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William Basinski

Once again I have to thank the people at Aquarius Records for learning about this artist. After reading their opinion of Basinski's Disintegration Loops, I knew I had to find out more about him. So I did what a lot of people out there do: downloaded a few of his tracks on Acquisition. Someone had his Melancholia album up and I downloaded a few of the untitled tracks. When I double-clicked on the file for the second untitled track and heard the first few fragile piano notes being played I was hooked immediately. This was the most painfully beautiful music I had ever heard (my lack of vocabulary prevents me from using stronger superlatives!). The notes came at you from far away, brittle but empowered by the reverb which gave the notes their emotional charge. His music is indeed the saddest music ever made. Imagine yourselves variations on Erik Satie's most melancholic works as played and manipulated on faulty equipment by Boards Of Canada on a gray and rainy day. It's just that beautiful. Not all his works sound as melancholic and lo-fi, but the the soothing sounds are always present.

Some could easily accuse Basinski of creating sappy "new age" music, but his long, drones and loops are way too repetitive and minimal to please your average joe trying to calm his nerves listening to dolphins. Basinski also steers clear of all that make-a-quick-buck imagery used by other "artists" who create "soothing sounds". It might be smooth, but it remains a difficult listen; there is so much to be heard in his music and things to discover that it begs for repeated listens. I still regularly listen to his Disintegration Loops which were the first items I've bought from him.

It is worthwhile to mention that William Basinski was a close friend and collaborator with Antony & The Johnsons (perhaps he is partly responsible for the melancholic side of the group?). Much of his other works were first released as limited and numbered CD-Rs, but his growing popularity has seen the re-release of many of these works, ready to be discovered all over again. Absolutely worth seeking for fans of ambient and drone!

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