Scandal, by Merzbow

Scandal

by Merzbow

supported by

aneurysmhooker Rapidly growing to become one of my favourite releases in the Merzbow discography. Very interesting sounds for them! Favorite track: Tokyo Blue Sky II.

MERZILLA This begins with arcade sounds & drums & a loud honking loop that moves into construction sounds [various hammers & street sounds and occasional voices]. It is a calm, field recording for the most part and unlike the vast majority of Merzbow's oeuvre except when it isn't as in "1992+1995 I- III" & Scandal Evening I-III" Hell yeah! Then It's Masami's Beautiful Studio Noise... Favorite track: 1992+1995 III.

Noroît Jiminy Philip (Une vengeance) thumbnail

more...

	/

Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Matte laminate and embossed sleeve, monochrome print and includes a full colour collage fold out poster from Masami Akita.

Includes unlimited streaming of Scandal via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 7 days

5 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

$12 USD or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$9 USD or more

1.	Tokyo Blue Sky I 12:03	buy track
2.	Tokyo Blue Sky II 07:22	buy track
3.	1992+1995 I 10:12	buy track
4.	1992+1995 II 03:40	buy track
5.	1992+1995 III 05:42	buy track
6.	1992+1995 IV 08:02	buy track
7.	Evening Scandal I 07:17	buy track
8.	Evening Scandal II 05:57	buy track
9.	Evening Scandal III 08:26	buy track

about

Scandal collects together three newly unearthed and revised pieces from Merzbow recorded between 1992 and 1995.

Each of the pieces here typifies work that sits at a nexus between the experimental cassette and electronic collisions of Masami Akita’s late 1980s works and the emergent noise language that resolved into a series of now legendary recordings completed during the mid 1990s. Scandal marks out a decidedly tandem path and acts as a critical linkage, forging the trajectory of Merzbow’s music across that decade.

One critical aspect these recordings capture, in a very essential way, is the role that field recordings and tape manipulation play in his music. Throughout the 1980s, cassettes, tape editing and found sound played a significant role in the development of Merzbow’s sound.

On Tokyo Blue Sky, Merzbow collates a series of field recordings made around his home during a period of construction in his neighbourhood and merges these with sampled recordings from various ritual records. In these recordings are striking, hammered blasts that feel innately tied to the aggressive metal percussion work that was featured heavily on numerous live recordings during this time. They also maintain a sense of dynamic eruption that characterises the shifts between states of intense noise that are the core of Merzbow recording strategies.

The editions final piece Evening Scandal was originally released in 1992 on RRR as part of their recycled music project; a project that sought to reuse thrown away cassettes, re-recording over them with various recordings including some of those heard here. Scandal bares the marks of its medium, tape wow and flutter flicker across various sections of this piece, revealing a tactile relationship with the medium. The version collected here is different to that which was released in 1992, this version being uninterrupted by the pop song from which it borrows its name. This piece, in moments, maintains a decidedly minimalist compositional form, using repeated single strikes as a means of creating a deep sense of unease and recurrent tension. It’s a technique later deployed with devastating ferocity later in the 1990s.

This edition is also published with a special fold out poster featuring a previously unseen collage from Masami Akita.

credits

released May 28, 2021

Merzbow Scandal
Tokyo Blue Sky I + II
1992+1995* I-IV
Evening Scandal I-III

Recorded & Mixed at ZSF Produkt 1995
*Mixed at Munemihouse 2019

license

about

Room40

Room40, a beacon of sound...ringing out from the deepest south. Also home to our sibling labels Someone Good and A Guide To Saints.

contact / help

Contact Room40

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Scandal, you may also like:

Green Wheels
by Merzbow

supported by 42 fans who also own “Scandal”

Easily one of my favourite Merzbow records and one of my favourite noise records in general. Expertly crafted and blisteringly hot sonically, it's definitely not one to miss. Audrey Cusack
go to album
Black Crows Cyborg
by Merzbow / Prurient

supported by 41 fans who also own “Scandal”

The darkness of this album along with its name is not nonsense, but has a lot to do with what you are going to find when you listen to it. A perfect ambience that gives you chills just trying to imagine what the "Black Crow Cyborg" coming towards you would be like. Two legends together on the same LP, you can't ask for more, LISTEN IT NOW! kato09
go to album
Mukomodulator
by Merzbow

supported by 40 fans who also own “Scandal”

This was a great way to start off 2021! AACC
go to album
Noise in the Key of Life
by Noise in the Key of Life

featured on Bandcamp Radio Sep 27, 2022
go to album
Sorgente
by Devid Ciampalini

David Ciampalini, founder of the Ambient-Noise Collective, bridges musique concrete with psychedelic soundscapes on his debut solo LP. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 16, 2021
go to album
Amlux (20th Anniversary Edition) + Bonus Tracks
by Merzbow

The 20th anniversary edition of this classic album—remastered by noise master Merzbow himself—features four new tracks and new artwork. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 14, 2023
go to album
Triwave Pagoda
by Merzbow

supported by 38 fans who also own “Scandal”

It's Merzbow, that's why. And check the awesome artwork! Bloody beautiful!! I love Merzbow! MERZILLA
go to album