MERZBOW 'Hybrid Noisebloom' Double LP (Italy, Urashima, Catalogue #UMA 158) Brand new/unplayed copy of limited year 2022 Urashima label first time vinyl edition (presented here as a Double LP edition) of seminal 1997 Vinyl Communications label release (originally issued as CD-only release) of Merzbow album entitled Hybrid Noisebloom. First time, very limited vinyl edition of this top level Merzbow album.

This album is ranked #4 in a list of a total of 327 (!) Merzbow albums (all reviewed; the review for Hybrid Noisebloom presented further below) ranked and reviewed by Electricwatersheep.

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(NOTE: BRAND NEW/FACTORY SEALED ITEM!)

(NOTE: LIMITED VINYL EDITION OF 299 COPIES ONLY!)

Merzbow stands as the most important artist in noise music. The moniker of Japanese artist Masami Akita was born in Tokyo in 1979. Inspired by dadaism and surrealism, Akita took the name for his project from German artist Kurt Schwitters's pre-war architectural assemblage The Cathedral of Erotic Misery or Merzbau. Working in his home, he quickly gained notoriety as a purveyor of a musical genre composed solely of pure, unadulterated noise. Embracing technology and the machine, first in an absolutely analog way and then welcoming digital innovation, Merzbow broke boundaries and pushed toward new territories of the extreme. Hybrid Noisebloom, originally issued by Vinyl Communications on CD in 1997, is the latest in this trilling bread crumb trail. It is also the first time that this seminal document from Merzbow's '90s period has ever appeared on vinyl. Composed and performed on EMS and Moog Synthesizers, Theremin, metal devices, noise electronics, and voice, all recorded at extreme volumes, Hybrid Noisebloom's five tracks present a fascinating sonic assault, heavily driven by the presence of electronic sounds, played against the sparse interjections of Akita's heavily processed vocals, that push toward new territories of the extreme, while subtly nodding toward historical gestures from the early years of the avant-garde. "Plasma Birds" investigates timbral relationships, the fragmentation of melody, and abrasive, provocative noise -- shifting from the sparse, airy, and restrained, to dance clusters of interplay and back again. "Minotaurus" finds a strange middle ground between the intuitive logics of their instruments; synth and electronics taking on decidedly percussive approaches, while metal device's fractured polyrhythms and beats often veer toward the presence of a notable tonality. "Mouse Of Superconcetion", formed by screeches and from swinging and chugging to stepped back and sparse combinations of rhythm and tone, moves from the lingering sensibilities of straight-ahead synth to radically out hard blow fire. Launching from a total wall of sound, "Neuro Electric Butterfly" takes the listening on an endlessly surprising journey through its devices' inner world, shifting between airy open passages that feature endless combinations of one or more effects, to furious moments of sonorous lashings where the sound falls in together in brilliant dialogical periods of conversant texture and psychedelic intervention. "The Imaginary Coversation Of Blue" embeds bristling fragments, percolating tones, and poignant dissonances within a sweeping field of echoes rumbles and drones. First vinyl release; edition of 299.

- Reissue of Merzbow's Hybrid Noisebloom, originally issued by Vinyl Communications on CD in 1997.

- Composed and performed on EMS and Moog Synthesizers, Theremin, metal devices, noise electronics, and voice, all recorded at extreme volumes.

Hybrid Noisebloom's five tracks present a fascinating sonic assault, heavily driven by the presence of electronic sounds, played against the sparse interjections of Akita's heavily processed vocals.

- First vinyl release; edition of 299.   


"Pure psychedelic bliss! Listeners that have any form of chromesthesia will not want to miss out on this album, because this is quite easily the most colorful noise album I've ever heard. This album is frequently described as being psychedelic, and it's fairly easy to see why. The soundscapes on this album are easily among his most detailed and lively soundscapes he'd ever make, and alongside many of the other albums that rank this highly on this list, it gives me an incredible and distinct sense of place. Every element is constantly changing, constantly giving you new and interesting things to hear. The synths, which give this album a lot of its psychedelic edge, are also used wonderfully, and have a ton of range as far as how exactly they're used at any given moment. The loops are also incredible, from the clanging percussion that starts off the track Mouse of Superconception to the incredibly dense static loop that starts off the track Plasma Birds. However, Neuro Electric Butterfly is the real show stealer on this album. It's an incredibly beautiful trip into the depths punctuated by some incredible synth work. It's the culmination of this album's sound, conjuring up some overwhelmingly beautiful moments. The final track, The Imaginary Coversation of Blue, even ends things really strongly in terms of album flow by having these really overwhelming synthesizer melodies play on top of the madness, which brings a sense of closure rarely seen elsewhere. While this is quite loud, I would say this is a very essential listen for anyone trying to get into Merzbow, as not only is it relatively accessible, but the aesthetic traits that this album has gives it an easy-to-digest concept that makes the free-form nature of noise a bit more palatable to those that may not be used to it. Overall, supremely amazing album, and yet again I am forced to say that the fact this doesn't breach the top 3 is indicative that Merzbow is truly talented at his craft." - Electricwatersheep    

Tracks on this Double LP are as follows

A1Plasma Birds / Minotaurus
B1Mouse Of Superconcetion
C1Neuro Electric Butterfly
D1The Imaginary Coversation Of Blue

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