Well here’s a scoop for the Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts (or ACCA amongst friends). As part of a vibrant spring season they’ve managed to lure William Basinski, the renowned experimental composer and sound artist for a rare UK performance at the Sussex Uni venue.

Beginning with classical clarinet then onto studying jazz saxophone at the University of Texas, Basinski was set on a different path by the late 70s, exploring the possibilities opened up by minimal and electronic music. Since then he has become one of America’s most significant contemporary avant-garde musicians, a creator of profound soundscapes from tape loops and other ageing analogue sources.

‘The Disintegration Loops’ (released between 2001 and 2004) is often cited as Basinski’s pivotal work, a four-volume, dark ambient masterpiece that emerged into the post 9/11 world and captured the raw emotion of those years. However, as a composer he has never relied on plaudits, always looking to extend his immersive, melancholy music in allied areas of film and sound installation.

In concert William Basinski seeks to unfold a similar deeply ethereal experience for his audience lifted further by his charismatic presence, often in shades and shiny suit for extra surreal pizazz. Frequently transforming, always transfixing, it’s a performance not to be side-stepped.

And if that’s not convincing enough, support at the ACCA show will come from Penelope Trappes, the Brighton-based experimental musician and vocalist. With a series of acclaimed releases on Houndstooth, Trappes has developed a distinct voice within the ambient arena, steeped in sung atmospherics and cavernous electronic dynamism. You can listen to Penelope Trappes music here.

Arriving early recommended…

Get your tickets for William Basinski with support from Penelope Trappes here 
Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts, Friday 10th March 2023, 7.30pm