william basinski - is this the best ambient/drone stuff around or what?

pretty, but i prefer basic channel.

Expensive loops.

$42? Who or what is "FE"? $70's the amount that William quoted me in an email. (They sell for $20 each, shipping included on his website.)

I'm listening to mp3's, but I'd have to think that the loss of fidelity, particularly for the more distorted parts, is significant for music like this (even though these mp3's were recorded at a VBR). Do I need to find the CD's to experience this properly?

this statement perfectly describes my relationship with good ambient music.

i sleep to basinski and gas!

That said, I don't think he's the best out there, but it depends on what you want out of your drones - I think Phill Niblock and Steve Reich (Four Organs in particular) have done more powerful/arresting work, but I do enjoy Basinski's stuff lots.

From everything I've heard of WB, he's a one-trick pony. But I sure do luv that one trick. Listening to Shortwavemusic now, and it's great.

i still haven't heard/acquired disintegration loops

Also very good. I wonder if there's any truth the rumor that Madonna is a fan.

I wouldn't be surprised, she's kind of a dilettante.

Is drone the opposite of Beethoven or what? I mean, it's the antithesis of structure, of arc. It's the anti-arc! Does that make sense? Sorry, I'm kind of a dilettante.

Disintegration Loops = one of the greatest recordings of the century. Seriously. river wolf, make it the next thing you buy, man!

over-rated. Alva Novo's "Xerrox" does the sma ething better and in a more interesting way.

Wait, this is Billy Basinski aka Z-man?

Whoa, small world. He adopted/produced my first band in NYC. I've got to hear this, I bet it's incredible.

Maybe Masonna is a fan, and someone thought there was a typo.

I also really love the "River" double CD, I think Raster-Noton put it out. But it's all good.

which disintegration loops vol. is best? i'm about to give the first one a go

i wish he would record under "Z-Man"

am0n, having only heard vols I & II I'd recommend the latter. Its "DLP3" is really haunting/captivating.

i got all four. loving them. the second track on II is the shit, the comment upthread about SAW II #19 on repeat is apt

that would be loop 3. bliss.

I suppose non-drone music is anthropomorphic, in that it has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

who among us is enjoying El Camino Real?

Tape loop, recorded live, Los Angeles, July 2006.
First 300 copies came numbered and signed.

Want (and want to have been there)

Yeah I could totally fall asleep listening to this.

(I gave up on falling asleep to The Disintegration Loops 'cause they're a bit too melancholic.)

word

totally.

El Camino Real is some incredible stuff.

When did this come out? Info? Link?

http://www.mmlxii.com/home/home.html

May this year.

El Camino Real

Gotta hear it. Was slightly disappointed with Shortwavemusic.

To answer the thread title question: fuck yes! That's why I'm absolutely psyched for this, out on april 20th:

http://www.mmlxii.com/NEW-ISSUES-2K9.gif

And yes it is, indeed, fucking gorgeous. Is the love for Basinski really that marginal on ilm?

No. I love the Disintegration Loops. There's a poll-thread devoted to those discs. If I remember that thread correctly, Ned is a big Basinski fan, too (but he hardly needs me to speak for him).

yeah i think that poll might be longer than this thread even!

i've loved most everything i've heard by him
disintegration loops
melancholia
silent night
el camino real

all A+

He opened up for Antony last month. Great stuff.

I also really love the "River" double CD, I think Raster-Noton put it out. But it's all good.

― sleeve, Tuesday, 22 May 2007 22:56 (1 year ago)

Ah, this guy.

Anyone got or heard the new one?

i have 92982, its v good

What's the new one, Krakow?

I haven't listened to Basinski in a while, but I really like what I have of him. I've only one Disintegration Loop (no. III) cos it would have been very pricey to buy them all at the time. Does anyone know where to get the others reasonably cheaply? are they still available? some sort of box would be perfect.
I also really like Movement in Chrome Primitive and The River. I have a vinyl-only release, A Red Score in Tile which is similar in style to the Chrome Primitive stuff. Then I have Melancholia, and a split with Richard Chartier, to which have In't really given enough time.

