The Merzbow Archive series by Slowdown Records, which has released seven editions so far, enters its eighth edition. This edition contains recordings made in 1999, when Merzbow stopped using analog equipment and started working with computers. Since Merzbow would continue to work primarily with computers for some time after this, the recordings from this period can be regarded as the very beginning of his laptop style.
The tracks on this album "Process 9611" are the sequel to the second track on the bonus CD "Early Computer Works" that came with the special edition of "Scene" (Waystyx) released in 2005. This is also the reason why the tracks are titled 2~4 of "Process9611", and the track on the bonus CD is positioned as "Process9611-1" (not included in this album). The content, as the title suggests, is a live mix of material recorded in November 1996. It makes very effective use of extreme filtering sound production, such as fine grained noise drifting in the high frequency range and muffled oscillation sound. As a result, there are times when only a very limited bandwidth is emitted in the second track, and there are also times when silence appears due to momentary sound cuts, resulting in a performance with a large range of sound flow. The third track, on the other hand, is a powerful climax to the album, as it simultaneously throws in sounds with a strong presence, such as earth-shaking bass and murky noise, giving the whole performance a thick line reminiscent of a great river.
yorosz(aka Shuta Hiraki)
credits
released November 24, 2021
Composed, Mixed, Performed By – Masami Akita
Recorded & mixed at Bedroom, Tokyo 1999.
Remix & remastered at Munemihouse, Tokyo 2019.
Artwork [Cover Art By] – MA
Mastered at Kentaro Hayashi, Osaka, Japan.
Yasuyuki Nakamura (slowdown records) : A&R
While still sounding harsh a lot of the time, this will not obliterate you like other Merzbow releases. Steady elements give a noob like me something to cling to amidst the chaos. Hans
The pulsing industrial sounds on the wonderfully brutal new LP from Tokyo group Rinsaga will be catnip for the black-glove-and-mesh set. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 15, 2022
Composer Eiko Ishibashi's soundtrack from "Drive My Car" is full of sweeping yet gentle melodies that rise and fall in romantic waves. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 3, 2022
Culled from unreleased recordings from her recent "Light Sleep" and "Voice Hardcore" releases, Hiromi Moritani's latest showcases the softer, less harrowing side of Phew’s sound Bandcamp Album of the Day Sep 2, 2020
マサミは1970年代以降のノイズ業界で40年以上働いており、スケルチ、ブリーチ、ドローン、爆発的なブザー、高音のスケルチが彼のトレードマークであることを理解する必要があります。このラケットには喜びがあり、発見する価値があります。マサミのおかげで感謝祭で七面鳥の料理と食事をやめました!He has been working with post 1970s noise for more than 40 years & you need to understand that scratchy squelches, bleats, drones, explosive buzzes & high pitched squealing squeals are his trademark. There is joy in this racket & it is well worth discovering. I've stopped cooking and eating turkey on Thanksgiving thanks to Masami! MERZILLA