Available to pre-order now, official release date June 9th
Merzbow/Smegma - Plays CD
Available for the first time as the artists originally intended!
In their first collaborative album, influential outsider artists Merzbow and Smegma traded source material through the mail – from Japan to the USA, from the USA to Japan – to craft a mesmerizing mix of surreal-concrète electronics, handmade instrumentation, unconventional sound art, and hypnotic blast & clatter. Released during a staggering time of Merzbow’s legendary output – the same year as Pulse Demon, Oersted, Spiral Honey, and Rainbow Electronics 2 – Plays stands alone as a stunning and idiosyncratic entry in both artists’ discographies.
Remastered & re-authored by John Wiese, the material is now presented for the first time as the artists envisioned: the material carefully separated into a multitude of distinct tracks with the disc intended to be played on shuffle to create unique compositions & juxtapositions with every listen. On the first pressing in 1996, the manufacturer only created 2 tracks, which was never corrected… until now! Packaged in a limited edition 4-panel digipak with new layout.
Smegma/Merzbow - XCIII CD
More than 25 years after their first partnership, international collaborators Smegma and Merzbow reunite for an all-new album that pushes the conceptual springboard of random composition generation even further. Consisting of two movements spread over 93 tracks, XCIII presents a collage of abstract electronics, unconventional instruments, reel to reel tape manipulation, loops and effects, best experienced in unique combinations on shuffled play.
The first movement, Climactic Gruesome Costumes (whose title is an anagram of Play’s “Electro Smegmacoustic Music”), was composed using source sounds provided by Smegma and Merzbow, while the second movement, Reanimated, was composed at Smegma’s Studio using Merzbow tracks, Smegma tracks, and more.
Packed in a limited edition 6-panel digipak with cover art by Ju Suk Reet Meate, Oblivia, and John Wiese.