Merzbow & Tamarin — Merzbow vs. Tamarin

I think one of the most interesting things about Merzbow's fast growing discography, is you don’t know what your going to get next release and it always interesting, and surprising which avenue he disappear down. This collaboration find us in some unexpected places, indeed.

This Collaboration with  Texas  noise artist, very much seems a game of two halfs, firstly we have that  three Merzbow tracks utilizing and reimagining   material from Tamarin’s album The Nationalist. Then we have 3 tracks by Tamarin Utilizing and recafting material from Merzbow’s  Ikebukuro Dada. The Merzbow tracks find him very much in beat mode, using repetitive beats to layer and grind different sound elements over. Were As the Tamarin tracks are in a jazzy and ambient mode.

The first track Processed 3 has a looped barren guitar notes,that keeps appearing give the feeling of stuck airless noise blues, added to this he adds layers of static, cricket fazing sound, and rhythmic layers, he aptly bounces the sound and texture around keeping your attention though out. Later on in the track it almost seems to have a funky air, to the proceedings.

Track two  Processed 2 , starts of slower with a slowing droning -  a stuck in side a tunnel muffled beat, really has sludgey stuck underground feel, or the feeling of hearing something vast coming through a wall. Bit by bit he adds more elements, building  the levels of sound, more divined beat work and loops appearing- soon the back ground drone beat drops out and we’re left with coarse rain beat patterns, run through with fazer and static eruptions. Deeper drum sounds are adding and build up the intensity. Leading up to a harsh acidic beat powered end, alive with Burt melody loops.

Track three Processed 3 , is one of the more approachable merzbow tracks for normal ears I’ve come across, due to it’s length  at the five minute mark and it’s head nodding burnt dark funk  beat Patten, which disappears almost to the back of the mix like hearing it from another room, every now and then it kicks back in or threatens to over the hazy muffled haze of sound.

The tracks created by Tamarin move away from the heavy beat scapes of the merzbow tracks, for the most part. Instead  he coax's out more shadowy jazzy tone from Merzbow’s Ikebukuro Dada, still keeping the noise element but in a more minimal fashion. Ikebukuro Dada always stood out from most Merzbow albums, due to it’s use of piano sound, jazzy smears, and sampled black metal riffling. Tamarin aptly shows merzbow and the material in a very different light. So the album slips off the radar  in a aching ambient fashion, instead of the usual slamming  the sound door in your face.

A rewarding, different, and more approachable take on  Merzbow's sound. A releaser that could well be of interest to those out side the noise scene. Pity it’s only ltd to 500, so I’d advise acting first. Go here to order direct.