The Music of William Basinski

	Ordering Info All prices include first class shipping, packing and transaction fees. You may use PayPal to music@mmlxii.com. Please email us first for availability before ordering. We ship the same day funds are received. Many thanks for your support of the work. Kindest regards, William Basinski
	Shortwavemusic Catalog#: 2062.0701 Price: $20.00 Re-issue after 10 years (first issue on CD), originally released in limited edition LP in 1997 on Noton (now raster-noton) full length CD with bonus track. RELEASE DATE: MARCH 8, 2007
	Pantelleria Catalog#: 2062 0601 Price: $20.00 Comprised of one 44 minute track, Variation #9 'Pantelleria,' this archival release is one of my all-time favorites of the piano and tape variations from the early eighties. Using a lilting piano melody on a small loop, the requisite magic happened in the recording process when this particular loop would randomly slip along the play head revealing an extraordinary counterpoint (in reverse) on the other side of the tape. To me, this piece evokes a lazy Arcandian summer idyll, and will always remind me of an idyllic artist's residency in 2003 on the beautiful Italian island of Pant elleria. William Basinski, June 2006
	The Garden of Brokenness Catalog#: 2062.0501 2062 CD, 50m Price: $20.00 A new composition featuring a recently discovered tape loop melody from the earliest piano and tape experiments, c. 1979. "The main loop in this piece is one of the original piano and tape experiments from my early days as a composer. A few of the derivative piano variations have been released: A Red Score in Tile, Chrome Primitive, some of the Melancholia pieces. Some are still to come in the archival series. This theme, a melody made up of one of the most common chord changes in western music, to me, is one that evokes theJapanese concept of "mono no aware" which translates roughly to 'the sadness of things'." William Basinski, November 11, 2005
	The River Catalog#: cdr048 2CD Box Price: $40.00 - Sold out . Reissue on 2062 coming in fall 2007. The River is the culmination of william basinski's shortwavemusic experiments. it was recorded in real time in 1983 using tape loops and shortwave radio static. the loops were all culled from the airwaves, short bits of string melody taken from the muzak radiostation, slowed down and mixed live to cassette from two 50's norelco reel-to-reel decks with a random accompaniment of shifting shortwave radio static. "growing up in the 70's, with a love for the lush sound of the Mellotron, but but not having the pocketbook to own one, I decided to try to create my own. I had heard that the sounds were recorded on tape loops, so I began recording small bits of lush strings from intros and interludes in muzak songs touse as my ›keys‹. the aspect of pulling all the sounds from the airwaves, to create something from nothing, fascinated me. with these elemental, organic loops that I had saved aside for The River, I was attempting to record ›the music of the spheres‹. the 90 minute length was decried by the length of the two sides of the cassette. the idea was to have a piece which could repeat endlessly creating an eternal, meditative womb of tranquility." - william basinski This is a highly anticipated release, as it brings more beautiful moments by the person who I believe has inherited the mantle of "king of ambient music". Dating 1983, "The River" is a double CD consisting of two long suites, both based upon the superimposition of long loops of found sounds and shortwaves. Like in the previous -wonderful- "Disintegration loops", Billy finds a simple way to bring the inner emotions out of us, still part of this cynical world. More than a river, I tend to link this sound with an image of myself watching a harbour immersed in the fog, standing far away and having few clues of what goes on - a boat call, a tidal wave, the quest for a communication that life itself makes more and more difficult to achieve. I love all the material but I must admit I have a slight preference for disc two, which in my opinion is a masterpiece for the years to come. Massimo Ricci touchingextremes.org
	Watermusic 2062 CD Catalog #:2062 0102 Price: $20.00 Early Basinski works, released on professionally pressed CDs (not CDR's!) for the first time. Minimal packaging in the style of the original release (from 2003). These works have been spoken of in hushed tones for a few years, as they have never been widely available. But the Basinski legends grows as the full catalog becomes accessible. "The first two discs of the 9 month generative ambient experiment conducted over the turn of the century. Very tranquil and soothing. Remastered and now available on CD in C-shell." "A one-hour track entirely composed on a Voyetra synthesizer, Water Music is a perfect antidote to the saccharin-drenched ambient cakes released nowadays by hundreds of self-producing wannabes. It's a never-too-present low humming lullaby, caressing the brain and the ears and slowly developing from silence. Comparisons could be made with some of Eno's best old releases, but please be advised this is not Music for films 2002 -- instead, the author gets right to the point with a simple idea, a small plant that needs to be growing in the semi-obscurity of your deep feelings. What a nice sensation." -- Massimo Ricci, touchingextremes.org.
