Merzbow & John Wiese - Akashaplexia (Helicopter)
I wanted to wait and finish all 4 discs before speaking about this release. Hype had built around it for so long, and I really wondered how good it could be across the full set. A knockout disc or 2? Sure, I could see that, but the last time these two met up was on the Sissy Spacek 2xCD, Coronado, and my thoughts were that you could have cut it down to just 1 disc. On here though, that is not the case at all, as each disc feels essential to the set's complete picture. The general idea I would give to anyone on the fence about this disc would be "if you like the looping styles of 80s Merzbow, then this will be for you." It's a lot of loop work but the palette of sounds covered on that work is wide; percussive, spastic, dare I say musical? It's all there and it's all handled with delicacy, making sure the harsher noises are not overbearing to these truly brilliant sounds. It even reaches a point where things can sound like there is not more than 1 or 2 sounds going at once.
And that's actually another point to touch on with this boxset -- it isn't really harsh or maximalist. A far cry from the Multiplication collab these two made some time ago (or even the more recent EKA Varna). And it has me thinking "when was the last time Merzbow was truly harsh?" I know with Wiese, he has leaned more into a jack of all trades experimentalist at this point in his career, so it would make sense that this disc leaned more into that with him at the editing helm. But still, I guess one would think that even with editing, you can't fully hide someone who would be blasting in the red for 3+ hours. But that is evidently not what Masami is presenting here on his end. And I guess I have to wonder now where Masami's sound palette rests and how much discussion might have been had about what approach they would be going for on Akashaplexia.
But just... god damn, enough pondering. This set is fantastic. I will definitely be revisiting, as I feel like there is still more to pick apart from this. Probably my favorite pairing of these two to date. Fun stuff.
Sickness & John Wiese - Amnesia (Freak Animal Records)
Following up with a morning listening through this scorching 7". Do I dare say that these two cutting up sounds "industrial" at points? It does to my ear at least. For as spastic as these two can get, I find that their spasms are handled with some rhythmic pulse in mind. When harsh noise is on full burst, there will be these tiny sounds that someone adds on a far pan in the stereo field that types it together like adding a hi-hat to a snare. I'm not saying we're getting a beat tape or anything here now, but it is always fun to hear noise build up in such a manner where the puzzle gets solved with one quick fix like that.
Dead Machines & John Wiese - Failing Lights (Rococo Records)
I've just decided that this is one of those mornings where I will dedicate my time to nothing but an artist's collaborative side, and Wiese just happens to be the winner here. Not a bad winner to have though, as we have been all over the place with soundscapes through him. To take a total 180 from the Sickness collab, this one with Dead Machines is delicate and eerie, allowing sounds to stretch out for what feels like lifetimes at points. And if all the previous releases discussed feel like they have a heavy hand in editing, then I would say this one breaks that streak by feeling like it wasn't edited at all (sans a couple fade ins). It's a relaxing listen, probably being more suited for nighttime than a morning where I am still trying to wake up. Hah, but whatever. It's also one of those funny relics of the 2000s era of noise, where the more "side-projecty" a collaboration would get, the more likely it would end up on some label you have never heard of cuz it never existed past 2014. But hey, the iron was hot, so I get it. Strike! At least the sound here is very good.
