William Basinski

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American composer (born 1958)

title: "William Basinski" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1958-births", "21st-century-american-composers", "21st-century-american-male-musicians", "american-ambient-musicians", "american-gay-musicians", "american-lgbtq-composers", "american-male-composers", "gay-composers", "living-people", "musicians-from-houston", "temporary-residence-limited-artists", "university-of-north-texas-college-of-music-alumni"] description: "American composer (born 1958)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Basinski" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American composer (born 1958) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

FieldValue
nameWilliam Basinski
imageWilliam Basinski (cropped).jpg
captionBasinski performing live at the Empty Bottle in 2005
birth_date
birth_placeHouston, Texas, U.S.
death_date
genre{{flatlist
occupation{{flatlist
years_active1978–present
label{{flatlist
current_member_ofSparkle Division
website
::

| name = William Basinski | image = William Basinski (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Basinski performing live at the Empty Bottle in 2005 | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Houston, Texas, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | genre = {{flatlist|

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.

Biography

Early life

William James Basinski was born in 1958 in Houston, Texas. He was raised in a Catholic family, and states that he had his first "really mystical, wonderful, magical" musical experiences as an infant at Houston's St. Anne Church. His father was a scientist contracted to NASA, which caused the family to move often. Basinski says he knew that he was gay from an early age.

A classically trained clarinetist, Basinski studied jazz saxophone and composition at the University of North Texas 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.

Career

His first release was Shortwavemusic. Although created in 1983, it was first released on vinyl in a small edition in 1998 by Carsten Nicolai's Raster-Noton sub-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" at 118 N. 11th Street. On one occasion, he opened for David Bowie, playing saxophone with rockabilly band The Rockats. 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.

Discography

Studio albums

  • Shortwavemusic (recorded in 1982, released in 1998, Raster-Noton)
  • Watermusic (released in 2001, 2062)
  • The Disintegration Loops (2002, 2026)
  • The River (recorded in 1983, released in 2002, Raster-Noton)
  • The Disintegration Loops II (2003, 2026)
  • The Disintegration Loops III (2003, 2026)
  • The Disintegration Loops IV (2003, 2026)
  • Watermusic II (released in 2003, 2062)
  • Melancholia (released in 2003, 2062)
  • A Red Score in Tile (1979, released in 2003, Three Poplars)
  • Variations: A Movement in Chrome Primitive (created in 1981, released in 2004, Durtro/Die Stadt)
  • *Silent Night * (2004, 2062)
  • The Garden of Brokenness (2006, 2062)
  • Variations for Piano and Tape (2006, 2062)
  • El Camino Real (2007, 2062)
  • 92982 (2009, 2062)
  • Vivian & Ondine (2009, 2062)
  • Nocturnes (2013, 2062)
  • Cascade (2015, 2062)
  • The Deluge (2015, 2062)
  • A Shadow in Time (2017, 2062)
  • On Time Out of Time (2019, Temporary Residence Limited)
  • Hymns of Oblivion (2020, self-released)
  • Lamentations (2020, Temporary Residence Limited)
  • The Clocktower at the Beach (1979) (2023, Line)
  • September 23rd (2024, Temporary Residence Limited)
  • The Disintegration Loops – Arcadia Archive Edition (2025, Temporary Residence Limited)

Collaborations

Compilation albums

  • The Disintegration Loops (2012, Temporary Residence Limited)

Film scores

References

References

  1. "A RING OF SMOKE". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
  2. "William Basinski | Biography & History".
  3. Medwin, Marc. (October 1, 2012). "William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops". Dusted Magazine.
  4. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. (April 10, 2019). "'I wanted to be David Bowie': music maverick William Basinski".
  5. Gotrich, Lars. (November 15, 2012). "Divinity From Dust: The Healing Power Of 'The Disintegration Loops'". NPR.
  6. Catalano, Nicola. (2004). "William Basinski + Richard Chartier interview". spekk.
  7. Beta, Andy. (August 15, 2021). "Twenty Years Ago, William Basinski Witnessed 9/11—and Memorialized It in Music".
  8. "William Basinski". Flaunt.
  9. Tangari, Joe. (April 8, 2004). "The Disintegration Loops I-IV – Review". [[Pitchfork (website).
  10. Simmons, Ian. "The Disintegration Loops – Review". nthposition.
  11. Mason, James. "Disintegration Loops 3 – Review". [[AllMusic]].
  12. Levaux, Christophe. (2014). "William Basinski, The Disintegration Loops. De l'érosion de l'espace sonore. L'antithèse totaliste". Revue et corrigée.
  13. "William Basinski: Shortwave Music".
  14. "William Basinski: The River".
  15. "William Basinski: Melancholia".
  16. (March 10, 2011). "Reviews {{!}} William Basinski".
  17. (February 15, 2005). "William Basinski: Silent Night / Variations: A Movement in Chrome Primitive".
  18. "William Basinski: The Garden of Brokenness".
  19. "William Basinski: Variations for Piano and Tape".
  20. "William Basinski: 92982".
  21. Fact. (January 29, 2010). "William Basinski: Vivian & Ondine".
  22. "William Basinski: Nocturnes".
  23. "Music Review: William Basinski - Nocturnes".
  24. "William Basinski: Cascade / The Deluge".
  25. (May 22, 2015). "The Quietus {{!}} Reviews {{!}} William Basinski".
  26. (August 7, 2015). "Album Review: William Basinski - Cascade/The Deluge".
  27. Mongredien, Phil. (January 22, 2017). "A Shadow in Time: William Basinski review – multilayered and hypnotic". The Observer.
  28. (March 8, 2019). "Album Review: William Basinski - On Time Out of Time".
  29. "William Basinski continues to explore new possibilities on rewarding new LP".
  30. (March 21, 2020). "William Basinski Releases New Album Hymns of Oblivion".
  31. "William Basinski: Lamentations".
  32. (May 10, 2008). "William Basinski + Richard Chartier :: Untitled 1-3 (Line)".
  33. "Music Review: William Basinski - Aurora Liminalis".
  34. (December 12, 2015). "William Basinski & Richard Chartier :: Divertissment (Important)".
  35. (October 12, 2018). "Album Review: William Basinski & Lawrence English - Selva Oscura".
  36. "William Basinski / Lawrence English: Selva Oscura".
  37. "William Basinski / Janek Schaefer: . . . On Reflection".
  38. "William Basinski: The Disintegration Loops".

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1958-births21st-century-american-composers21st-century-american-male-musiciansamerican-ambient-musiciansamerican-gay-musiciansamerican-lgbtq-composersamerican-male-composersgay-composersliving-peoplemusicians-from-houstontemporary-residence-limited-artistsuniversity-of-north-texas-college-of-music-alumni