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Listening Report – William Basinski: The Disintergration Loops 2

William Basinski’s “The Disintergration Loops 2” was released in 2014. As the title says, the composition contains a continuous repetition of a tape in its’ state of decay.

The tape used for this composition contains a harmonic and comfortable ambience for the listener, caused by a steady flow of sounds without any major changes or additions to the composition. The only change that can be noticed throughout the composition is the decay of the tape which seems to increase with every loop and therefore gets more noticeable for the listener. For me as a listener, the decay also serves as a rhythm or beat for the composition which remained in the background in the beginning but gets pushed into the foreground with an increase of its’ decay.

The knowledge about the decay can also influence the listener and their interpretation of the composition. For me as a listener, the feeling of a peaceful death without pain was put into the foreground, due to the combination of the knowledge about the decay of the audiotape and the harmonious sound as a representative for peace and the absence of pain. Therefore, the composition has a melancholic, yet peaceful undertone for me.

Especially towards the end, the interpretation of a peaceful death without pain changes, due to the fading sounds played by the audio tape. The feeling of a tragic death emerges with the tape struggling to stay alive and win the fight of life which it loses eventually.


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