|
Post by Offering on Aug 27, 2007 14:19:06 GMT -5
I realised I put Dust of Dreams in my 10 worst... which I forgot to comment about though intended on doing so. Coming out the same time as Scene, those albums are quite similar in many respects. Scene just has a really strong for me 35 min track, while the Dust 35 min track pales somewhat in comparison, EVEN THOUGH I did like it lots and listen to it many times. It had a pretty, melancholic, almost folky atmosphere. But for me it's an example of an unedited gem - too verbose, even though all the elements are there (different sections, quite a distinctive ending riff, a fadeout at the end). So that worst 10 list doesn't mean I don't like the albums or tracks on them - it was just a little test to think it up. For example I'd be interested to hear ppl's thoughts on EMU, a real bummer for me, but perhaps appreciated by some. The long Yoshinotsune track (#1 - Uchiwaka Kurama Iri) had a similar fate in my playing habits to the long Dust track - listened to many many times, but not for a long time. At first I enjoyed the slow, thoughtful and additive pace of the music (the cinematic build up perhaps). But now I can only hear it as long 3 blocks that don't masterfully link up. Because a track like Untitled for Vasteras does this SOO powerfully in 7 minutes, it does render Uchiwaka outmoded. Still I remember when I bought SCSI Duck from a store, the dude reckoned Yosh was his fav Merzbow album. Throwaway comment or not, I can see that track as being liked lots by certain listeners, as it offers a contrast to Merzbow's normal sonic patterning, by offering unusual amount of space. I personally have never found Yoshinotsune that essential. It always leaves me cold, and does nothing for me. I feel the same with Sphere. Never got totally into, although, to be fair, it does need to be given more of a chance, on my part....You are right though Axel, a " ten worst " is alot harder. For me, Sphere, Yoshi.. and Tauromachine, off the tops of my head, would all feature I think... As for EMU, Im afraid I havent heard it, so cannot comment Im afraid. I do enjoy Dust Of Dreams over Scene however. Its just more of an entertaining listen / journey, without wanting to sound too pretentious. Scene I picked up and I put down rather quickly after the first listen, only to re-visit it at a later date, whereas D.O.D kinda stayed with me more. As Ive said on many a Merz-discussion, I do not know what instruments or machines he uses, nor do I pretend to be able to differentiate between the sounds. All I know is what sounds I like, and what albums I like!
|
|
|
Post by Offering on Aug 27, 2007 14:25:04 GMT -5
Yeah I didn't bother w Maldoror, though I admit it did sound fun when I heard it, and I would've liked it just to play to all the Patton fans I know, just to show them a slightly more extreme version of his work. Anyway.. Shame you don't get into the last Dharma track, Frozen Guitar and Sunloop/7E... I think it's a fucking ripper - really great long track. I think of it in two halves, kinda like the last Bariken track for instance, which is also a great long track which I used to play heaps. The first half of that track is really solid early laptop Merzbow - not clinical or stodgy - and the second half is, well, quite unique as I mentioned - glacial, and a nice contrast to the earlier loopy textures. Like a black hole. Or a white version of that, something that sucks you in. Quite an achievement, considering its scale, length and effect, by any standard methinks. Back to Amlux though, I think of track 2, which I do like, as a precursor to Sha Mo's title track, which I prefer. That is an example of a fine album with a good tasteful variety of tracks - just works really well - intro, big track, mellow interlude, big track, outro. Animal Mag is like this (with the short interlude, mellow outro) though not as well proportioned. In that album, track 4 was a surprise that took me a while to get into - it goes to town on the 'Bigfoot' kind of sound that can be heard on Ike Dada and Machinenstil and Tentacle before it. It's like a loopier version of the end of the long Dharma track, inviting a similar 'natural phenomenon' vibe as that Dharma track, and well Akasha as I mentioned above. Incidently, Merzbow is a little slow of late. For a while (after the surprise of the 2 boxsets in '06 - Houjoue and Turmeric), I thought he was planning something bigger and better (an 8 or 10 CD set) which would explain his slower than usual release schedule for the last year or so. But I now think he's just slowing down a little altogether. In which case Houjoue + Turmeric WAS the big bubble. Still am keen, as always, to see where that sound is going. I totally agree about Mother Of Mirrors, definitely Barikens highlight. That album kills, and doesnt get mentioned too much, it seems. However, I cant remember seeing any Merzbow fan slagging that album down, it always seems appreciated amongst everyone. Again, re Amlux, I think it really does come down to taste, and how you came across the album. As I said previously, regardless of hype, this album just flows really well for me. Ikebukuro Dada and Machinenstil also, I rate very highly. Yet to hear Tentacle though.... Know what you mean about the lack of Merz releases recently. Turmeric was fantastic, and the last one I bought was Bloody Sea. Theres just too many things to buy out there, my Merz collecting had to take a bit of a back seat for a while Im afraid!!!
