Merzbow

Merzbow is a name for loud music.

A man named Masami Akita makes it. He uses many strange sounds. He once used a gas stove for music. He also used a lamp spring. He even used rubber bands. He likes to help animals too. He is a vegan who does not eat meat. He loves birds and keeps them at home. His music can be very wild and loud. It is a unique way to make art.

Merzbow is a famous name for a type of music.

It is called harsh noise music. Masami Akita started this project in Japan in 1979. He is known as a very busy artist. Since 1980, he has made over 500 recordings. The name Merzbow comes from an artist named Kurt Schwitters. Schwitters made art using found objects and junk. Akita uses this same idea in his music.

In the early days, Akita used many everyday things to make sound. He used a gas stove and lamp springs. He even made a tool from a metal case with piano wires.

Later, he began using electronic tools. He used synthesizers and computers to make loud sounds.

Akita also cares deeply about the world. He is a vegan. This means he does not eat meat, eggs, or dairy. He loves birds and keeps many at home. He uses animal sounds in his music to help people think about nature. Some people call him the most important artist in noise music.

Merzbow is a famous musical project from Japan.

It is led by an artist named Masami Akita. He is well known for a style called harsh noise music. This music focuses on loud and intense sounds. Akita started this project in 1979. Since 1980, he has released more than 500 recordings. Some people even call him the most important artist in the noise genre. His name comes from a German artist named Kurt Schwitters. Schwitters created art called Merzbau using found objects. Akita chose the name Merzbow to show his love for this kind of junk art.

Akita has many interesting ways to make his music. In the beginning, he used a method called "material action." This meant making quiet sounds with household objects. He would record these sounds very closely with a microphone. He also used a style called "environmental percussion." This involved hitting things like a gas stove or a lamp spring. He even used a violin bow on plastic cases to make noise. He once built a homemade instrument using a metal case. He strung it with piano wires and guitar strings to shake and bow.

Akita's musical journey has changed many times over the years. He started as a duo with his friend Kiyoshi Mizutani. In the 1980s, he released many recordings on cassette tapes. He even started his own label called Lowest Music & Arts. Later, he moved into a "noise electronics" era during the 1990s. During this time, he used synthesizers and recorded at very high volumes. By 1999, he began using laptop computers for his work. He called his home studio "Bedroom, Tokyo" during this laptop era. He has also worked with many different international music labels.

There are many important facts about Akita's life and work. He was born in Tokyo, Japan, on December 19, 1956. He studied fine art and painting at Tamagawa University. In the year 2000, a company called Extreme Records released the Merzbox. This was a huge collection of fifty different CDs. Akita has also been a writer and an editor in Japan. He has written many books about music and modern art. He has even composed music for different films. His work has been shared through many remix and tribute albums.

Akita's music is also tied to his personal beliefs. He cares a lot about animal rights and the environment. Because of this, he follows a vegan lifestyle. He does not eat meat, dairy, or eggs from non-self-raised chickens. He is also a "straight edge" person who avoids alcohol and tobacco. He loves birds and keeps many of them in his home. You can hear this love in his music through animal sounds. He has even made albums dedicated to his pet chickens. His music helps people think about the world and nature.

Merzbow is a prominent Japanese music project specializing in harsh noise music.

The project was founded in 1979 by Masami Akita. Since 1980, Akita has released over 500 recordings. His work is so influential that some consider him the "most important artist in noise." The name Merzbow is inspired by the German dada artist Kurt Schwitters. Schwitters created a work called Merzbau, which transformed a house interior using found objects. Akita chose this name to reflect his interest in dadaism and a junk art aesthetic. This artistic connection links his sound to a history of using non-traditional materials.

Akita developed unique methods to generate sound through "material action." In this process, he made quiet sounds with household objects. He used close miking to record these sounds or rubbed microphones directly on objects. This technique often overloaded recording levels to create intense textures. He also practiced "environmental percussion," which used non-instruments for rhythm. He might bang on a floor or a gas stove. He used the spring of a table lamp for percussion. Other methods included using a violin bow on plastic cassette cases or blowing into a toilet paper tube to mimic horns.

During his early years, Akita built custom instruments from scrap. One homemade device consisted of a metal case strung with piano wires and guitar strings. He would shake the case or place objects inside to create noise. He also used rubber bands to imitate guitar sounds and scratched metal to create electrical textures. His early artwork often used collages. He made these by using photocopies of manga and magazines found in Tokyo subway trash cans. This approach helped him create a specific feeling for his early cassette listeners. These experimental methods defined the early Merzbow sound.

The history of Merzbow is divided into several distinct musical eras. From 1979 to 1989, Merzbow began as a duo with Kiyoshi Mizutani. They released music on cassettes through Akita's label, Lowest Music & Arts. In 1984, Akita founded ZSF Produkt, a label for industrial music artists. The "noise electronics" era spanned from 1989 to 1999. During this time, Akita used portable gear and synthesizers. This era saw the rise of the harsh noise style he is famous for. In 1990, he released Cloud Cock OO Grand, his first digital recording on DAT.

Starting in 1999, Merzbow entered the "laptop era." Akita began using computers for his recordings and art. He referred to his home studio during this time as "Bedroom, Tokyo." In live performances, he used two laptops or a mix of laptops and analog pedals. Since 2009, he has entered a new era. He reintroduced junk metal, effects pedals, and even a drum kit in 2008. In the early 2010s, he moved toward using granular synthesis software on a single laptop. He also began collaborating with drummer Balázs Pándi, which resulted in several live and studio albums.

Akita's career is marked by massive collections of work. In 2000, Extreme Records released the Merzbox. This was a massive box set containing 50 CDs. Twenty of these CDs were previously unreleased recordings. Akita has also been a prolific writer and editor in Japan. He wrote about music, modern art, underground culture, and architecture. He even composed soundtracks for films, such as those directed by Ian Kerkhof. His work has been featured in many remix albums and tribute albums. These achievements demonstrate the wide reach of his experimental sound.

Personal beliefs heavily influence Akita's creative output and lifestyle. Since 2002, he has been a vegan. He avoids meat, dairy, and leather, and he only eats eggs from chickens he raises himself. He is also a strict "straight edge" individual. This means he abstains from alcohol and tobacco. Akita is an avid bird lover and keeps many birds at home. He incorporates animal sounds into his music, such as in the album Frog. He also uses his art to support animal rights organizations like PETA. His work often includes protests against whaling and dolphin hunting. This connection shows how his noise music serves as a platform for his environmental values.