107-514: Trey Gunn (born December 13, 1960) is an American musician, known for being in the progressive rock band King Crimson from 1994 to 2003. He plays Warr Guitar and Chapman Stick instruments. A native Texan who now resides in New Mexico , Gunn began playing classical piano when he was 7. He has also played electric bass, electric and acoustic guitar, keyboards, and the touch guitar. He moved to Eugene, Oregon and played in punk bands while earning
214-479: A 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu brown belt in Santa Fe, NM. In 2003, Gunn founded the multi-media group Quodia with Joe Mendelson where he has contributed more vocals than in previous projects and less Warr guitar. In 2004, he and Pat Mastelotto started collaborating with Kimmo Pohjonen and Samuli Kosminen , forming KTU out of their respective duos, TU and Kluster . In 2012, he began working with Jerry Marotta in
321-410: A Simmons SDS-V electronic drum kit. The band's songs were shorter in comparison to previous King Crimson albums, and very much shaped by Belew's pop sensibilities and quirky approach to writing lyrics. Though the band's previous taste for improvisation was now tightly reined in, one instrumental ("The Sheltering Sky") emerged from group rehearsals; while the noisy, half-spoken/half-shouted "Indiscipline"
428-427: A "singing organist" to join a group they were forming. Fellow Dorset musician Robert Fripp – a guitarist who neither played organ nor sang – responded, and Giles, Giles and Fripp was born. The trio recorded several quirky singles and one eclectic album, The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp . They hovered on the edge of success, and even made a television appearance, but were never able to make
535-544: A Chapman Stick and later diverse types of Warr guitar. He was part of the "double trio" formation opposite Tony Levin. In 1997, King Crimson fragmented into smaller configurations known as the ProjeKcts . Gunn, along with Fripp, participated in all of the ProjeKcts performances and recordings. In 1999, the group mutated into a four-piece–Belew, Fripp, Gunn, and Mastelotto. He left Crimson after "The Power to Believe" tour in 2003. Over
642-827: A billing with Mastelotto/Gunn/Robert Fripp's ProjeKcts Three at the Electric Lounge. Plans for the quartet took shape over the next five years. KTU rehearsals and the World Premiere concert took place in Helsinki at the Nosturi club in April 2004, followed by four concerts in Tokyo; recordings from these shows comprise the debut record 8 Armed Monkey , released in 2005. Live concerts continued in 2005 with headlining festival appearances in Germany at
749-627: A collaborative project that toured the United States, Europe, and Japan . The band released The First Day and Damage –a live recording from the Royal Albert Hall in London. During that period, Gunn also recorded his first solo album One Thousand Years . In 1992 and 1993 with Fripp, Bert Lams, Hideyo Moriya, and Paul Richards , he toured and recorded as The Robert Fripp String Quintet. In 1994, Gunn joined King Crimson. With King Crimson he played
856-657: A comeback, varying from the practical to the whimsical: "I was becoming too happy. Time for a pointed stick." The new line-up drew from both the previous lineup (retaining Fripp, Levin, Harrison and Mastelotto) and the Scarcity of Miracles project (Jakszyk and Collins), with Guitar Craft alumnus and former R.E.M. / Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin as the seventh member. Adrian Belew was not asked to take part, thus ending his 32-year tenure in King Crimson: Jakszyk took his place as singer and second guitarist. This version of
963-415: A commercial breakthrough. Attempting to expand their sound, the three recruited Ian McDonald on keyboards, reeds and woodwinds. McDonald brought along two new participants: his then-girlfriend, former Fairport Convention singer Judy Dyble , whose brief tenure with the group ended when the two split, and lyricist, roadie, and art strategist Peter Sinfield , with whom he had been writing songs –
1070-551: A compilation of the band's shows Live at the Shepherds Bush Empire (London, 3 July 2000) and Live in Japan (Tokyo, 16 April 2003). In November 2003, Gunn left the group to pursue solo projects and was replaced by the returning Tony Levin. The band reconvened in early 2004 for rehearsals, but nothing developed from these sessions. They went on another hiatus. At this point, Fripp was publicly reassessing his desire to work within
1177-472: A creative peak on Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973), Starless and Bible Black (1974), and Red (1974). King Crimson disbanded at the end of 1974. After seven years of inactivity, King Crimson was recreated in 1981 with Fripp, Bruford and new members Adrian Belew and Tony Levin . Drawing influence from African music, gamelan , post-punk and New York minimalism , this band lasted three years, resulting in