|
|
|
Post by Laxe on Aug 29, 2007 3:55:33 GMT -5
The thing I like about Sphere is the density. Yoshinotsune is about 3 or 4 things going on max, whereas in Sphere there is (a) greater (illusion of) depth in the texture. I must admit the Sphere 1-3 tracks aren't all that great for me, which is why it didn't go in my top 10 (i think i remember putting it in 10-20 for me), but Untitled for Vasteras is just one of the best Merz tracks of all time. Aside from this, one can appreciate greater care and effort going into this disc - it's just a very strong effort.
Regarding Scene, quite a few people mentioned that this was a sleeper for them, in the best sense of that word - that it unexpectedly grew. I think the long track is a great example of how to make 35 minutes work as a single arc. There's enough compositional thought and variety in there which makes it work. I just prefer that to the long Dust track which is more bitsy. The Scene track is almost like a good Uchiwaki Kurama Iri track - the cinematic build up, with more levels and plateaus. I think Scene needs to be given a bit more time. The third track is quite a weird simple collage of certain sound thicknesses, which for me prefigures the more abstract approach in say Turmeric, except in a very 'computer' manner. Tha last track is quite cute with the animals and effective enough as an outro, much like the album's, also cute i guess, intro.
Tauromachine, interestingly enough, was going to make an appearance on my worst 10, but I thought, no, it's not THAT bad (not that any of them are really THAAT bad). It doesn't really do it for me, even though at first I was quite amped about it as a particularly 'rhythmic' Merzbow album, as opposed to the washes of the other Relapse discs, Venereology and Pulse Demon. But it leaves me rather cold. Glad to hear someone else thinking this also.
Was, you should check out Merzbear, Zophorus and Synth Destruction - the essential discs since your last purchase Bloody Sea. Metamorphosis is quite good, but not as strong as the more recent material. Actually it sort of keeps growing on me, Metamorphosis, but not as much of an instant standout. Synth Destruction is just great dense noise with beautiful surprises here and there. Merzbear and Zoph, very tight discs. Coma is very similar to Zoph, but the tonal/pitched loops grate w me, maybe not others though.
One track that has always bugged me is the last Ikebukuro track. I've often expressed that, but it doesn't seem to bug anyone else - i'd be interested to hear your thoughts on that though.
|
|
|
Post by Offering on Aug 29, 2007 8:09:20 GMT -5
The thing I like about Sphere is the density. Yoshinotsune is about 3 or 4 things going on max, whereas in Sphere there is (a) greater (illusion of) depth in the texture. I must admit the Sphere 1-3 tracks aren't all that great for me, which is why it didn't go in my top 10 (i think i remember putting it in 10-20 for me), but Untitled for Vasteras is just one of the best Merz tracks of all time. Aside from this, one can appreciate greater care and effort going into this disc - it's just a very strong effort. Regarding Scene, quite a few people mentioned that this was a sleeper for them, in the best sense of that word - that it unexpectedly grew. I think the long track is a great example of how to make 35 minutes work as a single arc. There's enough compositional thought and variety in there which makes it work. I just prefer that to the long Dust track which is more bitsy. The Scene track is almost like a good Uchiwaki Kurama Iri track - the cinematic build up, with more levels and plateaus. I think Scene needs to be given a bit more time. The third track is quite a weird simple collage of certain sound thicknesses, which for me prefigures the more abstract approach in say Turmeric, except in a very 'computer' manner. Tha last track is quite cute with the animals and effective enough as an outro, much like the album's, also cute i guess, intro. Tauromachine, interestingly enough, was going to make an appearance on my worst 10, but I thought, no, it's not THAT bad (not that any of them are really THAAT bad). It doesn't really do it for me, even though at first I was quite amped about it as a particularly 'rhythmic' Merzbow album, as opposed to the washes of the other Relapse discs, Venereology and Pulse Demon. But it leaves me rather cold. Glad to hear someone else thinking this also. Was, you should check out Merzbear, Zophorus and Synth Destruction - the essential discs since your last purchase Bloody Sea. Metamorphosis is quite good, but not as strong as the more recent material. Actually it sort of keeps growing on me, Metamorphosis, but not as much of an instant standout. Synth Destruction is just great dense noise with beautiful