Tsubame is the twelfth in Masami Akita's powerful monthly series, the 13 Japanese Birds. It is a collection of recordings that underscores his commitment to the natural world, and pays tribute to the influence of French composer Olivier Messiaen, whose own tribute to fowl accounts for a valued piece of 20th century classical music known as Catalogue d'Oiseaux. On Tsubame (named for the Japanese sparrow), Merzbow is in militant mode -- the three titles on this 54-minute work reflect his view: “Destroy the Cages,” “Burn Down Research Facilities,” and “Escape from Captors.” His rage and anger are prevalent from the very beginning of the opening track. And while in this series Akita has returned to using his drum kit -- he is a formidable drummer, to say the very least -- we hear the harshest of his analog-powered electronics attack. It takes a few minutes to realize that the sounds of his drums are there and are even plentiful, they're just so heavily distorted they feel like another pneumatic device until midway through track three. Despite the sheer forcefulness of his sonics, he once more comes across as an extremely creative musician. There are forms here that assert themselves, once the listener can get past the aggression in his method and accept that this is an assault on the ears where there is no dynamic range at all: everything is pushed to the maximum. And that's fine. In one piece, sounds come into play that resemble machine guns, others as sonic waves that wash over the feedback and scree, and still others that are so low-end they toy with the central nervous system at loud volumes. The listener is subjected to the same kinds of experimentation -- albeit all sonically -- that birds are in research facilities. As an extended project, 13 Japanese Birds is a master work for Merzbow, as a single listening experience, Tsubame is rigorous, demanding, and at times, unbearable. But given the empathy he feels for birds and their plight in modern-day Japan, nothing less should be expected.

ABOUT THE PAINTINGS:

With the purchase of a bamboo box you have the option of including an original acrylic on bamboo painting by Masami Akita (Merzbow). His work can be seen on the cover of the LP released via Important titled Minazo 2. It''s a little known fact that Masami Akita studied painting at Tamagawa University in Japan and has continued to produce paintings. These paintings are not available without the purchase of a bamboo box.

** due to the time required to produce each box (& the future collector value of the boxes ) we reserve the right, if neccessary, to limit the number of boxes per order **