Merzbow Archive Series / late '80s
Metal & Junk (1988-1990) Exploration of metal percussion, junk objects, and industrial sound sources. Physical, tactile noise created through direct interaction with found materials.
Enclosure
Enclosure suggests both confinement and protection - sound as shelter, sound as prison. The title carries multiple resonances: the enclosures that contain animals in zoos and farms, the enclosure movement that privatized common lands, the sonic enclo…
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…
Batztoutai Mix
The "Batztoutai" period represents a significant evolution in Merzbow's methodology - a turning point that would influence countless subsequent artists. Moving beyond the collage-heavy approach of earlier years, Akita began incorporating record scrat…