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Merzbow, "Live Destruction at No Fun 2007"
All the trademark stylings and sensibilities that have helped to propel Masami Akita's name to the top of the list of respected noise artists are here in abundance on this single 41:29 track CD, released on No Fun's own No Fun Productions label and wrapped in a gorgeous cover drawn by Akita himself.
Within those 41 minutes and 29 seconds is everything from explosions of harsh electronic grind, bursts of whispering static, and grating insectoid rasping; to screeching feedback, thick washes of overwhelming wall-of-noise blasts, siren wails, and rhythmic pulsing. The real trick though that makes this a successful release is the artfulness with which Akita constructs the piece. Rather than assaulting the ears with a constant barrage of barely listenable noise he has layered his material in such a way as to keep the listener constantly engaged, sculpting his creation carefully and precisely. I normally have to be 'in the mood' to listen to extreme noise, but a mark of the quality of Akita's music on this live recording is that I never once found myself thinking "When is this going to end?". Instead, I followed the constantly evolving musical landscape unfolding avidly, as well as the twists and turns, the building and breaking down. What's more—and this for me is something of a litmus test of quality—I can listen to this repeatedly and find something new every time.
I admit I'm a fan; I find Merzbow's music a form of sonic alchemy and Akita having been around for nigh on three decades—and having released somewhere in the region of 300 or more albums in that time—he has had the time to finely hone his craft and get to know the essences of his base materials. The finesse with which he marshals, molds, and creatively manipulates the lead of the raw sounds, finally transmuting them into the gold of his art is, for me, astonishing. Most of us go out of our way to avoid noise in our daily lives but artists such as Merzbow encourage us to look at noise in a different way, to embrace it and see it as a thing of beauty. That is what good art SHOULD do.
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