William Basinski

The tape-loop composer whose The Disintegration Loops, made in 2001, is among the best-known works of ambient music.

Tape loops and time

William James Basinski was born on June 25, 1958 in Houston, Texas, and is based in Los Angeles. His father was a scientist contracted to NASA, so the family moved often. A classically trained clarinetist, he studied jazz saxophone and composition at the University of North Texas from 1976 to 1978, switched from performance to composition, studied privately with the composer Larry Austin, and was influenced by John Cage's indeterminacy. He moved to San Francisco and then to New York in 1980. In 1978 he began working with tape loops and reel-to-reel, inspired by Steve Reich and Brian Eno. Earlier bands included the Gretchen Langheld Ensemble and House Afire, and he is a member of Sparkle Division.

In 1980 he moved to a loft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which around 1990 he turned into a studio and venue called Arcadia. Shortwavemusic, made in the early 1980s, was first released on vinyl in 1998 on a Raster-Noton sub-label; Variations: A Movement in Chrome Primitive, made in 1980 and 1981, was released in 2004 on Durtro/Die Stadt. Watermusic arrived in 2000 or 2001 on his own 2062 label, and The Disintegration Loops I to IV in 2002 and 2003. Later work includes The Garden of Brokenness (2006), 92982 (2009), Nocturnes (2013), The Deluge (2015), A Shadow in Time (2017, with "For David Robert Jones", dedicated to Bowie), On Time Out of Time (2019), Hymns of Oblivion and Lamentations (2020), The Clocktower at the Beach (1979) (Line, 2023) and Passing the Cup of Sorrows (2026). Collaborators include Richard Chartier, Lawrence English and Janek Schaefer.

Temporary Residence issued a remastered tenth-anniversary box set on September 4, 2012, limited to 2,000, nine LPs and five CDs with a DVD and a 144-page book, and an Arcadia Archive Edition on November 7, 2025, remastered by Josh Bonati with a foreword by Laurie Anderson. The Wordless Music Orchestra performed the piece at the Metropolitan Museum's Temple of Dendur on September 11, 2011, conducted by Ryan McAdams. David Wexler's documentary Disintegration Loops premiered at SXSW in March 2021. Critics have linked the work to Gavin Bryars's Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet and to Satie, and cited its influence on Burial, The Caretaker and William Tyler; some accused him of exploiting the attacks.