Merzbow Top Hits

[Zeno Marx]

"Newark Hellfire"  Live on WFMU,1990 (Merzbox CD#37)  *An excerpt appeared on Great American Nude / Crash for Hi-Fi CD, Alchemy, 1991

Might be in the top 3 or so live recordings I've heard from him.  Prefer it over the CD with excerpt, and I like that one real well.  This and Akasha Gulva or full-on live joy.

[Zeno Marx]

The Duo 11CD box set is news to me...five years out.  I have mixed feelings about the Mizutani era.  The Brainwashed review has my interest piqued, but I also doubt I'll arrive at the same enthusiastic conclusion.  Any opinions?

[moozz]

The Duo 11CD box set is news to me...five years out.  I have mixed feelings about the Mizutani era.  The Brainwashed review has my interest piqued, but I also doubt I'll arrive at the same enthusiastic conclusion.  Any opinions?

In that case I must have sold mine about 5 years ago. I was very disappointed with that box. If I remember right it was like random improvisation. Late '80s Merzbow is mostly fantastic but this stuff was not. If it is available as download somewhere I'd suggest to try it out before buying. Maybe some folks like random improvisations, I don't.

[absurdexposition]

Will move this one over from the playlist thread:

Merzbow - Door Open at 8 AM CD (Alien8)

I was familiar with Aqua Necromancer from the same era, but not this one until hearing today's Merzcast. What a wild ride they both are!

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Merzcast is great. I wrote about it in length in Finnish language, so don't feel like repeating it all at this point. Very very good program. I'm familiar with almost all releases thus far. Evantually it made me want to check what is it that I absolutely need from Merzbow and what do I have.
I was kind of surprised how much of the analogue era CD's I had. Stuff until 1999, CD releases before lap-top era. That's where my main focus is. Of course I do have lots of vinyl and tapes too, but not that much missing from what I absolutely want.

If anyone into trading has HOLE and MERCURATED CD's or DADAROTTENVATOR LP, who'd like to trade them against new items, I'm willing to give good credit for distro items, hehe...

Been listening only Merzbow for few days... 20 discs done... more to go..

[ConcreteMascara]

I feel like Merzcast is a welcome re-framing of Merzbow's legacy which feels like its had consistent negative treatment in the past 5-10 years. It's nice to hear thoughtful praise and discussion rather than off-the-cuff negative remarks. I'm frankly interested to here some episodes on the digital era releases as there are many good albums from that era too.

[Bloated Slutbag]

I feel like Merzcast is a welcome re-framing of Merzbow's legacy which feels like its had consistent negative treatment in the past 5-10 years. It's nice to hear thoughtful praise and discussion rather than off-the-cuff negative remarks. I'm frankly interested to here some episodes on the digital era releases as there are many good albums from that era too.

Someone should start a new topic entitled Digital Era Merzbow. (But it won't be me because I've little more to say atm than "Someone should start a new topic entitled Digital Era Merzbow.") For me it's not a matter of dis-liking the digital era, it's just of massively worshiping the analog era, such that anything otherwise good, or even quite good, is still not good enough.

I still try to kid myself that I have an open mind (and ear) so am eagerly awaiting enthusiastic, persuasive, recommendations, preferably from fellow analog fellators, that might start to unhook the hangups.

[audiodissection]

Merzcast is great. I wrote about it in length in Finnish language, so don't feel like repeating it all at this point. Very very good program. I'm familiar with almost all releases thus far. Evantually it made me want to check what is it that I absolutely need from Merzbow and what do I have.
I was kind of surprised how much of the analogue era CD's I had. Stuff until 1999, CD releases before lap-top era. That's where my main focus is. Of course I do have lots of vinyl and tapes too, but not that much missing from what I absolutely want.

If anyone into trading has HOLE and MERCURATED CD's or DADAROTTENVATOR LP, who'd like to trade them against new items, I'm willing to give good credit for distro items, hehe...

Been listening only Merzbow for few days... 20 discs done... more to go..

HOLE and MERCURATED CD's or DADAROTTENVATOR LP. These 3 are among his absolute best.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I feel like Merzcast is a welcome re-framing of Merzbow's legacy which feels like its had consistent negative treatment in the past 5-10 years. It's nice to hear thoughtful praise and discussion rather than off-the-cuff negative remarks. I'm frankly interested to here some episodes on the digital era releases as there are many good albums from that era too.