There were a few other Musex releases, such as Water Music I and II -- has anyone heard them?

erm... should read thread properly. So the new one is 92982. He says a shorter version of track 3 was included as variation #8 on A movement in chrome primitive, so I can imagine I'll like this one

oh God please keep this thread going; I completely adore The Disintegration Loops (to the point of buying everything of Basinski's still available - my favorite so far is the River, although the new one is pretty good too) and I'm such a sucker for anything even evoking a comparison.

anyway in the meantime, I've been enjoying this:

http://deletedscenesforgottendreams.blogspot.com/2009/03/st-kilda-st-kilda-ep.html

as a sort of Cliff's Notes to the Disintegration Loops. v v v v v v pretty. I was happy to buy it.

It started with the Disintegration Loops set for me as well, and have also bought everything still available. My possible favorite is El Camino Real, but he really hasn't made a mediocre record. 'The Garden of Brokenness´ is gorgeous as well. Hard to single one out, his whole output has been fantastic.
The new one sounds great, but I´ve yet to take the time to fully dive into it. I won´t be dissapointed though, I know that for a fact.

I haven't listened to Basinski in a while, but I really like what I have of him. I've only one Disintegration Loop (no. III) cos it would have been very pricey to buy them all at the time. Does anyone know where to get the others reasonably cheaply?

eMusic.

How about in a physical (CD) format for less than $20 each?

Thanks to this thread, I had to pull out "Disintegration Loops" and have been, um, looping dlp5 for half of the afternoon. So much for my day. Thanks you guys (=it was a beautiful day).

@ilxor try this guy on eBay http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/TWO-HEADEDDOG__W0QQ_sidZ273089502?_nkw=basinski&submit=Search

I've bought from him several times and he's totally spot on ("an excellent seller A++++++" etc.). Usually has a few Basinksi titles in stock for the best prices I can find and could probably get others if asked.

Another new one out now from Basinski. Not heard it yet, will wait for it to filter through to the usual channels, but here's the link and Basinski's write-up:

http://www.mmlxii.com/music/music.html

Vivian & Ondine
Catalog#: 2062.0902

Price: $20.00
CD 45:10. Release date: December 2009

"...I got back to work and found yet another lunchbox of ancient tape-loops to go through for possible inclusion in the new piece. I came across the main theme and thought...well, this is gorgeous; let's see if we can use this to coax Viv to come out. I went through the rest of them and found another dozen or so that mixed well used randomly, just under the threshold.

"The next night I performed the piece at Issue with their 16 channel hemispherical speaker system set to move the sounds randomly around the room as if waves in a pool. We all had a really good time. It was mesmerizing."

This version was recorded with microphones and two Norelco tape decks live in my studio in Los Angeles in one take in September 2008.

^sounds like a lot of his other work but that's not a bad thing. another dreamy single track, this one 45 minutes

just got the first one and it's woooow

I'm excited to hear this!! I only have the four Disintegration Loops and I love all of them. I used to work at this all night cafe and around 4 the place would clear out and I would play these as I would mop and clean up. I miss jobs where I could play music late at night.

available on emusic, btw

holy shit that sounds like the best thing ever xp

distingeration loops 1 is shifted heavily towards the right channel in the mix, right? really hard to listen to on headphones.

i don't think so, no

hmm it definitely seems right-shifted to me, even in the iTunes samples. (NB I would buy it from eMusic but they won't let me join because I'm currently living out-of-the-states)

i bought mine on Amazon Mp3 and it certainly sounds "right-shifted" to me

yeah I guess fixing it in post would be against the spirit of the enterprise. really wish I could just put it on on headphones and zone out though...

dyao technology

(mine's not right-shifted btw)

hee waaannnt it

Achieved something akin to Distintegrating Loops here, using two reel to reel machines feeding back on one another. Rather than the tape itself degrading though it's the signal being obliterated by the analogue recording process. Something like this is what makes tape so exciting to work with, it seems like a natural process.

http://automating.bandcamp.com/track/soundoffsound

Available for download for one week:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2011/09/07/140265002/remembering-september-11-a-live-concert-webcast-from-the-temple-of-dendur

Wasn't sure about the added drums to start with, but it's growing on me.

yeah saw that linked on p'fork. will listen tonight when writing. drums?!

download??

Just to the right of "hear this concert".

Wow Toby, thanks so much for sharing! Going to make a listening event of this tonight!

