Uzu Me Ku

Uzu Me Ku
Studio album by Merzbow
Released	August 2012
Recorded	December 2011 – January 2012
Studio	Munemihouse, Tokyo
Genre	Noise
Length	36:54
Label	Samboy Get Help!
Producer	Masami Akita
Merzbow chronology

Last updated April 08, 2019

Uzu Me Ku is an album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow.^[1] It features the Koto, a traditional Japanese instrument, "manipulated through granular synthesis by digital and analogue electronics devices." According to Masami Akita, "Uzume Hikoyuzu" means "spiral generating" and "Itsu Akitsu" means "generating of particles". The album photos were taken at the Nagasawa Purification Plant in Kawasaki, Japan, which was designed by Mamoru Yamada (who also designed the Nippon Budokan).^[2]

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.

The koto is a Japanese stringed musical instrument derived from the Chinese zheng, and similar to the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum, and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about 180 centimetres (71 in) length, and made from kiri wood. They have 13 strings that are usually strung over 13 movable bridges along the width of the instrument. There is also a 17-string variant. Players can adjust the string pitches by moving the white bridges before playing. To play the instrument, the strings are plucked using three finger picks.

Granular synthesis is a basic sound synthesis method that operates on the microsound time scale.

Track listing

All music composed by Masami Akita.

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Uzume Hikoyuzu"	19:14

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Itsu Akitsu"	17:40

Personnel

Masami Akita – electronics, 13 string koto, photography

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Quantity	Catalog
New Zealand	2012	Samboy Get Help!	LP	300	Samboy 003

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References

↑ "Merzbow - Uzu Me Ku (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs . Retrieved September 3, 2012.
↑ "Samboy Get Help! Recordings" . Retrieved 15 June 2012.
↑ Merzbow (January 28, 2012). "itsu akitsu by merzbow". SoundCloud . Retrieved September 3, 2012.

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[1] "Merzbow - Uzu Me Ku (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs . Retrieved September 3, 2012.

[label-2] "Samboy Get Help! Recordings" . Retrieved 15 June 2012.

[3] Merzbow (January 28, 2012). "itsu akitsu by merzbow". SoundCloud . Retrieved September 3, 2012.