Someone should start a new topic entitled Digital Era Merzbow. (But it won't be me because I've little more to say atm than "Someone should start a new topic entitled Digital Era Merzbow.") For me it's not a matter of dis-liking the digital era, it's just of massively worshiping the analog era, such that anything otherwise good, or even quite good, is still not good enough.

I still try to kid myself that I have an open mind (and ear) so am eagerly awaiting enthusiastic, persuasive, recommendations, preferably from fellow analog fellators, that might start to unhook the hangups.

While I am most certainly Merzbow fan and somewhat curious of the digital era Merzbow, so far, I have never heard his digital works that would match analogue works. It is not saying it would be bad. It's usually just not as good as countless analogue releases. I listened couple digital releases within week, and while those were ok (like Ikebukuro Dada), still I don't see reason to praise too much. Curiously I just noticed that in youtube couple people comment mentioned album being their all time favorite Merzbow album. Maybe it is the good metal melodies sampled... Burzum samples... black-noise?
check 25 min onwards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqhKj6uzxE0

For me listening that album felt more like conclusion that there is so much good harsh noise other than Merzbow, that listening stuff just because it is made by Merzbow makes no sense. His best works are absolute amazing and always influential. Seriously mandatory. Yet, instead of listening fairly lame CD's, I rather pick up other artists.

I would be slightly interested how his latest works have been, where some noise gadgets are used too?

[Bloated Slutbag]

Just got through the first seven episodes of Merzcast and enjoyed every minute. Reminds me much of any number of times of hanging with noise people just talking noise... but just focused (mostly) on the Merz. I note now as I type that an eighth episode has appeared... and possibly to discuss the digital side, ha! Might the wish, previously stated, be born?

I think my favorite thing about the cast is how whenever someone tries to sincerely describe the noise, the response is muffled snickering. Which I think is the only appropriate response to any sincere attempt to describe noise.

[Eigen Bast]

Yea, the mystery surrounding the laptop era makes me want to buy a shitty surplus laptop and load it with old VSTs, ha.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Yea, the mystery surrounding the laptop era makes me want to buy a shitty surplus laptop and load it with old VSTs, ha.

It is actually interesting point as well as amusing, that none of the three guys at merzcast have absolutely no idea how the "laptop noise" was made. I am no different. I do not know how people "make noise" with computers. I only use computers for final mix or mastering. I never "generate sounds". Cutting or looping material that is recorded happens in final mixes, but I have never even recorded noise to computer. It's always transferring files from external recorders.

On his Merzcast, Wiese was making his point about computers being "the best tape decks", haha.. Perhaps blasphemous notion to some, but I can see what he means. I have seen him play, and he did really good stuff. Same for the "studio" work. I have no idea what are the programs he uses and how it's done, though. However, I am sure that saying "laptop noise", doesn't really mean much actually. With all those complex controllers what enable full hands-on approach for playing, not just one mouse clicking different adjustments, it is not that far from noise that is done with use digital efx or recording digitally.

That said, the new episode with Amlux was in some ways strange. As if they were slightly careful what to say. Guest, having his first Merzbow CD to deal with, is obviously everything else but objective about it. I am 100% sure that hearing almost whatever noise CD first, might blow your mind. It will make special place to that album for rest of your life, despite hearing better things. Yet Greh and Mike often mention about not-so-good sounds what they associate with early digital era of Merzbow. They bring up this few times in this episode too. Amlux certainly is not piece of shit. It has it's qualities. It doesn't feel "edited", it feels like Masami is having fun playing free flowing noise. There are good moments here and there, but fuck, it is so obvious how much punch, force and wide variety of ear-candy it is missing. Last 15 minutes of album includes such an awful moments, that I don't think even blasting it loud will fix that. They conclude that there is "little bit if that" (meaning flat, punchless, sort of game type sounds), but sort of forget the criticism quickly in favor to praise the album. I think despite divine status Masami has, it would not hurt to conclude album is not that good. Even when it would be purely subjective conclusion based on not liking the type of sound. Not from Merz, not from the others. Some of Merzbow CD's are fine for being documents of it's time. Part of transition/development. Not wanting to keep doing "the same" forever. It would be quite odd to underline how great or amazing they would be.

