Country : United States Label : Temporary Residence Ltd. Genres and styles : Ambient / Avant-Garde Year : 2020

Lamentations

· by Steve Naud

In 2004, the Canadian film The Saddest Music in the World featured musicians from around the world competing in a contest to crown the creator of the saddest work. There is no doubt that if such a competition really existed, American composer William Basinski would be the one to beat. Although the Houston-born artist is known for his impersonal and decorative music, he has succeeded in creating ambient music that can bring tears to your eyes. 

More than just an atmosphere designer, Basinski knows how to give his music its own signature sound. Fans will find themselves on charted ground with these Lamentations. Especially since their author uses the same process that made him famous with his 2002 release Disintegration Loops, once again using analog tapes on which are engraved works he recorded in the past – the oldest dating back to 1979. Basinski manipulates these old tapes as he sees fit, drawing elements from them which he plays in loops and superimposes, generating an auditory palimpsest in which fuzzy melodic forms move beneath layers of drones and reverberation.

With Lamentations, Basinski demonstrates that he’s far from having exhausted the resources of his art and gives birth to one of the most touching albums of his career. The black waves that roll over “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, the opening track of the record, break into foam on the heart of the listener, who risks being swept away by so much melancholy. Fortunately, a human song emerges from the waves on three of the pieces on the programme. These siren voices rising above the dark tide will offer comfort to the souls who venture into these dismal waters. In this world of ours, which is losing its bearings, this record is a buoy to hold on to. 

Latest 360 Content

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Wet Leg – moisturizer

Wet Leg – moisturizer

Sister Ray – Believer

Sister Ray – Believer

Festival de Lanaudière | Franco Fagioli and the voice of bel canto

Festival de Lanaudière | Franco Fagioli and the voice of bel canto

Nuits d’Afrique | Manamba Kanté, An Undeniable Diva

Nuits d’Afrique | Manamba Kanté, An Undeniable Diva

Nuits d’Afrique | El Gato Negro, A Feline Like No Other

Nuits d’Afrique | El Gato Negro, A Feline Like No Other

Nights of Africa 2025 | A gnawa fusion reactor named Saïd Mesnaoui

Nights of Africa 2025 | A gnawa fusion reactor named Saïd Mesnaoui

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sousou and Maher Cissoko: benevolence and complicity

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sousou and Maher Cissoko: benevolence and complicity

Nuits d’Afrique | Las Karamba And Their Militant Salsa

Nuits d’Afrique | Las Karamba And Their Militant Salsa

Women shine at the Quebec City Opera Festival

Women shine at the Quebec City Opera Festival

Festival de Lanaudière | A Successful Choral Evening for Akamus

Festival de Lanaudière | A Successful Choral Evening for Akamus

Subscribe to our newsletter