# William Basinski — dlp 1.1

William Basinski’s dlp 1.1 (2002) is No. 3 in our Ambient ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 2002
- **Label:** 2062
- **On one list:** Ambient
- **Updated:** 2026-08-28
- **Artist:** [William Basinski](https://waxonia.com/artist/william-basinski/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/william-basinski--dlp-1-1/

## What we say

### No. 3 in [Ambient](https://waxonia.com/genre/ambient/)

A tape loop physically disintegrating as it plays, recorded once and never repeatable. The concept would be a gimmick if the decay were not so genuinely devastating to sit through.

## Analysis

12 sections, no single moment the energy jumps to, 10% of it spent climbing.

- **Tempo:** 123 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** F major
- **Dynamic range:** 11.7 dB — wide open — the quiet parts are genuinely quiet
- **Length:** 63:36

- `0:00` A · **intro** (bar -2), instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: other
- `0:15` A · **peak** (bar 5), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: other
- `7:01` A · **steady** (bar 213), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: other
- `15:26` A · **steady** (bar 472), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: other
- `25:49` A · **steady** (bar 791), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: other
- `33:18` A · **steady** (bar 1021), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: other
- `39:21` A · **steady** (bar 1208), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: other
- `42:21` A · **build** (bar 1300), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: other
- `48:41` B · **steady** (bar 1495), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: other
- `53:34` B · **lift** (bar 1645), instrumental — a short rise that does not resolve — a fill or a transition, not a build — playing: other
- `61:00` B · **breakdown** (bar 1873), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: other
- `61:59` B · **outro** (bar 1904), instrumental — the closing fall

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/William%20Basinski%20dlp%201.1) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=juH-dWmfcVM)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.