Merzbow

Merzbow

Masami Akita at Moers Festival 2007
Background information
Birth name Masami Akita
Born (1956-12-19) December 19, 1956
Tokyo, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s) Musician, graphic artist, writer, animal rights activist
Instruments
Years active 1980–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website merzbow.net

Masami Akita (秋田 昌美 Akita Masami, born December 19, 1956), better known by his stage name Merzbow (メルツバウ Merutsubau), is a Japanese noise musician. Since 1980, he has released over 400 recordings.

The name Merzbow comes from the German dada artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork Merzbau (German pronunciation: [ˈmɛʁtsˌbaʊ̯]), in which Schwitters transformed the interior of his house using found objects. The name was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic. In addition to this, Akita has cited a wide range of musical influences from progressive rock, heavy metal, free jazz, and early electronic music[1] to non-musical influences like dadaism, surrealism, and fetish culture.[2] Since the early 2000s, he has been inspired by animal rights and environmentalism, and has become a vegan.[3]

As well as being a prolific musician, he has been a writer and editor for several books and magazines in Japan, and has written several books of his own. He has written about a variety of subjects, mostly about music, modern art, and underground culture. His more renowned works were on the topics of BDSM and Japanese bondage. Other art forms Akita has been interested in include painting, photography, filmmaking, and Butoh dance.[4]

In 2000, Extreme Records released the 50 CD box set known as the Merzbox. Akita's work has been the subject of several remix albums and at least one tribute album. This, among other achievements, has helped Merzbow to be regarded by some as the "most important artist in noise".[5]

Life and career

Early life

Masami Akita was born in Tokyo, Japan on December 19, 1956. He listened to psychedelic music, progressive rock, and later free jazz in his youth, all of which have influenced his noise.[5] In high school he became the drummer of various high school bands, which he left due to the other members being "grass-smoking Zappa freaks".[6] By this time, he and high school friend Kiyoshi Mizutani had started playing improvised rock at studio sessions which Akita describes as "long jam sessions along the lines of Ash Ra Tempel or Can but we didn't have any psychedelic taste".[6]

He later attended Tamagawa University to study fine art, at which he majored in painting and art theory.[4] While at university, he became interested in the ideas of dada and surrealism and also studied Butoh dance.[6] At Tamagawa, he learned of Kurt Schwitters' Merz, or art made from rubbish, including Schwitters' Merzbau ("Merz building"), which is the source of the name Merzbow.[7]

Beginning (1980–1989)

Merzbow began as the duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, who met Akita in high school. Akita started releasing noise recordings on cassettes through his own record label, Lowest Music & Arts, which was founded in order to trade cassette tapes with other underground artists. The earliest recording he made was Metal Acoustic Music. Various other early releases included Remblandt Assemblage and Solonoise 1.[8] The Collection series consisted of ten cassettes, the first five were recorded in a studio for an independent label called Ylem, which went defunct before they could be released. So, Akita released them himself, and recorded five more at home.[9]

Akita's earliest music was made with tape loops and creatively recorded percussion and metal.

I threw all my past music career in the garbage. There was no longer any need for concepts like 'career' and 'skill'. I stopped playing music and went in search of an alternative.
— Masami Akita[10]

Early methods included what he referred to as "material action", in which he would closely amplify small sounds so as to distort them through the microphone. This method was used on Material Action for 2 Microphones and Material Action 2 N.A.M.. Among early releases like the box set Pornoise/1kg, Merzbow created artwork using photocopies of collages made out of manga and porn magazines he found in trash cans in the Tokyo subway. Akita explained this as trying to "create the same feeling as the secret porn customer for the people buying my cassettes in the early 80s".[11]

ZSF Produkt (pronounced Zusufu, from an ancient Japanese word meaning "magnetic")[10] was founded in 1984 to release music by similar artists within the industrial movement but eventually became the successor to Lowest Music & Arts.[12] Numerous Merzbow releases were recorded at ZSF Produkt Studio, Masami Akita's home studio.[13]

During this era, Merzbow found much wider recognition and began making recordings for various international labels.[14] Batztoutai with Memorial Gadgets was his first LP released outside of Japan. He also started touring abroad with the help of various collaborators. First, Merzbow performed in the USSR in 1988, then, toured the USA in 1990, Korea in 1991, and Europe in 1989 and 1992.[15] Kiyoshi Mizutani left Merzbow after the 1989 European tour and continues to pursue a solo career.

