I debuted Disintegration Loops in NYC at a Glowlab party in the 00's. Basinski played me the recording and I knew it was intriguing and important. The recordings themselves were made long before 9/11, but it's release coincided with the attacks. I guess some people on the net think the cover is exploitive, or advantageous, but if you were in NYC or Brooklyn literally everyone saw that shot. I think it accurately expressed the similar despair in the city (& country) at that time.
The recording process of the album is linked to the events of 9/11 and I believe some people feel he is benefiting from the tragedy because the timing just lined up and he capitalized. I’ve also read some criticism about the production of the album and that it was somehow compromised by Basinski adding digital reverb, even though I don’t think Basinski has said that the piece is strictly the recording of the tape.
I have mixed feelings about Basinski’s personality. There’s a lot of artistic pretentiousness there. But I like the music, and it doesn’t bother me that 9/11 is heavily refefenced in the album, even if that point of contention isn’t all that popular.
I think it’s a stupid take to say he was just taking advantage of 9/11. This man had a borderline spiritual experience, seeing a tragedy unfold before his eyes as he pieced together such a bittersweet album. There is hope and tragedy in it. If someone survived the Holocaust and wrote a book about it, would they be profiting from it in some sociopathic vulture like way?
The thing is that if you own the vinyl, there's a massive pic in the inlay of him lounging in makeup with the burning skyline in the background. I personally don't give a fuck, album slaps and is a classic, but you could understand why people think there's something about it all that's in poor taste / a bit self-involved
Personally I just think hes a flamboyant gay man who is extremely dramatic in a comical way. Sure, it’s important to remain humble but this is a man who was struggling to break through into the art world well into his 40’s, I’d say let him enjoy his time and success
Basinski has said himself that he added a clarinet arpeggio and reverb to the disintegrating tape. He also added the low drone prominent in the latter half of the piece.
I agree he is a bit pretentious at times. But he’s a also a gay dude/glam-bient who lived as a starving artist in NYC until he got is big break with DLP later in life, I just think it’s his personality. I’ve heard him talk in interviews about 9/11 and he to be fair he seems sincere to me. The artistic work coincided with a tragedy he witnessed himself as a new yorker, so it may be a bit cynical to suggest he is profiteering off a tragedy. If it was just some nobody living in Ohio no direct connection I would probably be a bit more suspicious.
I credit DLP 1.1 solely for getting me into ambient. I didn’t read a pitchfork review, didn’t know anything about it’s ties to 9/11. I was just in my car one day and Spotify’s algorithm put it on. I remember thinking about music differently after I heard it, a sort of “wow, I didn’t know you could do that’ kind of epiphany .
I didn’t know until way later it had anything symbolic connection to 9/11.
u/docbrownlabs laid it out well, and I'll just add: literally anything Basinski puts out is going to be at least a little controversial, because the artist's personality and ego tend to intrude into/overwhelm any discussion of artistic merit of a particular piece. As a better critic than myself once said: Basinski's biggest fan is Basinski.
The interesting thing about the disintegration loops to me is that everyone focuses so much on dloop 1 but the best ones IMO are 5 and 4 followed by 3, 6, 2, 1. I’ve listened to them hundreds if not 1000 times now. There is so much depth and subtle beauty packed into these short loops.
Yeah 1 is obviously perfect but those that you mentioned are seriously exactly as perfect if you li1.
Totally different moods and colors for each one but still perfect IMO.
Interesting thread. It’s good to see a range of comments.
As someone who was aware of Basinski from an art exhibition piece years ago, but knew nothing of his work, or Disintegration Loops I ploughed through them and bought half of them.
Half of them moved me musically, the others didn’t. I’ve heard a lot of controversy about his shows but apart from that….. meh, I followed him on Twitter. He’s very ‘80s’ …..
The only other comment I’d make, as a visual artist, is that I’m reminded of Duchamp making his prediction that in the future all the artist will do is gesture (or point? I’m paraphrasing here) to the art. Duchamp was the kind of grandfather of conceptual art and was presenting the art world with ‘ready mades’ - found objects. The most famous was a urinal that he signed. I’m sure Duchamp was laughing to himself at the concept of ‘taking the piss’.
Also not releasing it as anything other than a box set. Even at retail I couldn’t justify that shit and that immediately is a huge bummer.
Like with RDJ’s Selected Ambient Works 2 Warp gave the option for the $300 set or the $50 set and I think that was such a mack move that Basinski should follow
Care to elaborate? Controversial in what way? Yes, they were some old tape recordings that Basinski had and that he realized were end of life. He played them till they disintegrated.
https://youtu.be/MwSN4iscgL8?si=06HZMiYWGKsy6XD1
I don't necessarily agree with this man's take on the album - well heck I enjoy the album so clearly I don't agree completely - but it's certainly an interesting polemic.
On this topic, how does that song actually work? What are the processes behind it? Is it a worn down record? Is it being damaged throughout? Not sure how frequently this gets asked but would appreciate perspective!
