William Basinski
Encyclopedia
William Basinski is a United States
avant-garde
composer of ambient music
via tape music
and process music
. Basinski is also a clarinetist, saxophonist, sound art
ist, and video art
ist. He is best known for his four-volume album The Disintegration Loops
(2002–2003), constructed from rapidly decaying twenty-year-old tapes of his earlier music.
. A classically trained clarinetist, he studied jazz saxophone and composition at North Texas State University in the late 1970s. In 1978, inspired by minimalists such as Steve Reich
and Brian Eno
, he began developing his own vocabulary using tape loops and old reel-to-reel tape decks. He developed his meditative, melancholy style experimenting with short looped melodies played against themselves creating feedback loops.
His first release was Shortwave Music. Although created in 1983, it was first released on vinyl in a small edition in 1998 by Carsten Nicolai's Raster-Noton
label. This was followed by Watermusic, self-released in 2000 on Basinski's 2062 Records. Another 2-disc work was Variations: A Movement in Chrome Primitive, 1980: it was finally released in 2004 by David Tibet
on the Durtro
/Die Stadt label. At the time this work was created, Basinski was experimenting with compositions for piano and tape loops.
Throughout the 1980s, Basinski created a vast archive of experimental works using tape loop and delay systems, found sounds, and shortwave radio static. He was a member of many bands including Gretchen Langheld Ensemble and House Afire. In 1989, he opened his own performance space, "Arcadia". In the 1990s, he performed and produced records and intimate underground shows there for various NYC artists including Antony
, Diamanda Galás
, Rasputina, The Murmurs, and his own ad-hoc experimental electronic/improvisation band, Life on Mars. In 2000, he made a film titled Fountain with artists James Elaine and Roger Justice.
In August and September 2001, he set to work on what would become his most recognizable piece, the four-volume album The Disintegration Loops
. The recordings were based on old tape loops which had degraded in quality. While attempting to salvage the recordings in a digital format, the tapes slowly crumbled and left a timestamp history of their demise.
Review sites
Interviews
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
composer of ambient music
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
via tape music
Tape Music
Tape Music is an experimental 10" vinyl release by Jack Dangers. The vinyl release was coupled with the album Sounds Of The 20th Century No2 when released as a flexi disc vinyl....
and process music
Process music
Process music is music that arises from a process. It may make that process audible to the listener, or the process may be concealed. Primarily begun in the 1960s, diverse composers have employed divergent methods and styles of process...
. Basinski is also a clarinetist, saxophonist, sound art
Sound art
Sound art is a diverse group of art practices that considers wide notions of sound, listening and hearing as its predominant focus. There are often distinct relationships forged between the visual and aural domains of art and perception by sound artists....
ist, and video art
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...
ist. He is best known for his four-volume album The Disintegration Loops
The Disintegration Loops
The Disintegration Loops is an album by William Basinski and was released in 2002. It is the first of the Disintegration Loops series, followed by II, III and IV.-Content:...
(2002–2003), constructed from rapidly decaying twenty-year-old tapes of his earlier music.
Overview
William Basinski was born in 1958 in Houston, TexasHouston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. A classically trained clarinetist, he studied jazz saxophone and composition at North Texas State University in the late 1970s. In 1978, inspired by minimalists such as Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
and Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, he began developing his own vocabulary using tape loops and old reel-to-reel tape decks. He developed his meditative, melancholy style experimenting with short looped melodies played against themselves creating feedback loops.