Noise electronics era (1989–1999)

During the European tour in September–October 1989, Merzbow could only bring simple and portable gear; this led to the harsh noise style Merzbow became known for in the 1990s. Cloud Cock OO Grand (1990) was the first example of this new style, Merzbow's first digital recording (on DAT), and the first recording made for the CD format. It also includes live material recorded during the tour.[16]

But when I started live in late 1980s I didn't like to use tape on stage. I like only live electronics. So, my studio works changed to more live composition style. I'm still using many tapes in studio works, but difference is I treat tapes and instruments. Before, I used tapes as overdubbing concept. But now tapes are crashing together, no static overdub. I found that style on Cloud Cock OO Grand.
— Masami Akita[16]

Beginning in the mid-1990s, Merzbow began to be influenced by death metal and grindcore.[17] Recordings from this time are mostly recorded at extreme volume, some mastered at levels far beyond standard (Noisembryo, Pulse Demon).[18] In 1994, Akita acquired a vintage EMS synthesizer. From 1996, plans were made to release a "10 (or maybe 12)" CD box set on Extreme Records.[19] In 2000, Extreme Records released the Merzbox, a fifty CD set of Merzbow records, twenty of them not previously released.

Throughout most of the 1990s, Merzbow live was a trio with Reiko A. on electronics and Bara on voice and dance. Masami Akita occasionally played drums for Hijokaidan during the early–mid 1990s.

In the early 1990s, Masami Akita composed the soundtracks to numerous kinbaku videos by Fuji Planning (不二企画 Fuji Kikaku) and seppuku-themed videos by their sub-label Right Brain.[17] Akita would also directed Lost Paradise (失楽園　乗馬服女腹切り Shitsurakuen: Jōbafuku onna harakiri) for Right Brain.[20] Some of this music was included on Music for Bondage Performance and Music for Bondage Performance 2, co-credited to Right Brain Audile. Director Ian Kerkhof would use a Merzbow track for his 1992 film La séquence des barres parallèles, and Akita composed original music for Kerhof's 1994 film The Dead Man 2: Return of the Dead Man.[17] Kerkhof made the documentary Beyond Ultra Violence: Uneasy Listening by Merzbow in 1998.[21] Akita also created music for Ilppo Pohjola's Asphalto (1998)[22] and Routemaster (2000).[23][24]

Laptop era (1999–2009)

Since 1999, Akita has used computers in his recordings, having first acquired a Macintosh to work on art for the Merzbox. Also at this time he began referring to his home studio as "Bedroom, Tokyo". At live performances, Akita has produced noise music from either two laptop computers or combination of a laptop and analog synthesizers/guitar pedals. Reiko A. and Bara left Merzbow during this time, Reiko Azuma now has a solo career. Since 2001, Jenny Akita (née Kawabata) started being credited for artwork on various releases.

Since 2001, Akita started utilising samples of animal sounds in various releases starting with Frog. Around 2002, Akita became a vegan, he stated how it began:

I started raising four bantams, the little ornamental chickens. With this experience as a start, I gradually started to be concerned and care about chickens and all the barn animals I used to eat without giving it a second thought before. So I started reading books and researching on the internet about Animal Rights and that triggered an awareness of "evil" that human society has done.
— Masami Akita[25]

During this period, Akita also became a supporter of PETA which is reflected in his animal-themed releases.[26] An example of this is Minazo Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, dedicated to an elephant seal he visited often at the zoo and Bloody Sea, a protest against Japanese whaling.[27][28] He has also produced several works centered around recordings of his pet chickens (notably Animal Magnetism and Turmeric).[29]

Also in 2002, Akita released Merzbeat, which was seen as a significant departure from his trademark abstract style in that it contains beat-oriented pieces. This has sparked some controversy among fans,[30] though some reviewers pointed out that it sounded very similar to Aqua Necromancer (1998) which features samples of progressive rock drumming.[31][32] Merzbird (2004) and Merzbuddha (2005) followed in a similar vein with sampled beats combined with Merzbow's signature harsh noise.

Current era (2009–present)

Starting in the mid-2000s, Masami Akita began to reintroduce junk metal and effects pedals back into his setup. By the early-2010s, he was using a large number of pedals, oscillators and tone generators, and reduced to a single laptop running granular synthesis software.[33] In 2014, he toured without a laptop. In 2008, Akita reintroduced the drum kit, his first instrument.[33] This can be heard on the 13 Japanese Birds series. At this time he changed the name of his home studio to Munemihouse.

