William Basinski is the most rock and roll artist in the history of avant garde music. We caught up with him and composer Maxim Moston at Primavera Sound 2024, where Basinski was performing his classic album Disintegration Tapes live, for which Moston wrote the orchestral transcription. We spoke about everything from the wisdom of aging to how on earth you transcribe vinyl crackle. Line Noise is with the support of Cupra. Picture by Cecilia Diaz Betz.

Line Noise Episode 173 (William Basinski and Maxim Moston)

A tape loop I made which has a solemn but determined tone.

Forging path forward

LINE_157

A decade is a long pause… how the world has changed since…

Longtime friends and collaborators, iconic ambient composer William Basinski and sound artist/composer Richard Chartier return to LINE with 'Aurora Terminalis', their first new work together since 2015’s ‘Divertissement’ LP (Important Records, US).

From an unexpected sudden burst of sound jaggedly spiraling outward, the tumult fades and shockwaves slide into lulling haze of a melody. Background nuance—nearly imperceptible—and foreground romanticism ripple near each others’ edges. Then, rhythmic and liquid, an erratic drifting over a clouded void... an 'un-still' life... a slow tracing.

'Aurora Terminalis'… a fading gauzy signal for a finality.

Basinski and Chartier have previously released two collaborative works on LINE; Aurora Liminalis (2013) and Untitled 1-3 (2008, an expanded reissue of 'Untitled' originally on Spekk, Japan, 2004), as well as the archival Bandcamp exclusive 'Something from the Pink House' a live improvisation recorded in 2004.

William Basinski's archival album 'The Clocktower at the Beach (1979)' was released on LINE in 2023.

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composed & recorded by Basinski & Chartier 2024

William Basinski: Voyetra 8 + loops
Richard Chartier: electronics, field recordings, processing, mixing

Mastered by Lawrence English at Negative Space

cover image: detail of 'Glass Eye', 2024 by James Elaine (acrylic and house paints, razor cuts on canvas, 62 in x 92 in)

© 2025 LINE

William Basinski published by Musex International (BMI)
Richard Chartier published by Touch Music/Fairwood Music UK Ltd

Aurora Terminalis

Aurora Terminalis (excerpt 1)

major to minor to major

pulses and toms

square saws

Aurora Terminalis (excerpt 2)

Ambient / drone / experimental track using static pulses and textural soundscapes.
#ambient #drone #electronic #soundscape #experimental #minimal #lofi #atmospheric #meditationmusic #cinematic #headphonemusic #darkambient

Despite the second name, this was created by a human—an attempt to capture the current surreal and at times distant emotional experience of being a musician in a world increasingly filled with creatively competent artificial intelligence.

Performed on electric guitar, shaped entirely through analog effects pedals and a volume pedal, without MIDI or sequencers. The piece uses a non-traditional metronome: a repeating pulse of static. I then cut parts of the audio to create a grid of a static beat.

There are no strong transient peaks—just evolving textures that blur the line between rhythm and tone.

The composition unfolds in three slow-moving phases:

A beginning grounded by static pulse

A middle section that subtly lifts in texture and pace

An ending that dissolves into layered, minimal ambience. 

If you connect with artists like Grouper, William Basinski, Fennesz, or Oneohtrix Point Never, you might feel something here.

 Also considered were projects like Harmony Cloak, Poisonify - others like those discussed in Benn Jordans, "The Art of Poison Pilling Music Files" found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMYm2d9bmEA. This manifests in the use a non traditional metronome of static noise. 

No strong transient peaks to distinguish a pulse from texture. A slow-moving composition in three phases. Begins with a static pulse, evolving into deeper textures and eventually dissolving into layered, minimal ambience. 

The full piece tempo feels like it moves from ~72 to ~82 BPM, as the beat is there and yet not there. 

Slow-burning ambient track built around evolving textures, layered static, and minimal drone elements. This experimental composition blends ambient electronic sounds with a steady pulse in the opening, gradually transitioning into atmospheric soundscapes and immersive sonic environments.

Perfect for deep focus, meditation, late-night listening, or cinematic background sound. Influenced by ambient, drone, lo-fi, and post-electronic aesthetics.

If you like artists like Tim Hecker, Fennesz, Grouper, William Basinski, or Oneohtrix Point Never, you might connect with this.

#ambient #drone #electronic #soundscape #experimental #minimal #lofi #atmospheric #meditationmusic #cinematic #headphonemusic #darkambient

Project 2 - 11:30:24 5.18 PM (The Artificial Technology Song)

Tracks to restore and unwind 
Focusing on higher frequencies, etheral sounds 

Sorry for punctual volume technical issues

Upstairs frequencies

Prod. SUNNY PAFH

Mastered by Peach Fields 

RIP Randall Moyer

One man band. 
J. Hammond.
Ontario Canada.

(:

residency season 2025 : hosting show 'heal resist enjoy' (hrj) with @romdawg9 at @trnstnradio in Fribourg, Switzerland

Just two people becoming the persons we were meant to become.

A podcast about electronic music by Ben Cardew. Formerly home to Braqueberry and Philip Sherburne. Picking at the threads of electronic music. Now available on Radio Primavera Sound (primaverasound.com/en/radio). We also have a Substack: https://linenoise.substack.com/

https://www.instagram.com/peachfields_/profilecard/?igsh=dDRhMm5qODNwN3Ez

Richard Chartier (b.1971) is a Los Angeles based artist, considered one of the key figures in minimalist sound art. Chartier’s works explore the inter-relationships between the spatial nature of sound, silence, focus, perception, and the act of listening itself. Chartier’'s sound works/installations have been presented in galleries and museums internationally and he has performed his work live across Europe, Japan, Australia, and North America at digital art/electronic music festivals and exhibits. In 2000 he formed the recording label LINE and has since curated its continuing documentation of compositional and installation work by international sound artists/composers exploring the aesthetics of contemporary and digital minimalism.

He is also Pinkcourtesyphone.

New tracks tagged #william basinski