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Post by Offering on Mar 5, 2008 2:56:34 GMT -5
Yeah, it is great man.....Always loved R.E. 2 too...
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Post by Offering on Mar 11, 2008 9:35:25 GMT -5
Peace For Animals arrived yesterday. This is a great album, totally recommended. It takes risks, and sees M.A. really creatively stretching out, especially on the second track, September.
A real curve ball this one - along with Higanbana, this is the best of the new / 07 Merz releases that I have heard....
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Post by guneral on Mar 12, 2008 1:15:41 GMT -5
So Pappa, you have heard Higanbana? I was really disappointed w Peace for Animals I reckon it's just crap, no focus, nothing interesting in it, terrible use of Bariken samples in the last track. Middle track is a little different to the other two, but it's just nothing.. very underwhelming. How does Higanbana compare though??? I got the impression it was heavier on the loops... is that right?
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Post by guneral on Mar 12, 2008 1:22:19 GMT -5
man, i wish it was a curve ball! i mean its exactly the same as everything else he put out last year, just all over the shop.. i mean, compare peace for animals in general w zophorus pt4.. that track GOES somewhere
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Post by Offering on Mar 12, 2008 3:22:18 GMT -5
man, i wish it was a curve ball! i mean its exactly the same as everything else he put out last year, just all over the shop.. i mean, compare peace for animals in general w zophorus pt4.. that track GOES somewhere Funny how it gave me the total opposite reaction. I dont see it as being all over the shop at all, more like experimental, and showing something different. I prefer MA doing stuff like September than say Zophorus Part One......That said, I agree with you about Zoph parts 3 and 4, highlights of the album...Its all about opinions, after all.... Yes, I have Higanbana, and really enjoy it. Yeah, it is a littleheavier on the loops, at times you can almost nod your head to it....!! Ive only managed to check it out a couple times so far though, but enjoyed it both times... Still have to pick up Coma Berenices and Live Destruction At No Fun however....
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Post by guneral on Mar 12, 2008 7:39:53 GMT -5
Well would certainly be keen to hear more thoughts on Higanbana when you get a chance, or have listened to it more... i mean, how is it similar or different to say zoph and peace? would be interested to see what you think of coma. coma didn't do it for me, good in theory, i can see how it would appeal, but it lacks the edge of regular merzbow, and doesn't have the same songwriting structural appeal as i could have had, given its riffy nature. I won't bother w Live Destruction unless it's that 'greatest' live disc, which they all seem to say to be, but never are..
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Post by Halcyon on Mar 12, 2008 7:45:58 GMT -5
Interesting. Personally, I liked Tracks 1 and 5 on Zophorus the most, but as a whole the album didn't do too much for me. Regarding Peace for Animals and Higanbana, I think that Higanbana sounds like a continuation from PfA, but with more focus and more variety. I especially like the first track on Higanbana, which has a great spacy, atmospheric feeling.
PappaWas, you should definitely pick up the No Fun CD, if you liked Akita's recent other releases. The No Fun CD is extremely varied, switches between melodic loops, laptop noise and nice improvisations with Akita's handmade instrument. A very enjoyable ride!
Anyways, my most recent Merzbow aquisitions are Rainbow Electronics, Noisembryo (got that one for £6,05), Psychorazer, Tamago, Merzzow, Magnesia Nova and the Japanese re-issue of Sunn O)))'s Flight of the Behemoth album (which contains a bonus disc with two live recordings from Sunn O))) with Merzbow).
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Post by Offering on Mar 12, 2008 8:07:23 GMT -5
Interesting. Personally, I liked Tracks 1 and 5 on Zophorus the most, but as a whole the album didn't do too much for me. Regarding Peace for Animals and Higanbana, I think that Higanbana sounds like a continuation from PfA, but with more focus and more variety. I especially like the first track on Higanbana, which has a great spacy, atmospheric feeling. PappaWas, you should definitely pick up the No Fun CD, if you liked Akita's recent other releases. The No Fun CD is extremely varied, switches between melodic loops, laptop noise and nice improvisations with Akita's handmade instrument. A very enjoyable ride! Anyways, my most recent Merzbow aquisitions are Rainbow Electronics, Noisembryo (got that one for £6,05), Psychorazer, Tamago, Merzzow, Magnesia Nova and the Japanese re-issue of Sunn O)))'s Flight of the Behemoth album (which contains a bonus disc with two live recordings from Sunn O))) with Merzbow). Cool.....Yeah, I intend picking LANFF pretty soon, as its pretty cheap. Props for bagging Psychorazer man, mustve cost you some? The last time I saw a copy, it went for about £70.00!!!
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Post by Halcyon on Mar 12, 2008 13:10:22 GMT -5
Actually, I only paid 15€ for it. It seems that the album got re-released!
