Minazo Vol. 1
| Minazo Vol. 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Merzbow | ||||
| Released | June 27, 2006 | |||
| Genre | Noise | |||
| Length | 58:40 | |||
| Label | Important | |||
| Producer | Masami Akita | |||
| Merzbow chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Stylus | B[2] |
| Musique Machine | [3] |
Minazo Vol. 1 (美男象 Minazō) is an album by Japanese noise musician Merzbow.[4][5] It was followed by Minazo Volume Two released on vinyl.
The album is dedicated to Minazo, who was the only male southern elephant seal in Japan. Minazo was brought from Uruguay in 1995, and was kept at Enoshima Aquarium until his death on October 4, 2005. He was 11 years old; the average life expectancy of an elephant seal is 20 years. In the liner notes, Masami Akita writes that Minazo was made to perform tricks at mealtime, which Akita speculates left him exhausted and may have led to his early death. Akita also laments that many of the aquariums in Japan are mere amusement establishments, and hopes that they will eventually end the exhibition of animals and only function as shelters.[4]
Minazo was depicted on the cover of Merzbeat.
Track listing
All music composed by Masami Akita.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Land of Sea Mammal" | 13:49 |
| 2. | "Sea Breeze" | 14:44 |
| 3. | "Voices from the Sea" | 18:49 |
| 4. | "Destructive Funeral" | 11:17 |
(Note: No track titles are listed on the release, but they were included in the press release and are listed on the label site.)
Personnel
- Masami Akita – performer, liner notes, photography
- Jenny Akita – illustrations
References
- ↑ Jurek, Thom. Minazo Vol. 1 at AllMusic. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ↑ Scott McKeating (July 3, 2006). "Merzbow - Minazo - Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ↑ Roger Batty (July 2, 2006). "Merzbow - Minazo Vol 1". Musique Machine. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- 1 2 "imprec097 Merzbow, Minazo Volume One". Important Records. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ↑ "Merzbow - Minazo Volume 1 (CD, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved April 4, 2013.