Japanoise is a subgenre and subculture of noise music based out of Japan. Pioneerd by the likes of merzbow, harantash, masonna, and Hijokaidan to name a few. Japanoise had a huge influence on experimental music and the noise scene as a whole. The believed start of Japanoise was on the 8th of May 1960. On this day 6 young musicians, all Japanese. Formed a group called ‘Group Ongaku’. They had two tape recordings of noise music, all created using a mixture of traditional musical instruments along with a vacuum cleaner, a radio, an oil drum, a doll, and a set of dishes. They then manipulated the tape of the speed, which in turn would distort the music even more. This is where it is believed Japanoise was truly born.
After Lou Reed’s undisputed masterpiece ‘Metal Machine Music’ was released in 1979. An at the time 23-year-old man called Masami Akita decided to start making noise music. This is the man we now know as Merzbow, a force to be reckoned with in the noise scene. Merzbow really started coming into his own in the late 1980s. This happened because when he started to tour more, he could only bring a specific amount of gear. So this ended up with him making the noise music he was known for in the 1990s (Pulse Demon, Venerology, etc).
I have a very personal connection to Japanoise, as it was my entry point into noise music, with artists like Merzbow, harantash, and masonna being big turning points for me musically. You can hear the Japanoise influence in the piece for this project. With the harsh repeating noise, with a mixture of both low and high frequencies.