Good stuff. I'm very interested in hearing this. Will zone out to it tonight.

thx toby i looked and looked and couldn't find the link.

http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/concerts/2011/09/20110911_concerts_dendur.mp3?dl=1

wonderful stuff, thanks

heard this a few times today and it's really pretty great.

i was at the temple of dendur for this on sunday. writing a review now, it'll be up at frieze.com in a day or two

yay frieze.com!

Woah listening now, turns out my current employer sponsored this event! I knew there was a connection with Basinski and Sep 11th but didn't make the connection. You can hear them thanked at 5:23

there were a lot of people I recognized in the audience - Antony of Antony and the Johnsons, Tony Conrad, etc. Antony is like a big teddy bear in person.

Antony and William Basinski are long time friends. Very cool that TOny Conrad was there!

yeah. when Conrad showed up, they asked him for his ticket, but he didn't have one (even though it was free, it was a ticketed event), so the Met guards wouldn't let him in. i gave him my +1 and got him into the show. i recognized him right away because i'd just seen him play the night before, at the Kitchen!

Aw, nice.

that's awesome, geeta.

the perfect music event??

dude has an awesome apartment

i wrangled the +1 by telling the press desk that Tony Conrad was my 'photographer'!

he would've been a great photographer for the article, we could've done something like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJbqnztjkbs

recognized him right away because i'd just seen him play the night before, at the Kitchen!

I didn't go to basinski, but just as an aside, conrad's set at the kitchen was really fun! didn't have much info beforehand and was very happy to see that he was playing with eli keszler. love that guy!

Ryan McAdams, the guy who conducted this, was in the same rowboat as me at last year's performance of Xenakis' Persephassa on the lake in Central Park. We talked about music a bunch. Cool guy.

A review in the NYT

Listening to this now. Very moving.

"dlp 1.1" has a stately, martial mood that the drums work well with, i think. the whole concert is lovely tho.

I made it to 1:38 before the description of the venue had me welling up. The Disintegration loops rivals on Sinking of the titanic to have me in a heap on the floor. Potentially leave this till im out of the office

I want an orchestration of the complete Disintegration Loops now, it really is very very well done.

Listening to this now. It really is overwhelmingly beautiful. The drums, as mentioned before, are an at first surprising but a wonderful addition throughout. An orchestration of the full Loops would be beyond amazing.

Aside of the Disintegration Loops I've only heard 'A Red Score In Tile', 'Melencholia' and '92982'. Anything else outstanding that I'm missing? I hope so!

This is amazing. I prefer this to the recorded version of dlp 1.1.

@AnotherDeadHero, I cannot recommend 'The Garden of Brokennness' enough, which is just utterly fantastic. His most 'silent' piece, I think, with a lot of built-in silence surrounded by melancholy piano. 'Silent Night' also is really great. But 'Garden' is an essential piece in Basinski's post-DLP era I'd say.

This concert is amazing. I listened to it in the dark last night and it really hit home. The drums are a daring touch but it works out so well. The whole concert sounds great though.

Oops, one 'n' too many in Brokenness there

Yes, I'm especially interested in tracking down a brass ensemble recording of Ingram Marshall's Fog Tropes II, the string quartet arrangement is beautiful but I can definitely imagine the original.

I would also check out "The River", which remains a personal all-time favorite piece of music for falling-asleep purposes. way more subtle than Disintegration Loops but still worth yr time.

My desperate attempts to track down a reasonably priced copy of 'The River' have proven entirely fruitless. As has my search to find it lossless. Anyone have it in FLAC? My dreams would be forever in debt.

boomkat have it as a flac. don't know about 'reasonably priced' though.

http://boomkat.com/downloads/87532-william-basinski-the-river

going for about $20 on discogs:

http://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=43599&ev=mb

is 2 euros on raster noton site. not sure of format

https://shop.raster-noton.net/?release=the%20river (and don't know whether it's the remix, but for 2E i'm not sure i care)

I managed to get a copy of 'The River'. Normans Records were having a half price sale and I picked it up for £10. I also ordered 'Silent Night' and 'A Red Score in tile'. I've heard the latter before but the former I'm unfamiliar with.

I have to be honest though, I've only listened to 'The River' once (just disc 1 at that) and great as it was I found it mildly unsettling as sleeping music.

just came here to see if anyone else had noticed how the mix of dlp1.1 shifts big to the right, it really is unlistenable on headphones. does anyone know how to fix it?

