Back Merzbow German Merzbow Esperanto Merzbow Spanish Merzbow Finnish Merzbow French Merzbow Galician Merzbow Croatian Merzbow Hungarian Merzbow Italian Merzbow Japanese

Merzbow

Merzbow
Akita stands behind a folding table covered in laptops and cords with green lighting on the walls behind.
Masami Akita performing live at ISSUE Project Room in 2010
Background information
OriginTokyo, Japan
Genres
Years active1979 (1979)–present
Labels
MembersMasami Akita
Past members
  • Kiyoshi Mizutani
  • Reiko Azuma
  • Tetsuo Sakaibara
Websitewww.merzbow.net

Merzbow (Japanese: メルツバウ, Hepburn: Merutsubau) is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by Masami Akita,[1][2] best known for a style of harsh noise music. Since 1980, Akita has released over 500 recordings and collaborated with numerous artists.

The name Merzbow comes from the German dada artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork Merzbau, in which Schwitters transformed the interior of his house using found objects. The name was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic. In addition to this, Akita has cited a wide range of musical influences from progressive rock, heavy metal, free jazz, and early electronic music[3] to non-musical influences like dadaism, surrealism and fetish culture.[4] Since the early 2000s, he has been inspired by animal rights and environmentalism, and began to follow a vegan, straight edge lifestyle.[5][6]

In addition to being a prolific musician, he has been a writer and editor for several books and magazines in Japan, and has written several books of his own. He has written about a variety of subjects, mostly about music, modern art, and underground culture. His more renowned works were on the topics of BDSM and Japanese bondage. Other art forms Akita has been interested in include painting, photography, filmmaking, and Butoh dance.[1]

In 2000, Extreme Records released the 50 CD box set Merzbox. Akita's work has been the subject of several remix albums and at least one tribute album. This, among other achievements, has helped Merzbow to be regarded by some as the "most important artist in noise".[7]

  1. ^ a b "Merzbow". Extreme Music. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  2. ^ "On the Floor – Merzbow at Red Bull Music Festival Chicago". Red Bull Radio. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  3. ^ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-646-38326-2.
  4. ^ Woodward, Brett (1999). Merzbook: The Pleasuredome of Noise. Melbourne: Extreme. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-646-38326-2.
  5. ^ Batty, Roger. "Animal instincts". Musique Machine. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  6. ^ "Fifteen Questions with MERZBOW | Lost and found". 15questions.net. 2013. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2014-06-25. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
  7. ^ Couture, François. "Biography". Allmusic Guide. Retrieved 2008-04-01.

Developed by StudentB