#4117: Signal-To-Noise: The Sounds of Decay

Listen to the sounds of deterioration and decay as the sound is transformed into something else for this episode. Hear Brooklyn composer William Basinski and a portion of his mammoth work, “Disintegration Loops” – a project based on very old tape loops from the 1980’s. The tape itself was disintegrating, and tape gunk would come off on the playback head, but Basinski allowed the loops to play continuously while he recorded them digitally, capturing the process of the music’s demise. 

Also, hear an array of textures in this electronic work by Scott Herren, aka Prefuse73 off 'Sacrifices' whose title invokes William Basinski – “Basinskitarian.” The Prefuse 73 Bandcamp page details the music as “akin to watching an old photograph deteriorate in one’s hands, as otherwise dense beats disintegrate into airy expanses of emotionally resonant electronics.” There’s also music by Brooklyn composer and multimedia artist, Grant Cutler, whose work “Drowning” is – (according to a press release) like listening to a sun-faded cassette tape of the Solaris soundtrack remixed by William Basinski.

Then, hear Alvin Lucier's 1969 piece "I Am Sitting In A Room." Lucier actually uses a room's natural resonance to produce the music over time as the initial utterance decays. Plus, listen to another work embracing deterioration by Annie Gosfield, where musicians are instructed to imitate the sound of a 78 RPM record that has been played too many times and beginning to show its wear.

(Note: Both the Lucier work and the Basinski work are in the John Schaefer radio edits for this show, since the pieces’ full run-times would take up nearly two entire programs.)

PROGRAM #4117: signal-to-noise: the sounds of decay  (First aired 5/22/2018)

ARTIST: Robert Fripp & Brian Eno
WORK: Wind on Water [1:00]
RECORDING: The Essential Fripp & Eno
SOURCE: Caroline #1886
INFO: Available at Amazon.com 

ARTIST: William Basinski
WORK: Disintegration Loops dp 1.1 [1:00]
RECORDING: Disintegration Loops
SOURCE:  TRR194CD box set 
INFO: mmlxii.com

ARTIST: Alvin Lucier
WORK: I Am Sitting In A Room, (the John Schaefer radio edit) [1:00]
RECORDING: I Am Sitting in a Room
SOURCE: Lovely Music, #1013
INFO: lovely.com

ARTIST: Prefuse 73
WORK: Basinskitarian [3:35]
RECORDING: Sacrifices
SOURCE: prefuse73.bandcamp.com
INFO: Due out May 25, 2018

ARTIST: William Basinski
WORK: Disintegration Loops dp 1.1 [13:16]
RECORDING: Disintegration Loops
SOURCE:  TRR194CD box set 
INFO: mmlxii.com

ARTIST: Grant Cutler
WORK: Drowning [5:37]
RECORDING: Self Portrait
SOURCE: Innova 961 
INFO: innova.mu

ARTIST: Alvin Lucier
WORK: I Am Sitting In A Room, (the John Schaefer radio edit) [15:25]
RECORDING: I Am Sitting in a Room
SOURCE: Lovely Music, #1013
INFO: lovely.com

ARTIST: Annie Gosfield
WORK: Cranks and Cactus Needles [6:07]
RECORDING: Almost Truths and Open Deceptions
SOURCE: Tzadik Records 8088
INFO: tzadik.com