One of the most extreme and uncompromising musicians of the 21st Century is coming to New Zealand this November – playing all major centres!!! Worshipped internationally for his brutal, speaker destroying sonic assault, underground Japanese industrial noise musician Merzbow (Masami Akita) is a true legend for both his relentless solo releases since 1980 (via Tzadik, Digital Hardcore, Extreme, Relapse and his own ZSF Product) and his crucial collaborations with heavy-hitters Boris, Genesis P-Orridge (Psychic TV), Eye (Boredoms) and more! DON’T MISS OUT on this pivotal tour by the definitive dark master of Japanese noise – presented by Altmusic. Bring earplugs, this show will be LOUD!

Delving deep into otherworldly extremes of industrial, metal machine noise and beyond, Merzbow’s blistering output runs the gauntlet of his definitive brand of Japanese noise – from charred & blackened subterranean lows to interstellar cosmic highs. Punishing, remorseless frequencies pour forth in a relentless onslaught of pure sound, decomposing electronic textures devolve into tsunamis of brutal guitar wreckage. Impossible to pin down due to his uncomprehendingly vast ouvre, simultaneously contemplative & aggressive, Merzbow’s sound is way beyond music, it simply IS.

“Think of those artists who overpowered the grind of their eras: Bach, Wagner, Miles Davis, The Beatles – all of these people were consistently displaced of their time by the striking originality of their work… there is a case for including Masami Akita (Merzbow) in such a group.” – Pitchfork
“Everyone should own at least one Merzbow record.” – Tiny Mix Tapes
“Though the work is largely atonal and non-harmonic, it is bursting with timbre and texture and vibrancy” – The New Yorker

Special thanks to Asia New Zealand Foundation for their support of this tour.

Tour info:

Auckland – Saturday 16 November, Kings Arms Tavern w/ Memory Burn (Dun) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 8pm

Wellington – Sunday 17 November, Bodega Bar w/ boneAhead, 8pm

Dunedin – Tuesday 19 November, Chicks Hotel w/ Our Love Will Destroy the World, 8.30pm

Christchurch – Thursday 21 November, Physics Room w/ Acclimate, Stanier Black-Five, 8pm

Altmusic is a programme administered by the Audio Foundation www.audiofoundation.org.nz/altmusic

This tour is part of Altmusic’s programme of independent & adventurous international musicians touring New Zealand in 2013 – special thanks to CNZ for their continued support.