Merzbow

Merzbow
Masami Akita at Moers Festival 2007
Background information
Birth name	Masami Akita
Also known as	Merzbow
Born	December 19, 1956 (1956-12-19) (age 52)
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Noise Experimental Dark ambient[1] Free jazz
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
Former members
Kiyoshi Mizutani Reiko Azuma Tetsuo Sakaibara (credited as Bara)

Merzbow (メルツバウ, Merutsubau^?) is a noise project created in Tokyo, Japan in 1979 under the direction of noise technician Masami Akita (秋田 昌美, Akita Masami^?). Since 1979, he has formed two record labels and has contributed releases to numerous independent record labels. As well as being a prolific artist, he has also written a number of books and has been the editor of several magazines in Japan. 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 artforms Akita has been interested in include directing and Butoh dance.^[2]

The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, Merzbau. This was decided upon to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic. In addition to this, Akita has cited a wide range of influences from various progressive rock artists such as Frank Zappa and King Crimson^[3] to Japanese bondage.^[4]

In 2000, Extreme Records released the 50 CD box set known as the Merzbox. Since 2004 he has been a supporter of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) which has influenced a number of animal-themed releases as well as Akita becoming vegan.^[5] Akita's work has been the subject of several remix albums and at least one tribute album. Akita is prolific and has produced over 200 releases since 1980.^[2] This, among other achievements, has helped Merzbow to be regarded as the "most important artist in noise".^[1]

Life and career

Growing Up

Masami Akita was born in Tokyo in 1956. He listened to psychedelic music, progressive rock, and later free jazz in his youth, all of which have influenced his noise.^[1] 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 Ashra Tempel or Can but we didn't have any psychedelic taste".^[6]

He later attended Tamagawa University to study fine art from which he majored in painting and art theory.^[2] While at university he became interested in the ideas of dada and surrealism and also studied Butoh dance.^[6] This is where he learned of Kurt Schwitters' Merz, or art made from rubbish, including Schwitters' Merzbau, or "Merz building" which is the source of the name "Merzbow".^[7]

Lowest Music & Arts (1979–1984)

Merzbow began as the duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani who met Akita in high school. He started releasing noise recordings on cassettes through his own record label, Lowest Music & Arts, which was founded in 1979 in order to trade cassette tapes with other underground artists. The first tape made for the label was Metal Acoustic Music and was sold exclusively by mail order. Various other releases were made before the first real release which included Collection Era Vol. 1 and a very limited release of Remblandt Assemblage.^[8] The Collection Era series was originally ten cassettes that were going to be distributed through an independent label called YLEM but when it became defunct and cancelled the series, Akita decided to release them through Lowest Music & Arts.^[9]

His 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 on Lowest Music & Arts.^[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. The early releases were 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] In 1984 he founded a second record label called ZSF Produkt.

ZSF Produkt (1984–1990)

ZSF Produkt 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 releases were made in the ZSF Produkt studio with Mechanization Takes Command being the first.^[13] The studio continued to be used until 2001 when Akita started producing home recordings from his bedroom studio.^[14]

During this era, Merzbow found much wider recognition and began making recordings for various international labels.^[15] He also started touring abroad with the help of various collaborators. Merzbow toured USSR in 1988, USA in 1990, Korea in 1991 and Europe in 1989 and 1992.^[16] For most of the late 1980s through the 1990s, Merzbow live was a trio including Reiko A. on electronics and Bara on voice and dance. Around this time he started crediting the name "Abtechtonics" (or variations of this) on his recordings under artwork. He explained in the Merzbook that this name is used for him publishing his own artwork which he attempts to do as much as possible.^[17]

Digital era (1990–2000)

Merzbow's first digital recording was the CD release Cloud Cock OO Grand in 1990.^[18] With a higher international profile in the 90's, Merzbow started working on more ambitious projects such as the Noisembryo, which was a Merzbow album sealed in a car released in a limited edition of one copy. The disc was sealed in the CD player of a BMW sedan which was rewired to play the cd whenever the car was started. The CD was also released normally on the same label.^[19] Recordings from the mid-1990s onwards are mostly of extreme volume, some mastered at levels far beyond standard (Noisembryo, Pulse Demon).^[20] From 1996, plans were made to release a "10 (or maybe 12)" CD box set on Extreme Records.^[21] In 2000, Extreme Records released the Merzbox, a fifty CD set of Merzbow records, twenty of them not previously released.

