Beyond Ultra Violence-Uneasy Listening by Merzbow

In 1998 the Dutch filmaker Ian Kerkhof made an experimental documentary about the likewise experimental Japanese musician Masami Akita, better known as Merzbow. ‘Beyond Ultra Violence: Uneasy Listening by Merzbow’ is an uncomfortable portrait of a man who concentrates on making sounds to which few would ascribe the term ‘music’. But he explores the limits of human endurance not only as musician but also as writer, photographer, videoartist and performer. The video is a muddle of images and sounds that sets out to give you a feeling, not the whole picture, of a man who innovates the future. Kerkhofs approach corresponds perfectly with the subject: intensive and aggresive.