Everything about Robert Fripp totally explained
Robert Fripp (born
16 May 1946 in
Wimborne Minster,
Dorset,
England) is a
guitarist,
composer and a
record producer, perhaps best known for being the guitarist for, and only constant member of, the
progressive rock band
King Crimson. His work, spanning five decades, encompasses a variety of musical styles. He is married to
Toyah Willcox. Fripp was ranked 42nd on
Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" (published
August 2003).
Biography
Early career
Fripp's earliest professional work began in 1967, when he responded to an ad looking for a singing organist for a band being formed by bassist
Peter Giles and drummer
Michael Giles, despite being neither a singer nor an organist. Though unsuccessful as a live act,
Giles, Giles and Fripp did manage to release two singles, as well as an album,
The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp.
Early King Crimson
Following the band's breakup, Fripp, along with drummer Michael Giles, made plans for the formation of King Crimson in 1968, with
Greg Lake,
Peter Sinfield and
Ian McDonald. Their first album,
In the Court of the Crimson King, was released in late
1969, to mixed critical reviews. Due to musical differences with Giles and McDonald, King Crimson broke up shortly after the release of the first album, to be re-formed again several times over the years. Initially, Fripp had offered to leave the group; however Giles and McDonald felt that King Crimson was his. To date, Robert Fripp has remained the only consistent member of the band. Crimson went through a number of line-ups before Fripp disbanded the group for the first time in 1974.
Side projects and collaborations
During King Crimson's less active periods, Fripp has pursued a number of side-projects. He worked with
Keith Tippett (and others who appeared on King Crimson records) on projects far from rock music, producing
Septober Energy in 1971 and
Ovary Lodge in 1973. During this period he also worked with
Van der Graaf Generator, playing on the 1970 album
H to He, Who Am the Only One, and in 1971, on
Pawn Hearts. Collaborating with
Brian Eno, he recorded
No Pussyfooting in 1972 and
Evening Star in 1974. These two albums featured experimentation with several novel musical techniques, including a
tape delay system utilizing dual reel to reel Revox tape machines that would come to play a central role in Fripp's later work. This system came to be known as "
Frippertronics". Fripp and Eno also played several live shows in Europe in 1975.
Fripp spent some time away from the music industry in the later 1970s, during which he cultivated an interest in the teachings of
Gurdjieff via
J.G. Bennett (studies which would later be influential in his work with
Guitar Craft). He returned to musical work as a studio guitarist on
Peter Gabriel's first
self-titled album in 1976, released the following year. Fripp toured with Gabriel to support the album, but remained in the wings and used the pseudonym "Dusty Rhodes".
In 1977, Fripp received a phone call from Eno, who was working on
David Bowie's album
"Heroes". Fripp agreed to play guitar for the album, a move which initiated a series of collaborations with other musicians. Fripp soon contributed his musical and production talents to Peter Gabriel's
second album, and collaborated with
Daryl Hall on
Sacred Songs. During this period, Fripp began working on solo material, with contributions from poet/lyricist
Joanna Walton and several other musicians, including Eno, Gabriel, and Hall, as well as
Peter Hammill,
Jerry Marotta,
Phil Collins,
Tony Levin and
Terre Roche. This material eventually became his first solo album,
Exposure, released in 1979, followed by the
Frippertronics tour in the same year. While living in New York, Fripp contributed to albums and live performances by
Blondie and
Talking Heads (
Fear of Music), and produced
The Roches' first album, which featured several of Fripp's characteristic guitar solos. A second set of creative sessions with
David Bowie produced distinctive guitar parts on
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980).
Fripp's collaboration with bassist
Busta Jones, drummer
Paul Duskin, and vocals by
David Byrne (Byrne credited as Absalm el Habib) produced
God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manners in the following year. He simultaneously assembled what he called a "second-division touring new wave instrumental dance band" under the name
League of Gentlemen, with bassist
Sara Lee, keyboardist
Barry Andrews and drummer
Johnny Toobad (later replaced by Kevin Wilkinson) . The LOG toured for the duration of 1980.
In the early and mid 1990s Fripp contributed guitar/soundscapes to
Lifeforms (1994) by
The Future Sound of London and
Cydonia (released 2001) by
The Orb, as well as
FFWD, a collaborative effort with the latter's members. In addition, Fripp worked with Brian Eno co-writing and supplying guitar to two tracks for a CD-ROM project released in 1994 entitled
Headcandy created by Chris Juul and Doug Jipson. Eno thought the visual aspects of the disc (video feedback effects) were very disappointing upon completion, and regretted participation. During this period, Fripp also contributed to albums by
No-Man (a band featuring
Porcupine Tree's
Steven Wilson) and
The Beloved (1994's
Flowermouth and 1996's X, respectively).
King Crimson again
1981 saw the formation of King Crimson's fourth incarnation, along with
Adrian Belew,
Bill Bruford, and
Tony Levin. The group was conceptualized under the name "Discipline," but it came to Fripp's attention that the members thought the name King Crimson was more appropriate. For Fripp, King Crimson had always been a way of doing things, rather than a particular group of musicians, and the group felt that their music captured that methodology. After releasing three albums, this new King Crimson broke up in 1984.
During this period Fripp made two records with his old friend
Andy Summers of
the Police. On
I Advance Masked, Fripp and Summers played all the instruments.
