Duo (Merzbow album)

Duo
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

Ko To No O To
(2012)		 Duo
(2013)		 Takahe Collage
(2013)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
All About Jazz favorable[1]
Vital Weekly favorable[2]
Musique Machine [3]

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.[4][5]

During the 1980s, Merzbow was divided between Masami Akita's solo works and improvised works with Kiyoshi Mizutani.[6] 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 of Japan; Russia in 1988 and Western Europe in 1989. Mizutani left Merzbow in 1989 and continues his own solo career.

Track Listing

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)
No. Title Length
1. "23 November 1979"   41:03

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Recorded at ZSF Produkt Studio, Tokyo
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Recorded at Studio Penta, Otsuka, Tokyo
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Recorded at Tad Pole Studio, Kyodo, Tokyo

Personnel

Merzbow
Production

Release history

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 Sold Out
United States January 1, 2013 Tourette Records CD 400 tourette 032 No
100 tourette 032 art No

References

  1. ↑ Corroto, Mark (May 22, 2013). "Art Strike!". All About Jazz. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  2. ↑ de Waard, Frans (February 11, 2013). "869". Vital Weekly. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  3. ↑ Batty, Roger (January 14, 2014). "Merzbow - Duo". Musique Machine. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  4. ↑ "MERZBOW "Duo"". Tourette Records. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Merzbow - Duo (CD)". Discogs. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ Pouncey, Edwin (August 2000). "Consumed by Noise". The Wire (198).