William Basinski - Cascade

cascades is really, really great

  On 3/31/2015 at 4:20 PM, Alcofribas said:

the fixation on "delay settings" rather than music in these replies is some real cry-baby shit and indicates a lack of familiarity with basinski's catalogue. over the 20 or so albums he's put out the theme of variation is explored quite regularly. hell, even the disintegration loops contains 3 variations of the "dlp1." there are also albums of long-form works of piano loops and feedback that find themselves in miniature form on "melancholia." these two new albums seem to be a continuation of variations on a theme which is not only an artistic device found throughout basninski's work but is quite obviously found throughout the works of many artists.

 

i really don't see what the point is complaining about this. you're either down with billy b or not but it's not like this is some new low of laziness; the dude has always been interested in exploring how loops interact with each other through feedback systems and how the results can lead to subtle but completely unique experiences. while this might seem not "new" enough for some, this is minimalist music we're dealing with here wtf do you expect?

92982 already felt like a complete work to me. All the tracks on that album were great and the last tune was a recent reinterpretation/variation anyway wasn't it?

It just strikes me a little odd that 2 years later, he's returning to a loop he already released 6 years ago, when he probably has 30 years worth of material (not to mention newer stuff) he could work with. He can do whatever he pleases of course and I dig his stuff regardless. But just because he's William Basinski and it's minimalist music, it doesn't mean he can't be criticised for rather dubious releases like this one.

It'd be interesting to hear the reception if someone like Burial re-released Untrue with extra vinyl crackle and delay on it. I doubt he'd get a free pass on it.

  On 4/1/2015 at 12:54 PM, brisk said:

 

  On 3/31/2015 at 4:20 PM, Alcofribas said:

the fixation on "delay settings" rather than music in these replies is some real cry-baby shit and indicates a lack of familiarity with basinski's catalogue. over the 20 or so albums he's put out the theme of variation is explored quite regularly. hell, even the disintegration loops contains 3 variations of the "dlp1." there are also albums of long-form works of piano loops and feedback that find themselves in miniature form on "melancholia." these two new albums seem to be a continuation of variations on a theme which is not only an artistic device found throughout basninski's work but is quite obviously found throughout the works of many artists.

 

i really don't see what the point is complaining about this. you're either down with billy b or not but it's not like this is some new low of laziness; the dude has always been interested in exploring how loops interact with each other through feedback systems and how the results can lead to subtle but completely unique experiences. while this might seem not "new" enough for some, this is minimalist music we're dealing with here wtf do you expect?

 

 

92982 already felt like a complete work to me. All the tracks on that album were great and the last tune was a recent reinterpretation/variation anyway wasn't it?

 

It just strikes me a little odd that 2 years later, he's returning to a loop he already released 6 years ago, when he probably has 30 years worth of material (not to mention newer stuff) he could work with. He can do whatever he pleases of course and I dig his stuff regardless. But just because he's William Basinski and it's minimalist music, it doesn't mean he can't be criticised for rather dubious releases like this one.

 

It'd be interesting to hear the reception if someone like Burial re-released Untrue with extra vinyl crackle and delay on it. I doubt he'd get a free pass on it.

 

imo the burial analogy is about as off point as if you were to suggest you'd be happy if basinski started making beats with woodblock and crackle since at least it would be "newer." i think a better analogy might come from the visual arts where variation is quite common. if you look at the works of mark rothko, frank stella, richard serra, andy warhol, francis bacon and countless others you can see what i think is a very comparable kind of repetition of themes, patterns, materials, colors, subjects, etc. i think this is more in line with the kind of approach basinski has and honestly, i really can't see anything "odd" about it in the least, certainly not anything that requires a "free pass."

you're obviously entitled to your opinion and i respect it; this particular forum is precisely the place to criticize music and hash out ideas but imo this particular line of criticism is like saying "omg, ANOTHER rothko that's just blurred rectangles! he already did that 2 years ago!"

i for one am really looking forward to immersing myself in a new basinski piece, regardless of the source material.

billy pls

I met William while he was in Hudson, NY last fall where he played Cascade in two arenas; Groundswell @ the Olana Viewshed and Second Ward (video from the New Yorker, I was laying down near the stage). He's a massive talent and has impressive vision; I felt largely welcomed and intimidated at the same time whilst in conversation with him.

