by Ljubinko Zivkovic (@zivljub)
“ . . . on reflection “, the new collaborative album by William Basinski and Janek Schaefer, two modern classic/post-ambient music masters, bears the subtitle “for Harold Budd”. Budd, the late legend of such music himself, seems to have always had two well known sayings on his mind, “repetition is the mother of learning” and “the devil is in the details”.
These are the maxims Basinski and Schaefer abide by here. Picking up on piano passages recorded anywhere between 2014 and 2022, the duo try to explore how weaving and reweaving of passages can at the same time, create repetition, but how minute details and small changes can make a big difference in sound. They couple it with subtle field recordings that add an intricate touch of reality to the proceedings.
While the music here sounds like it was prepared instantly in the studio, it turns out it was a long distance collaboration between London and Los Angeles, and as the duo puts it, in the eight years it took to complete the music presented here, “our collective perception of time has at times become disorienting.”
Using both repetition and minute details here on five “ on reflection “ pieces, Basinski and Schaefer build the album as one piece in seven installments, or if you will, as one thought, remembrance, and look forward at the same time, that just might be shifting in different directions as it progresses. One main thread of thinking turned into music permeates all seven pieces or parts of the main thought, slowly shifting, sometimes in minor detail, but constantly building up, then reducing and repeating the process to crystalize that main idea or thought. It could be about the past, the future, or exactly where we are now.
Actually, it is probably all of those, as reflecting on the past and now is always a foundation to build up something that is forthcoming. Maybe that is one of the reasons “ . . . on reflection " acquires that timeless quality many modern classical/post-ambient albums and artists try to achieve but rarely get close to.