William Basinski has officially announced a new album and an accompanying 2024 tour, set to take place this fall. The album, titled September 23rd, is scheduled for release on September 27 via Temporary Residence Ltd., despite the title’s suggestion of an earlier date. In addition, Basinski has released a new track from the album, “September 23rd (Excerpt 1).”
This forthcoming album marks the beginning of Basinski’s intriguing Arcadia Archive series, an ongoing collection focused on the exploration and recovery of his artistic work. The recordings were originally made in September 1982 in his first loft located in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood. The album is based on a piano piece Basinski created during his high school years, which has since evolved into a more complex creation.
“The original piano recordings were made on a piano belonging to my downstairs neighbor, John Epperson, known later as world-renowned drag artist, Lypsinka,” Basinski shares. “Using a small portable cassette deck, I recorded my improvisations of a piece I had been developing since high school. Although the initial results were not great, applying the John Giorno/William Burroughs cut-up technique transformed the work. It led to remarkable outcomes through the Frippertronics loop and feedback system. It was a highly productive era for a young artist in NYC.”
Basinski will feature this new piece alongside other works during his upcoming Arcadia Archive Tour, with performances scheduled in four major cities—San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and New York. The tour will also include appearances at notable events such as the Vancouver International Film Festival and a Plantasia show in Chicago. Below is a complete list of his tour dates.
In 2022, Basinski collaborated with Janek Schaefer on the album …On Reflection. His previous solo work, Lamentations, was released in 2020, the same year he revived his project Sparkle Division to create To Feel Embraced. He also released the archival piece The Clocktower at the Beach last year.
Upcoming performances include:
09-05 Chicago, IL – Garfield Park Conservatory
09-13 San Francisco, CA – Grace Cathedral
09-20 Seattle, WA – Seattle First Baptist Church
09-21 Portland, OR – First Congregational UCC Church
10-02 Vancouver, BC – Vancouver International Film Festival
10-17 Los Angeles, CA – The Nimoy
11-01 New York, NY – Church of the Heavenly Rest
11-02 Austin, TX – Levitation 2024