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#17330936212901284-615: A degree in classical music composition at the University of Oregon . Next, he moved to New York City and began a professional career in music. For a while he was a student of Guitar Craft with founder Robert Fripp and appeared on several Robert Fripp as well as the League of Crafty Guitarists recordings. From 1988 to 1991, he toured playing a Chapman Stick in the UK and Europe, with Toyah Willcox , Robert Fripp, and Paul Beavis. At first he played under
1391-552: A drummer to replace McCulloch, Ian Wallace was secured. Fripp was re-energised by the addition of a new member, and he joined Collins and Wallace to audition singers and bassists. Vocalists who tried out included Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music and even one of the band's managers, John Gaydon . The position eventually went to Raymond "Boz" Burrell . John Wetton was invited to join on bass, but declined in order to join Family instead. Rick Kemp (later of Steeleye Span ) rehearsed with
1498-559: A large cult following , especially in the 21st century. Founded by Fripp, Michael Giles , Greg Lake , Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield , the band's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969), remains their most commercially successful and influential release. The next two albums, In the Wake of Poseidon and Lizard (both 1970), were recorded during a period of instability in
1605-518: A lot of older material that the band had done before the '80s. We didn’t actually cover that much of the '80s material outside of a few songs." For the most part, this approach would remain consistent for the remainder of the band's lifetime. In early 2014, and for the first time since 1974, the band's repertoire included songs from the run of albums between In The Court of the Crimson King and Larks' Tongues in Aspic as well as reviving song material from Red . No Adrian Belew-era songs were included in
1712-471: A new second drummer, Gavin Harrison . In August 2008, after a period of rehearsals, the five completed the band's 40th Anniversary Tour. The setlists featured no new material, drawing instead from the existing mid '70s era/ Discipline -era/Double Trio/Double Duo repertoire. Additional shows were planned for 2009, but were cancelled due to scheduling clashes with Belew. King Crimson began another hiatus after
1819-862: A partnership initiated when McDonald had said to Sinfield (regarding his band Creation), "Peter, I have to tell you that your band is hopeless, but you write some great words. Would you like to get together on a couple of songs?" Fripp, meanwhile, saw Clouds at the Marquee Club in London which spurred him to incorporate classically inspired melodies into his writing, and utilise improvisation to find new ideas. No longer interested in Peter Giles' more whimsical pop songs, Fripp recommended that his old friend, fellow guitarist and singer Greg Lake could join to replace either Peter or Fripp himself. Peter Giles later called it one of Fripp's "cute political moves". According to Michael Giles, his brother had become disillusioned with
1926-469: A quartet, called "The Double Duo", releasing The Construkction of Light (2000) and The Power to Believe (2003). After another hiatus, the band reformed for a 2008 tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of their 1968 formation, with Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree being added, and Levin returning in place of Gunn. Following another hiatus (2009–2012), during which Fripp was thought to be retired, King Crimson came together again in 2013, this time as
2033-399: A self-modified drum kit, assorted toys, a bullroarer , mbira , gongs, balloons, thunder sheet and chains. On stage, Muir also employed unpredictable, manic movements, bizarre clothing, and fake blood capsules (occasionally spit or applied to the head), becoming the sole example of such theatrical stage activity in the band's long history. The album reached No. 20 in the UK and No. 61 in
2140-526: A septet (and, later, octet) with an unusual three-drumkit frontline, and new singer and secondary guitarist Jakko Jakszyk . This version of King Crimson toured from 2014 to 2021. After the band's final show in 2021, Fripp commented that King Crimson had "moved from sound to silence." In August 1967, brothers Michael and Peter Giles , drummer and singer/bassist respectively and pro musicians in working bands since their mid-teens in Dorset , England, advertised for
2247-538: A set of lyrics before his involvement with Giles, Giles and Fripp. Sinfield insisted that the name wasn't Beelzebub , prince of demons, and that a "crimson king" was any ruler during whose reign there were "societal rumblings" and "sort of the dark forces of the world". According to Fripp, King Crimson is a synonym for Beelzebub , which is an anglicised form of the Arabic phrase "B'il Sabab", meaning "the man with an aim", to which he related. At this early point, McDonald
