A surprising meeting of minds and one of the strongest CDs I’ve heard in a while. On these two discs French guitarist Richard Pinhas and Japanese noise musician Merzbow (who here returns to his analogue synthesizers after years as a solely digital artist) create beautifully transporting psychedelic music. Merzbow has always had a keen sense of structure and texture under his intense onslaughts of noise, and Pinhas’ shimmering guitar loops allow him to showcase these talents in an impressive way.
It is fascinating to hear these two imposing figures interact. They are both very firm in their aesthetic commitments and as a result they create expansive cumulus clouds of sound. Merzbow often takes Pinhas’ formidable guitar patterns and encrusts them in the fullest granulated distortion he can muster. Neither musician holds back, and the result is beautiful. This is one of the few Merzbow CDs one can play for the uninitiated. Nevertheless, you should still put on a pair of headphones and luxuriate in it on your own.