Beginning in November 2009, Merzbow started releasing archival material from the 1980s and 1990s, both reissues and previously unreleased material, several of which were released on cassette. The Blossoming Noise label reissued the 1980s cassettes E-Study, Collection 004, Collection 005, Normal Music, and Flesh Metal Orgasm. The Kibbutz cassette was reissued on vinyl by Urashima. Other cassettes of unreleased material include Untitled Nov 1989, 9888A, April 1992, and Variations for Electric Fan. 2010–2013 saw the release several archival box sets; Merzbient, Merzphysics, Merzmorphosis, Lowest Music & Arts 1980–1983, and Duo.

Akita began collaborating with the Hungarian drummer Balázs Pándi in 2009, initially Pándi served as a live drummer for Merzbow. This resulted in the live albums Live at Fluc Wanne, Vienna 2010/05/18, Ducks: Live in NYC, and Katowice. Akita and Pándi then began to record studio albums collaborating with additional musicians, Cuts (2013) with the Swedish saxophone player Mats Gustafsson, Cuts of Guilt, Cuts Deeper (2015) with Gustafsson and Thurston Moore, and An Untroublesome Defencelessness with Keiji Haino (2016), all released by RareNoiseRecords. Akita, Pándi, and Gustafsson also toured together and released the live LP Live in Tabačka 13/04/12.

Merzbow also released several collaborations with industrial/noise musicians he had know since the 1980s: Spiral Right / Spiral Left with Z'EV, The Black Album with John Duncan, and a trio of releases with Maurizio Bianchi, Amniocentesi / Envoise 30 05 82 (a split with two tracks from 1982), Merzbow Meets M.B., and Amalgamelody.[34] Gensho, the seventh collaborative releases with Boris, was released in 2016. It is a double album, one disc is by Boris and one by Merzbow, that are meant to be played at the same time.

Musical style

Merzbow's sounds employ the use of distortion, feedback, and noises from synthesizers, machinery, and home-made noisemakers. While much of Merzbow's output is intensely harsh in character, Akita does occasionally make forays into ambient music. Vocals are employed sometimes, but never in a lyrical sense. Contrary to most harsh noise music, Akita also occasionally uses elements of melody and rhythm.[35]

Akita's early work consisted of industrial noise music made from tape loops and conventional instruments. Similar to his present albums, he produced lengthy, disorienting pieces. He also became famous for the sheer volume of his releases.[36]

The avant-garde nature of Akita's work made acceptance by mainstream and unprepared audiences difficult. When he performed with Kiyoshi Mizutani in 1988 at the Jazz-on-Amur festival in Khabarovsk, the Far East of USSR, his improvised, experimental electroacoustic set was praised by fellow musicians as well as the festival's producer. The number of the - jazz-oriented (and - even just curious) - crowd, however, had been expecting a more traditional (and much-much more quiet) performance, and started walking out. Prior to his second performance at the festival — which was to be made to an even more conservative audience—[37] Akita was asked to play "more musically."[36] On that first stage, Merzbow used the finest example of "classical analogue live noisemaiking technologies" to display: untuned guitar, a drumset, various micro-objects, small springs centered in its shell baffles, large aluminium boxes with strings inside to be attacked with a fiddlestick, etc. along with multi- piezo-pickuping and close-miking techniques, live processing through vintage US fuzz, ring modulator etc. boxes, and quite vivid and spontaneous approach, backed by domestically supplied slide and light shows. These live recordings were post-processed/re-mixed and released as Live in Khabarovsk, CCCP (I'm Proud by Rank of the Workers) LP – and as the (once more re-mixed comparing to the LP) CD 26 of the Merzbox later on.[37]

During the 1990s Akita's work became much harsher and were generally mastered at a louder volume than usual. These were heavily influenced by death metal and grindcore bands of the time (a prime example is the Venereology album).[17] The mid-1990s saw Akita being heavily influenced by psychedelic bands and this was reflected in various albums.

Side projects

In addition to Merzbow, Masami Akita has been involved in a number of side projects and groups.

