Merzbient

Merzbient is a twelve-CD collection of Merzbow's previously unreleased ambient recordings. The music was recorded in the late '80s and early '90s, at a time when Masami Akita (Merzbow) was becoming famous for his live performances, which featured some of the harshest sounds ever heard. The records he released mirrored these performances, and helped establish his reputation as the prime mover in the Japanese noise scene. The electronics he used for his recordings were the same ones he used for live shows. Out of necessity he toured with gear that was small, simple and portable. But all the while he was secretly recording quieter, more atmospheric music, and using a wide variety of acoustic instruments including an impractical monstrosity he describes as a 'big handmade junk instrument made from a metal box with piano wires,' which he played with a violin bow. He made hours and hours of recordings, but kept them private and never released them, until they were eventually set aside and forgotten. He recently rediscovered the multi-track master tapes in a box and remastered them for release on CD. And what a discovery they are! These twelve discs represent a side of Merzbow never before heard. The music bears many of the signature styles expected from Merzbow - - think of the theme of long-form drones pierced by random bursts of sound, for example -- but it's enticingly different from what we've heard before, with spacious sounds evoking prehistoric misty landscapes, desolate abandoned industrial sites, and sci-fi/horror film soundtracks. If the familiar and traditional Merzbow is like a jet plane taking off at full-throttle, then Merzbient is the hanger where the plane was built. Not a violent assault on the ears, but something more interior, more personal, and gentler. The twelve CDs in this collection are presented in a custom-made, hard-cover box with red foil block printing. Each disc is packed in its own slipcase. When the slipcases are arranged together in a rectangle a large image is revealed. A large and heavy (5 x 11cm, 84 gm) die- cast metal medallion with the Kanji characters representing 'Animal Liberation' completes the set, which is limited to 555 numbered copies.