Cold Spring is proud to present a unique collaboration between Industrial Breakbeat pioneers Meat Beat Manifesto (Jack Dangers) and the undisputed king of Japanese noise, Merzbow (Masami Akita).
"We may not speak the same language, but in the vortex of sound, there's a raw, primal understanding that transcends words. Noise can be art, a visual representation could maybe be Jackson Pollock's No 5, a plexus of chaos redefining what music can and could be. Pushing boundaries with Masami wasn't just a musical adventure, it was a masterclass in sonic anarchy" (Jack Dangers, January 2024).
'Extinct' sees the duo take listeners on a transcendental journey, focusing on the dismantling of beat and structure and recycling the result through layers of beautifully crafted noise and feedback loops, giving birth to new rhythms buried deep in the dirt.
The 20 minute opener 'FLAKKA' takes constantly evolving breakbeats which are gradually broken down over time, driven through a filter of harsh noise, destroying the old to give birth to the new. Raw and unforgiving, the track is a behemoth that blends mutant forms of broken beats and hints of dub, creating rhythmic noise of the highest calibre in the process.
'Burner' takes the record to its ultimate conclusion, the initial drum beat broken down so that it is barely recognisable. Pulsating distortion and high end audio fragments bleed into each other as the track lumbers forth and destroys everything in its path before slowly unravelling, degrading and falling apart.
A harrowing yet somewhat cathartic trip through walls of harsh industrial noise and audio degradation, 'Extinct' is a masterful pairing of artists who have delivered something truly unique yet totally relevant. Don't sleep on this one! (Todd Robinson / Subunit).
• CD in matt-laminate, flood-printed digipak.
• Ltd Ed LP: 300 copies on red vinyl in matt-laminate sleeve (via Cold Spring only).
• Black LP in matt-laminate sleeve.
released April 26, 2024
Composed, recorded and produced November 2023 - January 2024 by Jack Dangers and Masami Akita.
Art by Abby Helasdottir (Gydja).
VIDEOS (YouTube):
'¡FLAKKA!' by Jack Dangers:
bit.ly/MBMMerzbow-FlakkaQR (WARNING: NSFW!)
'Burner' by Jack Dangers:
bit.ly/MBMMerzbow-Burner
Album teaser by Abby Helasdottir:
bit.ly/MBM-Merzbow
REVIEWS:
"Music guaranteed to wake the dead! Transcendental feedback driven through extremes, with no turning back" (Robin Rimbaud, Scanner)
"A trial by ordeal with cathartic benefits, in much the same way as dental scaling is... a distorted beat... an endless degenerative loop... heightened to a punishing degree. Merzbow on his own often facilitates feelings of calm hidden in pockets among the noise... this pairing offers more of a doubling up of extremes" (Electronic Sound Magazine)
"What a pairing! As collaborations go, this one is truly inspired... It feels as if the balance is evolutionary: it gets harsher, noisier, and more f**ked-up as it progresses... You feel your head begins to ache and your body begin to sag, pummelled from all directions by this overloading noise which blasts and burrs, grinds and scrapes like using an angle grinder without earplugs... The world may be full of noise, but this is the ultimate noise and the best option for drowning out the noise of the world" (9/10, Whisperin And Hollerin)
"Here we enter the realm of 'outsider anti-music'. None are more versed in creating abstract and unconventional sonic explorations... everything becomes mangled as it's dragged through machinery. Harsh noise and backward scratching are flung together with trance inducing, propulsive rhythmic distortion" (Vive Le Rock)
"Wenn experimentaler Industrial auf japanischen Noise trifft, entsteht eine Explosion, die mit der Wucht des Meteors, der zum Aussterben der Dinosaurier beigetragen hat, vergleichbar ist. In zwei langen Tracks lassen die beiden ihrem harschen Sound genug Platz zum Wachen... Genussvoll hart und lärming" (Orkus)
"This is some heavy stuff... Meticulously layering them and placing them on the moments where they should be, the noise and the rhythmic layer are constantly progressing, creating beautiful chaos... beautiful music / rhythmic noise" (Vital Weekly)
"A release that shares superficial similarities with "Merzbeat" in its combination of rudimentary breakbeats and walls of distortion. [The album] deftly blurs the lines between musicality and atonal noise... Involved and impactful, a record that sounds like sifting through broken glass, or a violent gale ripping through your ears after leaving the club, your ears still ringing" (Toilet Ov Hell)
"Once in a while there is [a Merzbow release] that stands out for one reason or another and this one is definitely one of those... a more subtle approach with near-hypnotic results... a great collaboration and it is especially interesting to see how the two tracks take the sound into two completely different directions" (Japan Vibe)
"Es abrir una puerta espacio-tiempo para sentir lo que en los próximos años va a inspirarse en esta magna obra musical tan avanzada... Lo que más impresionará al melómanoen su atenta audición es la sensación de fragilidad que tiene esta estructura multicapa, y que constantemente está a punto de quebrarse como si fuera el presagio de su colapso" (Lux Atenea)