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#17330936212902354-512: A short tour supported by the Lounge Lizards . By October 1981, the band had opted to change their name to King Crimson. In 1981, King Crimson recorded Discipline with producer Rhett Davies who had previously worked with Belew on Talking Heads' Remain in Light and with Fripp on Brian Eno's Another Green World and Before and After Science . The album displayed a very different version of
2461-525: A softer approach, took lyrical inspiration from Homer 's Odyssey , musical inspiration from jazz players like Miles Davis and Ahmad Jamal , and a sun-drenched trip to Ibiza and Formentera . Islands featured the instrumental "Sailor's Tale", with a droning Mellotron and Fripp's banjo-inspired guitar solo; the raunchy blues-rocker "Ladies of the Road", a tribute to groupies which featured Wallace and Collins singing Beatles-esque backing vocals; and "Song of
2568-559: A studio record, with "The Great Deceiver", "Lament" and the second half of "The Night Watch" the only tracks recorded entirely in the studio. The album reached No. 28 in the UK and No. 64 in the US. Following the album's release, the band began to divide once more, this time over performance. Musically, Fripp found himself positioned between Bruford and Wetton, who played with such force and increasing volume that Fripp once compared them to "a flying brick wall", and Cross, whose amplified acoustic violin
2675-618: A suite which took up the entire second side, describing a medieval/mythological battle and its outcome. Released in December 1970, Lizard reached No. 29 in the UK and No. 113 in the US. Described retrospectively as an "outlier", the album had been made by a group in disagreement over method and taste. The more rhythm-and-blues-oriented Haskell and McCulloch both found the music difficult to relate to, and tedious and confusing to record. Collins disliked how his parts were composed, while both Fripp and Haskell detested Sinfield's lyrics. This lineup of
2782-505: A tour that Marotta didn't participate in, Fripp decided to ask the tour's drummer Pat Mastelotto , formerly of Mr. Mister , to join instead of Marotta. Bruford wound up being the last of the 1980s group to return to the band. Fripp explained that he had a vision of a "Double Trio" with two drummers while driving along the Chalke Valley one afternoon in 1992. Bruford later said he lobbied Fripp last minute because he believed that Crimson
2889-530: A voice changer under the pseudonym of "Hooter J. Johnson"), the songs were dense and complex. The album contains the fourth installment of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic". It received a negative reception for lacking new ideas. The band recorded an album of improvised instrumentals at the same time, and released them under the name ProjeKct X , on the CD Heaven and Earth . King Crimson toured to support both albums, including double bill shows with Tool . The tour
2996-417: A wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical , jazz , folk , heavy metal , gamelan , blues , industrial , electronic , experimental music and new wave . They exerted a strong influence on the early 1970s progressive rock movement, including on contemporaries such as Yes and Genesis , and continue to inspire subsequent generations of artists across multiple genres. The band has earned
3103-590: Is the only album where Fripp had no involvement in the original mixing; Davies and Belew undertook production duties. The album had a linked theme of the Beat Generation and its writings, reflected in song titles such as "Neal and Jack and Me" (inspired by Neal Cassady and Jack Kerouac ), " Heartbeat " (inspired by Carolyn Cassady 's "Heart Beat: My Life with Jack and Neal"), "The Howler" (inspired by Allen Ginsberg 's " Howl ") and "Waiting Man" (inspired by William Burroughs ). The album contained themes of life on
3210-543: The In the Court of the Crimson King (1969) box set. King Crimson spent 1970 in a state of flux with various lineup changes, thwarted tour plans, and difficulties in finding a satisfactory musical direction while Fripp was learning and developing as a songwriter during the writing process of the next three albums. As well as guitar, Fripp took on keyboard duties, while Sinfield expanded his creative role to operating synthesizers. Following McDonald and Giles' departure, Lake, unsure of
3317-447: The 40th Anniversary Tour. Belew continued to lobby for reviving the band, and discussed it with Fripp several times in 2009 and 2010. Among Belew's suggestions was a temporary reunion of the 1980s line-up for a thirtieth anniversary tour: an idea declined by both Fripp and Bruford, the latter commenting "I would be highly unlikely to try to recreate the same thing, a mission I fear destined to failure." In December 2010, Fripp wrote that
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3424-450: The Gulls", which was developed from an earlier Fripp instrumental ("Suite No. 1" from Giles, Giles & Fripp's 1968 album ), and would be the only time the band would utilize an orchestra. Burrell disliked Sinfield's lyrics and one of the band members allegedly called Islands as "an airy-fairy piece of shit". Released in December 1971, Islands charted at No. 30 in the UK and No. 76 in