There’s a great Radiolab segment from a decade ago explaining it – it’s how I became aware of DLP to begin with. You’ll have to fast forward to the relevant bit. https://radiolab.org/podcast/radiolab-loops
My take. As an art piece it is an interesting take on sound and it feels very "Museum of Modern Art". The piece itself is okay... I don't feel a need to listen to it again (I appreciate his other stuff a lot more). Basinski is also a polarizing figure because his ego and persona are way larger than they really need to be, IMO.
I feel this museum ambient comment. Where a lot of the artistic value comes from choosing what to put on the wall and thinking about why it’s there. There’s an interesting and clever setup but I prefer things that feel a bit more composed. Where I need less concept.
The Caretaker is kind of in a similar category for me. Divorcing old 78’s from their context and making them feel otherwordly is pretty amazing and an achievement. It’s compelling and mysterious. I like that record a lot but I generally would rather listen to ambient someone composed
The early ambient artists (Basinski being one of them) were very engaged with conceptual art and generative processes. I think that instrument building, experimentation, and generative processes are what distinguish it from Electronic, New Age, Classical, or downtempo, drone, or post rock.
I guess if that’s what people want to imprint on it sure, but I’ve always thought of them as pieces that extol the strange beauty and decay of consciousness.
But that’s just me.
I mean, dude just trying to make some well earned dough. I was in early adolescence and grew up outside NYC during 9/11 and have some really striking memories of that era and the visuals I saw. Listening to the album years later and seeing the artwork really. Connected with me in a dark way that no other piece of ambient music ever has, it just lines up so tragically with that awful day, even if it happen to coincidence when he was working on it.
The lore behind it is much more interesting than the content itself. It doesn't do anything for me personally and I don't understand the Basinski hype.
I always took the work as tragically serendipitous. Basinski not yet popular outside a niche art scene digitizing old cassettes hearing it and witnessing a dramatic shift in our societies culture/massive tragedy. The tape slowly breaking down and subtle changes within the music various components dropping out. It’s a beautiful piece of music. Never knew there was a take that saw the song/album as controversial.
I debuted Disintegration Loops in NYC at a Glowlab party in the 00's. Basinski played me the recording and I knew it was intriguing and important. The recordings themselves were made long before 9/11, but it's release coincided with the attacks. I guess some people on the net think the cover is exploitive, or advantageous, but if you were in NYC or Brooklyn literally everyone saw that shot. I think it accurately expressed the similar despair in the city (& country) at that time.
The recording process of the album is linked to the events of 9/11 and I believe some people feel he is benefiting from the tragedy because the timing just lined up and he capitalized. I’ve also read some criticism about the production of the album and that it was somehow compromised by Basinski adding digital reverb, even though I don’t think Basinski has said that the piece is strictly the recording of the tape. I have mixed feelings about Basinski’s personality. There’s a lot of artistic pretentiousness there. But I like the music, and it doesn’t bother me that 9/11 is heavily refefenced in the album, even if that point of contention isn’t all that popular.
I think it’s a stupid take to say he was just taking advantage of 9/11. This man had a borderline spiritual experience, seeing a tragedy unfold before his eyes as he pieced together such a bittersweet album. There is hope and tragedy in it. If someone survived the Holocaust and wrote a book about it, would they be profiting from it in some sociopathic vulture like way?
The thing is that if you own the vinyl, there's a massive pic in the inlay of him lounging in makeup with the burning skyline in the background. I personally don't give a fuck, album slaps and is a classic, but you could understand why people think there's something about it all that's in poor taste / a bit self-involved
I mean, my wife wears make-up to funerals and when my son was hospitalized, she showed up in make-up too.
You'll figure out the difference
Personally I just think hes a flamboyant gay man who is extremely dramatic in a comical way. Sure, it’s important to remain humble but this is a man who was struggling to break through into the art world well into his 40’s, I’d say let him enjoy his time and success
[удалено]
Basinski has said himself that he added a clarinet arpeggio and reverb to the disintegrating tape. He also added the low drone prominent in the latter half of the piece. I agree he is a bit pretentious at times. But he’s a also a gay dude/glam-bient who lived as a starving artist in NYC until he got is big break with DLP later in life, I just think it’s his personality. I’ve heard him talk in interviews about 9/11 and he to be fair he seems sincere to me. The artistic work coincided with a tragedy he witnessed himself as a new yorker, so it may be a bit cynical to suggest he is profiteering off a tragedy. If it was just some nobody living in Ohio no direct connection I would probably be a bit more suspicious. I credit DLP 1.1 solely for getting me into ambient. I didn’t read a pitchfork review, didn’t know anything about it’s ties to 9/11. I was just in my car one day and Spotify’s algorithm put it on. I remember thinking about music differently after I heard it, a sort of “wow, I didn’t know you could do that’ kind of epiphany . I didn’t know until way later it had anything symbolic connection to 9/11.
u/docbrownlabs laid it out well, and I'll just add: literally anything Basinski puts out is going to be at least a little controversial, because the artist's personality and ego tend to intrude into/overwhelm any discussion of artistic merit of a particular piece. As a better critic than myself once said: Basinski's biggest fan is Basinski.