Bewitched was more dominated by Summers, who produced the record and collaborated with other musicians in addition to Fripp.
In 1982 Fripp produced and played guitar on the
Keep On Doing album by
The Roches. Similar to his previous guesting on
David Bowie's
Scary Monsters (which also boasted
Pete Townshend and
Chuck Hammer on infinite sustain guitar), the "skysaw" guitar style which characterized this period of Fripp's pedagogy is featured alongside the sisters' songs and harmony.
Guitar Craft
Fripp was offered a teaching position at the
American Society for Continuous Education (ASCE) in Claymont Court,
West Virginia in 1984. He had been involved with the ASCE since 1978, eventually serving on its board of directors, and had long been considering the idea of teaching guitar. His course,
Guitar Craft, was begun in 1985, one of the results of which was a performance group, "
The League of Crafty Guitarists," which has released several albums. In 1986, he released the first of two collaborations with his wife,
Toyah Willcox. The members of the
California Guitar Trio are former members of The League of Crafty Guitarists, and
Gitbox Rebellion includes several former Guitar Craft students. The California Guitar Trio has also toured with King Crimson.
Soundscapes
Fripp returned to recording solo in 1994, using an updated version of the Frippertronics technique that employed digital technology instead of tapes to create loops. Fripp released a number of records that he called "
Soundscapes," including
1999,
Radiophonics,
A Blessing of Tears,
That Which Passes,
November Suite, and
The Gates of Paradise. (
Pie Jesu consists of material compiled from
A Blessing of Tears and
The Gates of Paradise.) On the Soundscapes recordings, the inner workings of the music are not as clearly laid bare as they're on
Let the Power Fall, perhaps due to the greater possibilities offered by the new technology.
Sylvian / Fripp
Fripp's collaborations with
David Sylvian feature some of his most exuberant guitar playing. Fripp contributed to Sylvian's twenty minute track "Steel Cathedrals" from his
Alchemy - An Index Of Possibilities album of 1985. Then Fripp performed on several tracks from Sylvian's 1986 release,
Gone To Earth.
At some point in late 1991, Fripp had asked Sylvian to become the vocalist for the reforming King Crimson. Sylvian declined the invitation, but proposed a possible collaboration between the two that would eventually become a tour of Japan and Italy in the spring of 1992.
In July of 1993, Sylvian and Fripp released the collaborative effort
The First Day. Other contributors were soon-to-be King Crimson member
Trey Gunn on
stick and nearly-was King Crimson member Jerry Marotta on drums. When the group toured to promote the CD, future King Crimson member
Pat Mastelotto took over the drumming spot. The live document
Damage was released in 1994, as was the joint venture,
Redemption - Approaching Silence, which featured Sylvian's ambient sound sculptures (Approaching Silence) accompanying Fripp reading his own text (Redemption).
King Crimson redux
In late 1994, Fripp re-formed the 1981 lineup of King Crimson for its fifth incarnation, adding
Trey Gunn and drummer
Pat Mastelotto in a configuration known as the "double trio". This lineup released
Thrak in 1995; also in 1994 he supplied guitar textures on the track
Flak on
The Future Sound of London's album
Lifeforms
From 1997 to 1999, and again in 2006, the band King Crimson "fraKctalised" into five sub-groups known as .
2000 saw the release of a studio album,
The ConstruKction of Light, from a sixth lineup of King Crimson (Fripp,
Adrian Belew,
Trey Gunn,
Pat Mastelotto) with
The Power to Believe following in 2003.
In March of 2004, a seventh lineup had been formulated and practiced with
Tony Levin returning to replace
Trey Gunn. In 2007
Gavin Harrison joined the group but this permutation of King Crimson has yet to release an album or perform live.
Recent work
During
2004, Fripp toured with
Joe Satriani and
Steve Vai as the guitar trio
G3.
Robert Fripp worked at
Microsoft's studios to record new sounds and atmospheres for
Windows Vista.
In late 2005 and early 2006, Fripp joined
Bill Rieflin's improvisational Slow Music project, along with guitarist
Peter Buck, Fred Chalenor (acoustic bass),
Matt Chamberlain (drum kit) and
Hector Zazou (electronics). This collective of musicians toured the west coast in May of 2006.
In October 2006, ProjeKct Six (Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew) played at select venues on the east coast of the U.S.
(External Link
), opening for
Porcupine Tree.
Fripp has contributed soundscapes to two songs for
Porcupine Tree's
Fear of a Blank Planet. He is featured on the tracks "Way Out Of Here" and "Nil Recurring", the second of which was released in September 2007 as part of the "Nil Recurring" EP.
The newest King Crimson lineup began rehearsing in March of 2008, with several live shows planned for August and a more in-depth "return to active duty" planned for 2009.
Guitar technique
Fripp began playing guitar at the age of eleven. He says he was
tone deaf with no sense of rhythm when he started. His comment on dealing with the obstacle is "Music so wishes to be heard that it sometimes calls on unlikely characters to give it voice".
Being taught guitar basics by his teacher Don Strike, it was the time when he developed the technique of
crosspicking, which would later become a significant technique taught in Guitar Craft.
In 1984, Fripp began using the
New Standard Tuning, which would also become the official tuning of Guitar Craft.
Fripp is left-handed, but plays a right-handed guitar.
Discography
Further Information
Get more info on 'Robert Fripp'.
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