3531-632: The Harmonic Choir and many more. He has released a number of solo albums, as Trey Gunn and as the leader of The Trey Gunn Band. Years of working with broad-necked instruments like the Warr guitar affected Gunn physically. He has had to seek less damaging playing methods expressing his art. As a result he has been playing the guitar in a horizontal position across his lap. He also has earned a black belt in Aikido from Bruce Bookman and practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu as
3638-671: The King Crimson "switch" had been set to "off" since October 2008, citing several reasons for this decision. In August 2012, Fripp announced his retirement from the music industry, leaving the future of King Crimson uncertain. Prior to Fripp's retirement announcement, a band called Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins (and subtitled "A King Crimson ProjeKct") had released an album called A Scarcity of Miracles in 2011. The band featured guitarist and singer Jakko Jakszyk (who'd previously performed King Crimson material with 21st Century Schizoid Band), Fripp and former Crimson saxophonist Mel Collins as
3745-460: The Road and in 2017 on the Sailors' Tales (1970–1972) box set. By this time, the musical rift between Fripp and the rest of the band had grown very wide. Wallace, Burrell and Collins favoured improvised blues and funk. Fripp would later describe the 1971–1972 lineup as more of a jam band than an "improvising" band, an opinion with which Wallace disagreed. Personal relations actually improved during
3852-523: The Thrush" ("The Power to Believe III"); tracks from their previous two EPs; and an extract from a Fripp Soundscape with added instrumentation and vocals. The Power to Believe reached No. 162 in the UK and No. 150 in the US. King Crimson toured in 2003 to support the album; recordings from it were used for the live album EleKtrik: Live in Japan . 2003 also saw the release of the DVD Eyes Wide Open ,
3959-777: The Thrush", followed by an unlisted track called "ProjeKct 12th and X" after one minute of silence. A second EP followed in October 2002, Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With . This featured eleven tracks (including a live version of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part IV"). Half of the tracks were processed vocal snippets by Belew, and the songs themselves varied between Soundscapes, gamelan, heavy metal and blues. The double duo lineup released King Crimson's thirteenth album, The Power to Believe , in March 2003. Fripp described it as "the culmination of three years of Crimsonising". The album incorporated, reworked and retitled versions of "Deception of
4066-400: The US. After a period of further touring, Muir departed in 1973, quitting the music industry altogether. Muir told King Crimson's management that he had decided a musician's life was not for him, and he had chosen to join a Scottish Buddhist monastery. He offered to serve a period of notice which the management declined. Instead of reiterating Muir's decision, the management informed the band and
4173-465: The US. Following a tour of the United States in December 1971, Fripp informed Sinfield that he could no longer work with him, and asked him to leave the band. In January 1972, the remaining band broke up acrimoniously in rehearsals, owing partially to Fripp's refusal to play a composition by Collins. He later cited this as "quality control", with the idea that King Crimson would perform the "right" kind of music. In order to fulfil touring contracts in
4280-576: The United States in 1972, King Crimson reformed with the intention of disbanding immediately after the tour. Recordings from various North American dates between January and February 1972 were released as Earthbound in June of that year. The album was noted for its playing style that occasionally veered towards funk , and Burrell's scat singing on the improvised pieces, but was criticised for its sub-par sound quality. Further, better-quality, live recordings from this era would be released in 2002 as Ladies of
4387-447: The album included the "other side", a collection of remixes and improvisational out-takes plus Levin's humorous song, "The King Crimson Barbershop". Three of a Perfect Pair peaked at No. 30 in the UK and No. 58 in the US, with " Three of a Perfect Pair " and " Sleepless " being released as singles. A VHS document of the Three of a Perfect Pair tour, Three of a Perfect Pair: Live in Japan ,
Trey Gunn - Misplaced Pages Continue
4494-415: The album reached No. 129 in the UK. Most of the pieces were metallic, harsh and industrial in sound. They featured a distinct electronic texture, a heavily processed electric drum sound from Mastelotto, Gunn taking over the bass role on Warr Guitar, and a different take on the interlocking guitar sound that the band had pioneered in the 1980s. With the exception of an industrial blues (sung by Belew through