	Watermusic II 2062 CD Catalog #:2062 0302 Price: $20.00 Volume II. Originally issued as a limited CDR in 2003, now reissued as a fully pressed CD. "A certain flavour of composition puts emphasis more on what could be considered 'hang-time' than 'narrative'. Some pieces don't necessarily have to 'go' anywhere in particular, their existence is simple enough in that it presents a mood, a moment, a place and encapsulates it. Think of still-images for the ears as opposed to moving-pictures for the eyes. As an audio exploration into this hovering suspension-fluid-photography, Basinski presents Watermusic. The piece utilises what seems to be a form of generative music technique similar to that employed by Brian Eno on his 'Systems Series' works, wherein the compositional factor is comprised of the simple interaction between a limited number of carefully calculated cycling motifs, designed to create a form of self-perpetuating music. Basinki's piece, however, allows for much more randomness and unexpected event happenings than may be envisioned by this coarse description. His dense textures and softly pulsing tones continually drift around one another in gradually shifting plains of sound, creating new and constantly evolving variations on the piece's the theme, yet never deviating from what defines its essential sentiment... Very much the soundtrack for a place as opposed to a film, the beautiful scene is set by gently swelling low end bass tones. Lovely soft pulses caress one another, intermingling to create something both flowing and floating at the same time." -- [k/doherty]
	Variations: A Movement in Chrome Primitive Durtro/DIE STADT (GERMANY)2CD DS 071CD Price: $35.00 This 2CD is a joint release with David Tibet's (Current 93) own Durtro label. It comes in a 4 panel digisleeve." William Basinski about this work: 'Variations: A Movement In Chrome Primitive was created in 1981 using piano tape loops, which were played randomly against themselves creating feedback loops. By 'cloning' small cells of melody and then 'breeding' them randomly, new sounds were formed. These new sounds move in and out of the original cells, creating complex crystalline structures: new life forms not unlike cities for example, which the original cells occupy, moving in and out of one another in surprising variations. The equipment I used to record these pieces was very primitive and my recording technique preposterously amatuerish at that time, yet what occurred in these youthful experiments compelled me to continue learning and growing as a composer.'
	The Disintegration Loops 2062 CD Catalog #:2062 0201 Price: $20.00 First widely available release on Basinski's own label (other releases on Raster, Idea, Durtro, Headz, etc), from early 2003. This series of 4 Disintegration Loops has become one of the true phenoms of post-9/11 experimental music -- totally legendary stuff at this point. "William Basinski is a musician, composer, auteur who has worked in experimental media for over twenty years in NYC, expanding the boundaries of the aural landscape. 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." About The Disintegration Loops: "In the process of archiving and digitizing analog tape loops from work I had done in 1982, I discovered some wonderful sweeping pastoral pieces I had forgotten about. Beautiful, lush cinematic truly American pastoral landscapes swept before my ears and eyes. Tied up in these melodies were my youth, my paradise lost, the American pastoral landscape, all dying gently, gracefully, beautifully. Life and death were being recorded here as a whole: death as simply a part of life: a cosmic change, a transformation."
	The Disintegration Loops II 2062 CD Catalog #:2062 0202 Price: $20.00 Finally officially released, the next three volumes in Basinski's incredible Disintegration Loops series. Each volume is totally mesmerizing, in the realms of general organic drone and aesthetic decay. Basinski has become a cult hero of sorts for the quality of his works (previous releases on Raster & Three Poplars; forthcoming on Idea) and the release of II, III, & IV will solidify that forever. "The second Disintegration Loops consists of two long segments, both strikingly beautiful; the first one is a single muffled -- but radiant to my ears -- chord repeating over and over, a musical fragment that, more than evoking abandon or solitude, brings to my mind the effort of a woman giving birth to his creature: repetition and the ongoing pulverizing of sound resemble the extreme force of life desperately wanting to overcome. The remaining part is one of the best tracks by William, as it's based upon a loop seemingly taken from a 'calm' moment of a western soundtrack -- like someone watching an immense prairie in front of him; of course, the deterioration process and the constant shift of memories guarantee much more, as the two notes creating the constant, slow melody of the piece remain in your ears for weeks. Another testimony of how one can fill the pages of his own album of grey pictures without a trace of glue, only with a slight touch of soul opening." -- Massimo Ricci.
