S.E.T. Sessions | Merzbow
In a new series, I dive into the catalogues of musicians that I either don't understand or can't bring myself to love and try and do just that.
Let’s try something out here. I love music in all of its many shapes and forms, but there are still certain genres and artists that I just don’t get. Others, I can’t fucking stand. This column aims to torture myself into getting at least some semblance of meaning out of the artists or genres that I review. Think of it as exposure therapy… sonic exposure therapy (hence S.E.T.). I am excited to expand my already diverse listening palette into corners of the music world I never would have thought of entering.
In this S.E.T. Session, I’ll be forcing myself to listen to some of the harshest recorded audio out there. Noise music is a confusing genre to delve into, because there is really no preparing yourself. It’s harsh, real harsh. You’re probably not going to like it, I sure as hell don’t. There are no choruses, no melodies, no real way to discern what “instrument” is being played. But I decided to strain my eardrums anyway out of curiosity.
Noise music sprung up around the same time as Dadaism started to overtake portions of the art world. Artists like Antonio Russollo and Kurt Schwitters would compose pieces of music that involved home-made instruments and gibberish spoken by vocalists in the early 1920’s. Noise was pushed further through other counterculture art movements like Futurism and Surrealism. Noise became relatively popular in Asia, specifically in Japan. This leads us to the modern godfather of noise, Masami Akita a.k.a. Merzbow.
Normally, I would want to go through an artists whole discography to really get a feel for what they’re all about, to see the natural progression of their artistry. However, since 1979, Merzbow has put out 360+ records. I am not doing that, you can’t make me, this is my newsletter. Merzbow is known for harsh, industrial noise that has a weirdly obsessive cult following. If you ever find yourself talking to a Merzbow fan, it may be a good idea to stop because I am sure they’ll try and tell you about how “anti-music” opened up their third eye or something, going on a PBR induced lecture about how “it sounds way better if you just take this hit of angel dust, man.” Then they’ll probably ask you for a ride home.
Let’s dive in.
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Pulse Demon (1996)
Pulse Demon is often considered one of the best noise albums of all time. It received an 8.7/10 from Pitchfork and is widely regarded as the best album to introduce weary newcomers to noise as a genre. The album is almost the audio equivalent to the shock-content of the early internet. Put it on and you are sure to get the attention of those around you, and they will almost immediately tell you to turn that shit off. This record sounds like if you hooked up a vacuum to the side of your head and turned it on, but on the other end someone was just brushing their teeth into a microphone connected to an amp you can hear down the street.
Every single track on this album is abrasive, gravely, and hard to hang onto. As you go through the motions of turning down the volume because you are starting to go cross-eyed, then turning it back up to see if you can hear some differences, you start to realize that there are layers to each track. As I pushed through this intense experience, I found myself feeling almost blinded by noise; I was not consciously experiencing the audio. I developed tunnel vision and felt like I was not myself, but a version of myself looking into the floor-to-ceiling mirror in my apartment from inside my own head. It is a similar feeling to having a panic attack, dissociation from all other things, all other senses other than the corkscrew of scraping metal that is Merzbow’s Pulse Demon.
As the final track “Yellow Hyper Balls” came to a close, I felt myself begin to recenter. Suddenly, there I was. Alone, in silence, only hearing the wooshing of the air conditioner in the hallway outside of my apartment. I felt reset. Something had returned to equilibrium, but I couldn’t put my finger on what. The only way I can describe it, is Pulse Demon acts as a palate cleanser. The silence sounds better, the runaway thoughts you had are gone, all because you have to focus on the noise. The grinding, scraping, pummeling noise that Merzbow brings to you.
Merzbeat (2002)
Once you have made it past the gauntlet that is Pulse Demon, many of Merzbow’s records seem like a cake walk. Merzbeat isn’t a cake walk, but I can at least discern one sound from another. This record was actually a pleasant surprise, it was harsh enough to fit into Merzbow’s discography, but musical enough where it had a guitar. A guitar… and keys!
This is something I would almost consider a venture into ambient music. Synth passages and wailing guitar chords are combined with the twisted metal cacophony that Merzbow is known for to create an atmosphere cloaked in catharsis. However, Merzbow reminds you that he can take that cathartic feeling away at any time with familiar swirling static throughout the tracks.
Honestly, I could see myself actually buying a physical copy of this. It is almost like a score, it’s diverse and atmospheric while still somehow scaring the listener into a submissive state.
Merzxiu (2015)
On the final project I listened to, Merzbow collabs with San Jose’s frontrunner for weird, experimental acts: Xiu Xiu. Together, Merzbow’s noise roots and Jamie Stewart’s almost two decades in working on the fringes of what is considered music, the ultimate outsider lovechild is created.
Of the three records I listened to, this one is by far the most trance like. The two tracks aren’t repetitive really, but they certainly feel like it. “A” starts out sounding like you are listening to a broken down machine, that is still trying its hardest to function in some menial manner. The gears are still spinning every once in a while, a switch is turned, but in reality it is a dying hunk of scrap. This is the sounds of its final functioning moments as it prepares for eternal shut down. It is what I expected the sixth motion of The Caretaker’s Everywhere At The End Of Time to sound like; helpless, confused, and tortured.
This record is a good midpoint between the two above it. If Pulse Demon is too much scribbling and Merzbeat is too upbeat than this is a healthy middle ground to enjoy.
Conclusion
Listening to Merzbow really opened up my ears to something that I really was not prepared for. It was so off putting, so jarring that I was almost pleasantly surprised at what I heard. To be clear, I didn’t really enjoy it, I think that it takes a specific type of person to really get into noise. Maybe you’re… I don’t know… A Linux user. Maybe you are a drone metal guy looking for something less melodic to listen to but still want the consistency that it brings. Maybe you’re this guy, really getting into brushing his teeth at a Merzbow live show. Either way, give it a shot.
Although early in this article, I compared Merzbow to shock sites like Meatspin (Mom, don’t click that link), Merzbow actually begins to become tolerable and albeit enjoyable to a certain group of avid noise fans. The genre will progress and I am sure more fans will come about as the once underground scene gets more exposure.
This genre really isn’t for me, but I sure can respect the pioneers, like Merzbow, who continue to push the boundaries of what is sonically acceptable. They clear our heads and confuse listeners who refuse to dig deeper. Godspeed.
FINAL VERDICT - Yeah, I still don’t really like this shit. I might revisit Merzbeat.