Cat's Squirrel

Japanese noise master Masami Akita (aka Merzbow) and Australian experimental sound artist Oren Ambarchi have been affiliates and collaborators since the early '90s, but Cat's Squirrel represents their first work together as a duo. Recorded in Campbelltown, Australia as part of the Aurora Festival that took place in May 2012, the two extended pieces on Cat's Squirrel find the two improvisers setting forth flame-throwing bolts of harsh static noise, rumbling bass frequencies, and blisteringly distorted shafts of dark sonic light. The free-form assault is handled with a fair amount of control, though the pieces don't feel as much composed as they seem to have both artists playing off of each other's energetic and relentless onslaught of heavy, cryptic, and colorful tones.