William Basinski - Variations for Piano & Tape - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

William Basinski - Vivian & Ondine [COMPACT DISCS] date 12/03/2009

Composed way back in 1979, 'A Red Score in Tile' eventually surfaced as a vinyl-only edition in 2003. Made up of piano, this shows Basinski's patented tape-loop technique perfectly and still stands as one of his most affecting pieces of music. If you've heard 'Melancholia' you'll likely know what I'm talking about, piano notes are transformed into tones by the slowly disintegrating tape, and the loops become motifs all of their own. The beauty of Basinski's work is in it's patience, and this early piece is a testament to that overwhelming skill, a skill that few others possess. Album Tracks 1. Red Score in Tile

William Basinski's reputation as the foremost producer of profound meditations on death and decay has long been established, but on his new album, Lamentations, he transforms operatic tragedy into abyssal beauty. More than any other work since The Disintegration Loops, there is an ominous grief throughout the album, and that sense of loss lingers like an emotional vapor.Captured and constructed from tape loops and studies from Basinski's archives - dating back to 1979 - Lamentations is over forty years of mournful sighs meticulously crafted into songs. They are shaped by the inevitable passage of time and the indisputable collapsing of space - and their collective resonance is infinite and eternal. Album Tracks 1. For Whom the Bell Tolls 2. The Wheel of Fortune 3. Paradise Lost 4. Tear Vial 5. O, My Daughter, O, My Sorrow 6. Passio 7. Punch and Judy 8. Silent Spring 9. Transfiguration 10. All These Too, I, I Love 11. Please, This S**t Has Got to Stop 12. Fin