Cat Of Shell Vol.1
Cat Of Shell was recorded in 1996 and originally intended for release under the same title, but remained unreleased until now. According to Akita's notes, the DAT master index lists both "Cat Of Shell" and "1930" - indicating these recordings relate …
Chameleon Body
Chameleon Body suggests shape-shifting, adaptation, camouflage - apt metaphors for Merzbow's endlessly mutating sonic identity. The chameleon changes appearance while remaining essentially itself; similarly, Akita's work transforms constantly while m…
Live at Doushisha University
This live recording from Doshisha University captures Merzbow in performance during the Pulse Demon era - a unique document of how golden-period studio work translated to live contexts. The academic setting creates intriguing tension: extreme noise i…
小品集 (Selected Small Works) Vol.2
Volume 2. Unlike earlier Archive installments sourced from cassette masters, this series was remastered from original DAT tapes, ensuring superior audio quality. These volumes collect shorter pieces - concentrated bursts of Akita's most celebrated pe…
小品集 (Selected Small Works) Vol.1
Unlike earlier Archive installments sourced from cassette masters, this series was remastered from original DAT tapes, ensuring superior audio quality. These volumes collect shorter pieces - concentrated bursts of Akita's most celebrated period. The …
Untitled 1991 Vol. 3
Volume 3. The fifth chapter focuses intensively on 1991 - a transformative year for Merzbow. New sampling delay effects from Next and Digitech enabled more rhythmic, cut-up approaches, marking decisive evolution from previous decade's collage techniq…
Untitled 1991 Vol. 2
Volume 2. The fifth chapter focuses intensively on 1991 - a transformative year for Merzbow. New sampling delay effects from Next and Digitech enabled more rhythmic, cut-up approaches, marking decisive evolution from previous decade's collage techniq…
Phillo Jazz
Phillo Jazz winks at improvisational traditions Akita has always both honored and subverted. Jazz's spontaneity finds its noise equivalent - though the relationship is more conceptual than sonic. Where jazz improvisation operates within harmonic fram…
Bluedelic+
The playful title suggests psychedelic blue - chromatic synesthesia rendered in noise. Akita has always been interested in the intersection of sound and color, titles throughout his catalog evoking visual qualities. These 1992 sessions capture Merzbo…
Untitled 1991 Vol. 1
The fifth chapter focuses intensively on 1991 - a transformative year for Merzbow. New sampling delay effects from Next and Digitech enabled more rhythmic, cut-up approaches, marking decisive evolution from previous decade's collage techniques. These…
Travelling
Travelling suggests movement through sonic landscapes - each passage a journey into unknown territory. The title invites traveler's mindset: openness to unfamiliar sounds, acceptance of discomfort, willingness to be transformed by the journey. This 1…
Crash For Hi-Fi Tapes
A wry commentary on audiophile culture, Crash For Hi-Fi Tapes revels in deliberate destruction of fidelity. While enthusiasts pursue ever-more-transparent reproduction, Merzbow embraces distortion, clipping, and overload as expressive tools. The titl…
Cloud Cock OO Grand (Another Mix)
This alternate version of legendary Cloud Cock OO Grand material offers fresh perspective on one of Merzbow's most celebrated early-90s works. The title's surrealist absurdity reflects Akita's Dadaist engagement - language pushed beyond sense into pu…
Ecobondage (Another Mix)
The provocative title merges ecological and fetishistic imagery - characteristic Merzbow juxtaposition refusing easy interpretation. "Ecobondage" suggests nature constrained by human activity while carrying erotic connotations connecting to Akita's l…
Material H2
Material H2 strips Merzbow's sound to elemental components - pure sonic matter awaiting transformation. The "H2" designation evokes hydrogen, the simplest element, suggesting return to first principles. Just as hydrogen combines to form more complex …
Crocidura Dsi Nezumi
The title references the Japanese white-toothed shrew (Crocidura dsinezumi) - an early indication of animal themes that would become prominent following Akita's veganism adoption in 2003. The shrew exists in perpetual urgency, eating constantly or dy…
Environmental Percussion Vol. 2
Continuing the percussive investigations begun in Volume 1, this installment pushes further into the liminal space between rhythm and chaos. Where the first volume established the conceptual framework, Environmental Percussion Vol. 2 explores its imp…
Environmental Percussion Vol. 1
The "Environmental Percussion" series finds Akita exploring the rhythmic potential of non-traditional sound sources - objects, spaces, and acoustic phenomena pressed into service as percussion instruments. These experiments anticipate the more overtl…
De-Soundtrack
De-Soundtrack inverts conventional film music logic - rather than supporting images, these sounds demand visualization, compelling listeners to construct hallucinatory cinema in their minds. The "De-" prefix suggests removal, negation, reversal: this…
Jinrinkinmouzui
Jinrinkinmouzui exemplifies the dense, layered constructions that defined Merzbow's late-80s output - recordings so thick with information they seem to exceed human perception. Each listen reveals new details buried within the sonic sediment: texture…