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Agni Hotra (2nd Mix)

by Merzbow

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1.
Agni Hotra 18:46
2.
Agni Loops 1 05:57
3.
4.
5.
Agni Loops 2 12:48

about

"Agni Hotra" was originally planned as Merzbow's second LP and was supposed to be released on the Swedish label Psychout (later Multimood), but was put on hold. It was later included in the 50 disc box set "Merzbox" and has already seen the light of day, but the 1st mix was mainly used in that set, and the content was different from what was originally planned to be released on Psychout. The 2nd mix is the final master that was sent to Psychout, and is the real "Agni Hotra" as the lost 2nd LP.
In the mid-80s, the period in which this album was produced, Merzbow established his own style of industrial noise through the use of a variety of tape based sources, the use of mechanical loops, and a thorough radicalization of distorted tones, all of which resonated with the industrial movement that had emerged around the world since the appearance of Throbbing Gristle. It can be said that this is the first achievement in his career.
The first thing that strikes you about this album is the first track. Its mechanically repetitive bombing-like noise sounds like a prophetic dream of a war scene that would later be broadcasted by the media to the world. The third track, in which the repetition of multiple samples is functionally intertwined, also shows a cool sense of mixing in which the sound sources are arranged and organized in a point-like manner. The fourth track is an early version of Merzbow's collage masterpiece, "Batztoutai with Memorial Gadgets," which shows that he was reaching a peak in their attempts to create edgy collages as well as industrial sounds.
"Agni Hotra (2nd Mix)" is a work that loudly proclaims that the mid-80's would be a period of fulfillment for Merzbow, where their experimental use of tape would lead to the creation of his own radical sound and the creation of many masterpieces.

yorosz (aka Shuta Hiraki)

credits

released July 13, 2021

All Music by Masami Akita
Recorded & mixed at ZSF Product Studio, Tokyo 1984-1985.
Remastered from original cassette tape on August 2018 at Munemihouse, Tokyo.
Yasuyuki Nakamura (slowdown records) : A&R

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Merzbow Tokyo, Japan

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