William Basinki's The Disintegration Loops

 William Basinski’s The Disintegration Loops came about when he discovered old tapes of recordings he made in the 1980s. His recordings were of sounds from 'found sound' sources such as delay systems, shortwave radio and Muzak samples. We know the story of how when he was transferring the recordings from magnetic tape to digital, the tape has deteriorated and he decided to record the disintegrating sound loops. Basinski deploys a method similar to that of Alvin Lucier, where he uses sounds from unexpectedly ordinary sources to create something timeless.

And yet, The Disintegration Loops are associated with one very specific event: the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Beyond Basinski’s personal experiences on 9/11 (finishing the Loops and playing them while watching the Twin Towers burn and then collapse), I think the primary concept - disintegration - is the main link here.

I listened to two pieces from The Disintegration Loops suite: Dlp 1.1 and Dlp 3. 

Dlp 1.1 is the opener, the longest piece of the Loops and easily the best known. It has a drone-like, ambient quality with the decaying loops being supplemented with horn and keyboard sounds. The piece, as many have noted, is funereal. In many ways, there is something so human about this piece - the way it starts as a relatively coherent sound and then slowly disintegrates. It feels like Basinski has captured the deterioration of people’s hopes and spirit on 9/11 in music. The disintegration is still relatively subtle, however, beginning with short silences scattered that become slightly longer as the piece proceeds. 

Dlp 1.1 is also lulling and comforting. When we place it within the context of 9/11 (and this is also evident in his video of the aftermath captured over several hours and replicated as the album covers), Basinski demonstrates a certain parallel between the impact of the attacks and the process of decay. In a way, it feels like the piece expresses the grief and trauma that the people cannot process that day. At the end of the piece, Basinski uses an electronic drone, which, as the tape decays, emerges from the background. I think, here, the ending is his way of expressing that “this too shall pass”.

Dlp 3 is a much more urgent piece. In some ways, I think it captures the helplessness felt by Basinski (and other New Yorkers) at witnessing this large-scale attack. In an interview, Basinski spoke about his memories of the day and he described the air as being full of dust and smoke and the smell of burning. Dlp 3, I think serves as a soundtrack to this disorder, with its chanting effect and what sounds like an orchestral backing. The disintegration parallels with the air slowly clearing up and the burning smell fading away as the day passes.

I think ultimately what struck me the most is how moving The Disintegration Loops are and how impactful the effect of this disintegration is on the listener. It’s fitting to say that Basinski has created an empathetic masterpiece.