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Post by andypandy380 on Dec 5, 2018 16:40:52 GMT -5
Already quite a healthy list of upcoming albums for early 2019, albeit some of them dont have release dates and are a bit vague.
The ever prolific Slowdown however have now given us further details of the next four Merzbow albums due out in January. Indigo Dada and Kaerutope are brand new albums which kind of serve as a follow up to 2017s Hyakki Echo, with some very busy classical/jazz music samples chopped and screwed with... they both sound truly bizarre. Meanwhile, the other two albums continue their series of lost works from the 80's. Antimony has links to the albums Sadomasochismo and Memorial Gadgets. Agni Hotra 2nd Mix as the name suggests is a second mix or a sequel to the album that appeared in the Merzbox, from what I can gather it had been on the verge of getting an actual release way back when, but it never surfaced until now. These two sound a little more 'Merzbow' than much of these resurfaced works... if you know what I'm getting at.
Cover art and samples of each album are on the Slowdown site, along with lots more info if you have the patience for the broken English you'll get from Google Translate.
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Post by acsenger on Dec 9, 2018 2:22:17 GMT -5
The sample from “Antimony” sounds absolutely crushing! Pure industrial noise that reminded me of the “Life Performance” CD and some of “Pornoise”. Will definitely get that CD. I wonder how much the second mix of Agni Hotra differs from the first one. I think that’s the album that includes the track “Swamp Metal”, which is a very catchy tune, as unbelievable as that sounds 😊.
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Post by andypandy380 on Dec 21, 2018 19:23:09 GMT -5
A further two new albums from Slowdown have been announced for release in February. Batzoutai Mix and Jinrinkinmouzui. It seems following the first two box sets, they plan on doing another series of six albums of material recorded 1984-86, seemingly revolving around the album Batzoutai With Memorial Gadgets... and presumably resulting in a third box set. Jinrinkinmouzui is made up of material from three unreleased master cassettes, while Batzoutai Mix is an extended take of one of the tracks on Memorial Gadgets. I can only assume the final two albums in this series will be announced for a March release. I remember Akita mentioning in an interview he had more than enough material for a (hypothetical) second Merzbox... I guess Slowdown liked that idea.
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Post by andypandy380 on Dec 21, 2018 20:10:16 GMT -5
And I've just noticed that Amazon is listing a double LP reissue of Venereology due in March... I'm sure that'll be good news to a lot of folks if that's the case
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Post by acsenger on Dec 22, 2018 3:07:08 GMT -5
Slowdown is really on a roll with these archival releases... I hope there’ll be no bonus material on the “Venereology” reissue.
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Post by trollh on Jan 4, 2019 16:12:44 GMT -5
Plus there is "Jinrinkinmouzui" also from Slowdown in February, and "Live at Mayhem 2018" with Vanity Productions at "Editions Mego" was lated from 2018.
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Post by merzphysics on Jan 7, 2019 17:44:42 GMT -5
Any news about that box set yet?
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Post by davebowman on Jan 15, 2019 21:34:05 GMT -5
Slowdown is really on a roll with these archival releases... I hope there’ll be no bonus material on the “Venereology” reissue. The good/bad news (depending on how you look at it), is that there is bonus material on the new 'Venereology' vinyl reissue - 4 previously unreleased/rare tracks totalling 'over 20 minutes' according to the press blurbage (though going by the tentative track time listings on Bandcamp it might actually be as much as 33 minutes!?). Obviously, more new Merzbow material is always good, though as a physical media collector who already owns the original CD, I'm not hugely thrilled about having to buy the album again on expensive vinyl (postage always a killer) to get the new stuff. Should I break the habit of a lifetime, and just download the new tracks and burn them to a homemade CD-R to stick in with my existing copy? Decisions, decisions....
As far as I can work out, the bonus tracks are: 'Last Splash' [5:24] (from 'Organismus 3' cassette compilation album, 1995) 'TD 3' [7:32] 'Outtrack 1' [14:58] 'Outtrack 2' [5:26]
It's out March 1st anyway on various coloured pressings: Venereology reissue
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Post by acsenger on Jan 16, 2019 1:25:18 GMT -5
For me the decision is not about whether to buy it: it’s clear I have to get it because of the bonus material (at least it has plenty of it). I have to decide whether to buy the vinyl+T-shirt bundle. I’d love to have that shirt, but the bundle is almost double the price of the vinyl only... They really could’ve made a CD edition too, by the way.
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Post by andypandy380 on Jan 16, 2019 13:41:46 GMT -5
I wonder to what extent the album's been edited to fit the vinyl medium (if at all) since that first death metal sounding intro has been omitted from Slave New Desart. I'm always a bit iffy with bonus tracks on re-issues, It feels like once the original product has been put to tape a line should be drawn under it and left at that... Purely from a fan/collectors point of view, a standalone CD with those bonus tracks would be the ideal world "The Venerology Sessions" or something similar. I like each 'thing' to be a separate entity. But from the other side of the picture, I guess if a label is rereleasing an album, I understand that they need something a little extra to draw people in
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Post by trollh on Jan 16, 2019 17:18:03 GMT -5
TBA RareNoise with Mats Gustafsson and Balázs Pándi TBA RareNoise with Keiji Haino and Balázs Pándi
WOW!
