Mike and Greh met up with Jim Haras (Deterge, Laureate) and listened to Merzbow’s 1999 jazz-sampling classic Door Open at 8am on Alien8. Be forewarned, the three of us LOVE this record and you can certainly tell (though maybe not from the photo). Fuel up the gas-guzzler and settle in for the long haul.
With us this week is John Wiese to talk about the 1990 Merzbow CD Cloud Cock OO Grand. This marks a new era for Merzbow, the first of many CDs and the direction we’d see in the ’90s. I told John about this podcast when it was just an idea, and we’re happy to have him here for what is certainly not his last episode.
Only a month in, and doing Venereology already? We must be crazy. Mike and Greh talk to dream guest Phil Blankenship (of The Cherry Point, LHD and the legendary Troniks label) about a record that changed his life (and his high school yearbook photo).
Some late ’80s Merzbow here, selected by Grant Richardson (GNAWED) who stopped by while on tour, and as usual I can’t seem to keep Mike Connelly away from these listening sessions. Sewers, shipping containers, forklifts and orchestral composition are a few of the items on hand as we descend into the junk cavern.
Our third episode, we have Tara Connelly (Clay Rendering, The Haunting, The Pool at Metz) here to discuss 1997’s Hybrid Noisebloom on Vinyl Communications. Mike Connelly is here as well, and we recorded this episode on Valentine’s day. We get spacey and sensual, talk a bit about naked lady mudflaps and Tara shares a rather personal anecdote about Merzbow cover art and the act of love.
I’m joined again by Mike Connelly, along with our friend Bill Hutson (Rale, Tattered Syntax, clipping.) who chose 1995’s GREEN WHEELS CD+5″ from Self Abuse Records to discuss. We try to pronounce the track titles, talk about why Merzbow is THE ONE, and the sterilization of “bad sounds” from noise.
For this first episode, I speak with Mike Connelly (Clay Rendering, Failing Lights, Gods of Tundra, et al.) about a mutual favorite Merzbow record, TAUROMACHINE. Released in 1998 on Release/Relapse records, it’s a landmark of harsh noise that impacted both of us heavily. Also I mention fractals.