Yes, dlp1.1 on my copy of Disintegration Loops 1 CD is also "right-shifted." Basically, only the faintest of sounds come out of my left monitor when playing this track.
Some places like itunes and amazon seemed to have right/left balanced mp3 samples, so not sure what happened to the CD pressing. Agreed that it is a miserable experience to listen to dlp1.1 on headphones... I can't do it.

i think they've just re-released all these - they all turned up in last boomkat email.

wouldn't be hard to fix mp3s of this - could either amplify the quiet channel (although that may sound muffled) or just make them mono. not ideal but better than it currently is.

The UK distributor certainly just got hold of copies of a lot of Basinski's own label titles once again - I don't know if this means an actual re-release or just a re-ship to the UK.

Live in London:

http://www.last.fm/event/3275646+William+Basinski+Performs+Disintegration+Loops

Wow.

William Basinski's Disintegration Loops is being released in its entirety by Temporary Residence as an enormous box set that weighs 12lb. The set contains nine LPs, plus five CDs, a DVD and a 144 page book. It includes all four volumes of The Disintegration Loops on CD and vinyl, plus two orchestral performances pressed to vinyl, the 63 minute film on DVD and a book featuring photos and liner notes by Basinski, Antony, David Tibet and others.

The Disintegration Loops box set will be released on 4 September in an edition of 2,000 copies.

http://bit.ly/MYP428

Now to find that $275

Yep, and to add on the brutal shipping / mark up for a copy in the UK!

already picking out LPs to trade for this.

Barnaby, Hardly, I hope that we don't get too fleeced on this side of the Atlantic! I think that Cargo still distributes Temporary Residence over here; I will try to find out if they're getting copies of this beast...

2000 copies x $275 = $550,000

jeez

I imagine the cost of putting the package together was pretty hefty.

I would hardly think that this is any kind of money making exercise.

why would you want to buy 2000 copies i think one would do just fine

yeah but imagine them all played at once just slightly outta sync

I came here to post about this. Really really really trying to figure out a way to buy this. Between this and the Grateful Dead Spring 1990 box, I may need to liquidate a guitar or something. This is why I'm such a lousy guitar player, by the way - I'd always rather have records than gear.

Man, DP on wax. They better be serious about that 'never again to be released on vinyl' nonsense. But as this is both mine and my wife's all time favorite piece of music (errr, maybe after Monk's solo version of "Darn That Dream," for me), I feel it's my obligation as a lifelong music nerd to buy this thing.

I wonder how much they're paying for plasma these days...

From the label, via Facebook...

"There's a lot of news floating around about William Basinski's "The Disintegration Loops" box set we are releasing. Some of it is true, some of it is not. It's all based on rumor and cobble-togethed bit of somewhat speculative/presumed information, as we have obviously not made a formal announcement. Please hang tight, we'll make a formal announcement within 24 hours, including a pre-order link. Thanks for your patience and support! This will be something special."

Barnaby, Hardly, I hope that we don't get too fleeced on this side of the Atlantic! I think that Cargo still distributes Temporary Residence over here; I will try to find out if they're getting copies of this beast...

― NWOFHM! Overlord (krakow), Monday, August 6, 2012

Yep! The Eluvium box was pretty well distributed over here. I dropped a mail to both Boomkat and Norman Records and they both said they'd be getting it in..

Not to be contrarian, but I don't think vinyl is really the best way to experience these albums. Part of the beauty is the uninterrupted decay... The orchestral version are appealing (I saw the one at the Met last year, which was really incredible), but I sort of wish they were releasing those individually. I'm pretty alright with the CD copies I already have.

yeah but imagine them all played at once just slightly outta sync

holy shit that would actually be amazing

check the comment (and username) on 1.1 here: http://youtu.be/qYOr8TlnqsY

"Drone usually isnt my thing, but the great artful meaning behind this series of pieces is honestly the most impact a sheer hour has had on my life. Seeing the smoke of the 9/11 crashes and thinking of how one could make something so beautiful and listen to it while something so tragic was happening makes your mind drift into so many places. Since it is the last song of music, it proves to you that even inanimate objects die and somehow live a life during their cement being."

