5 Facts About William Basinski’s The Disintegration Loops

Basinski recorded the loops between August and September 2001. The project was completed on the morning of September 11.

He witnessed the collapse of the World Trade Center from his Brooklyn apartment. The events of that day became inseparable from the music.

The album consists of decaying tape loops. Basinski let old magnetic tape degrade as it played, capturing its slow deterioration.

The loops were originally intended for a different project. He repurposed them after realizing their haunting quality.

The Disintegration Loops is often considered a memorial to 9/11. Its themes of loss and decay resonate with that day’s tragedy.