Duo | ||||
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Box set by Merzbow | ||||
Released | January 1, 2013 | |||
Recorded | September 20, 1987 – September 15, 1989; November 23, 1979 | |||
Studio | ZSF Produkt Studio, Studio Penta, and Tad Pole Studio, Tokyo | |||
Genre | Noise, improvisation | |||
Length | 630:40 (normal edition) 671:43 (art edition) | |||
Label | Tourette | |||
Producer | Masami Akita | |||
Merzbow chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
All About Jazz | favorable [1] |
Vital Weekly | favorable [2] |
Musique Machine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Duo, subtitled Masami Akita & Kiyoshi Mizutani Selected Studio Sessions 1987–89, is a box set album by the Japanese noise project Merzbow. It is composed of unreleased studio sessions recorded with Kiyoshi Mizutani. Some of these recordings were used as raw material for solo releases like Scissors for Cutting Merzbow , but the original recordings were unreleased until now. These recordings mirror albums like Ecobondage , Enclosure , and Storage . The art edition comes with a bonus CD with a recording from 1979.
A box set or boxed set is a set of items packaged in a box, for sale as a single unit.
Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by Masami Akita. Merzbow is best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise as exemplified on the 1996 release Pulse Demon. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists.
Scissors for Cutting Merzbow is an album by the Merzbow side project SCUM. It was the last LP record released by ZSF Produkt. The project's name is a play on the SCUM Manifesto, and the track titles were influenced by American post-war art. The artwork are collages including images from Human Sex Anatomy by Robert Latou Dickinson. An expanded version was later included in the Merzbox. Some of the original studio sessions were included on Duo.
During the 1980s, Merzbow was divided between Masami Akita's solo works and improvised works with Kiyoshi Mizutani. [4] Akita also frequently used recordings made with Mizutani as raw material for solo recordings. It was also during the time of these recordings that Merzbow (with Mizutani) first played outside Japan; Russia in 1988 and Western Europe in 1989. Mizutani left Merzbow in 1989 and continues his own solo career.
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right.
All music composed by Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani.
CD 1 | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Duo 1987" ( [lower-alpha 1] ) | 24:10 |
2. | "26 September 1987" ( [lower-alpha 1] ) | 23:52 |
Total length: | 48:02 |
CD 2 | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "19 June 1988 Part 1" ( [lower-alpha 2] ) | 23:42 |
2. | "19 June 1988 Part 2" ( [lower-alpha 2] ) | 23:16 |
Total length: | 46:58 |
CD 3 | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "25 June 1988" ( [lower-alpha 1] ) | 41:09 |
2. | "27 August 1988" ( [lower-alpha 1] ) | 32:38 |
Total length: | 73:47 |
CD 4 | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "25 June 1988 A" ( [lower-alpha 1] ) | 44:10 |
2. | "Duo 1988 Penta 2" ( [lower-alpha 2] ) | 23:29 |
Total length: | 67:37 |
CD 5 | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "9 October Part 1" ( [lower-alpha 3] ) | 29:26 |
2. | "9 October Part 2" ( [lower-alpha 3] ) | 11:17 |
3. | "9 October Part 3" ( [lower-alpha 3] ) | 20:11 |
Total length: | 60:54 |
CD 6 | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "1 May 1988 B" ( [lower-alpha 1] ) | 30:43 |
2. | "15 September 1989" ( [lower-alpha 2] ) | 37:06 |
Total length: | 67:49 |
CD 7 | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "16 April 1989 Part 1" ( [lower-alpha 2] ) | 46:42 |
2. | "16 April 1989 Part 2" ( [lower-alpha 2] ) | 25:18 |
Total length: | 72:00 |
CD 8 | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "1 May 1988 A" ( [lower-alpha 2] ) | 46:16 |
2. | "Duo 1988 Penta Part 3" ( [lower-alpha 2] ) | 18:45 |
Total length: | 65:01 |
CD 9 | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "15 September 1989 B" ( [lower-alpha 2] ) | 33:57 |
2. | "Penta 1988 A" ( [lower-alpha 2] ) | 38:58 |
Total length: | 72:55 |
CD 10 | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "20 September 1987" ( [lower-alpha 1] ) | 23:34 |
2. | "28 February 1988" ( [lower-alpha 1] ) | 32:03 |
Total length: | 55:37 |
CD 11 (bonus disc) | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "23 November 1979" ( [lower-alpha 4] ) | 41:03 |
All personnel credits adapted from the album notes. [5]
The Synare was a series of electronic drums made by Star Instruments in the mid-1970s through the 1980s. The Synare was a drum synthesizer, meaning that it was essentially a synthesizer, but instead of being controlled by a keyboard, it was triggered by hitting rubber pads which were pressure-sensitive.
Each disc comes in its own full-color sleeve, all packed in a hardcover box. The art edition includes a bonus CD with a recording from 1979 and a signed postcard.