-bitchassfagg0t 1 month ago

there is no best way, there are only different ways.

i'm not sure about this, here seems to be something fake about the whole enterprise. the end result is somewhat dull and the 9/11 links seem both extremely strained and too obvious.
― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 20 April 2006 19:57 (6 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i sometimes wonder whether the whole story behind disintegration loops is a fiction

I would hardly think that this is any kind of money making exercise.

i think that's exactly what it is. i loathe these elitist bullshit coffee table box sets.

There's a recent live set up at Dime
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=415651
1 track 1/2 an hour long, haven't heard it yet.

Really enjoyed last night's QEH performance; we got the world premiere of the orchestration for DLP 2.1 (featuring someone on amplified clingfilm), then DLP 1.1. Both took a couple of minutes to settle into, but were pretty amazing after that.

Is there a plan to orchestrate the entire thing?

bitchassfagg0t otm

agree about overpriced coffee table bullshit, but i look forward to downloading this and skipping it when it comes up on random

Heads up, heads, he's playing in SF in a month as part of the Electronic Music Festival

Really enjoyed last night's QEH performance; we got the world premiere of the orchestration for DLP 2.1 (featuring someone on amplified clingfilm), then DLP 1.1. Both took a couple of minutes to settle into, but were pretty amazing after that.

Thought 2.1 was fantastic, 1.1 too focussed around the trombone for my liking (nothing against trombones it just seemed top heavy). But the double bass drone it finished on was absolutely electric.

On a tetchier note, can we ban from all 'high art' events (for want of a better term) all hipsters, young people, or anyone incapable of a) arriving on time; ii) sitting quietly for more than two minutes; and 3) going for any length of time without a drink or a smoke. There were people entering late all the way through the first piece and a good ten minutes into the second after the interval and it was really fucking annoying. I blame QEH a bit for not making it clear that the interval wouldn't be long enough to go out for a fag and visit the bar. The cinema style bag rustling was beyond the pale and the palpable discomfort when the conductor held the silence for a couple of minutes after the end of the second piece was ridiculous. Although it was kinda funny when someone started clapping literally half a beat after the end of the first, and then hurriedly stopped, when the conductors arms were still raised and the orchestra still at attention.

People sat near me were pretty good, apart from someone who had the rustliest bag known to man & unleashed it twice. I'll forgive them the 1st occasion, but not the 2nd.

I was pretty lucky with people around me (I'd lucked out on a ticket dead in the middle of the third row, which minimised distraction), but I did notice people entering late - particularly odd as they had signs up saying there would be no late admittance. They could definitely have done a better job informing people about an interval, or even just that there were going to be two pieces - I only knew that from the website, and I'd imagined there would be an interval.

In general I find shows like this suffer a little from being neither traditional classical shows (where silence, no late admission etc is pretty standard) nor obviously more relaxed, so people don't know quite how to behave (cf. the guy who sat in a dark theatre pissing around on twitter on his phone in front of us at a Steve Reich show in Chicago a couple of years ago). Obviously I would prefer them to shut up and sit still.

Thought 2.1 was fantastic, 1.1 too focussed around the trombone for my liking (nothing against trombones it just seemed top heavy). But the double bass drone it finished on was absolutely electric.

Agreed; have listened to the NPR recording of 1.1 enough to be expecting the trombones, though, so they didn't bother me (and I enjoyed watching them). That double bass drone was wonderful.

I've never heard any of the live performances - how do they emulate the disintegration effect? do players just gradually drop out over time?

sometimes i listen to this stuff all day long

On a tetchier note, can we ban from all 'high art' events (for want of a better term) all hipsters, young people, or anyone incapable of a) arriving on time; ii) sitting quietly for more than two minutes; and 3) going for any length of time without a drink or a smoke.

he performed 'vivian & ondine' at this little gallery space in LA a month ago and had to start over about two minutes in because he couldn't be heard over the sound of people outside talking/laughing/opening beer/etc

I've never heard any of the live performances - how do they emulate the disintegration effect? do players just gradually drop out over time?

roughly speaking, yes, although they all fade out individually.

ah ok, that's what I expected. I assume the score has unique instructions for each player - "long decrescendo between measures 400-500", or whatever.

tangent, but people with billions of dollars have no idea how to have fun. if i was made of money, i'd hire an orchestra to play this, but instead of having them gradually fade out, i'd physically obscure the players. the stage would be composed of 16 or so modular units on wheels. over the course of the piece, a team of people would gradually dissemble the stage units and begin wheeling them off into an adjacent hall, turning them away from the audience, holding up long metal tubes in front of certain players. or better yet, at the same time, dissemble the audience and wheel them off at the same time, slowly.

but whatever rich people, buy your yacht, whatever

oh yeah, and also the hypothetical rich person would pay basinski and the orchestra handsomely for their performance and then perform it repeatedly for free, instead of for $50+ in a music hall.

if I was that rich, maybe I could buy a copy of this boxset

Hoping this box set means people will just sell the cds so I can just pick up the ones I don't have for cheap. That or win the box set somehow.

