Lav's Music Corner

The Clocktower At The Beach - William Basinski When it comes to ambient music, with the exception of Brian Eno it doesn't get any more legendary than William Basinski. The tape loop god is responsible for one of my favorite albums of all time The Disintegration Loops  which when combined with its three sequels have collectively soundtracked some of the most thorough dissociations of my entire life. But William Basinski isn't a one trick pony and his return to those droning impressions on 2017's A Shadow In Time  was a welcome one, as was it's much more difficult to pin down follow-up In Time Out Of Time  a few years later. But the real crown jewel of Basinski's recent output is 2020's Lamentations , whose haunting darkness came served with a Caretaker-esque nostalgia that still enthralls me from start to finish. That flirtatiousness with nostalgia returns on this 42-minute archival piece that has sat unreleased since 1979. I've expressed interest in the past...

William Basinski is an experimental and ambient music composer who has been working out of New York for over three decades. He is most well known for his  Disintegration Loops  series of short loops played on repeat while being stretched and distorted. Since 2013 Basinski has entered a particularly prolific period of releases with many distinct styles and collaborators, alongside remasters and re-releases of older work.  Review By Lavender: While I think it should be absolutely essential that all serious music fans familiarize themselves with The Disintegration Loops  there is plenty that William's greater discography offers. 2017's A Shadow In Time  brought a greater spotlight back onto Basinski and his music and he has released a number of projects since then but Lamentations  with it's trio of singles felt like the most major rollout since. Turns out it was for good reason because Lamentations  is definitely my favorite thing William has d...

Many of the best pop records of all time will click instantly. Michael Jackson's Thriller , Madonna's Like A Prayer  and The Beach Boys Pet Sounds  are full of buttery smooth songwriting that is easy to understand and delicious on the ears, and they all deserve the acclaim they collect. These next ten records relish in their difficulty and craft compositions and concepts that push the boundaries for music and as a result, can be tough on their first listens. These albums may be jarring and confusing at first but sticking with them will provide some of the most rewarding musical experiences of all time. 10. Xiu Xiu - Forget (2017) Xiu Xiu have a long history of making music that can turn your average listener away, but  Forget  is not only one of their best records, but one of their hardest to fully engage with. Frontman Jamie Stewart can turn from whispering devilishly into your ear to screaming his brains out from a distant and if his erratic but brilliant p...

William Basinski is an experimental, avant-garde music composer who has released a plethora of solo projects and collaborations surrounding ambient and experimental soundscapes. He is most well known for The Disintegration Tapes I-IV, a brilliant series of lopped ambient tracks that are deteriorating as they loop. This creates the brilliant artificial feeling of slowly slipping away and losing control that was otherwise untapped in electronic and ambient music.  Review By Lavender: If you know me there is a good chance you've had to physically stop me from telling you everything I know about The Disintegration Loops . Basinski's masterpiece series are among my favorite experimental music pieces of all time. The physical destruction of the tapes, the album cover and its relationship to 9/11, its brilliant anniversary release, the unknown origin of the original tapes. Everything surrounding the tapes is brilliant and helps make them what they are, but listening t...