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Now, Mego is a label that I trust and respect. Not attached to anygenre or style, only a vague and loose allegiance to computer-createdmusic of some kind, I would expect them to demand more from Merzbow.That doesn't seem to be the case. On "A Taste of...", it sounds to meas if a couple of samples were looped for five minutes at a time, whilevarious filters were bloodlessly applied and removed. It's as if apattern, or perhaps an instruction booklet for some software, wasstrictly followed so that this specific result would emerge. There is atheme of Japanese cuisine presented in the artwork, but nothing withinthe music which resonates that theme. In fact, Japanese cuisine valuespresentation, freshness and detail, and this noise sounds as if no onemade it or was paying much attention to it or its ingredients at all.
I believe that noise can be musical—bands like Hijo Kaidan,Borbetomagus, Masonna, and especially CCCC, have produced works thathold up as albums which evidence some compositional thought andemotion, or even concentrated non-emotion. Pita has done so using acomputer; his "Get Out" is one of the most powerful computer-musicalbums that I can think of. Merzbow used to make albums that soundedwhole ("Antimonument", "Batz-Tau-Tai", "Material Action 2"), but sincethe 1990s has forfeited quality for quantity. If you've been wonderingwhy he is generally refered to as the "king" of Japanese noise music,you won't find out why by listening to "A Taste of...".
samples:
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