Russell Haswell (Consumer Electronics, Satanstornade) stopped by while in town for a show to speak with us about 1996’s Mercurated on Alchemy Records. Russell gives insight about collaborating with Masami Akita, seeing him live for the first time, and the magic of Japanese-label Merzbow CDs.
We finally dip our toes in the digital realm with 2002’s AMLUX, chosen by screenwriter Ben Collins (Super Dark Times). This record takes the three of us different places: Connelly gets locked inside a parking garage, Greh confesses his foolishness regarding post-2000s Merzbow, and Ben comes up with a movie pitch for Die Hard, but in Japan.
With us this week is John Wiese to talk about the 1990 Merzbow CD Cloud Cock OO Grand. This marks a new era for Merzbow, the first of many CDs and the direction we’d see in the ’90s. I told John about this podcast when it was just an idea, and we’re happy to have him here for what is certainly not his last episode.
Only a month in, and doing Venereology already? We must be crazy. Mike and Greh talk to dream guest Phil Blankenship (of The Cherry Point, LHD and the legendary Troniks label) about a record that changed his life (and his high school yearbook photo).
Our third episode, we have Tara Connelly (Clay Rendering, The Haunting, The Pool at Metz) here to discuss 1997’s Hybrid Noisebloom on Vinyl Communications. Mike Connelly is here as well, and we recorded this episode on Valentine’s day. We get spacey and sensual, talk a bit about naked lady mudflaps and Tara shares a rather personal anecdote about Merzbow cover art and the act of love.
I’m joined again by Mike Connelly, along with our friend Bill Hutson (Rale, Tattered Syntax, clipping.) who chose 1995’s GREEN WHEELS CD+5″ from Self Abuse Records to discuss. We try to pronounce the track titles, talk about why Merzbow is THE ONE, and the sterilization of “bad sounds” from noise.
For this first episode, I speak with Mike Connelly (Clay Rendering, Failing Lights, Gods of Tundra, et al.) about a mutual favorite Merzbow record, TAUROMACHINE. Released in 1998 on Release/Relapse records, it’s a landmark of harsh noise that impacted both of us heavily. Also I mention fractals.