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Post by andypandy380 on Jul 1, 2020 0:49:21 GMT -5
Another Merzbow album is on its way via Room 40 (the folks who brought us Noise Mass, Mono/StereoAkuma) The album was recorded in 97/98 and explores the use of drum machines. It'll be released on CD bundled with a poster.
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Post by acsenger on Jul 2, 2020 11:59:31 GMT -5
The samples sound very promising, so I preordered it. I hope by the time it’s released it’ll be possible to send packages from Australia to Europe (I believe it isn’t at the moment). It’s of course well-known that Akita has always been prolific, but this release still got me thinking about how much music he’s recorded. This period, the second half of the ‘90s, saw the usual high number of releases back in the day: at least 5-6 CDs a year along with some vinyl releases. On top of that, the “Merzbox” contains unreleased tracks and full albums from this era. Then in the last couple years Slowdown has been churning out yet more unreleased stuff, and over the years there have also been other CDs with yet more unreleased music, like this new CD, “Exoking” or the “Last of Analogue Sessions” triple CD. And this is just one era. It’s like Akita did nothing else but create music, at night too, instead of sleeping. It’s crazy to think he also wrote books during this time, and supposedly spent time with other activities too.
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Post by andypandy380 on Jul 3, 2020 0:37:14 GMT -5
I preordered too. Just received an email from the room 40 bandcamp - for anyone on the fence with this one, he's offering a 45% discount on absolutely everything on the room 40 bandcamp for one day only... So get in quick! Using the code '44' Bit of a kick in the teeth for you and I... But whatever
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Post by andypandy380 on Jul 28, 2020 10:45:56 GMT -5
Amazed to be able to say my copy arrived today. I've heard the virus has had quite an impact on international post, I know for example that Cold Spring have been waiting on some distro items for months, this one seems to have slipped through.
The album runs for quite a modest 46 minutes but there is quite a lot going on. Without being too vague, it almost feels like it bridges a bit of a gap between the harsh 90's and some of the more beat/loop driven sounds of the mid 2000s. A couple of tracks are built around some heavily distorted thuds and loops that occasionally remind me of things I've heard Aaron Dilloway produce with his tape machines. There are moments where all the sound is stripped back to quite a minimal beat only to be interjected with loud slabs of feedback. At times the tracks are a bit unusual and a little bit like one long list of ideas, but somehow they feel like they'd be right at home in the tracklisting of an album like Tauromachine. The most unusual track of the bunch is probably the title track which feels quite sparse at times with some very straightforward and minimal drum machine loops. At times I find myself thinking of dark techno artists such as Andy Stott or Demdike Stare, but with those crashing, typically Merzbow sounds weaved in. The final couple of tracks are a little Pulse Demon-ish in their style and intensity, and in general I feel like this is an album that would appeal to lovers of the harsh 90's, if you can imagine that sound but with a lot of other influences in the mix.
On another note, Room40 seem to be building quite a successful run of Merzbow releases, I'm quite fond of the way they're doing it. Each album is packaged in a simple cardboard sleeve but their attention to detail in the design of them is great. I hope we get more from them.
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Post by acsenger on Sept 11, 2020 11:45:50 GMT -5
After exactly 2 months, I finally received my copy, and I can't add much to what's been described above, except that while I like the CD a lot, I find the track selection a bit puzzling. I mean the title of the album is "EXD", which is a drum synthesizer, but only the first two tracks appear to feature it. These tracks are by far the most surprising and unusual on the CD, due to the EXD and their often quite sparse nature. The other three tracks, however, have little in common with the first two: they contain no drum machines, no beats (unless you count the machine gun-like EMS in track 3), and are much more typical of Merzbow's harsh and free-flowing albums from this era. So I don't really get why these two very different groups of tracks are featured on the same CD. That said, it's still a great listen (with crushing sound, I should add), especially because of the first two tracks. Some of the sounds in them remind me of "Maschinenstil", an awesome album from mid-1998 that also features EXD. The fold-out collage (from 1982) looks great too.
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