4601-468: The album. Released on 6 October 1974, Red went to No. 45 in the UK and No. 66 in the US. AllMusic called it "an impressive achievement" for a group about to disband, with "intensely dynamic" musical chemistry between the band members. Two months before the release of Red , King Crimson's future looked bright (with talks regarding founder member Ian McDonald rejoining the group). However, Fripp wished not to tour as he felt increasingly disenchanted by
4708-551: The audience). Their big breakthrough came on 5 July 1969 by playing as a support act at the Rolling Stones ' free concert in Hyde Park, London before an estimated 500,000 people. The debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King , was released in October 1969 on Island Records . Fripp would later describe it as having been "an instant smash" and "New York's acid album of 1970" (notwithstanding Fripp and Giles' assertion that
4815-631: The band Circus) and jazz pianist Keith Tippett . Upon its release in May 1970, In the Wake of Poseidon reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 31 in the US. It received some criticism from those who thought it sounded too similar to their first album. With no set band to perform the new material, Fripp and Sinfield brought Mel Collins and Gordon Haskell on board (with Haskell doubling as lead vocalist and bassist and Collins quadrupling as saxophonist, flautist, occasional keyboard player, and backing vocalist), and Andy McCulloch joined as drummer. Fripp and Sinfield wrote
4922-457: The band did not survive much longer than the Lizard recording sessions. Haskell quit the band acrimoniously during initial tour rehearsals after refusing to sing live with distortion and electronic effects on his voice, and McCulloch departed soon after. With Sinfield not being a musician and Fripp having seemingly given up on the band, Collins was left to search for new members. After a search for
5029-501: The band never used psychedelic drugs). Who guitarist and composer Pete Townshend called the album "an uncanny masterpiece." The album contains Sinfield's gothic lyrics and its sound was described as having "dark and doom-laden visions". Its opening track " 21st Century Schizoid Man " was described as " proto-metal " and the song's lyrics criticise the military involvement of the United States in Southeast Asia . In contrast to
5136-628: The band project name "Fripp, Fripp" who by the second tour became Sunday All Over the World . They recorded and released an album in 1991 entitled Kneeling at the Shrine . In the same year and with the SAOTW lineup, he also played stick on the solo Toyah album Ophelia's Shadow , produced by Toyah who was to later guest on his album, The Third Star . In 1992, Gunn was asked to join David Sylvian and Robert Fripp in
5243-476: The band toured the US with various pop and rock acts. Their first show was at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont . While the band found success and critical acclaim, creative tensions were already developing. Giles and McDonald, still striving to cope with King Crimson's rapid success and the realities of touring life, became uneasy with their musical direction. Although he was neither the dominant composer nor
5350-570: The band until Emerson had completed remaining commitments with the Nice, at which point he left to form Emerson, Lake and Palmer . On the resulting In the Wake of Poseidon album, Lake provided all the lead vocals except on "Cadence and Cascade", as he left before he was able to complete this track. Fripp's old school friend Gordon Haskell was brought in to provide the vocal on the song. The sessions also included Michael and Peter Giles on drums and bass respectively, saxophonist Mel Collins (formerly of
5457-429: The band's future without them, began discussions with Keith Emerson of the Nice about possibly forming a new band together. With Fripp and Sinfield planning for recording the second King Crimson album, and Lake's position uncertain, the band's management booked Elton John to sing the material as a session musician, but Fripp decided against this idea after listening to his Empty Sky album. Lake agreed to stay with
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#17330936212905564-410: The band's lack of success and departed before Fripp suggested Lake to fill Peter Giles' position as bassist and singer. The first incarnation of King Crimson—Fripp, Michael Giles, Lake, McDonald and Sinfield—was formed on 30 November 1968 with rehearsals beginning on 13 January 1969. Sinfield coined the band's name in "a moment of pressured panic". Sinfield had already used the term "crimson king" in
5671-453: The band's line-up, before a settled line-up of Fripp, Sinfield, Mel Collins , Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace recorded Islands in 1971. In mid-1972, Fripp disbanded this line-up, recruited new members Bill Bruford (formerly of Yes ), John Wetton , David Cross and Jamie Muir , and changed the group's musical approach, drawing from European free improvisation and developing ever more complex compositions. The band reached what some saw as