UK: http://www.normanrecords.com/records/135893-william-basinski--the-disintegration

Re: the live disintegration, in 2.1 the actual disintegrating tape noise was simulated with percussion - snare brushing, rim tapping, and as already mentioned amplified clingfilm (or cellophane? It looked like clingfilm but I would have thought that would be too soft and quiet.)

UK: http://www.normanrecords.com/records/135893-william-basinski--the-disintegration

― djh, Monday, August 13, 2012

Almost £300! You can have it shipped direct from the label to the UK for £175...

You will get hit with VAT + customs duty + handling charge on parcel that size from the USA, almost without doubt. I would also fear for the safety of such a mammoth box coming all on its lonesome from the USA, however well they pack it. Tough choices...

Not that I'm saying that buying from Norman et al in the UK is an inherently 'better' choice, just that there may be more to consider than pure pricing.

I hear you. But those additional charges won't get close to £125. I'm expecting then to be in the region of £50.

Also, the boxes still have to come from the US to get to Norman Records... Though they'll obviously be part of a larger, safer shipment.

I sold my unplayed Warp 20 boxset to fund this one, so you're mostly just reading me convincing myself that I've made the right decision to order direct...

Absolutely - the main thing is to enjoy it!

"I hear you. But those additional charges won't get close to £125. I'm expecting then to be in the region of £50."

Recently bought the Can box from US Amazon 'cos with that price even in the likely event I got hit with the extortionate fees & tax, it was still going to work out at pretty much the same price as UK Amazon.

http://philsbootlegs.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/william-basinski-disintegration-loops.html

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/11/12/164978574/divinity-from-dust-the-healing-power-of-the-disintegration-loops

gr8 editing npr

"an old pile of old recordings"

"he keep the loops running"

was listed in boomkat newsletter today, £299, free postage.

http://boomkat.com/vinyl/561223-william-basinski-the-disintegration-loops-deluxe-box-set

the frustrating thing, about being a record store that wanted to stock this, was that i placed a pre-order with a distributor. so it arrives and i'm trying to figure out what to price the damn thing at so that it's reasonably competitive, only to find that you can buy it direct from the label as a consumer for less than i paid for it wholesale. which is.. frustrating, wanting to be a retailed who carries something cool like this, but also being in a position where it's almost impossible to be competitive w/r/t pricing. meaning... i probably don't sell these things.

Just been listening to Radiolab's podcast (http://www.radiolab.org/2011/oct/04/) where they talk about the disintegration loops and interview WB himself. There's a little discussion about the relationship between the sounds on the tapes and the way in which the tape degrades; the decay parts of the chords decay first, the attack parts last. Do any of you have any idea why this might be?

i was just listening to that episode the other day! it's a great one. the only thing i could think of is that perhaps it has to do with the direction that the tape was looping. imagine a surface with a series of bumps. if you repeatedly ran your hand from right to left over the bumps, the bumps on the right might wear down faster than the ones on the left. maybe it's similar with the tape - with the attack on the left and the decay on the right.

in other personal listening relationship to william basinski news, i love disintegration loops, but i think i love melancholia and 92982 even more. what a guy!

new Basinski:

http://boomkat.com/cds/711685-william-basinski-nocturnes

Ausgezeichnet.

http://devonrecordclub.com/2013/10/16/william-basinski-the-disintegration-loops-round-55-robs-choice/

Roughly a dozen Basinski albums just showed up on Spotify--more or less his entire discography *except* for Disintegration Loops. http://open.spotify.com/artist/6u5axd0rpDsWSmzhFfb2VB

good spot, thank you -- i feel like the (unexpanded) loops used to be on there but i don't know if i trust that

yeah thanks - I have an "orphaned artists" playlist for ones like Basinski where the only things on Spotify were by accident as part of some other comp or soundtrack (i.e La Monte Young, Zoviet France, etc) - now I can take Basinski off that list.

