Ducks Battle Satan

Writing this blog has been a blast for the last two and a half years. In the last couple of weeks I’ve been reassessing whether to continue writing it. Part of the reason for this reassessment is the changes to the google algorithms which has killed the traffic to Ducks Battle Satan. To see the blog stats collapse has been pretty depressing really. This also coincided with a new  job which is both challenging and rewarding and has severely curtailed my opportunities to listen to as much music as I was able to last year. Yet there are a stack of you out there who subscribe to the feed so in the spirit of everything noisy,  I say fuck it, let’s keep this baby rolling.

If you hear something this year and want  to tell the proud noise nerds  who come here all about it then why not write a review for DBS. You can shoot me an email at ducksbattlesatan@gmail.com.

To Rainbow Electronics 2. My Merz-break is well and truly over. Last year had me buying a stupid amount of Merzbow records. I blame a particular reader from New York (Hey Ben) whose list of great Merzbow records was very different to mine. In a burst of insanity I came to the conclusion that had to track down most of his list just in case I was missing something. The records that were on his list are some of the finest Merzbow records I own and by tracking them down I was able to embrace a side of Merzbow that I had only really dabbled with. Emails from readers have been an invaluable source of tracking down new things. When I ask for  suggestions about which Merzbow records to track down, Rainbow Electronics 2 is always one that gets a mention. Late last year I managed  to track down a copy.

In most Merzbow records you never hear the man, the human making the racket. On Rainbow Electronics the playing or destruction of whatever he is using to make the noise is tangible. You can hear actually hear Akita “playing” (and I use that term loosely). There are no recognisable forms but the rate of change and activity remains on a much more moderate level. In fact I’d go so far as to say that this is what happens when the avant garde and noise  come together. Those looking for Merzbow’s take on electronica will be sadly disappointed.  The liner notes list the instruments as bowed instrumentals, electronic shaver, various metals, transformed audio mixer and tapes. This is harsh noise just not as harsh as some of the  other records he released around the same time. An absolute must.

This entry was posted on February 15, 2010 at 11:34 am and is filed under Merzbow, Music, noise with tags Merzbow, Music, noise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.