Having been listening Veneorology and Artificial Invagination over the weekend, and yesterday Pornoise Extra, Sadomasochismo / The Lampinak, Mortegage / Batztoutai Extra, and couple others... They are all different era, different style and many of them great. Yet listening Amlux today, sort of proved my point.

The composition overall, is not that far away from good Merzbow (although not on same level). He manipulates some tasty sound sources. You can hear still good noise fragments being used, perhaps field recordings, etc. But the sound of computer plugins, some horrid sound stretching, even more horrid mp3'ish /8bit kind of sound (luckily not overtly dominant in Amlux), occasional glitches....   It is not the stuff I will want to listen. There might be people who like the kind of sound type, but I don't know such people.

When there are literally dozens and dozens of amazing recordings, it appears that especially the early digital era, I will keep my distance. Later digital era, and the mix of digital and analogue sounds - that I have to revisit to make any proper conclusions.

Nevertheless, discussion about digital Merzbow would be indeed welcomed. I do think it is possible to conclude if there is something exceptionally good, and I am still tempted to check out. His 80's and 90's works are often so different, yet one can easily point out albums that stand out even if technology/composition/sound/presentation etc is vastly different.

[Zeno Marx]

I know nothing about the laptop era...other than the collaboration with Wiese (Multiplication 2005) is great and a favorite, so I know I have the curiosity and capacity for it.  I'd never heard Amlux (Merzcast, e8).  Could be the moment, but upon that first listen, I enjoyed it more than quite a few of the albums just before going laptop.  I don't know what he's doing with his computer(s), but he can get textures that both scramble and trigger my brain in both simultaneously satisfying and uncomfortable ways.

[acsenger]

I agree that Merzbow's laptop era (I believe this was between 1999-2005, when he predominantly used a laptop/laptops) overall is not as good as his '90s era. However, I view the laptop era as mostly containing good works. At the same time though, recently I've noticed that I basically don't listen to them as there are simply so many great analogue Merzbow releases, not to mention other kinds of music, that there's just not enough time to listen to his laptop releases.

That said, it's worth checking out releases from this era. I listened to "Amlux" the other day, and while I remembered it to be more complex, I liked it. I keep reading that sounds are flat and without punch in the laptop era as one of the main criticisms. While I get what is meant by "flat", I personally don't find that the sounds lack punch. They're "flat" because of the digital sound, but they do have punch in a digital, "cleaner" way. I understand if someone prefers analogue punch to digital, and I myself don't like too digital sounds, but to me almost all laptop era Merzbow sounds good in its own digital way. Of course, this comes down to personal taste.

Laptop releases I'd recommend:

- Collapse 12 Floors: quite "sound art"-like, but there's a synth in the last track (it might even be a sample from the great "Space Metalizer" album, but I could be remembering wrong)
- Dharma: technically a simple album, but it's still pretty good, and the long psychedelic ending of the last track is awesome
- A Taste Of...: while I find the sound of this album a bit too digital for my taste, musically I remember it to be really good
- Merzzow: I dare say this is up there with his best work, but quite different musically from his '90s works, of course. It has shorter tracks, some of them purely electroacoustic, while a few others have melancholic melodies even. There's also one track at least which is absolutely devastating
- Cycle: two long tracks. The first one is really good, loop-based noise, the second one is a sound collage that reminds me a bit of track 1 on disc 3 of the "Metalvelodrome" CD box. Like that track, not every moment is that good, but overall it works really well
- SCSI Duck: haven't heard this in ages, but I remember it being pretty good (what a horrible cover though...)
- Sha Mo 3000: highly recommended, and one that I'd say belongs to the cream of Merzbow's works overall. It's got drum and guitar samples, groovy parts, psychedelic parts (like the alarm clock being sampled in one of the tracks), and EMS on the last, and very atmospheric, track
- Rattus Rattus: probably the most brutal laptop era album I know. It's rhythmic, but also very full-on. In that respect it's close to his mid-'90s stuff

I'm largely unfamiliar with releases starting from 2006. There are simply too many, and a good deal of what I've heard was totally uninteresting or even shockingly bad (e.g. "Konchuuki", "Dead Leaves", "Kakapo", "Wattle", which came out under Akita's name, but is really just another Merzbow album). It's unlikely I'll systematically explore this era, although I assume there's good stuff there too.

[13]

Great post, thank you!

I have a question pertaining to the recent heap of Merzbow CD reissues/releases. Would any of them be of particular interest to someone who's a fan of his '90s era?