Ensemble Drums
Alternate mixes from two essential albums: Protean World (Noiseville, 2008) and Microkosmos (Blossoming Noise, 2009). Drumming was recorded separately in rented studio space, capturing Akita's return to the instrument after decades.
The first track f…
Drumorph
Primarily computer-based but incorporating sampled drums, this album documents the earliest experiments leading to the full drum integration that would define this period. Finely cut drum sounds ricochet through space in the first two tracks, with fi…
Feedback Purple Yellow
Recorded as prototype material for the Here album (L. White Records, 2008) but ultimately unused. Deafening self-made instrument sounds run parallel with dull, boomy distorted noise, their synergy creating a strong sense of speed.
Very few sounds ide…
Coma Test
Coma Test pushes toward sensory overload approaching coma-like disconnection, testing how much the nervous system can absorb. The title suggests medical experimentation, perhaps referencing animal testing practices that Akita opposes, or simply the e…
Bloodour
Bloodour's visceral title ("blood" + "our") suggests shared complicity - the blood is ours, we are responsible. These recordings emerge from the Minazo/F.I.D./Merzbear period, when Merzbow explicitly addressed animal cruelty with unflinching directne…
27 August 2006
Another precisely dated document from the animal rights period, continuing intensive summer 2006 documentation. Together with the August 15 companion, it provides comprehensive insight into Merzbow's live approach during this activist phase - transla…
15 August 2006
This live recording from Metro in Kyoto captures Merzbow in confrontational performance mode. August 15 holds significance in Japan as the World War II end anniversary - whether intentional or not, this historical resonance adds layers of meaning. Th…
Pig AY
Pig AY extends animal-themed titles becoming prominent following Akita's veganism adoption in 2003. The pig - intelligent, social, routinely abused by industrial agriculture - would become a recurring figure in later work. This early reference sugges…
Material For Structure I
Recorded in September 2002, Material for Structure I unfolds across 50 minutes as a continuously evolving sonic organism. The first half emphasizes repetition, gradually building toward chaotic avalanches of sound. Throughout, electronically randomiz…
SCSI Duck 2
The title playfully merges computer technology (SCSI interfaces dominating 90s computing) with animal imagery - collision typical of Akita's conceptual approach. The "Duck" suggests both the animal and evasive movement - ducking, dodging. These recor…
3rd Of May Vol.1
Precisely dated to May 3, 2003, these recordings document Merzbow during the exceptionally productive period yielding Cycle, Merzbird, and Tamago. Listeners familiar with Tamago will recognize kindred elements - particularly drum-like samples eruptin…
3rd Of May Vol.2
Volume 2 features extended development of repetitive elements, with beat-like samples undergoing extreme abstraction through effects processing - documenting Akita's ongoing stylistic experimentation even within established methodology. The continuat…
Necro 2000
As the millennium turned, Necro 2000 marked both ending and beginning - death imagery presiding over Merzbow's laptop era birth. The "Necro" prefix invokes death and decay; the year "2000" signals apocalyptic transition. Y2K anxieties, millennial dre…
Process 9611
The clinical title emphasizes methodology over mysticism - appropriate for this period of technological transition when Akita was systematically exploring new tools' capabilities. "Process" suggests procedure, algorithm, step-by-step transformation. …
Tentacle (1st Mix)
Tentacle suggests oceanic creatures, reaching appendages, multiple simultaneous touches - apt imagery for Merzbow's newly expanded digital toolkit. Where analog equipment imposed physical limits on simultaneous operations, computers enabled unprecede…
Mighty Ace
Mighty Ace is a large-scale work spanning 50 minutes in a single track, showcasing remarkable sonic variety within unified form. According to Akita's notes, it shares characteristics with companion piece Tenshinkaku. The mix of digitally generated el…
Tenshinkaku
Tenshinkaku was originally recorded with the intention of releasing an album under the same title, but it never materialized. Some tracks were excerpted and edited into one track as "Tenshinkaku 01" on the bonus CD "Early Computer Works" accompanying…
Wa
These recordings represent the very beginning of Merzbow's laptop style - the birth of a new methodology that would reshape the project's sound and process. The album references "Wa 30.25" from Collapse 12 Floors (Ohm, 2000), including the extended m…
Spring Harp-O
The evocative title conjures resonant strings and seasonal renewal - unexpected associations for harsh noise, yet characteristic of Akita's poetic sensibility. The harp represents ethereal beauty and delicate tones; by invoking it in a noise context,…
Medamaya-O
Medamaya-O extends late-90s documentation with 1997-1998 recordings. "Medamaya" evokes eye imagery (目玉屋) - the eye shop or eye house. Akita's engagement with visual perception themes runs throughout his work; despite creating purely sonic art, he fre…