Aliases

Groups

Other groups include: Commando Bruno Sanmartino with Incapacitants and Violent Onsen Geisha,[41] Kikuri with Keiji Haino, Maldoror with Mike Patton, MAZK with Zbigniew Karkowski, Melting Lips with Hanayo,[42] Muscats with Hanayo and Masaya Nakahara, Metalik Zeit with Aube,[43] Merz-Banana with Melt-Banana,[44][45] Satanstornade with Russell Haswell (they later released an album entitled Satanstornade under their real names), Secrets with Tetsuya Mugishima (aka Seven),[46] and Shalon Kelly King with Fumio Kosakai.[47]

Discography

Main article: Merzbow discography

Bibliography

After completing his degree, Akita became a freelance writer and editor for various magazines in Japan. He frequently writes on a variety of topics such as sexuality (including pornography, S&M, and Japanese bondage. Excerpts appear in the Music for Bondage Performance album notes), underground and extreme culture (including music and art), architecture, and animal rights. None have been published in English.

YearJapanese titleEnglish titleTitle translationPublisherISBN
1988 倒錯のアナグラム　周縁的ポルノグラフィーの劇場
Tōsaku no anaguramu: Shūenteki porunogurafī no gekijō		 The Anagram of Perversion Anagram of perversion: Theatre of fringe pornography Seikyūsha ISBN 4-7872-1005-X
1989 異形のマニエリスム　「邪」の民俗
Ikei no manierisumu: "Ja" no minzoku		 Mannerism of heterodoxa: "Perverse" traditions ISBN 978-4-7872-3022-5
1990 フェティッシュ・ファッション　変貌するエロスと快楽身体
Fetisshu fasshon: Henbō suru eros to kairaku shintai		 Fetish Fashion Fetish fashion: Transformation of eros and body play ISBN 4-7872-1010-6
1991 セックス・シンボルの誕生
Sekkusu shinboru no tanjō		 The Power of Goddess of Love Birth of the sex symbol ISBN 978-4-7872-1011-1
1992 ノイズ・ウォー　ノイズ・ミュージックとその展開
Noizu wō: Noizu myūjikku to sono tenkai		 Noise War: Noise 10 Years Noise war: Noise music and its development ISBN 4-7872-7035-4
1993 快楽身体の未来形
Kairaku shintai no miraikei		 Terminal Body Play The future of body play ISBN 4-7872-1018-1
ボディ・エキゾチカ
Bodi ekizochika		 Body Exotica: Sexual Atrocity ISBN 4-89176-288-8
1994 スカム・カルチャー
Sukamu Karuchā		 Scum Culture Suiseisha ISBN 4-89176-303-5
性の猟奇モダン　日本変態研究往来
Sei no ryōki modan: Nihon hentai kenkyū ōrai		 Modern Sexuality Bizarre Modern bizarre sex: Japanese abnormality research textbooks Seikyūsha ISBN 4-7872-3087-5
1995 裸体の帝国　(ヌード・ワールド Vol.1　ヌーディズムの歴史 1)
Ratai no teikoku (Nūdo wārudo vol. 1: nūdizumu no rekishi 1)		 Nude Empire Nude empire (Nude world vol. 1: History of nudism 1) Suiseisha ISBN 4-89176-312-4
1996 日本緊縛写真史
Nihon kinbaku shashinshi		 History of Japanese bondage photographs Jiyu Kokuminsha ISBN 4-426-73800-8
1997 アナル・バロック
Anaru Barokku		 Anal Baroque Seikyūsha ISBN 4-7872-3134-0
1998 ヴィンテージ・エロチカ
Vintēji erochika		 Vintage erotica ISBN 4-7872-3149-9
1999 女陰考　性学古典より
Nyoinkō: Seigaku koten yori		 Think Vagina Vagina thoughts: From sexology classics Outou Shobou ISBN 4-7567-1131-6
ストレンジ・ヌード・カルト　不思議の裸体天国 (ヌード・ワールド Vol.2)
Sutorenji nūdo karuto: Fushigi no ratai tengoku (Nūdo wārudo vol. 2)		 Strange Nude Cult Strange nude cult: Mystery of nude paradise (Nude world vol. 2) Suiseisha ISBN 4-89176-313-2
2000 ラブ・ポジション
Rabu pojishon		 Love Position Outou Shobou ISBN 4-7567-1141-3
2005 わたしの菜食生活
Watashi no saishoku seikatsu		 Cruelty Free Life My vegetarian lifestyle Ohta Publishing ISBN 4-87233-979-7

Note: English title refers to English writing on the cover, sometimes it's a translation of the Japanese title, or a completely different phrase.

