William Basinski
William Basinski | |
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the Empty Bottle in 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | June 25, 1958 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels |
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| Member of | Sparkle Division |
| Website | mmlxii |
William James Basinski
Basinski is best known for his four-volume album The Disintegration Loops (2002–2003), constructed from gradually decaying twenty-year-old tapes of his earlier music.[4]
Biography
Early life
William James Basinski was born in 1958 in
Houston, Texas.[5] He was raised in a Catholic family,[6] and states that he had his first "really mystical, wonderful, magical" musical experiences as an infant at Houston's St. Anne Church.[5] His father was a scientist contracted to NASA, which caused the family to move often.[5] Basinski says he knew that he was gay from an early age.[5]
A classically trained clarinetist, Basinski studied jazz saxophone and composition at the
reel-to-reel tape decks.[8] He developed his meditative, melancholy style experimenting with short looped melodies played against themselves creating feedback loops.[3]
Career
His first release was Shortwavemusic. Although created in 1983, it was first released on vinyl in a small edition in 1998 by
Durtro/Die Stadt label. At the time this work was created, Basinski was experimenting with compositions for piano and tape loops.[3]
Throughout the 1980s, Basinski created a vast archive of experimental works using tape loop and delay systems,
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" at 118 N. 11th Street.[9] On one occasion, he opened for David Bowie, playing saxophone with rockabilly band The Rockats.[5] Basinski would later dedicate a track from A Shadow in Time
to Bowie.
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.[10][11][12][13]
Discography
Studio albums
- Shortwavemusic (1998, Raster-Noton)[14]
- Watermusic (2000, 2062)
- The Disintegration Loops (2002, 2062)
- The River (2002, Raster-Noton)[15]
- The Disintegration Loops II(2003, 2062)
- Watermusic II (2003, 2062)
- Melancholia (2003, 2062)[16]
- The Disintegration Loops III(2003, 2062)
- A Red Score in Tile (2003, Three Poplars)[17]
- The Disintegration Loops IV(2003, 2062)
- Variations: A Movement in Chrome Primitive (2004, Durtro/Die Stadt)
- Untitled (2004, Spekk) (with Richard Chartier)[18]
- Silent Night (2004, 2062)[19]
- The Garden of Brokenness (2006, 2062)[20]
- Variations for Piano and Tape (2006, 2062)[21]
- El Camino Real (2007, 2062)
- 92982 (2009, 2062)[22]
- Vivian & Ondine (2009, 2062)[23]
- Aurora Liminalis (2013, Line) (with Richard Chartier)[24]
- Nocturnes (2013, 2062)[25][26]
- Cascade (2015, 2062)[27]
- The Deluge (2015, 2062)[28][29]
- Divertissement (2015, Important Records) (with Richard Chartier)[30]
- A Shadow in Time (2017, 2062)[31]
- Selva Oscura (2018, Temporary Residence Limited) (with Lawrence English)[32][33]
- On Time Out of Time (2019, Temporary Residence Limited)[34][35]
- Hymns of Oblivion (2020, self-released)[36]
- Lamentations (2020, Temporary Residence Limited)[37]
- " . . . on reflection " (2022, Temporary Residence Limited) (with Janek Schaefer)[38]
- The Clocktower at the Beach (2023, Line)
Compilation albums
- The Disintegration Loops (2012, Temporary Residence Limited)[39]
Film scores
- Pursuit of Loneliness (2012)
See also
References
- ^ "A RING OF SMOKE". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski at Bandcamp". May 17, 2022.
- ^ a b c "William Basinski | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ Medwin, Marc (October 1, 2012). "William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops". Dusted Magazine.
- ^ a b c d e Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (April 10, 2019). "'I wanted to be David Bowie': music maverick William Basinski". The Guardian.
- ^ Gotrich, Lars (November 15, 2012). "Divinity From Dust: The Healing Power Of 'The Disintegration Loops'". NPR.
- ^ Catalano, Nicola (2004). "William Basinski + Richard Chartier interview". spekk. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
- ^ Beta, Andy (August 15, 2021). "Twenty Years Ago, William Basinski Witnessed 9/11—and Memorialized It in Music". Texas Monthly. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski". Flaunt. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ Tangari, Joe (April 8, 2004). "The Disintegration Loops I-IV – Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- ^ Simmons, Ian. "The Disintegration Loops – Review". nthposition. Archived from the original on April 13, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- ^ Mason, James. "Disintegration Loops 3 – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- ^ Levaux, Christophe (2014). "William Basinski, The Disintegration Loops. De l'érosion de l'espace sonore. L'antithèse totaliste". Revue et corrigée (101): 24–27.
- ^ "William Basinski: Shortwave Music". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski: The River". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski: Melancholia". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Reviews | William Basinski". The Quietus. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski + Richard Chartier :: Untitled 1-3 (Line)". Igloo Magazine. May 10, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski: Silent Night / Variations: A Movement in Chrome Primitive". Pitchfork. February 15, 2005. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski: The Garden of Brokenness". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski: Variations for Piano and Tape". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski: 92982". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Fact (January 29, 2010). "William Basinski: Vivian & Ondine". Fact Magazine. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Music Review: William Basinski - Aurora Liminalis". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski: Nocturnes". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Music Review: William Basinski - Nocturnes". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski: Cascade / The Deluge". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "The Quietus | Reviews | William Basinski". The Quietus. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Album Review: William Basinski - Cascade/The Deluge". DrownedInSound. August 7, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski & Richard Chartier :: Divertissment (Important)". Igloo Magazine. December 12, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Album Review: William Basinski & Lawrence English - Selva Oscura". DrownedInSound. October 12, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski / Lawrence English: Selva Oscura". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Album Review: William Basinski - On Time Out of Time". DrownedInSound. March 8, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski continues to explore new possibilities on rewarding new LP". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski Releases New Album Hymns of Oblivion". Pitchfork. March 21, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski: Lamentations". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski / Janek Schaefer: . . . On Reflection". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "William Basinski: The Disintegration Loops". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
External links
- Official website
- William Basinski discography at Discogs
- William Basinski at IMDb
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