Noise

Noise music is music that uses sounds regarded as unpleasant or painful under normal circumstances. "Noise" music is regarded by some as a contradiction

Noise music is music that uses sounds regarded as unpleasant or painful under normal circumstances. "Noise" music is regarded by some as a contradiction in terms, because "noise" is generally defined as unwanted and undesigned or unintentional sound and music as the opposite (see Definition of music). However, "noise" in a more general sense refers to any extremely loud or discordant sound, and that these sounds are often the basis of noise music. Secondly, as famous noise musician Masami Akita said, "If by noise you mean uncomfortable sound, then pop music is noise to me." Noise music is not necessarily "noise" to the listeners, although it is certainly "noisy" in the more general sense of the term. Practitioners themselves do not generally refer to it as "Noise Music"; they just call it "Noise", tacking the term "music" on the end is an explanatory device only necessary among outsiders.

Noise music is loosely related to industrial music, sharing its DIY ethos, independence and ethic of using "non-musical" sources. Often described as "punishing and abrasive" by those with a flair for the dramatic, Noise music can be very loud and dissonant, ranging from the free-form extreme electronic music of Merzbow and Masonna to the more sculptured sounds of Boyd Rice and Black Leather Jesus, to the cold haiku sound-scapes of Ryoji Ikeda and Sachiko M.