His first release was Shortwave Music. Although created in 1983, it was first released on vinyl in a small edition in 1998 by Carsten Nicolai's Raster-Noton
Raster-Noton
Raster-Noton is a German electronic music record label founded in 1996 by Olaf Bender, Carsten Nicolai and Frank Bretschneider. Based in Chemnitz, Germany, Raster-Noton merged in 1999 from separate labels Rastermusik and Noton .The collective label's aesthetic focus is rhythmic, minimal electronic...
label. This was followed by Watermusic, self-released in 2000 on Basinski's 2062 Records. Another 2-disc work was Variations: A Movement in Chrome Primitive, 1980: it was finally released in 2004 by David Tibet
David Tibet
David Tibet is a British poet and artist who founded the music group Current 93, of which he is the only full-time member. He had earlier collaborated with Psychic TV and 23 Skidoo...
on the Durtro
Durtro
Durtro was a British independent record label, established by the British poet, singer, songwriter, and visual artist David Tibet in 1988, to publish his own work, and that of fellow friends and musicians. It was replaced by one of Tibet's earlier labels, Coptic Cat, in 2010.Nearly every release...
/Die Stadt label. At the time this work was created, Basinski was experimenting with compositions for piano and tape loops.
Throughout the 1980s, Basinski created a vast archive of experimental works using tape loop and delay systems, found sounds, and shortwave radio static. He was a member of many bands including Gretchen Langheld Ensemble and House Afire. In 1989, he opened his own performance space, "Arcadia". In the 1990s, he performed and produced records and intimate underground shows there for various NYC artists including Antony
Antony Hegarty
Antony Hegarty is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the band Antony and the Johnsons.-Early life:...
, Diamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás is an American avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, organist, performance artist and painter.Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", with her three and a half octave vocal range. She often screams, hisses and growls...
, Rasputina, The Murmurs, and his own ad-hoc experimental electronic/improvisation band, Life on Mars. In 2000, he made a film titled Fountain with artists James Elaine and Roger Justice.
In August and September 2001, he set to work on what would become his most recognizable piece, the four-volume album The Disintegration Loops
The Disintegration Loops
The Disintegration Loops is an album by William Basinski and was released in 2002. It is the first of the Disintegration Loops series, followed by II, III and IV.-Content:...
. The recordings were based on old tape loops which had degraded in quality. While attempting to salvage the recordings in a digital format, the tapes slowly crumbled and left a timestamp history of their demise.
Discography
- 1998: Shortwave Music (Raster-NotonRaster-NotonRaster-Noton is a German electronic music record label founded in 1996 by Olaf Bender, Carsten Nicolai and Frank Bretschneider. Based in Chemnitz, Germany, Raster-Noton merged in 1999 from separate labels Rastermusik and Noton .The collective label's aesthetic focus is rhythmic, minimal electronic...
vinyl; 2007 CD, 2062) - 2000: Watermusic (2062 Records)
- 2002: The Disintegration LoopsThe Disintegration LoopsThe Disintegration Loops is an album by William Basinski and was released in 2002. It is the first of the Disintegration Loops series, followed by II, III and IV.-Content:...
(2062) - 2002: The River (Raster-Noton)
- 2003: The Disintegration Loops II (2062)
- 2003: Watermusic II (2062)
- 2003: Melancholia (2062)
- 2003: The Disintegration Loops III (2062)
- 2003: A Red Score in Tile (Three Poplars)
- 2003: The Disintegration Loops IV (2062)
- 2004: Variations: A Movement in Chrome Primitive (DurtroDurtroDurtro was a British independent record label, established by the British poet, singer, songwriter, and visual artist David Tibet in 1988, to publish his own work, and that of fellow friends and musicians. It was replaced by one of Tibet's earlier labels, Coptic Cat, in 2010.Nearly every release...
/Die Stadt) - 2004: Silent Night (2062)
- 2006: The Garden of Brokenness (2062)
- 2006: Variations for Piano and Tape (2062)
- 2007: El Camino Real (2062)
- 2008: The River (2062)
- 2009: 92982 (2062)
- 2009: Vivian & Ondine (2062)
External links
Official sites- William Basinski at MMLXII.com
- William Basinski at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
Review sites
- William Basinski at Pitchfork MediaPitchfork MediaPitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
Interviews
- Two and a Half Questions with William Basinski - Interview on Headphone Commute (April, 2010)