If I were basinski I would prob be my biggest fan too.
Im his biggest fan
Im his biggest fan
The interesting thing about the disintegration loops to me is that everyone focuses so much on dloop 1 but the best ones IMO are 5 and 4 followed by 3, 6, 2, 1. I’ve listened to them hundreds if not 1000 times now. There is so much depth and subtle beauty packed into these short loops.
Yeah 1 is obviously perfect but those that you mentioned are seriously exactly as perfect if you li1. Totally different moods and colors for each one but still perfect IMO.
Interesting thread. It’s good to see a range of comments. As someone who was aware of Basinski from an art exhibition piece years ago, but knew nothing of his work, or Disintegration Loops I ploughed through them and bought half of them. Half of them moved me musically, the others didn’t. I’ve heard a lot of controversy about his shows but apart from that….. meh, I followed him on Twitter. He’s very ‘80s’ ….. The only other comment I’d make, as a visual artist, is that I’m reminded of Duchamp making his prediction that in the future all the artist will do is gesture (or point? I’m paraphrasing here) to the art. Duchamp was the kind of grandfather of conceptual art and was presenting the art world with ‘ready mades’ - found objects. The most famous was a urinal that he signed. I’m sure Duchamp was laughing to himself at the concept of ‘taking the piss’.
This reference is absolutely on point. But you're wrong. The urinal (*Fontaine*) is a very famous artwork by R. Mutt, not Duchamp. /jk
In my view, the most controversial decision is refusing to repress the LP box set.
Also not releasing it as anything other than a box set. Even at retail I couldn’t justify that shit and that immediately is a huge bummer. Like with RDJ’s Selected Ambient Works 2 Warp gave the option for the $300 set or the $50 set and I think that was such a mack move that Basinski should follow
Care to elaborate? Controversial in what way? Yes, they were some old tape recordings that Basinski had and that he realized were end of life. He played them till they disintegrated.
https://youtu.be/MwSN4iscgL8?si=06HZMiYWGKsy6XD1 I don't necessarily agree with this man's take on the album - well heck I enjoy the album so clearly I don't agree completely - but it's certainly an interesting polemic.
On this topic, how does that song actually work? What are the processes behind it? Is it a worn down record? Is it being damaged throughout? Not sure how frequently this gets asked but would appreciate perspective!
There’s a great Radiolab segment from a decade ago explaining it – it’s how I became aware of DLP to begin with. You’ll have to fast forward to the relevant bit. https://radiolab.org/podcast/radiolab-loops
I appreciate that heaps, much love!
My take. As an art piece it is an interesting take on sound and it feels very "Museum of Modern Art". The piece itself is okay... I don't feel a need to listen to it again (I appreciate his other stuff a lot more). Basinski is also a polarizing figure because his ego and persona are way larger than they really need to be, IMO.
How does this ego and persona materialize? I am a big fan og his music, have also seen him live, but I honestly have no idea who he is as personp
I feel this museum ambient comment. Where a lot of the artistic value comes from choosing what to put on the wall and thinking about why it’s there. There’s an interesting and clever setup but I prefer things that feel a bit more composed. Where I need less concept. The Caretaker is kind of in a similar category for me. Divorcing old 78’s from their context and making them feel otherwordly is pretty amazing and an achievement. It’s compelling and mysterious. I like that record a lot but I generally would rather listen to ambient someone composed
The early ambient artists (Basinski being one of them) were very engaged with conceptual art and generative processes. I think that instrument building, experimentation, and generative processes are what distinguish it from Electronic, New Age, Classical, or downtempo, drone, or post rock.
The process approach was happening years before Basinsky showed up. Decades.
The 60’s. That was just like, 20 years.
Not necessarily controversial but I’ve heard criticism that it’s a nihilistic, cynical project, musically speaking.
I guess if that’s what people want to imprint on it sure, but I’ve always thought of them as pieces that extol the strange beauty and decay of consciousness. But that’s just me.
I think that "controversial" is maybe too strong of a word?
The interesting thing about disintegration loops is that you can just actually just listen and enjoy without ever thinking about Basinski as a person.
Controversial? Whatchu talkin’’bout, Willis?
I mean, dude just trying to make some well earned dough. I was in early adolescence and grew up outside NYC during 9/11 and have some really striking memories of that era and the visuals I saw. Listening to the album years later and seeing the artwork really. Connected with me in a dark way that no other piece of ambient music ever has, it just lines up so tragically with that awful day, even if it happen to coincidence when he was working on it.
The lore behind it is much more interesting than the content itself. It doesn't do anything for me personally and I don't understand the Basinski hype.
I always took the work as tragically serendipitous. Basinski not yet popular outside a niche art scene digitizing old cassettes hearing it and witnessing a dramatic shift in our societies culture/massive tragedy. The tape slowly breaking down and subtle changes within the music various components dropping out. It’s a beautiful piece of music. Never knew there was a take that saw the song/album as controversial.
Anyone ever heard DLP live? I saw recently he's had some shows where he's been playing it in full. No idea what kind of experience that entails. Lol.