Non Exclsuive Title! Oreirder Only. No Returns.

Format:Deluxe Edition of 299 copies, remastered from the original analog tapes
by Masami Akita, each LP comes in its individual sleeve reproducing the
original artwork, also includes a LP-sized 32-page book + Wooden Box


Tracklist:

Tracking list:

1.
Collection 001 - 001 A 23:46
Collection 001 - 001 B 23:48
2.
Collection 002 - 002 A 18:12
Collection 002 - 002 B 20:54
3.
Collection 003 - 003 A 22:14
Collection 003 - 003 B1 09:33
Collection 003 - 003 B2 05:25
4.
Collection 004 - 004 A 16:11
Collection 004 - 004 B1 07:08
Collection 004 - 004 B2 09:52
5.
Collection 005 - 005 A1 08:38
Collection 005 - 005 A2 08:54
Collection 005 - 005 B1 07:14
Collection 005 - 005 B2 03:53
Collection 005 - 005 B3 03:57
Collection 005 - 005 B4 04:03
6.
Collection 006 - 006 A1 17:35
Collection 006 - 006 A2 05:12
Collection 006 - 006 B 23:12
7.
Collection 007 - Merzrock B1 + Dubbing 5 11:21
Collection 007 - Merzrock A1 + Anemic Pop 1 02:00
Collection 007 - Merzrock A1 + Anemic Pop 2 08:32
Collection 007 - E-Study #3-1 + Merzsolo 1 15:49
Collection 007 - E-Study #3-1 + Merzsolo 2 05:58
8.
Collection 008 - Concrete Tape PH#1~ 05:19
Collection 008 - E8 A1 + 006 A1 06:03
Collection 008 - Merzsolo 10/6.81 A1 10:36
Collection 008 - E8 B2/Concrete Tape PH#1~ 06:28
Collection 008 - Sans Titre Merz 1 + Tape Loops 04:54
Collection 008 E6 A3 + Concrete Tape PH#1~ 06:46
Collection 008 - Merzsolo 10/6.81 A5 + Violin 03:21
9.
Collection 009 - N.A.M.4 + E-8 06:11
Collection 009 - Telecom 1/3 + N.A.M.5 17:32
Collection 009 - E-3-1-1 11:24
Collection 009 - E-3-1-2 01:50
Collection 009 - Tape Loop + Noise 1 (Concrete Tapes) 02:39
Collection 009 - Tape Loop + Noise 2 (Concrete Tapes) 04:25
10.
Collection 010 - 007 B1 + Ah Corps 11:47
Collection 010 - E3 B2 + Ah Corps 11:28
Collection 010 - N.A.M.6 With Radio & Tapes 22:47

Carrying on their longstanding dedication to the seminal output of
Merzbow, Urashima returns with what is unquestionably their most
ambitious release to date: “Collection 001-010”, a deluxe, 10 LP vinyl
box set limited to 299 copies, gathering together the entirety of the
project’s first ten releases, originally released in 1981. Encountering
the band in its early incarnation of the duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi
Mizutani, raw, exposed and bristling with energy, foreshadowing numerous
trajectories they would follow over the coming years, these astounding
full lengths - the majority of which have never been released on vinyl -
come housed in a beautifully produced, deluxe wooden box, with each LP
in its own individual sleeve reproducing the original artwork, and a
LP-sized 32-page book containing reproductions of artworls and collages
by Masami Akita, an interview conducted by Jim O'Rourke, and liner notes
penned by Lasse Marhaug, Thurston Moore, and Akita himself, amounting to
what is unquestionably one of the most historically significant releases
we’re likely to encounter in 2025.

Deluxe Edition of 299 copies, remastered from the original analog tapes
by Masami Akita, each LP comes in its individual sleeve reproducing the
original artwork, also includes a LP-sized 32-page book. ** Since its
founding during the late 2000s, the Italian imprint, Urashima, has
become a definitive voice in the landscape of noise. Bringing forth
beautiful limited edition releases, they’ve sculpted a singular vision
of one of the most vibrant and revolutionary bodies of experimental
sound to have graced the globe. Among the many projects that they have
supported over the decades, there has been an undeniable dedication to
the output of the seminal Japanese noise outfit, Merzbow, making a
significant amount of the project’s out of print back catalog available
across a range of formats. Now they return with what is arguably their
most stunning and ambitious release dedicated to the project to date:
“Collection 001-010”, gathering the entirety of Merzbow’s first ten
releases, largely privately released by the band on cassette across
1981, in a deluxe, 10 LP vinyl box set. Representing what is effectively
ground zero in Japanese noise and collectively amounting to some of the
most sought after releases ever produced within that movement,
Urashima’s truly beautiful collection comes fully remastered by Masami
Akita himself from the original tapes, presenting all but a small number
in their first ever vinyl pressings, with each LP housed in its own
individual sleeve reproducing the original artwork, alongside a LP-sized
32-page book containing reproductions of artworks and collages by Masami
Akita, an interview conducted by Jim O'Rourke, and liner notes penned by
Lasse Marhaug, Thurston Moore and Akita himself. Towering with energy
and groundbreaking creative vision, within the realms of noise and
experimental music, releases don’t get more monumental or historically
important than this!

