scissoring

I was trying to recall when I first heard William Basinski’s music, and I can’t fucking remember, at all. I know it had to be sometime in the mid 2000s; I’m going to guess between 2005 and 2006. I don’t think I was capable of fully understanding what Basinski was or his importance back then. I didn’t really have a real lust for the ambient realm of music quite yet. I appreciated the music, absolutely, like that of Eno, Fennesz, and Tim Hecker or Stars Of The Lid. I was a true fan, however, it just wasn’t something I wanted to approach that often.

Truthfully, at that point, I was much more, mentally, in line with the aggression, nihilism, and fuck-it-burn-it-all-down tendencies of artists like Hair Police, Wolf Eyes, Prurient, early Black Dice, John Wiese, etc. Heavy, bleak noise. I was mentally fucking gone at that point in my life… I recall seeing peoples’ faces twisted and deformed, while walking through a college campus. I didn’t sleep much then, and when I did, terrible fucking nightmares, maaaaan.

But fuck that, anyway… Basinski. Shit. I honestly don’t think anyone has been more inspirational, musically, or had such an influence on my particular “art” or direction in the past 4-5 years than William Basinski. Tonight, I believe I full-hearted decided that if I were to be trapped on a desert island with the music of one individual; it would have to be Basinski… Sorry Mark Kozelek. I still love you too, though.