(le) poisson rouge

Merzbow is a noise project created in Tokyo, Japan in 1979 under the direction of noise technician Masami Akita. Since 1979, he has formed two record labels and has contributed releases to numerous independent record labels. As well as being a prolific artist, Akita has written books on avant-garde art, postmodern culture, and Animal Rights

The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was decided upon to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic. In addition to this, Akita has cited a wide range of influences from various progressive rock artists such as Frank Zappa and King Crimson.

In 2000, Extreme Records released the 50 CD box set known as the Merzbox. Since 2004 he has been a supporter of PETA which has influenced a number of animal-themed releases as well as Akita becoming vegan. Akita's work has been the subject of several remix albums and at least one tribute album. Akita is prolific and has produced over 200 releases since 1980. This, among other achievements, has helped Merzbow to be regarded as the "most important artist in noise".

Xiu Xiu is an experimental art rock band originally from San Jose, California. The band is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart, who has been its only constant member since its inception. His current bandmates are Angela Seo and percussionist Ches Smith. The band's name is taken from the 1998 Chinese film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.

Xiu Xiu's music draws heavily from several disparate genres including post-punk, '80s synthpop, noise, ambient, techno, asian percussive music, modern classical, and folk. Musically, the band often blends cacophonous percussion and experimental structures with lush hooks and diverging lyrical styles.

Ecstatic Sunshine is a Baltimore, Maryland based minimalist punk band. Originally consisting of two members: Dustin Wong and Mathew Papich, Kieran Gillen was later added on electronics and then David Zimmerman was added with the loss of Dustin Wong. Whereas the first three releases were soley guitar based, (Freckle Wars included versions of material from Swirl and Dot, plus new songs) Living and Way began to experiment with electronics.

Gentle is a psychedelic-experimental group with members based in Seattle and New York featuring Akiko Carver, Marisa Handren, and Shahryar Motia. Gentle recently recorded a full-length album at Tad Doyle’s Studio Witch Ape. It’s called “Jupiter Will Protect You” and it is being released this summer on DLR.

http://www.myspace.com/gentleband

http://dlrmusic.wordpress.com