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Post by acsenger on Jan 17, 2019 0:11:23 GMT -5
I wonder to what extent the album's been edited to fit the vinyl medium (if at all) since that first death metal sounding intro has been omitted from Slave New Desart. I'm always a bit iffy with bonus tracks on re-issues, It feels like once the original product has been put to tape a line should be drawn under it and left at that... Purely from a fan/collectors point of view, a standalone CD with those bonus tracks would be the ideal world "The Venerology Sessions" or something similar. I like each 'thing' to be a separate entity. But from the other side of the picture, I guess if a label is rereleasing an album, I understand that they need something a little extra to draw people in I just ordered the black vinyl version (without the shirt). I hope the original material hasn’t been altered other than splitting the first track in two as it obviously doesn’t fit on a single side. I don’t get why the album had to be remastered (the original sounds about as devastating as it possibly can) — I guess it’s a gimmick to sell more copies. I wonder how different the new mastering will be. I noticed that the original track sequence has been changed for the reissue: the track from that obscure compilation comes before track 4 of the original album. Why on earth did they have to do that?!
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Post by acsenger on Jan 17, 2019 12:22:10 GMT -5
And I just noticed “I Lead You Towards Glorious Times” has been completely left off... What a weird way to reissue an album.
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Post by andypandy380 on Jan 17, 2019 17:56:26 GMT -5
TBA RareNoise with Mats Gustafsson and Balázs Pándi TBA RareNoise with Keiji Haino and Balázs Pándi WOW! Was happy to see these too! I was aware the trio had recorded a new album, think they did it while out on about on tour last summer... perhaps in Canada? I forget. But it's a new studio album I think. As for the Keiji Haino one, at a guess it could be a recording of their Berlin show in 2017, but I really dont know. Remastering a noise album does seem a bit of a daft concept. Not that I really understand the technicalities behind it but it could be as simple as optimising it for vinyl, i gather there are different processes for each medium (if done correctly - which I've heard many reissues arent, hence a lot of angry punters on discogs) What is desireable about splitting one track across two sides of a record? The vinyl edition of Sun Baked Snow Cave kind of baffled me for the same reason. I wonder whether any more 90s remasters will appear, or if there's a demand for any more. Venereology, Noisembryo and Pulse Demon kind of feel like 'the big three' of that era... everyone has their own favourites outside of that, but they're almost certainly the albums a wider audience might have at least heard of.
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Post by davebowman on Jan 17, 2019 21:54:46 GMT -5
Good spot on 'I Lead You Toward Glorious Times' missing from the new reissue. Regarding the extent of any changes to the existing material, the album sleeve credit describes how it has been 'Remixed and Rearranged', so I do wonder if possibly it's been altered a bit more than just remastering for vinyl and cutting one long track in half?
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Post by acsenger on Jan 18, 2019 0:38:05 GMT -5
What is desireable about splitting one track across two sides of a record? The vinyl edition of Sun Baked Snow Cave kind of baffled me for the same reason. The first track on “Venereology” is 29 minutes long, which might be possible to fit onto vinyl, but only at the price of compromised sound quality. So it’s understandable they cut it in two, even if cutting a track in two otherwise is obviously not ideal. This is another reason why I wish there was a CD reissue too, in which case the original album could’ve been left unaltered formwise. It’ll be interesting to compare the original CD version with the vinyl one to see how much of a difference there is in terms of mastering or any other changes to the sound. I believe Akita himself remixed/edited/made changes to the original material with all the recent vinyl reissues (“Noisembryo”, “Antimonument” etc.), but since I don’t have any of those, I don’t know how big the changes are. My guess is they’re minor, so I didn’t feel the need to buy them when I have the CD versions already.
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Post by andypandy380 on Jan 18, 2019 10:33:37 GMT -5
Ah, I didnt realise Akita had complete creative control over these remasters and rereleases, although that would sort of make sense... I'd agree, it would be interesting to hear the differences between versions, but since I also have the original CDs it's not for me either.
The official release date for Indigo Dada, Kaerutope and a couple of archival albums is today. I'm eager to get hold of the first two since they're 'actual'new releases/new material. Feels like they've been a long time coming... Will have to be patient though and wait for them to appear on Discogs.
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Post by trollh on Jan 18, 2019 16:30:03 GMT -5
"Will have to be patient though and wait for them to appear on Discogs."
Im added on discogs already!