	The Disintegration Loops III 2062 CD Catalog #:2062 0304 Price: $20.00 "As time passes by, one feels like trapped in quicksand: the more you try to liberate your mind from the echo of memories, the worse you get entangled into that certain 'something' thought to be completely forgotten, but still there in your very 'me'. This image came to my mind while listening to the fifth movement of Basinski's work-in-progress on these heartbreaking loops, probably the absolute top of the series as far as a simple concept of 'beauty' is usable. A few orchestral chords stretch one over another while the rolling tape shows here his worst kind of deteriorating, transforming a throbbing atmosphere of delicate infancy rememberings into a flesh-tearing interruption, then again getting into an almost complete silence, broken only by tape hiss and the last remnants of original sound: let me tell you, truly memorable. Part 6 begins right there where the other ends -- more chordal superimpositions in infinite repeat -- this time with minor damage to the tape during its course. This particular piece sounds like a long reflection on what's become of us after so many beautiful moments of our life; what should we try to do to the ones we care about to let them feel our love and respect? William's music is certainly a sign to all of us, he's opening his chest and letting us see what's in there: unbelievably, I -- for one -- have been able to look into a good portion of my own past thanks to his sad yet wondrous recalls." -- Massimo Ricci.
	The Disintegration Loops IV 2062 CD Catalog #:2062 0305 Price: $20.00 "And then, the man remained alone with more doubts than ever before. Music had flown through the years, the tapes definitively gone. IV draws the final line in this groundbreaking 'disintegration' cycle and it does it with a high grade of acute intensity and a totally developed loop aesthetic...moreover, the final track is sort of a reprise of the first segment in I, like putting an end to a whole giant texture. Basinski's repetitions are truly addictive; I could listen for days, each repeat bringing out new details to punch my stomach with majestic emotional landscapes. This music turns slow cartwheels in the conscience of the 'ones who know': it's a rerun of those life segments our brain likes spitting out randomly when we're reflecting in the silence. This Brooklyn artist casts a shadow on many so-called 'Ambient' semi-gods because of the simple contrast between his articulated flashbacks and the very simple means he uses. These loops are much more than fine-grained soundworks, rather they just turn out to put some well placed knot in carefully chosen throats." Massimo Ricci, touchingextremes.org
	Silent Night 2062 CD Catalog #:2062 0401 Price: $20.00 Very tranquil, somnolent ambient meditation, 60 min. Composed using the Voyetra 8 synthesizer. In clear plastic sleeve with ink jet printed folder featuring a drawing by James Elaine. It's not a coincidence that I first listened to "Silent night" on Christmas day, since this is intended to be a "somnolent meditation" about the birth of Jesus, as told by William himself. Completely conceived on the Voyetra synthesizer, it's a delicate cross of gentle intertwining melodies and cricket-like frequencies that instantly caress the nerves, inducing a state of relaxation and serenity. When compared to other Basinski's milestones, it is also a less dramatic piece but its significance - in a world where no one cares about the others anymore - is extremely deep nonetheless. The synth notes are just like children chanting carols: sincere and comprehensible without hidden ends, while the accompanying "crickets" remain alone for the final 15 minutes or so, leaving everything just suspended in the air. If I confessed you that I almost cry each and every time I watch - and listen to - "A Charlie Brown Christmas", then you will forgive me when I tell you that William's records, so different yet so near to that in their purity of intents, always manage to strike a nerve, one way or another, in my very soul. --massimo ricci touchingextremes.org
	Melancholia 2062 CD Catalog #:2062 0301 Price: $20.00 14 short melancholy tape-loops from the early eighties. Remastered and now available on conventional pressed CD in Trim-Pak (previously available as a very limited CDR. "Melancholia is probably the best Basinski's record until now, even if this is hard for me to say given my love for each one of his releases. Contrarily to his 'continuing' projects such as Disintegration Loops and Water Music, this is a sort of a sketch album, made of short pieces all created with tape loops and some synthetic wave here and there. This music is so beautifully delicate and sad in its auto-reflective moods, it stands right there with everything ranging from the usual suspects in the 'ambient' field, to a distorted damp ghost of Claude Debussy or Maurice Ravel put into a time machine. Just ravishing as you can imagine, William's almost suffocated loops celebrate the burial of any enthusiastic thought, to make room to the most difficult introspection -- the one growing you in a hurry and leaving you alone, observing from a safe distance. This beauty is for any human being who's not afraid to understand life's happenings -- maybe the hard way, but who cares?" --Massimo Ricci, touchingextremes.org.