Merzbow – Vibractance (E(r)ostrate) 1998
| Merzbow | |
|---|---|
 Masami Akita at Moers Festival 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Masami Akita |
| Also known as | Merzbow |
| Born | December 19, 1956 |
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | Noise, experimental, dark ambient[1] |
| Instruments | Magnetic tape, homemade guitars, synthesizer, effect pedals, percussion, laptop, drums |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | Important, Misanthropic Agenda, Relapse, Lowest Music & Arts, ZSF Produkt, among many others |
| Associated acts | Boris Sunn O))) Sonic Youth |
| Website | merzbow.net |
| Members | |
| Masami Akita | |
| Past members | |
| Kiyoshi Mizutani Reiko Azuma (aka Reiko A.) Tetsuo Sakaibara (aka Bara) | |
The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic. In addition to this, Akita has cited a wide range of influences from progressive rock, free jazz, modern classical and musique concrète[2] to BDSM and Japanese bondage.[3] More recently he has been inspired by animals, animal rights and environmentalism.[4]
As well as being a prolific musician, he has been a writer and editor for several books and magazines in Japan, and has written 17 books of his own. He has written about a variety of subjects, mostly about art, avant-garde and post-modern culture. His more renowned works have been on the topics of BDSM and fetish culture. Other art forms Akita has been interested in include painting, photography, filmmaking and Butoh dance.[5]
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 to some as the "most important artist in noise".[1]
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.[31]Akita's early work consisted of industrial noise music made from tape loops and conventional instruments. Similar to his present albums, he produced lengthy, disorientating pieces. He also became infamous for the sheer amount of releases in a short time frame.[32]
Audiences in general, especially those of "closed societies", did not quite know what to make of his style. During his performances (with Kiyoshi Mizutani) in the USSR, at the Jazz-on-Amur '88 festival, what incorporated improvised, electroacoustic and experimental music that time (the fest's producer consciously obscured both the very type of Akita's music and the erotic trend of his art from Soviet officials), whereas the producer, rocky youth and Soviet improvised music guest stars were extremely pleased, the unprepared orthodox jazz and agier parts of the audience were severely frustrated, particularly, with loudness, to leave the site, and for the second performance, for another, 1000-place hall (of the Soviet Army Officers' House), and even much more conservative audience, [33] he was asked to play "more musically" so he toned it down a bit.[32] On that first stage, Merzbow used the finest example of "classical analogue live noisemaiking technologies" to display: untuned giutar, 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 slide and light shows. This live recording was re-processed and released as Live in Khabarovsk, CCCP (I'm Proud by Rank of the Workers) LP - and as the CD 26 of the Merzbox later on. [34]
During the 90s 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).[35] The mid-90's saw Akita being heavily influenced by psychedelic bands and this was reflected in various albums.
After 2000, Akita started making vague concept albums and experimented with sampling rhythms. He also began to use laptops.
Masami Akita.aka MERZBOW
Occupation: Musician
Nationality: Japan
Executive summary: Merzbow, Destroyer of Worlds
Father of the noise genre. Has authored dozens of records and tapes, as sampled in the 50-cd Merzbox, as well as being active in the Japanese S&M scene. Though he has lapsed into twiddly laptop-based noise, one can long for the days when it was just Masami and his wife banging on curtains of sheet metal.
Derives his name from Kurt Schwitters' shocking installation, Merzbau (1923-36), originally titled Cathedral of Erotic Misery.
Wife: Reiko Azuma
Merzbow
Maldoror
Satanstornade
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Official Website:
http://www.merzbow.net/
Author of books:
Scum Culture (1994, essays)
Bizarre Sex Moderne
Side projects
In addition to Merzbow, Akita has been involved in a number of side projects and groups.[edit] Side projects
SCUM was a project where Akita made new releases out of previous Merzbow recordings. SCUM is an acronym for "Society for Cutting Up Merzbow" (a reference to the SCUM Manifesto), "Scissors for CUtting Merzbow" or "Steel CUM" among others.True Romance was a performance art project in the early 90s with Tetsuo Sakaibara (who later joined Merzbow live) and Toshiyuki Seido.
Right Brain Audile is co-credited on the two Music for Bondage Performance albums, as they're soundtracks he did for several bondage films produced by Right Brain. "RBA" reappears on Merzbient, which features recordings from this era.
