[rayword45]

Day 30: Melancholia by William Basinski (Album Choice: Choofers/ExExZero7497)

I'm splitting these 2 albums by the same artist into 2 different days. I barely have any haven't fucking connection or battery in the center of a New Hampshire state park. So let's describe now. William Basinski is an ambient music producer who focused mostly on tape manipulation. His best known work is The Disintegration Loops, a four-part ambient work. I was told to NOT listen to those because that actually requires a ton of focus. The two albums I'm going to review (in brief) are Melancholia and Nocturnes, in that order based on requests. This first one, Melancholia, is 14 tracks with no real names, just Melancholia (Rome numeral track number). I'm guessing each track is meant as a movement and this is one longass composition. It also has the lamest cover artwork I've ever seen, if that constitutes as artwork.

Wow, my mind was in a different world or something because I failed to write word for the first track. Better start. II and III are very similar and flow right into each other. VII is my choice of highlight, the simple repeating piano melody is quite haunting. VIII is also seemingly empty, with the sinister, windy noise and lo-fi tape crackle. Actually, most track are ambient windy noise and light piano. Scratch what I said about any particular highlight, that was bullshit. There isn't much to write track-by-track. Each track stands as an individual soundscape, with very minimalistic piano or cello. This entire paragraph was as useless as Paris Hilton's career.

So, how to describe this album? I don't listen to ambient of this style much. When I think of far more accessible ambient like Boards of Canada, I think of dying VCRs, early computers, and the pornographic films they sample. When I think of [b]Aphex Twin[b]'s ambient work, I think of vastly overrated garbage (not his later work though!). This album features a very icy, barren sound, akin to melting glaciers or snowy winter woodlands. The title is definitely fitting, this is a melancholy work. It also may come off as repetitive, though I found even the longer tracks didn't become tiresome. Longer being relative since the next album I'm going to listen could technically constitute as a single. I'll wait for tomorrow to decide my conclusive opinion on this album. By all means though, this is one chilling, airy listen, with great tape manipulation. It's extremely melancholy though, I need to listen to some upbeat music now.