surprises here and there. Merzbear and Zoph, very tight discs. Coma is very similar to Zoph, but the tonal/pitched loops grate w me, maybe not others though. One track that has always bugged me is the last Ikebukuro track. I've often expressed that, but it doesn't seem to bug anyone else - i'd be interested to hear your thoughts on that though. My thoughts on that, are that it hasnt ever bothered me especially. Ive always liked Ikebukuro, although i havent listened to it in a good while. I played day Of Seals disc one today though, but it was hard to really get into it with my son making a racket all over the place whilst it was playing. My own fault for putting it on I guess. Merzbow is definitely best appreciated on a good stereo, very loud, or on headphones, so you can really enjoy the textures and feelings of the sound.....otherwise it is all just one big "sound". You need to concentrate on it, I think thats what Im trying to say! re Scene being a sleeper, I would agree with that. I do need to give it more of an airing, thats for sure.....( the same can be said for alot of Merzbow in my collection. I go through phases with music..... ) I think regarding the Relapse albums, Tauro is very closely followed by Venereology for me. Pulse Demon towers above those releases, and its a shame in a way because the Relapse albums are the first many hear from Merzbow, simply due to the big distribution, and the fact that most of his really excellent work is on obsure labels and alot of the time limited editions....
|
|
King
Full Member
Posts: 180
|
Post by King on Aug 29, 2007 8:40:31 GMT -5
Where do you lot purchase Merzbow from? Aside from Relapse and Tzadik, I'm at a loss.
|
|
|
Post by Offering on Aug 29, 2007 9:00:08 GMT -5
Where do you lot purchase Merzbow from? Aside from Relapse and Tzadik, I'm at a loss. Off the top of my head - www.coldspring.co.uk - Good selection, excellent service too www.blossomingnoise.com - As above, and have released a couple of great Merzbow albums themselves ....Ill paste you more links when I get home. Amazon and their market sellers have quite a bit too, but beware of overpricing! Also, if its a really rare album, check with the website before you buy, cos nine times out of ten theyve just left the thing up there saying its still for sale, not realising it was deleted years ago!
|
|
King
Full Member
Posts: 180
|
Post by King on Aug 29, 2007 9:07:04 GMT -5
I've been doing some browsing of my own and found Important Records. They've got a few.
|
|
|
Post by Acxl on Aug 29, 2007 9:50:48 GMT -5
To my ears Venereology is a milestone, just so raw and unrelenting, while also having a great solid rhythmic track w Slave New Desart, which is quite an odd one out in the Merzbow catalog. I even enjoy the live track which is about as fucking dense as could possibly be. This is my pick over Akasha Gulva as the real pinnacle of extreme sound from Merzbow. I mean Ananga-Ranga is just full of amazing detail despite its unrelenting nature. To be honest I didn't like Pulse Demon at first - I thought it was too all over the shop. But what a record! I know you love it Was, as you've mentioned. It's easily up there as one of the strongest and most epic Merzbow documentations. Proudly proclaimed as recorded in one hit, with no overdubs, it's a mammoth. Am currently airing Noisembryo which I think I forgot about in my original listing. Fantastic disc, must be a top 20 for me. I can hear material that is sampled somewhere in the early laptop days in track 2 of it. I think it's the perfect way to experience that era if in fact Venereology is somewhat impenetrable. I remember reading the Wire's review of it as a record that perfectly sums up what Merzbow is, stating I guess that if you needed one disc to demonstrate to someone what Merzbow is, then that was it. So much like Pulse Demon in that regard. It's just absolutely essential listening!! To answer King's question, a good place to start may be RRRecords - cheap CDs, cheap postage, a fair spattering of laptop discs from memory. See what Darla has also. Google those two to get their addresses. Otherwise just look hard. I like to keep prices down between the $10-12 US mark per disc. Important and RRRecords are good for this. But there are always places that have Merzbow albums that cheap, ones you wouldn't even expect - at least this has been my experience. Even paying the $13 or so that Blossomingnoise charges feels expensive to me now. Hehh, I just checked RRRecords (http://www.rrrecords.com/mail_order-lp.php) and they've put all the old $10 discs up toe $12. Batztoutai is there also for $8 www.rrrecords.com/label-az.php), which is also more expensive than it once was, but you'll find it elsewhere for ridiculous prices. It's all about the hunt..