Merzbow came roaring onto the Tokyo scene in 1979, and remains, to this
day, one of the most prolific and aggressively forward-thinking projects
in experimental music. Eventually becoming the solo vehicle for the
efforts of Masami Akita, in its earliest incarnation the project was the
duo of Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, taking their name from German artist
Kurt Schwitters' pre-war architectural assemblage, The Cathedral of
Erotic Misery or Merzbau, and quickly set out to challenge entrenched
notions of what music could be. Embracing technology and the machine,
even in its earliest iterations, Merzbow pushed toward new territories
of the extreme, arriving at a space of pure, unadulterated sonic
onslaught that has continued, for over 40 years, to set the pace for the
entire genre of noise, and has remained one of the movement’s most
important, definitive voices, continuously laying the groundwork for
countless artists who have followed in its wake.

When dealing with historical gestures, there’s an invertible aura
surrounding original line-ups and early statements, and rightfully so.
It is often within a band’s debut that we catch the purest glimpse of
the raw energy and creative ferment that made them what they are. This
is certainly the case when regarding the coveted early releases of
Merzbow, capturing the emergence of the project in its form as the duo
of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani as they helped set the blue print
from the then emerging movement of Japanese noise. Over the course of
its nearly five decades of activity, Merzbow has always been noted for
how prolific and ambitious the project is. This was no less the case in
the very beginning. While they were active for roughly two years prior,
in 1981 alone they issued ten self-released cassettes numerically titled
“Collection 001-010”, albums which have both individually and
collectively become holy grails in the realms of noise, with only two -
“Collection 007” and “Collection 009” - ever receiving vinyl reissues
prior to now.

As Lasse Marhaug deftly articulates in the newly commissioned liner
notes for “Collection 001-010”, despite having been recorded in
different location across a span of time, the sum total of Merzbow’s
first ten releases might be best regarded as a single release to be
listened to in the same, durational sitting, with the material standing
well apart from what most came to expect from Merzbow, while
foreshadowing numerous trajectories the project would take over the
coming years. Not only do these recordings feature a vast array of
instrumentation - tapes, acoustic and electric guitar, violin, drums,
voice, recorder, organ, found sounds, clarinet, homemade and prepared
instruments, a vast arsenal of effects and electronics, and piano, to
only begin to scratch the surface - the majority of which would
disappear from the project’s active sources of sound generation over the
subsequent years, but there is a slow pacing and raw sense of openness
and exposure that reveals strong connections to the avant-garde
improvisations of groups like AMM, Musica Elettronica Viva, and Gruppo
di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, the psychedelia of groups like Taj
Mahal Travellers and Flower Traveling band (both of whom Akita mentions
having seen in youth within his interview with Jim O’Rourke), and rock
in general - albeit in fully abstracted forms - unspooling as brittle,
pointillistic, textural, raw and abrasive forms, that occasionally
flirts with unexpected tonal sensibilities. As Marhaug describes it in
his excellent liner notes: «Sonically, “Collection” sounds more sparse
and stripped. It’s dry sounding, up-front, no reverb, and there’s less
heavy low-end grime and thin on the signature frequency sweeps. Viewed
in a 1981 context, musically, it’s more akin to what the LAFMS (Los
Angeles Free Music Society) pool of artists were doing at that time than
what was happening in industrial music... There’s a strong playfulness
throughout, like the sound objects are being explored for the first
time, without neither restraint nor hurry. Events are allowed to be
fully examined before the music moves on, or simply cuts off. To a large
degree, the music on “Collection” feels acoustic in nature, although a
Electro-Harmonix ring-modulator features prominently throughout.»

Easily described as a rarely encountered revelation into the original
and earlier documented studio sound of Merzbow, “Collection 001-010”
collectively amounts to an engrossing sonic journey in its own right,
while also allowing for important, often overlooked connections drawn
from numerous other creative wellsprings, notably free jazz, underground
rock, the output of European and Japanese avant-garde music, as well as
Dada, Fluxus, and Mail Art, much of which, beyond the illumination made
possible by the sounds, Jim O’Rourke’s fantastic interview with Akita,
published in the booklet, further explores, offering great insights into
the origins of Merzbow and the thinking behind the project, as well as
aspects of the earliest days of Japanese noise.

Absolutely incredible in every possible way, with “Collection 001-010”
Urashima takes their already astounding dedication to the output of
Merzbow to new heights, producing one of the most beautiful and
historically significant releases we’re likely to encounter in 2025.
Gathering the entirety of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani’s first ten
releases together, largely privately released by the band on cassette
across 1981, in a deluxe, 10 LP vinyl box set, with each full-length
fully remastered from the original analog tapes by Masami Akita himself,
optimized for vinyl pressing by Andrea Marutti, and housed in its own
individual sleeve reproducing the original artwork, alongside a LP-sized
32-page book containing reproductions of original artworks and collages
by Masami Akita, an interview with Akita conducted by Jim O'Rourke, and
liner notes penned by Lasse Marhaug, Thurston Moore and Akita himself,
all housed in a stunningly produced wooden box.

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.netMore