"Andrew Mortensen" <andrewm@mail.selc.com.au>
did any Aussies go to What Is Music in Feb? anyone see Merzbow? I heard he's 'quietening down' a bit now.... like 'soft' noise, like some parts of Maldoror.
Can't say I've heard Maldoror. But I saw Merzbow at the Sydney show and thought he was pretty good, though appeared to be completely disinterested with the idea of playing. Then again, he could well have been just checking his email - two Macs (one with Frog sticker), a mixer and headphones was pretty much the setup. He whacked out about fifty minutes of noise that was marked by an absence - for the most part - of high-frequency tones. This was largely gut-rumbling, and pretty textural; less white-noise and more filigreed, if that makes sense. Possibly a bit like some of the stuff off Mezzrow, I'd say, though less beat-driven, maybe. Certainly, it was _ok_, and kinda cool to actually see the guy, but nothing earthshattering. I tended to notice that sitting through the gig (well, standing, but hey) took more effort than the CDs - it was more of an assault, possibly due to the sheer volume of the music. But that didn't stop the tripper kids down the front, who ended up cradling blocks of wood and playing the invisible sax in time with his output... L