An 18‑year‑old from the United Kingdom has drawn thousands of viewers to an Instagram series in which he listens to every release in the sprawling discography of Japanese noise pioneer Merzbow, framing the marathon as a daily vlog styled after 1980s coming‑of‑age films. Sam Andrews began posting the videos in late August 2026, each episode opening with a routine — waking up, making breakfast, putting on headphones — before confronting the abrasive, high‑volume soundscapes that have defined Merzbow’s output for more than four decades. The project, which spans roughly 400 albums, has attracted attention from experimental‑music communities and casual viewers alike, prompting discussion about how digital platforms are reshaping engagement with niche art forms.
What happened
Andrews, who posts under the handle @samandrewsnoise, launched the series on August 24, 2026, with a video titled “Day 1: Merzbox.” In it, he sits at a kitchen table, pours cereal, and presses play on the first disc of the “Merzbox” — a 50‑CD retrospective released in 2000 that alone contains more than 50 hours of material. Subsequent posts follow a consistent format: a brief morning ritual, the act of putting on over‑ear headphones, and a real‑time reaction shot as the noise begins. Captions are minimal, often just the day count and the album title. By September 1, Andrews had uploaded eight episodes, covering early‑1990s releases such as “Venereology” and “Pulse Demon,” each ranging from 40 to 70 minutes in length.
The videos have accumulated between 3,000 and 12,000 views each, with comment sections populated by longtime Merzbow listeners, noise‑music newcomers, and viewers drawn to the vlog’s cinematic aesthetic. Several commenters noted the contrast between the mundane domesticity of the breakfast scenes and the confrontational audio. “It’s like watching someone eat toast while a jet engine runs in the next room,” one user wrote. Others praised the project as an act of “deep listening” — a term used in experimental‑music circles to describe sustained, attentive engagement with difficult sound.
Andrews told The Guardian that the idea originated during a summer break before university. “I’d been getting into harsh noise for a couple of years, and Merzbow’s catalogue felt like this impossible mountain,” he said. “I thought, what if I just treat it like a job? Get up, get breakfast, noise. Make it ordinary.” He added that the 1980s film aesthetic — grainy color grading, static camera angles, a synth‑heavy intro jingle — was intentional. “Those movies are about small rituals becoming meaningful. I wanted that feeling, not a ‘challenge’ video.”
Why it matters
The series arrives at a moment when algorithm‑driven platforms are often criticized for fragmenting attention and privileging short‑form content. Andrews’s project runs counter to that logic: each episode demands 40 to 70 minutes of uninterrupted viewing, and the full marathon would require hundreds of hours. Yet the format has found an audience, suggesting a latent appetite for long‑form, immersive experiences even on platforms built for brevity.
Analysis: The phenomenon illustrates how digital platforms can enable individuals to engage with highly specialized artistic content, turning personal endurance into a public spectacle. By framing his listening experience as a narrative of daily routine — “get up, get breakfast, noise” — Andrews creates a relatable context that humanizes an otherwise intimidating genre. This approach may also reflect a wider shift in the cultural economy toward experiential consumption, where audiences seek immersive stories rather than isolated tracks.
The economic implications are modest but notable. Instagram’s ad‑revenue sharing program pays creators based on view counts and engagement; at current levels, the series could generate several hundred dollars per month. More significantly, the visibility has driven traffic to Merzbow’s Bandcamp page, where several albums have seen sales spikes since late August. Bandcamp’s public statistics show that “Pulse Demon” and “Venereology” each recorded a 15‑20% increase in daily purchases during the first week of September compared with the prior month. Merzbow’s label, Relapse Records, did not respond to a request for comment on sales figures.
Background and context
Merzbow is the primary project of Masami Akita, a Tokyo‑based artist who has released hundreds of recordings since 1979. His work — characterized by dense layers of feedback, distortion, and electronic oscillation — is a cornerstone of the “Japanoise” scene that emerged in the 1980s and 1990s alongside artists such as Hijokaidan, Incapacitants, and Masonna. Akita’s output is notoriously vast; discographies compiled by fans list well over 400 distinct releases, including studio albums, live recordings, collaborations, and limited‑edition cassettes. The “Merzbox,” a 50‑CD box set issued by Extreme Records in 2000, remains the most comprehensive single collection, though it covers only the period up to 1999.
Interest in harsh noise has grown steadily over the past decade, fueled partly by reissues from labels such as Relapse, Urashima, and Room40, and partly by online communities on Reddit, Rate Your Music, and Discogs. The COVID‑19 pandemic accelerated a trend toward home‑based deep‑listening practices, with livestreamed noise sets and “listening parties” becoming common on platforms like Twitch and YouTube. Andrews’s project can be seen as an extension of that culture, adapted for Instagram’s short‑form video feed.
The 1980s coming‑of‑age aesthetic Andrews employs — think “The Breakfast Club” or “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” filtered through a lo‑fi lens — taps into a broader nostalgia cycle visible across TikTok and Instagram Reels, where “vintage” color grades and synthwave soundtracks are ubiquitous. But where most such content is purely stylistic, Andrews uses the format structurally: each day’s ritual mirrors the protagonist’s morning routine in those films, turning the act of listening into a narrative beat.
What to watch next
Andrews has indicated he intends to continue the series until he reaches the end of Merzbow’s discography, a pace that would take well over a year at one album per day. He told The Guardian he plans to incorporate guest listeners — friends, family, and, if possible, other noise artists — in later episodes. “It can’t just be my face every day,” he said. “The music changes, the context should too.”
Observers in the experimental‑music community are watching whether the project sustains its momentum or plateaus as the novelty fades. “The first week is easy,” said Daniel Menche, a Portland‑based noise composer who has released on labels including Edition Mego and Important Records. “The test is day 60, day 120, when you’re deep in the 1990s live cassettes and the repetition becomes the point. That’s where the real listening happens.”
Another variable is platform policy. Instagram’s community guidelines prohibit content that promotes self‑harm, and some automated systems have flagged loud‑audio videos in the past. Andrews said he keeps volume levels within safe limits and includes a disclaimer in each caption. “I’m not trying to damage my hearing,” he said. “I use a limiter. It’s about the experience, not the pain.”
If the series maintains its current trajectory, it could become a case study in how niche music finds new audiences through personality‑driven content. Labels and artists in the experimental sphere have long struggled with discoverability; a successful creator‑led format offers a template that could be replicated for other dense catalogues — The Fall, Sun Ra, or the complete works of John Zorn, for instance.
Conclusion
Sam Andrews’s Merzbow marathon is, on one level, a simple proposition: a teenager eating breakfast while listening to extreme noise. On another, it is a small but legible signal of how digital culture is renegotiating the relationship between audience and artifact. The project does not claim to explain Merzbow, nor does it attempt to make the music “accessible” in any conventional sense. It simply documents one listener’s decision to show up, day after day, and let the sound do its work. Whether that constitutes criticism, fandom, performance art, or something else remains open — but the fact that thousands are watching suggests the question itself resonates.
Sources:
– https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/01/merzbow-noise-artist-sam-andrews-teen-listening-marathon
Source: Guardian International
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Story synopsis gathered from: Guardian International — source
