopped and screwed piano and strings, that I think have been fed through a tape machine, sped up and completely screwed with. It starts off in a kind of disorientating way, panning from left to right, then becomes jittery and percussive. Percussion plays a big part in the album, I think with both manipulated samples and homemade instruments. It's not a Merzbow we've really heard before, the closest thing I could compare it to is the Hummingbird single (that also appeared on Merzzow) The album seems more about free composition and musique concrete, there are some really quite unusual sounds popping up, sounds that could be from contact microphones, shuffling, and what could be Akita running his hands around the inside of his bathtub (although it sounds like some massive creature growling and burping) There's also an odd moment that to me sounds a lot like he's taking a piss while brushing his teeth... Aside from the introduction of different sounds here and there, the same jittery mess of chewed up strings, piano and percussion remains pretty constant throughout the record, no real sonic extremes that anyone would expect from a Merzbow album... yeah, it's a weird one for sure. I've had a little trouble playing the damn thing. I did listen to it on a mini hifi system, but my laptop and another PC both struggled and flat out refused to import the tracks, which is annoying. I've not played the vinyl side, my record player wasn't playing ball with the small size of the record (although I have managed 5" records in the past) The donut thing isn't a snug fit and the CD doesn't seem weighty/robust enough to be played on a turntable, but I'll see what happens. Sorry if I haven't exactly painted the best picture of the album, I'd of course love to hear what others think of it.
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Post by acsenger on Jul 27, 2017 3:11:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the review. I'll order it today.
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Post by davebowman on Aug 1, 2017 12:55:28 GMT -5
I enjoyed that - a nicely 'different' release next to the usual extreme noise-fests, reminded me of some of the very early recordings on the Merzbox. Actually, the two most recent Merzbow releases I've heard are this and '3rensa' split album, neither of which feature the usual distortion (everything else I've bought recently seems to have been recorded in 2016, even if it's only come out this year). Be interesting to see if these are isolated experiments, or the start of a new direction.
The little doughnut thing fit my record player perfectly by the way, so I didn't find that an issue. I did end up having to rip and burn a CD-R copy of the main album though, as neither of my two CD players seemed to like it much (one wouldn't play it correctly at all and kept jittering from the start, the other one got halfway through before it started skipping). It got through my laptop without any issues though.
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Post by venereologist on Nov 2, 2017 15:38:21 GMT -5
Listening to this now. It's definitely different. I'm not sure if I dig it as much as I was hoping, but I appreciate that it's something quite new/different for a Merzbow album. Sounds like a lot of layered electro-acoustic material given massive amounts of granular synthesis treatment.
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Post by acsenger on Nov 13, 2018 17:19:18 GMT -5
Finally listened to this release today (I had no problems playing either side). The compact vinyl format is a fun gimmick for sure. Musically, everything’s already been described above, but the first half of the album seemed more varied to me. I felt like the album eventually dragged on a bit and could’ve been shorter. Still, it’s a refreshing release. As far as I’m aware, the last time he made music similar to this was in the early ‘80s.
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Post by andypandy380 on Nov 14, 2018 3:48:30 GMT -5
I really need to have another attempt at playing it... only really had the one listen through upon getting hold of it cos I could only find one CD player that wouldnt reject it. I guess I could have listened to it online... It's definitely a stange depature for Merzbow's sound but I think its been generally well recieved.
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