Laptop era (2000–present)

Since 2000, Akita began to use computers more in his recordings. At live performances, Akita has produced noise music from either two laptop computers or combination of a laptop and analog synthesizers.^{[citation needed]} Reiko Akita, formerly Reiko Azuma, left Merzbow during this time and now has a solo career. Since 2001, Jenny Akita (formerly Kawabata) started being credited for artwork on various releases.

Since 2001, Akita started utilising samples of animal sounds in various releases starting with Frog. Akita has also been a supporter of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) which is reflected in his animal-themed releases.^[22] 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.^[23][24] He has also produced several works centered around recordings of his pet chickens (notably Animal Magnetism and Turmeric).^[25]

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,^[26] though some reviewers pointed out that it sounded very similar to Aqua Necromancer (1998) which features samples of progressive rock drumming. ^[27][28] Merzbird (2004) and Merzbuddha (2005) followed in a similar vein with sampled beats combined with Merzbow's signature harsh noise.

In 2009, Akita released a 13 CD box-set called 13 Japanese Birds, a set which is released monthly (one album a month). This release features the return of Akita to the usage of analog sounds and also the use of drum kits. Also in that year Merzbow cancelled his tour over United States and Canada due to the swine flu outbreak.

Side projects

In addition to his solo work, Akita has been involved in a number of side-projects and supergroups since the early 80s. Tibeta Ubik and Merzbow/Null were active during this time and made several cassette releases. Bustmonster, Flying Testicle and Sponge were noise supergroups active during the 90s and usually included Yamazaki Maso of Masonna and members of Hijokaidan.

SCUM was a side-project where Akita took older recordings and cut them up until they resembled a new one. SCUM was an acronym for Scissors for Cutting Up Merzbow, a reference to the SCUM Manifesto, "Society for Cutting Up Men". Akita released three albums under the SCUM name, which have all been rereleased as part of the Merzbox.

Maldoror was used for releases involving a collaboration between Akita and Mike Patton from Faith No More, Mr. Bungle and various other bands. Zbigniew Karkowski, another experimental artist, also collaborated with Akita during the 90s and made several releases under the MAZK name.

Recently, Akita has been collaborating with the Japanese metal band Boris and has been releasing records as Boris With Merzbow. The most recent side-project is Kikuri, a collaboration with Keiji Haino. The first Kikuri album was released in early 2008. Akita is also collaborating with Montreal experimental metal group Menace Ruine.^{[citation needed]}

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. ^[29]

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.^[30] Audiences in general did not quite know what to make of his style. During his tour of the USSR, he was asked to play "more musically" so on the second day of the concert he toned it down a bit.^[31] This was released as "Live In Khabarovsk, CCCP (I'm Proud By Rank Of The Workers)" and as disc 26 of the Merzbox.

During the 90s Akita's work became much harsher and were generally mastered at a louder volume than usual. These were heavily influenced by black metal bands of the time (a prime example is the "Venereology" album).^{[citation needed]} The mid-90's saw Akita being heavily influenced by psychedelic bands and this was reflected in various albums.

Akita also did a collaboration with Gore Beyond Necropsy, entitled Rectal Anarchy. The album consisted of short noise blasts.

