The Disintegration Loops

The Disintegration Loops, created by William Basinski, are a collection of six distinct pieces of music. To make each one, Basinski started with an intact tape recording of the piece, then he fed it through a tape machine, which re-recorded the tape. He did this repeatedly, and as the tape began to disintegrate, the recording would fall apart aurally. He does this for 6 tapes, which were released across 4 volumes. These are very interesting listens, as these beautiful arabesques emerge and disappear as the tape falls apart, eventually fading into a low, droning note as the tape disintegrates completely. Listening to this work really makes you reflect on your own life as you hear it slowly falling apart into these beautiful colors, then into nothing. It is a worthwhile listen, in my opinion. They were recorded in August and September 2001, with the final recording session coincidentally on the morning of September 11th. The work's correlation to that event does not go unnoticed, and knowing this context certainly puts the music in a different context. The album covers from this collection are pictures of the view outside of Basinski's apartment as the evening of September 11th progressed. This is definitely a worthy listen for anyone into the more atmospheric and experimental side of music.