|
|
King
Full Member
Posts: 180
|
Post by King on Aug 29, 2007 12:55:56 GMT -5
Cheers.
|
|
|
Post by Offering on Aug 30, 2007 10:25:02 GMT -5
To my ears Venereology is a milestone, just so raw and unrelenting, while also having a great solid rhythmic track w Slave New Desart, which is quite an odd one out in the Merzbow catalog. I even enjoy the live track which is about as fucking dense as could possibly be. This is my pick over Akasha Gulva as the real pinnacle of extreme sound from Merzbow. I mean Ananga-Ranga is just full of amazing detail despite its unrelenting nature. To be honest I didn't like Pulse Demon at first - I thought it was too all over the shop. But what a record! I know you love it Was, as you've mentioned. It's easily up there as one of the strongest and most epic Merzbow documentations. Proudly proclaimed as recorded in one hit, with no overdubs, it's a mammoth. Am currently airing Noisembryo which I think I forgot about in my original listing. Fantastic disc, must be a top 20 for me. I can hear material that is sampled somewhere in the early laptop days in track 2 of it. I think it's the perfect way to experience that era if in fact Venereology is somewhat impenetrable. I remember reading the Wire's review of it as a record that perfectly sums up what Merzbow is, stating I guess that if you needed one disc to demonstrate to someone what Merzbow is, then that was it. So much like Pulse Demon in that regard. It's just absolutely essential listening!! To answer King's question, a good place to start may be RRRecords - cheap CDs, cheap postage, a fair spattering of laptop discs from memory. See what Darla has also. Google those two to get their addresses. Otherwise just look hard. I like to keep prices down between the $10-12 US mark per disc. Important and RRRecords are good for this. But there are always places that have Merzbow albums that cheap, ones you wouldn't even expect - at least this has been my experience. Even paying the $13 or so that Blossomingnoise charges feels expensive to me now. Hehh, I just checked RRRecords (http://www.rrrecords.com/mail_order-lp.php) and they've put all the old $10 discs up toe $12. Batztoutai is there also for $8 www.rrrecords.com/label-az.php), which is also more expensive than it once was, but you'll find it elsewhere for ridiculous prices. It's all about the hunt.. Yeah, Noisembryo is a stellar release. I got that and Rainbow Electronics II around the same time, and while both are great, Noisembryo edged out in front. Hard to find nowadyas though...
|
|
|
Post by caminante on Sept 7, 2007 13:42:43 GMT -5
puroland live magnetism collapse 12 floors dharma tamago offering pulse demon merzbeat hard lovin man live at radio 100
|
|
|
Post by caminante on Sept 7, 2007 13:58:00 GMT -5
Elliott sharp and merzbow tranz is a great collab. cd. Two of the tracks are merzbow remixing Elliott and 2 tracks are E# remixing Merzbow.
merzdub is a very unique cd it sounds and looks like nothing else out there...
|
|
|
Post by Offering on Sept 8, 2007 5:15:48 GMT -5
Elliott sharp and merzbow tranz is a great collab. cd. Two of the tracks are merzbow remixing Elliott and 2 tracks are E# remixing Merzbow. merzdub is a very unique cd it sounds and looks like nothing else out there... Amen to that. Offerings album of the year last year. Welcome to the board caminante!
|
|
|
Post by Offering on Sept 8, 2007 8:57:09 GMT -5
puroland live magnetism collapse 12 floors dharma tamago offering pulse demon merzbeat hard lovin man live at radio 100 Im sure Axel/Axcel Acel etc etc will have some points to raise about this list, what with the live albums and Merzbeat included.....
|
|
|
Post by Axel on Sept 11, 2007 1:52:46 GMT -5
Sure, it's great to hear other people's opinions on this Merzbow thing. I know in my case there ain't many people out there who want their ears chewed off by me talking about Merzbow, let alone the music itself doing the chewing.
Caminante's list is interesting in its privileging of laptop material - not too many lists go all out like that, which is great. My guess is he got into Merzbow around the time of early laptop and things like Live at Radio 100 and Hard Lovin Man are some of the first things he got into.
Tamago is THE album I don't have and would really like.
I see the three Caminante discs are right up there, of course. Good for him! Keep releasing them - the more the merrier!
|
|