William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops 3

This specific ambient music piece struck me initially in the first few minutes because of its minimalist element, which I’ve become quite familiar with after our previous session. According to the time that “The Disintegration Loops” (a series of four albums) was released around 2002 and 2003, Basinski must have been influenced by the pioneer minimalist composers predating him, such as Steve Reich, during the course of composing. In the meantime, I also detected the trace of Pauline Oliveros’ philosophy in it due to the melancholic and ponderous rhythm refreshing my memory about her ideas of attentive exercises and deep listening. 

As a matter of fact, “The Disintegration Loops” emerged from some older tape-loops that Basinski had constructed approximately two decades ago. In order to prevent those disintegrating loops from becoming unusable and collapsed, he decided to digitise them. Basinski transferred the work to his digital recorder for the purpose of conserving his old works. This transition may be why the sense of decay was quite overwhelming while listening to the “DP 3.” The work plunged me into great sadness with its simple patterns of notes looped time and time again. Eventually, when the phrases gradually turned broken and crumbling, I sensed unutterable suffocation. Just as the backstory of these albums implies, I can almost vividly witness in slow motion the towers of the World Trade Center complex falling apart after the cataclysmic crash and the devastating faces of those victims. Their petrifying and desperate shrieking is fading away; A ruthless disaster is being remorselessly revealed. Should I seek to confront it or not?

Before I became aware of the backstory, there was still an enormous weight that came over me, even though it was not related to the sense of destruction and death. Nevertheless, I felt more like I was sitting in a vast tranquil stretch of field, meditating on my past, on the mistakes I’ve made, on whom I used to be, on the long and lonely journey I’ve taken. Assuredly, the repetitive slow sounds didn’t lighten the sense of gloominess and desolation this piece delivers to the listeners. On the contrary, those melancholic emotions kept overlapping with the continuing loops. 

However, considering what lies behind “The Disintegration Loops,” my understanding of this piece and the whole series became deeper and more insightful. Those slow-going and heavy musical patterns seemed to be the anticipation of the sound made by the airplane, namely, the dreadful ruination. I am still haunted by the sounds while writing the review, re-experiencing my own weakness and loneliness.