Zecken was used for two solo performances in 1996.[32][36]
[edit] Groups
Merzbow Null was a collaboration between Masami Akita's Merzbow and Kazuyuki Kishino's Null, including Kiyoshi Mizutani and Asami Hayashi among others. Tibeta Ubik was Akita and Kishino duo.[32] Both groups made several cassettes of live improv performances.[37]Bustmonster was a "conceptual death metal" (because they couldn't play death metal)[38] group with Tetsuo Sakaibara, Fumio Kosakai, Masahiko Ohno, Shohei Iwasaki, Maso Yamazaki and Zev Asher. Flying Testicle was just with Yamazaki and Asher.
Sponge was an anonymous group whose personnel are named after prominent Japanese businessmen/doctors, the actual performers are believed to be Jojo and Junko Hiroshige, Masami Akita and Maso Yamazaki.
Other groups include: Merz-Banana with Melt-Banana;[39][40] Melting Lips with Hanayo;[41] Muscats with Hanayo and Masaya Nakahara; Commando Bruno Sanmartino with Incapacitants and Violent Onsen Geisha;[42] Shalon Kelly King with Fumio Kosakai;[43] Maldoror with Mike Patton; MAZK with Zbigniew Karkowski; Satanstornade with Russell Haswell (they later released an album entitled Satanstornade under their real names); Boris with Merzbow; Kikuri with Keiji Haino.
Akita also played drums for Hijokaidan during the early–mid 90s.
Balázs Pándi has drummed for Merzbow at several concerts since 2009.
[edit] Discography
Main article: Merzbow discography
[edit] 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.| Year | Japanese title | English title | Title translation | Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 anagram: Shūenteki pornography no gekijō | The Anagram of Perversion | Anagram of perversion: Theatre of fringe pornography | Seikyūsha | ISBN 478721005X |
| 1989 | 異形のマニエリスム「邪」の民俗 Ikei no mannerism: "Sha" no minzoku | Mannerism of heterodoxa: "Perverse" traditions | ISBN 9784787230225 | ||
| 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 Fetish Fashion: Henbōsuru eros to kairaku shintai | Fetish fashion: Transformation of eros and body play | ISBN 4787210106 | ||
| 1991 | セックス・シンボルの誕生 Sex symbol no tanjō | The Power of Goddess of Love | Birth of the sex symbol | ISBN 9784787210111 | |
| 1992 | ノイズ・ウォー―ノイズ・ミュージックとその展開 Noise War: Noise music to sono tenkai | Noise 10 Years | Noise war: Noise music and its development | ISBN 4787270354 | |
| 1993 | 快楽身体の未来形 Kairaku shintai no miraikei | Terminal Body Play | The future of body play | ISBN 4787210181 | |
| ボディ・エキゾチカ Body Exotica | Sexual Atrocity | ISBN 4891762888 | |||
| 1994 | スカム・カルチャー Scum Culture | Suiseisha | ISBN 4891763035 | ||
| 性の猟奇モダン―日本変態研究往来 Sei no ryōki modern: Nihon hentai kenkyū ōrai | Sexuality Bizarre Modern | Bizarre sex modern: Japanese abnormality research textbooks | Seikyūsha | ISBN 4787230875 | |
| 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 (Nude World Vol. 1: Nudism no rekishi 1 | Nude Empire (Nude World Vol. 1: History of nudism 1) | Suiseisha | ISBN 4891763124 | |
| 1996 | 日本緊縛写真史 Nihon kinbaku shashinshi | History of Japanese bondage photographs | Jiyu Kokuminsha | ISBN 4426738008 | |
| 1997 | アナル・バロック Anal Baroque | Seikyūsha | ISBN 4787231340 | ||
| 1998 | ヴィンテージ・エロチカ Vintage Erotica | ISBN 4787231499 | |||
| 1999 | 女陰考―性学古典より Nyoinkō: Seigakukoten yoru | Think Vagina | Vagina investigation: Classical sexology | Outou Shobou | ISBN 4756711316 |
| 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) Strange Nude Cult: Fushigi no ratai tengoku (Nude World Vol. 2) | Strange Nude Cult: Mystery of nude paradise (Nude World Vol. 2) | Suiseisha | ISBN 4891763132 | ||
| 2000 | ラブ・ポジション Love Position | Outou Shobou | ISBN 4756711413 | ||
| 2005 | わたしの菜食生活 Watashi no saishoku seikatsu | Cruelty Free Life | My vegetarian lifestyle | Ohta Publishing | ISBN 4872339797 |
No comments:
Post a Comment