Cascade felt oddly familiar and I didn't make the connection to 92982 until seeing this thread. Regardless of the material selected for The Deluge, fundamentally his catalog could in theory be mixed and overlaid to make new and interesting pieces. To be honest I think the use of the loop is better used in the new piece rather than the older work, those are just my ears. Cascade has the feel of Melancholia with the momentum of dlp, I'm a huge fan, but Nocturnes @ EMPAC will always be my fondest memory of Basinski.

  On 4/1/2015 at 4:50 PM, FLUXLINKAGES said:

I met William while he was in Hudson, NY last fall where he played Cascade in two arenas; Groundswell @ the Olana Viewshed and Second Ward (video from the New Yorker, I was laying down near the stage). He's a massive talent and has impressive vision; I felt largely welcomed and intimidated at the same time whilst in conversation with him.

 

Cascade felt oddly familiar and I didn't make the connection to 92982 until seeing this thread. Regardless of the material selected for The Deluge, fundamentally his catalog could in theory be mixed and overlaid to make new and interesting pieces. To be honest I think the use of the loop is better used in the new piece rather than the older work, those are just my ears. Cascade has the feel of Melancholia with the momentum of dlp, I'm a huge fan, but Nocturnes @ EMPAC will always be my fondest memory of Basinski.

nice. i like your idea about mixing and overlaying his catalog and totally agree.

Anyone know if Boomkat are going to have a pre-order for the white vinyl?

Basinski just tweeted that BBC Radio Lancashire will be premiering 'The Deluge' in about twenty minutes on the program 'On The Wire.'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/bbc_radio_lancashire#

Got this today, despite my earlier negativity.

Anyone who may be interested, the whole piece is not just the aforementioned piano loop. The last five minutes are a rather lovely, warm drone that slowly fades out. I was quite surprised to see this album suddenly morph into something else entirely near the end.

Just 'The Deluge' to get next month.

nice! looking forward to this.

quite a lovely little piece. i happened to listen to eno's "discreet music" just before this and it was a most agreeable pairing. i was reading while these played and they had similar effects in creating a mood that was both in the background but also permeated my attention on a number of levels. eno's work is more elusive with its altering note clusters and modulations of eq/volume. basinski's has a more immersive vibe where the repetitions are more constant but the movement of delay and distortion create subtle shifts in hue or tint of the musical color.

both records had this distinct effect on the space i was in and the soft rushes of traffic and the more distinct bird song from outside my window were integrated into the experience in a very strange and enjoyable way. i often enjoy this kind of music that somehow seems to incorporate ambient sound as though part of the piece itself. in this respect the finale of the basinski piece was quite surprising even though i was expecting it based on fumi's previous post. such a distinct atmosphere had been created that when a soft drone slowly emerged out of the silence it seemed to be coming from another world or something.

the pairing with "discreet music" also reminded me, apropos the previous discussion on this release, that eno released the exact same loop from "discreet music" on a different record ("evening star") under a different name ("wind on wind") which made the coupling of these two pieces even more interesting to me.

This is honestly amazing despite the fact that the loop has already been used. this time though, it sounds much different and the loop start and end points are ambiguous, creating the feeling of an endlessly evolving piece.

Think this was played a bit more straight forward on the previous release.

lol

  On 5/9/2015 at 12:37 AM, John Ehrlichman said:

"Tape Loop Master"

Finally playing this now. As ever it truly enriches the space in which it is played.

Gorgeous drone fade-out!