Search - Masami (aka Merzbow) Akita :: Minazo, Vol. 1

"There's no need to argue. Merzbow stands as the most influential figure in noise music." - ALL MUSIC GUIDE There is likely no better-known noise artist than Masami Akita, a.k.a. Merzbow ... a trance-inducing rumble, a vaguely rhythmic pulse with rising and falling fuzz, playful sounds dropped in here and there." - DUSTED "Merzbuddha suggests more of a simmering paranoia, the ceaseless march of bass suggesting the B-movie monster that manages to keep pace with a fleeing victim despite moving almost in slow motion ... an hour of good Merzbow certainly has a transformative effect." - PITCHFORKMEDIA "One of the acknowledged overlords of this extreme genre, there seemed few avenues which [Merzbow] hadn't explored with the palette he'd set himself. Then, with 2005's barrage of more rhythmic work, Merzbow opened up a whole new dimension to explore ... Merzbow has become an altogether different musical animal; you haven't heard it all before." - STYLUS Minazo is Merzbow's tribute to a beloved male elephant seal that lived life in captivity at a Tokyo aquarium. Masami Akita often visited Minazo, and was allowed access to him behind the scenes. Minazo was the only male elephant seal in Japan, and became very popular through several TV appearances. He was forced to perform various stunts before audiences at each mealtime. This hard work made him exhausted, and might have caused his early death. Minazo died in October 2005 at eleven years old, still young for an elephant seal whose life expectancy is twenty years on average. According to Masami Akita, "Many of the aquariums in Japan have become mere amusement establishments. I believe that they should eventually end the exhibition of animals in the name of academic research, and instead start functioning as animal shelters only ... whatever the cause of death, I feel sad and angry each time I hear about animals dying in captivity far away from their natural habitat."