http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1817&rws=%2Fmerzbow%2Fmusic-videos.rssAlmost as prolific as Om Kalsoum and more dissonant than an avalanche of windowpanes, Masami Akita's Merzbow has become the most well-known name in Japanese Noise. Moving beyond Lou Reed's groundbreaking <I>Metal Machine Music</I> and Whitehouse's Euro-aggression, he creates lightening storms of sound with incredible complexity. He looks to sources like Free Jazz for inspiration for his patently "free" sounds. Couching his music in the extreme eros of S&M and B&D imagery, he directs listening to a visceral level, where being a docile receptacle for sound is no longer possible. Merzbow must be listened to actively. Perhaps defensively. - Marc KatePower Electronics/Noiseen720Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:37:47 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1817&rws=%2Fmerzbow%2Fmusic-videos.rss Almost as prolific as Om Kalsoum and more dissonant than an avalanche of windowpanes, Masami Akita's Merzbow has become the most well-known name in Japanese Noise. Moving beyond Lou Reed's groundbreaking <I>Metal Machine Music</I> and Whitehouse's Euro-aggression, he creates lightening storms of sound with incredible complexity. He looks to sources like Free Jazz for inspiration for his patently "free" sounds. Couching his music in the extreme eros of S&M and B&D imagery, he directs listening to a visceral level, where being a docile receptacle for sound is no longer possible. Merzbow must be listened to actively. Perhaps defensively. - Marc Kate