William Basinski

William Basinski (born 1958) is an American composer and sound artist known for ambient, tape-loop and experimental works, most famously The Disintegration Loops.

Basinski is known for composing with tape loops and processes that emphasize gradual decay and memory. The Disintegration Loops series originated when ageing magnetic tapes Basinski attempted to digitize in 2001 began to physically disintegrate; the resulting recordings became a widely discussed ambient work associated in public commentary with the events of September 2001.

Reviews on DeBaser praise Basinski's slow, meditative tape-loop works and ambient textures. The Disintegration Loops figures centrally as an elegy framed around memory and decay. Shortwavemusic and Cascade are noted for their textural experimentation. A live performance review mentions audience and venue problems.

For:Listeners of experimental ambient, tape-loop and sound-art; readers interested in time, memory and sonic decay.