Region | Date | Label | Format | Quantity | Catalog |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | January 1, 2013 | Tourette Records | CD | 400 | tourette 032 |
100 | tourette 032 art |
Merzbox is a box set compilation by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. It consists of 50 CDs spanning Merzbow's career from 1979 to 1997. 30 discs are taken from long out of print releases, while 20 are composed mainly of unreleased material. The box also contains two CD-ROMs, six CD-sized round cards, six round stickers, a poster, a black long-sleeve T-shirt, a medallion, and the Merzbook, all packaged together in a "fetish" black rubber box. It is limited to 1000 numbered copies. A Merzbox Sampler was released in 1997.
Severances is an album by the Merzbow side project SCUM, on this release SCUM is an acronym for "Society for Cutting Up Merzbow". It was later included in the Merzbox.
Ushi-tra is an album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. "Orient Oxidation" is a reference to "Orient-Occident", an early tape work by Iannis Xenakis. Outtakes from the recording sessions were included in the Merzbox (2000).
Dadavida is an album by the Japanese noise group Merzbow. It was released on cassette in 1984 and rereleased in 1989 as a remixed version. The reissue is labeled "Alternation for the Rock Structures".
Dutch Tour 1989 is a live album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. It comes in a pastic box with a built-in handmade instrument consisting of a metal plate, springs, and a contact microphone. Each copy has unique artwork.
Normal Music is an album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. It features improvised music using drums, organ, and violin.
Collection 005 is an album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. It is the fifth volume of the Collection series. The first five volumes were recorded for Ylem and consist of studio sessions with Kiyoshi Mizutani, then a member of Merzbow. However, Ylem went out of business before they could be released. Masami Akita then released them himself and recorded five more at home using previous Collection session recordings mixed with new material and effects.
Collection 004 is an album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. It is the fourth volume of the Collection series. The first five volumes were recorded for Ylem and consist of studio sessions with Kiyoshi Mizutani, then a member of Merzbow. However, Ylem went out of business before they could be released. Masami Akita then released them himself and recorded five more at home using previous Collection session recordings mixed with new material and effects.
Merzbient is a boxed set album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow, it is composed of previously unreleased raw material recorded 1987–90.
Ecobondage is an album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow, it uses "handmade thin metal precussion, with an emphasis on scratched metal noises".The title stands for "Bondage Economy". The album was inspired by Michel Foucault's book The Birth of the Clinic, and Masami Akita wrote Anagram of Perversion, his first book, during the recording of the album.
Pornoise/1 kg is a box set album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. Additional material from the sessions was released as Pornoise/Extra.
Le Cuisinier is a studio album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. The album consists of improvisations between Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani. It was recorded on July 3, 1983 at Music Studio Kichijoji, Tokyo and mixed at Merz-Bau. It was released by Stratosphere Music in 1983 on a cassette, and at some point was reissued on cassette. It was reissued on CD by Menstrualrecordings on September 28, 2017.
Mechanization Takes Command is an album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. The title is taken from Sigfried Giedion's book. It was released on cassette in 1983 and an edited reissue in 1989. It was partially included in the Merzbox. The full release was included in Lowest Music & Arts 1980–1983.
Dying Mapa III is an album by the Japanese noise band Merzbow, then consisting of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani. This is the third installment of the Dying Mapa trilogy inspired by the Nyingmapa school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Dying Mapa II is an album by the Japanese noise band Merzbow, then consisting of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani. This is the second installment of the Dying Mapa trilogy inspired by the Nyingmapa school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Dying Mapa I is an album by the Japanese noise band Merzbow, then consisting of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani. This is the first installment of the Dying Mapa trilogy inspired by the Nyingmapa school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Lowest Music & Arts 1980–1983 is a box set compilation by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow, it is composed of recordings from the earliest years of Merzbow. It is released on ten LPs. Some material was partially included in the Merzbox.
Collection 009 is an album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. It is the ninth volume of the Collection series. The first five volumes were recorded for Ylem and consist of studio sessions with Kiyoshi Mizutani, then a member of Merzbow. However, Ylem went out of business before they could be released. Masami Akita then released them himself and recorded five more at home using previous Collection session recordings mixed with new material and effects.
Discogs is a website and crowdsourced database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are located in Portland, Oregon, US. While the site lists releases in all genres and on all formats, it is especially known as the largest online database of electronic music releases, and of releases on vinyl media. Discogs currently contains over 10.6 million releases, by over 5.3 million artists, across over 1.1 million labels, contributed from over 443,000 contributor user accounts — with these figures constantly growing as users continually add previously unlisted releases to the site over time.
MusicBrainz is a project that aims to create an open data music database that is similar to the freedb project. MusicBrainz was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the Compact Disc Database (CDDB), a database for software applications to look up audio CD information on the Internet. MusicBrainz has expanded its goals to reach beyond a compact disc metadata storehouse to become a structured open online database for music.