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Post by guneral on Mar 13, 2008 1:08:49 GMT -5
Halcyon.. what does "more focus and more variety" actually mean in the case of Higanbana? I know most albums have 'variety' and 'focus' to varying degrees, but the actual sound quality. I mean, structurally is it the same sort of wandering style of Peace where basically anything can and does happen? Or is there a stronger degree of looping like on say Merzbear, or Zophorus? Any particular tracks of Zoph or Peace that things are comparable too? (Sorry, I don't mean to sound pushy, just I find it seems difficult for ppl to describe the actual quality/characteristic of the material on merzbow discs, which i would've thought is generally pretty clear, ie. 'loops', 'bass', 'pulse, 'synth', 'extended sections', 'wandering', 'granulation', etc etc)
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Post by Offering on Mar 13, 2008 2:33:13 GMT -5
Halcyon.. what does "more focus and more variety" actually mean in the case of Higanbana? I know most albums have 'variety' and 'focus' to varying degrees, but the actual sound quality. I mean, structurally is it the same sort of wandering style of Peace where basically anything can and does happen? Or is there a stronger degree of looping like on say Merzbear, or Zophorus? Any particular tracks of Zoph or Peace that things are comparable too? (Sorry, I don't mean to sound pushy, just I find it seems difficult for ppl to describe the actual quality/characteristic of the material on merzbow discs, which i would've thought is generally pretty clear, ie. 'loops', 'bass', 'pulse, 'synth', 'extended sections', 'wandering', 'granulation', etc etc) I openly admit to being crap at describing Merzbow, always have been! It amazes me how articulate and detailed some of you are when it comes to his music....
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Post by guneral on Mar 13, 2008 4:35:54 GMT -5
hehe, it sort of takes the magic out of it the easier it becomes to discern.. that's when hunting down some xenakis can help
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Post by Halcyon on Mar 13, 2008 7:57:53 GMT -5
Halcyon.. what does "more focus and more variety" actually mean in the case of Higanbana? I know most albums have 'variety' and 'focus' to varying degrees, but the actual sound quality. I mean, structurally is it the same sort of wandering style of Peace where basically anything can and does happen? Or is there a stronger degree of looping like on say Merzbear, or Zophorus? Any particular tracks of Zoph or Peace that things are comparable too? Guneral, when I said that the tracks on Higanbana sound more focused to me, I meant that they feel like they are not just random but progress and advance gradually. I.e., the first track ("Cluster Amaryllis") starts with a droning, subdued sound (similar to "September" on PfA) which slowly increases in volume. Akita then adds a bassdrum-like rhythm on top of which he improvises with his handmade metal instrument and the EMS Synthi A. I'd say that the second track, "Black Shiny Feather", sounds the most like the tracks on Peace for Animals. It starts with a looped synth-tone similar to Track 2 of "Blood Sea", before all hell breaks loose and the track changes into an odyssey of high-pitched metal sounds and deep bass rumbles. A pretty harsh track, but it doesn't do much for me as it feels like it doesn't go anywere. The last track, "Path With No End", starts with a groovy rock-loop, which continues throughout the whole piece. During its running time of ten minutes, Akita adds some very nice and thick filter sounds courtesy of the EMS Synthi A, as well as a whole lot of metallic feedback. There's a lot going on in this one, but it never gets too out of control. It's my personal favourit on this album and I think it's comparable to the tracks on Merzbear - only slower! No problem, I see what you mean. However, I generally have a problem describing music with terms like "loops" or "granulation", as I usually just try to experience and listen to music as something atmospheric - no matter if it's Merzbow, Miles Davis or Autechre. Also, as everyone experiences music in a different way - especially stuff like Merzbow - some descriptions can be very misleading. For example, take a look at the discogs reviews of the Satanstornade CD. When I read those reviews, I imagined the album to sound like a second "Pulse Demon", which of course wasn't the case (don't get me wrong, though - I love Satanstornade ). Out of curiosity, Guneral, what are some your favourite Merz-CD's?
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Post by guneral on Mar 13, 2008 8:35:31 GMT -5
Thanks for the helpful reply Halcyon, specific in description, and actually makes it sound like a worthwhile album (i can't remember reading any descriptions or reviews of merzbow albums where it does any justice to the actual material on the discs. Reviews of Merzbow generally tend to be very misleading, or say absolutely nothing about the music therewithin.)
As for some of my fav Merz albums, in no particular order:
Aqua Necromancer, Rattus Rattus, SCSI Duck, A Taste Of, Merzbear, Red Magnesia Pink, Pulse Demon, Oersted, Dharma, Springharp, Sphere, 1930, Minazo, Cycle, Space Metalizer, Venereology.
Others I've enjoyed - Animal Magnetism, Sha Mo, Zophorus, Bariken, Scene, Turmeric Disc 1, Houjoue Disc 1,3,5, Door Open, Medamaya, Hybrid Noisebloom, Noisembryo, Merzzow, Day of Seals Disc 2, Cloud Cock
I used to type on this column under the name axel or variations on it - i did a list of about 50 on the 1st page of the 'ten of the best' post, so i just pulled those albums from there pretty much.
I'm really interested to know how Psychorazer holds up to other discs around 1997-98, like the Last of Analog, Maschinenstil, Tauro, Takamagahara, Aqua Necro, 1930, etc. For some reason I think of Psychorazer as somehow related to Tentacle, though they're from totally diff years/eras (maybe cos they were both hard to obtain. then i picked up tentacle and that's a weird disc, just like outtakes, or like a forerunner to a proper album, like an early run of computers)
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Post by guneral on Mar 19, 2008 9:12:41 GMT -5
what discs do u like halcyon?
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