References

  1. ↑ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 40. ISBN 0-646-38326-4.
  2. ↑ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 27. ISBN 0-646-38326-4.
  3. ↑ Batty, Roger. "Animal instincts". Musique Machine. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  4. 1 2 "Merzbow". Extreme Records. Archived from the original on March 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  5. 1 2 Couture, François. "Biography". Allmusic Guide. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 10. ISBN 0-646-38326-4.
  7. 1 2 Hensley, Chad. "The Beauty of Noise". EsoTerra. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  8. ↑ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. pp. 84–85. ISBN 0-646-38326-4.
  9. ↑ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 85. ISBN 0-646-38326-4.
  10. 1 2 Pouncey, Edwin (August 2000). "Consumed by Noise". The Wire (198).
  11. ↑ Brennan, Gerald. "Merzbow Biography". Enotes. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  12. ↑ "Merzbow – Age of 369/Chant 2". Extreme Records. Archived from the original on March 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  13. ↑ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 95. ISBN 0-646-38326-4.
  14. ↑ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 53. ISBN 0-646-38326-4.
  15. ↑ Pozo, Carlos. "Expanded Noisehands – The Noise Music of Merzbow". Angbase. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  16. 1 2 Dixon Christie (January 1997). "MERZBOW'S Discipline, Decibels, and Diety Japan's Minister of Sonic Terror Turns On The Feedback". Digi-zine Online Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 1, 1998. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "Corridor Of Cells - Interview - Merzbow". Corridor of Cells. 1997. Archived from the original on November 30, 1999. Retrieved April 24, 2014.</ref]}
  18. ↑ Hegarty, Paul (2007). Noise/Music – A History. London, New York: Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. p. 156. ISBN 0-8264-1727-2.
  19. ↑ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. vi. ISBN 0-646-38326-4.
  20. ↑ "Masami 'Merzbow' Akita's "Lost Paradise"". J-Sploitation. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Beyond Ultra Violence: Uneasy Listening by Merzbow (1998)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Ilppo Pohjola: Asphalto". pHinnWeb. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Ilppo Pohjola: Routemaster". pHinnWeb. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Masami Akita". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  25. ↑ Masami Akita's vegan origins, taken from interview released in January, 2011
  26. ↑ Anderson, Rick. "Merzbird". Allmusic Guide. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  27. ↑ Akita, Masami. "imprec097 Merzbow, Minazo Volume One". Important Records. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  28. ↑ "Merzbow – Bloody Sea". Vivo Records. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  29. ↑ "Merzbow: Animal Magnetism". Alien8 Recordings. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  30. ↑ Tausig, Ben. "Noise with a Beat". Dusted Magazine. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  31. ↑ "Merzbeat – Review". Couture, François. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  32. ↑ "Merzbeat". Howard, Ed. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  33. 1 2 Pozniak, Alex (May 6, 2012). "Merzbow". Ears Have Ears. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  34. ↑ Burnett, Joseph. "Razor Blades In The Dark: An Interview With Merzbow". The Quietus. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  35. ↑ "Merzbow/Fennesz/Antenna Farm Interview". Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  36. 1 2 3 4 Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. ISBN 0-646-38326-4.
  37. 1 2 Boris A. Podkosov, esq., the JOA's producer ["Merzbow at JOA'88: Eastern Noise of Perestroika"], manuscript, June 21, 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
  38. ↑ "Memorial page of Shohei Iwasaki". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  39. 1 2 Trevor Brown. "Trevor Brown interviews Masami Akita". Archived from the original on 1997-06-25. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
  40. 1 2 Wehowsky, Ralf (1987). "Masami Akita aka Merzbow: Eine Cassettographie". Bad Alchemy. 7: 45–46.
  41. ↑ Ongaku Otaku. Automatism Press (1): 51. 1995. ISSN 1081-1761. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  42. ↑ "Salon Tetra events". Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  43. ↑ "[音楽][公演]AUBE: 中嶋昭文トリビュート　For The Heart Of G.R.O.S.S.（ベアーズ）". かけらを集める（仮）。 (in Japanese). September 23, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  44. ↑ Burgess, Aaron. "Melt-Banana interview". Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  45. ↑ Sudoh, Toshiaki. "Past shows 1995". Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  46. ↑ 「日本絶滅動物記」其の１８～「独り遊びの思想」開催告知！！（終了）. Ｍｒ．エレクトの独り言 (in Japanese). July 26, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  47. ↑ "Jungle club scene, Jan-1998". Retrieved 2010-09-15.

Further reading

External links

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