For my exquisite corpse audio project, I aim to create a piece inspired by William Basinski’s renowned Disintegration Loops. While I understand that we are discouraged from using loops in this project, my approach will diverge from Basinski's method. I plan to incorporate a similar sense of progressive destruction as the track unfolds, exploring themes of decay and transformation without relying on actually looping the same sound or collection of sounds and gradually “destroying” it.
William Basinski, a contemporary American composer, crafted the Disintegration Loops in the aftermath of 9/11, using the music as a response to the horror and tragedy of that time. The tracks consist of simple loops that Basinski played on repeat, recording them as they gradually fell apart. This process creates a haunting soundscape where listeners can hear the tapes’ gradual atrophy, which invokes the sense of national grief that resonated with me even though I was not alive during that tragic period. I want to capture that same sentiment of gradual decay or "disintegration" that Basinski's work does so successfully. Reflecting on the inevitability of decay and the beauty that can emerge from destruction, his work created an auditory experience that invites contemplation and emotional connection.
Personally audio is not my wheelhouse, but the disintegration loops give me something to aim towards creating with this project, so I'm interested to see where and how it goes. Below I have attached one of his recordings, dlp 1.1.
