Bariken Returned

by Merzbow

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

$9 USD or more

	1.	Bariken V1 06:26
	2.	Hamakigata Blue 1 07:00
	3.	Bariken V2 14:19
	4.	Hamakigata Blue 2 05:01
	5.	Bariken v3 15:48

about

"Bariken" is a 2004 album by Merzbow, and as its title suggests, the theme of this work centers on the Bariken itself. The Bariken, also known as the “Taiwan Duck,” is a species of duck and has some characteristics that are its vivid green and ultramarine plumage and the red caruncle that extends around its bill and eyes.
Around 2003, I happened to notice a peculiar-looking duck in a river near my home. Upon investigation, I learned it was a Bariken—likely one that had escaped or been abandoned after being kept for food, subsequently adapting to the wild. There were also Bariken inhabiting the pond of a nearby Japanese garden. At the time, it was common to see ducks swimming in the rivers and ponds of Tokyo. A few years later,
however, perhaps due to the outbreak of avian influenza, they vanished completely including the Bariken. In the first place, probably, domestic fowl roaming outdoors are regarded as nuisances, and the authorities tend to exterminate anything conspicuous under the pretext of being an invasive or foreign species.

More than twenty years have passed since then, and recently I encountered a Bariken once again, this time in a pond somewhere in Tokyo. "Bariken Returned" is being released to commemorate that rediscovery. The title track, “Bariken,” is built around a slow, meandering guitar riff that imitates the duck’s distinctive call— “Gah, gah, gah.”
At the time, I was deeply influenced by Black Metal. The album "Bariken Returned" includes several versions of “Bariken” recorded during both the original studio sessions and live rehearsals. “Hamakigata Blue” also stems from the same session. All performances on the album were produced entirely by computer.

Masami Akita

「Bariken」はMerzbowの2004年のアルバムだが、このアルバムのテーマはタイトル通りバリケンである。
バリケンは別名「台湾アヒル」と呼ばれ、アヒルの一種だが、その特徴は羽や体の部分が鮮やかな緑や群青色なこと、そして鼻と目のあたりの赤い肉腫である。2003年頃、私は近所の川に奇妙なアヒルがいるのを見つけた。調べるとそれがバリケンだった。元々、食用で飼われていたものが逃げたか遺棄されて野生化したものらしい。また、近所の日本庭園の池にもバリケンがいた。その頃は東京の川や池にアヒルが泳いでいるのはごく普通の光景だったが、それからしばらくして鳥インフルエンザ流行の影響だろうか、アヒルは全くいなくなった。もちろんバリケンも。そもそも家禽が外にいるのが迷惑なのだろう。行政は外来種だ異物だと言って目立つものはなんでもかんでも駆除してしまう。
　あれから20年以上経ち、最近久しぶりに東京某所の池でバリケンを発見した。
「Barliken Returned」はその出来事を記念してリリースする。タイトル曲の「Bariken」は「ガッ、ガッ、ガッ、」というアヒルの鳴き声を模した低速で蛇行するようなギターリフの曲である。当時私はBlackmetalの強い影響を受けていた。「Bariken Returned」には「Barliken」のレコーディングセッションとライブのリハーサルで録音したいくつかのヴァージョンを収めた。「Hamakigata Blue」も同一セッションから。演奏は全てコンピュータである。

秋田　昌美

credits

released December 4, 2025

All Musić by Masami Akita
Recorded & Mixed at Bedroom, December 2003
Artwork by AI Generated ©MA 2025

license

subtotal
taxes calculated at checkout

about

Merzbow Tokyo, Japan

contact / help

Contact Merzbow

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Merzbow, you may also like:

Nine Studies of Ephemeral Resonance Volume 5
by Merzbow

supported by 13 fans who also own “Bariken Returned”
go to album
CATalysis 猫媒
by Merzbow

supported by 13 fans who also own “Bariken Returned”

CATalysis 4 into Hat 1046 is one of the most blissful noise experiences I've had in quite some time. Transcendent. Brilliant. Nice Finnegan the Fox samples on Haf 1046 (to my ears). Cute cats on the cover. Chef's kiss 100% andrewmeow
go to album
Nine Studies of Ephemeral Resonance Volume 4
by Merzbow

supported by 13 fans who also own “Bariken Returned”
go to album
‘Saga’
by Rinsaga

The pulsing industrial sounds on the wonderfully brutal new LP from Tokyo group Rinsaga will be catnip for the black-glove-and-mesh set. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 15, 2022
go to album
Inner Surface
by Herbalistek

featured on Bandcamp Radio Oct 6, 2025
go to album
Antigone
by Eiko Ishibashi

The Japanese artist has the grim state of the globe on her mind on her devestating new album, her first in seven years. Bandcamp Album of the Day Apr 1, 2025
go to album
Nine Studies of Ephemeral Resonance Volume 8
by Merzbow

supported by 13 fans who also own “Bariken Returned”
go to album