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Post by andypandy380 on Jan 18, 2019 17:09:21 GMT -5
Ahh, wasn't sure what you meant but you're the guy adding Merzbow releases to Discogs? No one has them up for sale as yet, which is what I was getting at but they're on my watchlist. There's a particular seller from Japan I've relied on for a whole bunch of the recent Slowdown albums.
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Post by trollh on Jan 18, 2019 23:47:21 GMT -5
yeah, got it
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Post by andypandy380 on Jan 25, 2019 11:14:09 GMT -5
So they've announced the next two for the March release... 'Antimonument Tapes' and 'De-Soundtrack' Both are quite heavily centred around sound collage and high speed/quick change tape cut-ups. Parts of De-Soundtrack was apparently distributed to obscure tape compilations around the world. The title comes from the fact that a single film soundtrack was used for the sampling - As in 'a de-constructed soundtrack'
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Post by davebowman on Feb 2, 2019 5:40:11 GMT -5
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Post by davebowman on Feb 8, 2019 19:48:29 GMT -5
Four new Merzbow tracks appear on a 2 x 12" compilation album 'Berghain 09', released March 15th. It looks as though the Merzbow tracks are either very short (total of approx. 4 minutes) or very long, as they appear to all be locked grooves, so presumably you could leave them running forever: ostgut.de/shop/berghain-09-o-ton-119.html
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Post by andypandy380 on Feb 11, 2019 17:55:03 GMT -5
Would be interested in hearing those Merzbow tracks. There is also a bandcamp page so it's available digitally, no previews however but fingers crossed we can give it a listen once it's released.
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Post by andypandy380 on Feb 25, 2019 3:20:30 GMT -5
Slowdown have announced their fourth series of archival albums, with the first two albums arriving in april - Environmental Percussion Parts 1 and 2. They explore the idea of amplifying sounds from household objects and handmade instruments, and utilising natural echoes and reverbs - sounds that surfaced on albums like Material Action For 2 Microphones and Ecobondage.
The current archival set (apparently called 'Loop & Collage') concludes with two albums in march. I can only assume they'll release each as a box set... and I have a feeling this series could get quite extensive, if it isnt already.
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Post by acsenger on Mar 17, 2019 7:31:55 GMT -5
I got the vinyl version of "Venereology" yesterday and have listened to it twice. The pressing is great (no surface noise or crackles) and the mastering is excellent too. I listened to the CD version a couple months ago, and to me there doesn't seem to be much of a difference between the sound of the two versions. About the artwork: it's really nicely done, and I love the two modified photos of Akita (leaning over a bunch of gear in front of a couple loudspeakers) on the inside of the gatefold cover. However, most of the pictures and nearly all of the notes in the CD booklet are missing. They really could've made a booklet for them. There's also no info about when the bonus tracks were recorded, nor is it mentioned that one of them had been released on a compilation tape before. Curiously, the sticker on the plastic outer cover says there is over 20 minutes of "newly expanded music", when (as has been pointed out in this thread) there's actually about 33 minutes worth of bonus material.
Since the notes say Akita rearranged the recordings, I assume it was his choice to omit "I Lead You Towards Glorious Times" and to break the original sequence of the tracks by inserting "Slave New Desart" between two extra tracks. I don't like this arrangement, to be honest, not least because the bonus tracks are not as full-on as the original album, so the track preceding "Slave New Desart" breaks its flow. Once you get past this, however, the bonus tracks are excellent, although fairly different from the album proper. Interestingly, the first one ("Last Splash") reminded me of early 2000s laptop-era Merzbow with its emphasis on sampled guitar and its relatively airy structure. The last track on side D features the beat of "Slave New Desart" (it might have been raw material for that track). Actually, I think the very beginning of S.N.D. has been cut off: I don't recall the couple seconds of guitar playing being on the vinyl version. If that's indeed the case, it's a weird and unfortunate omission.
In summary, I think it's worth buying the vinyl edition even if one has the CD, since there's plenty of bonus material on it. In the future, if I want to hear the album proper, I'll still listen to the CD, but I'll also definitely be listening to the second record of the vinyl version with the bonus tracks.
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Post by trollh on Mar 24, 2019 16:17:41 GMT -5
Crocidura Dsi Nezumi Slowdown CD reissue scheduled for May 2019 Material H2 Slowdown CD scheduled for May 2019 TBA RareNoise with Mats Gustafsson and Balázs Pándi TBA RareNoise with Keiji Haino and Balázs Pándi
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Post by andypandy380 on Apr 8, 2019 3:47:17 GMT -5
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Post by acsenger on Apr 9, 2019 2:49:24 GMT -5
I’m listening to the samples now and I like them. They remind me of “Escape Mask”, released by the same label. I’ll preorder the CD. However, the artwork is hideous... I don’t know why they didn’t stick to the original cassette artwork.
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Post by andypandy380 on Apr 9, 2019 3:17:50 GMT -5
Yeah, it sounds great actually. I didnt notice at the time but it's already available to download - and you get the download now if you preorder the CD. The artwork is a bit of a mess, I agree
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