https://24.media.tumblr.com/60a5c656311fc310e7d7cffaace5bbe6/tumblr_n1ujj93P1F1qzoue7o1_1280.jpg

I think this tweet was the highlight of the Oscars for me.

lol

is he producing new music these days? seems like the only things i've seen him release the past few years are reissues and reworkings of older pieces.

he's on bbc6 freak zone this week talking about stuff. probably these upcoming gigs.

http://www.factmag.com/2013/11/20/william-basinski-to-recreate-his-storied-arcadia-venue-in-east-london-recruits-charlemagne-palestine-and-rhys-chatham-for-shows/

(which start tonight)

Performing in Pasadena next month: http://axsfestival.org/2014/program/solunaris/

only really knowing basinski as the disintegration loops guy, this is somewhat surprising to see

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmL3NR9nrFI

i had a heavy phase with this guy years ago, i even got to do an amazing phone interview with him once...but for some reason, for the past year or so, i just haven't been able to get the same feeling out of his music. i still let it run when a track comes up in my sleep or writing playlist, and it's nice, but i don't know...i have some kind of mental blockage with it now. re: ambient, this also happened for me with stars of the lid, though eno, budd, gas, and ambient vangelis are still fine...

<3 this:

https://twitter.com/WilliamBasinski/status/628610802526752769

^ looking very debonair as usual btw, like some sort of parisian gangster mountie

London Gig

http://store.unionchapel.org.uk/events/23-feb-16-william-basinski---shadow-in-time-uk-premiere-union-chapel/

I'm going to try and use disintegration loops to get my toddler to go to sleep at night. Max Richter and Eluvium have failed. I'm counting on you William.

Should work like a charm. Some weeks last year during a distressing period my girlfriend used 92982 with great success.

http://www.mmlxii.com/products/576589-92982-2xlp

First great news of 2017: new album! http://p4k.in/1GqqFRZ

Looking forward to listening to this Friday.

Actually, check that. At work, at least during the inauguration, I'll have my Disintegration Loops playing in the background.

If U.S.A is still a thing when I get up on Saturday, I'll check the new one out...

Next month in Pasadena William Basinski is being honored at a benefit for Fulcrum Arts, and he and Lawrence English will perform their new Selva Oscura live for the first time.

Fulcrum (with which I’m involved) supports a lot of amazing artists including sound artists and experimental music. They’ll be presenting a new piece by Lawrence English later this year, for instance, also in LA.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fulcrum-arts-annual-benefit-honoring-william-basinski-and-ligo-caltech-tickets-51407507238

tonight in manchester was wonderful - and efficient! took to stage at 9pm sharp with nothing more than a laptop. 40 meditative minutes - no encore. and so down to earth for a chat afterwards!

The first version of the 'bored nightclub girl' meme I saw was a disintegration loops based one. That probably says more about me than anything else.

An entertaining short interview here.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/apr/10/music-william-basinski-interview-9-11-the-disintegration-loops

Ha, thanks for that. The new record is vintage stuff btw.

I somehow didn't know or had forgotten about his 9/11 beliefs.

In terms of his music, I'm quite out of the loop.

And now for something completely different

https://williambasinski.bandcamp.com/album/hymns-of-oblivion

… so he's been waiting for an apocalypse?

I rather like this! It's not nearly as apocalyptic once you're halfway through, bordering on hopeful towards the end.

kind of shocking to hear his voice! just getting started

I know right?! There's a hint of Michael Hutchence in there, which fits with it being recorded 30 years ago. Would like to hear what you make of it once you've listened all the way through.

tbh i don't see myself returning to it too often, but there are some really compelling tracks! probably unsurprisingly, i think i favor the songs with slower, sparser arrangements. in some ways it reminds me of dead can dance's Spleen and Ideal (referencing that particular one because it's the DCD album i'm most familiar with since it's the only LP of theirs i own so far)

"because", "the great warriors", and "the chemistry of life" were the ones that stood out to me on first listen

ok what the hell is going on

2020 is a very confusing year

https://sparkledivision.bandcamp.com/album/to-feel-embraced

Adds a bit of extra meaning to this twitter comment the other day in reply to The Quietus and Heather Leigh...

