Merzbow v AMM marks another critical step in Fat Cat's Split 12" series, this time showcasing two equally open-ended, yet markedly different aspects of improvisation, whilst also highlighting an historical (and ongoing) precedent for much of today's abstract electronic / noise scene.

AMM
Founded in 1965, AMM developed out of various free jazz ensembles, combining as a 3 - 4-piece improvisation unit. From 1980 their (previously shifting) membership has been stabilised around the trio of Eddie Prevost (percussion), Keith Rowe (guitar treatments) and John Tilbury (piano).

MERZBOW
Merzbow's Masami Akita represents what's probably (thus far) Fat Cat's most extreme edge of sonic intensity. As the prime exponent in Japan's post-industrial noise circuit (see also CCCC, Boredoms, etc.), Merzbow mix a devastating, high-octane and fully-improvised mixture of freeform, heavily-processed electronics that simmer and explode with a head-melting intensity.

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