William Basinski

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William Basinski (Houston, 1958), a New York-based classically-trained clarinetist and saxophonist, specializes in compositions for loops and drones. He began experimenting with compositions for piano and tape that created a melancholy ambience via looped and overdubbed melodies with Variations - A Movement in Chrome Primitive (1980), released on Variations - A Movement in Chrome Primitive (Durtro, 2002 - Die Stadt, 2004), and A Red Score in Tile (1979), released on A Red Score in Tile (3 Poplars, 2003).

Shortwave Music (1982), some of which appear on Shortwave Music (Noton, 1998), processed and assembled snippets of radio broadcasts to produce atmospheres at the border between musique concrete and ambient music. The River (1983), collected on the double-disc The River (Noton, december 2002), was the most mature expression of “shortwave music”.

Melancholia (Durtro, 2003 - 2062, 2005) collects more loop-based vignettes from the 1980s, closer in feeling and scope to Erik Satie and Brian Eno.

During the 1980s, Basinski often played saxophone during multimedia performances, and was a member of the Gretchen Langheld Ensemble, which later evolved into House Afire. In 1989 he opened his own loft for the creative arts, nicknamed “Arcadia”. Throughout the 1990s he refined his song-cycle Hymns of Oblivion. In 1997, Basinski launched his performance-art act Beautifying America. He also formed the electronic ensemble Life On Mars. Basinski has also created videos and films, notably the “ambient film” Fountain (2000).
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  • mushin_no_shin

    new album Nocturnes out June 25th ;)

    yesterday evening Reply

  • helicalpz

    guy's on a new level

    30 Apr 3:16pm Reply

  • tallinspace

    The Disintegration Loops are masterpieces

    27 Apr 3:40pm Reply

  • Virvellian13

    dlp1 played by an orchestra, absolutely everyone should hear this; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbs_WSIFbHE

    13 Apr 6:54pm Reply

  • dani3814

    A Red Score in Tile is one of the most beautiful musical compositions of our contemporary era

    18 Feb 3:43am Reply

  • jakobdorof

    aurora liminalis is nice

    17 Feb 6:47pm Reply

  • elysiadrake

    @lennford, late: El Camino Real is p good too.

    4 Feb 2:34am Reply

  • lennford

    thank you Snoo!

    13 Jan 5:46pm Reply

  • Snoo52

    @lennford A Red Score in Tile.

    11 Jan 11:30am Reply

  • lennford

    hey guys recommend me some loops of his

    8 Jan 4:23pm Reply

  • AnUnholyVoid

    I'm sorry, I can't hear your pointless 9/11 discussion over the sound of how awesome DLP is. [2] This is what I was going to say.

    23 Dec 2012 Reply

  • myxo101

    absolutely breathtaking.

    12 Dec 2012 Reply

  • BrianSoph

    I don't think there's any doubt for me that the 9/11 narrative was too heavy-handed (and that's a fault for Basinski, I think); the loops should be appreciated for what they are in their form, and not relegated to some hyper-sentimental pseudo-political experience that is all too specific. The beauty of DLP needs to be what emanates out from the work in its universality.

    8 Dec 2012 Reply

  • jakobdorof

    I like that the 9/11 connection is a personal one rather than a political one. It comes from his own experiences of having witnessed the event with his own eyes, of being there on that day. I can imagine that seeing the events of that day unfolding, from right out of your apartment window, you'd feel as if your life will never be the same again and you have forever lost some of your innocence. So I think that is quite fitting to the theme of the Disentegration Loops. Also, the personal point of view makes it ironically more universal as it is essentially about loss and not necessarily about America. [2]

    5 Dec 2012 Reply

  • Vaultx

    I love how Loops is something that came about entirely by chance, and yet it turns out as beautiful as anything anyone could purposefully create.

    5 Dec 2012 Reply

  • satanicazrael

    fruit l∞ps

    5 Dec 2012 Reply

  • satanicazrael

    loops on loops on loops

    5 Dec 2012 Reply

  • WINTERREICH666

    Listening on loop

    3 Dec 2012 Reply

  • ThiDesRe

    Anyway what I really came in here to say is that I got into William Basinski because of a Portuguese short film I recently saw, "As Ondas" (The Waves) by Miguel Fonseca, which used the Disintegration Loops as its soundtrack. Absolutely beautiful film and I recommend you watch it if you ever get the chance.

    30 Nov 2012 Reply

  • ThiDesRe

    I like that the 9/11 connection is a personal one rather than a political one. It comes from his own experiences of having witnessed the event with his own eyes, of being there on that day. I can imagine that seeing the events of that day unfolding, from right out of your apartment window, you'd feel as if your life will never be the same again and you have forever lost some of your innocence. So I think that is quite fitting to the theme of the Disentegration Loops. Also, the personal point of view makes it ironically more universal as it is essentially about loss and not necessarily about America.

    30 Nov 2012 Reply
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