We are Sparkle Division! comin' through....thank you very much!) xoxox, you go girl! i love you!!!

— william basinski (@WilliamBasinski) July 24, 2020

Also, a few tracks in and this sounds great.

Ha, yeah, this is pretty mental considering the Basinski seal over it. I do like it! It half reminds me of Matthew Herbert's 'Goodbye Swingtime', which was 'cleaner' in its approach but came from an equally unusual suspect. This gets more choppy, glitchy and OPN-y as it continues.

I don’t know WB’s stuff but I’ll just leave this album by UK ambient drone master Sangam here: http://newmotion.ca/album/escapism-path

this Sparkle Division alb is really nice and features the late great Henry Grimes on the poignant Oh Henry. can't ask for more than that really.

I'm banned from using violent speak so I won't describe it as "kaleidoscopic"!

the sparkle division record is good. the other day i was watching lethal weapon 2 and thought "why don't people make more music that sounds like the soundtrack to lethal weapon 2" and lo

thought this was going to be about the slight lamentations delay (LP pressing related, of course)

idk how people listen to this stuff on LP, every time you really make progress toward achieving oneness with cosmic godhead you gotta get up and flip the fuckin record

I never realized he was so queer and fabulous

https://mif.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/FEATURE-e1497260395653-650x397.jpg

he's in the new Wire and the first picture looks like one for the old men that look like lesbians thread. (and the others looks like iggy pop). not sure i'd seen a pic of him before.

that's the pic I was looking for! the poolside shot

another music group I'm in was laughing about this:

I was comfortable picturing Basinski as a man who made no effort to look cool and the new wire cover has him out here tryna be Bowie. Can't listen to his ambient sounds with same trust now. He is not committed to serenity and anonymity he is trying to be a rock star.

— Harmony Holiday (@Harmony_Holiday) October 19, 2020

also, he played saxophone on the 1980 LP by LA punk supergroup Black Randy & The Metrosquad!

Basinski has the best publicity photos

also, he played saxophone on the 1980 LP by LA punk supergroup Black Randy & The Metrosquad!

!!!

and the name of that album is...

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0348063897_16.jpg

I never realized he was so queer and fabulous

A few years ago at The Lab in SF, he presented an all night sleepover where he would perform Out of Time Out of Mind (a few months prior to release) and then play back all of the Disintegration Loops for about 6 hours (event went from like 10pm to like 5am). Everyone brought comfy pillows and mattress pads and stuff, it was great.

But... I never had seen the dude before and when he walked out he was wearing a skin tight disco outfit made of either sequins or that disco fabric you see a lot and dark sunglasses. He was FABULOUS and definitely a ROCK STAR. He also spoke with a gay southern drawl too. Had no idea he was a Texan, gay and utterly and completely fabulous. I was basically like "holy shit I know nothing about you dude, but the music you make evokes a very different mood and personality than your physical self expression and I am definitely here for it".

Saw him perform with tape loops and echoplexes last night in a beautiful acoustic space. At first I thought “this is nice, glad to hear it” and then gradually the room dissolved into a vast cavern of grainy noise and I lost myself altogether. Incredible experience.

rad

what is the deal with this terrible song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPiqVvpAo4g

it’s on Spotify too

I presume it’s someone falsely uploading music under his name?

AI shenanigans looks like

Been listening to this ambient cassette from a couple of Hobart teenagers recently: great Basinski pastiche. I mean, it's more than that, but it is very much a Basinski strain of ambient; highly recommend!

https://alteredstatestapes.bandcamp.com/album/plastic-magic-box

haaa - this is my friend's kid and her girlfriend, I saw them front row at Basinski here a few months ago!

No way! I just sent their label a fan email for thé this morning haha. Pass on my praise!

wow i love this

yeah this is great

Listened to a LOT of similar stuff in the late 00s/early 10s; this is really bringing the nostalgia. Also reminds me of The Caretaker and Celer. Love that abyssal sound, and the way it shifts and wobbles, like the vibrato of decay.

This is terrific!

I've listened to it like 5 times now

some Zoviet France vibes occasionally as well

Four Disintegration Loop CDs at $40 is both a dollar and pound bargain

https://www.temporaryresidence.com/products/trr300?variant=46129082106025