After 2000, Akita started making vague concept albums and experimented with sampling rhythms. He also switched from analogue synthesisers to laptops which made most of his early post-2000 albums sound colder than the previous ones and this drew some criticism from fans who preferred his previous style.^{[citation needed]}

Writing

After completing his degree, Akita became the editor of 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. He is a prolific writer and has written many books and countless magazine articles. None have been published in English.

• Tōsaku no anagram (倒錯のアナグラム―周縁的ポルノグラフィーの劇場, Anagram of perversion: Theatre of fringe pornography). Seikyūsha, 1988-11. ISBN 478721005X
• Ikei no mannerism (異形のマニエリスム「邪」の民俗). Seikyūsha, 1989-06. ISBN 9784787230225
• Fetish Fashion (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). Seikyūsha, 1990-06. ISBN 4787210106
• Sex symbol no tanjō (セックス・シンボルの誕生, Birth of the sex symbol). Seikyūsha, 1991-11. ISBN 9784787210111
• Noise War (ノイズ・ウォー―ノイズ・ミュージックとその展開, Noise war: Noise music and its development). Seikyūsha, 1992-12. ISBN 4787270354
• Kairaku shintai no miraikei (快楽身体の未来形) / Terminal Body Play. Seikyūsha, 1993-06. ISBN 4787210181
• Body Exotica (ボディ・エキゾチカ). Seikyūsha, 1993-08. ISBN 4891762888
• Scum Culture (スカム・カルチャー). Suiseisha, 1994-08. ISBN 4891763035
• Sei no ryōki modern (性の猟奇モダン―日本変態研究往来). Seikyūsha, 1994-09. ISBN 4787230875
• Ratai no teikoku (裸体の帝国 (ヌード・ワールド―ヌーディズムの歴史 (第1巻)), Empire of nudity (Nude world: Nudism history, Volume 1)). Suiseisha, 1995-06. ISBN 4891763124
• Nihon kinbaku shashinshi (日本緊縛写真史, History of Japanese bondage photographs). Jiyu Kokuminsha, 1996-06. ISBN 4426738008
• Anal Baroque (アナル・バロック). Seikyūsha, 1997-04. ISBN 4787231340
• Vintage Erotica (ヴィンテージ・エロチカ). Seikyūsha, 1998-02. ISBN 4787231499
• Joinkō (女陰考―性学古典より). Outou Shobou, 1999-10. ISBN 4756711316
• Strange Nude Cult (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: Mystery of nude empire (Nude world, Volume 2)). Suiseisha, 1999-11. ISBN 4891763132
• Love Position (ラブ・ポジション). Outou Shobou, 2000-11. ISBN 4756711413
• Watashi no saishoku seikatsu (わたしの菜食生活, My vegetarian lifestyle) / Cruelty Free Life. Ohta Publishing, 2005-12. ISBN 4872339797

Members

• Masami Akita 1979–present

Former members

• Kiyoshi Mizutani 1981–1989
• Reiko Azuma 1989–1999
• Bara (Tetsuo Sakaibara) 1994–1996

Discography

In popular culture

• The drone band Sunn O))) cover the song Catch 22 of the album Frog+ on their album Cro-Monolithic Remixes for an Iron Age.
• Jeff Tweedy of Wilco references Merzbow in the August 2009 issue of Spin Magazine by saying "I'm a dad and I like Merzbow...Does that make Merzbow 'dad rock'?"

References

Further reading

• Hegarty, Paul. Noise/Music: A History (2007). ISBN 0826417272.
• Woodward, Brett. Merzbook "The Pleasuredome of Noise" (1999). ISBN 0-646-38326-4.

External links

• Merzbow official website
• Merzbow official blog
• Merzbow at Allmusic
• Merzbow at Discogs
• Merzbow at Last.fm
• Merzbow discography at MusicBrainz
• The Internet Merzbow Database
• Merzbow – Gamma-Titan (6:05) " published on the Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine
• Article on Merzbow and Japanese bondage
• Analysis of Merzbow's use of noise as music