5778-433: The band's poppier songs plus an instrumental – and the second half a "right side" – experimental work, improvisations that drew influence from industrial music, plus the third part of the "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" series of compositions. The stress during the writing process and the tension between the band members manifested in both lyrical content and music, and the result is a "nerve-racking" album. The 2001 remaster of
5885-439: The band, but declined the final offer to formally join. Fripp decided to teach Boz to play bass rather than continue the labored auditions. Though he had not played bass before, Burrell had played enough acoustic guitar to assist him in learning the instrument quickly. Wallace was able to further instruct Burrell in functioning on the instrument in a rhythm section. With a lineup now complete, King Crimson began touring in May 1971,
5992-476: The band, with newer influences including post-punk , new wave , funk, minimalism , pointillism , world music and African percussion. With a sound described in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide as having a "jaw-dropping technique" of "knottily rhythmic, harmonically demanding workouts". The title track "Discipline" was described as a postminimalist rock song. Fripp intended to create
6099-507: The blues-based hard rock of the contemporary British and American scenes, King Crimson presented a more Europeanised approach that blended antiquity and modernity. The band's music drew on a wide range of influences provided by all five group members. These elements included classical music, the psychedelic rock spearheaded by Jimi Hendrix , folk , jazz , military music (partially inspired by McDonald's stint as an army musician) and free improvisation . After playing shows across England,
6206-461: The course of a decade with the group, he participated in thirty-three King Crimson CDs, two DVDs, and hundreds of performances. He has also performed and recorded with a number of other musicians: Tool , Puscifer , Brian Eno , Robert Fripp , Sean Malone and Gordian Knot , David Sylvian , Vernon Reid , John Paul Jones , Eric Johnson , Jerry Marotta , Alice , Azam Ali , Matt Chamberlain , Michael Brook , Bill Rieflin , David Hykes of
6313-613: The double live CD set B'Boom: Live in Argentina in 1995. "The meaning of THRAK ... the first one is: a sudden and precise impact moving from direction and commitment in service of an aim ... The second definition is: 117 guitars almost hitting the same chord simultaneously. So, the album THRAK , what is it? 56 minutes and 37 seconds of songs and music about love, dying, redemption and mature guys who get erections." In October and December 1994, King Crimson recorded their eleventh studio album, THRAK . Formed mostly of revised versions of
6420-477: The first time Fripp would actively seek collaboration with another guitarist in a band and therefore indicative of Fripp's desire to create something unlike any of his previous work. After touring with Talking Heads , Belew agreed to join and also become the band's lyricist. Bruford's suggestion of his bassist Jeff Berlin was rejected as Fripp thought his playing was "too busy", so auditions were held in New York: on
6527-460: The first time they had played live since the original lineup's last show on 14 December 1969. The concerts were well received, but the musical differences between Fripp and the rest of the group, and the somewhat wilder lifestyles of Collins, Wallace and Burrell, alienated the drug-free Fripp, who began to withdraw socially from his bandmates, creating further tension. In 1971, the new King Crimson formation recorded Islands . Sinfield, who favoured
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#17330936212906634-493: The frontman, Fripp was very much the group's driving force and spokesman, leading them into progressively darker and more intense musical areas. McDonald and Giles, now favouring a lighter and more nuanced romantic style, became increasingly uncomfortable with their position and resigned after the conclusion of the US tour in January 1970. To keep the band together, Fripp offered to resign himself, but McDonald declared that King Crimson
6741-486: The group The Security Project . In addition to helping run the label 7d Media , he currently works as a solo artist, in film and television scoring, coaching artists in the creative process at Original Voice Coaching , and as a member of the group Tu-Ner with Pat Mastelotto and Markus Reuter . King Crimson King Crimson were an English-based progressive rock band formed in London in 1968. Led by guitarist Robert Fripp , they drew inspiration from
6848-404: The group and the music industry. He also felt the world was going to drastically change by 1981 and that he had to prepare for it. Despite a band meeting while touring the US in which Fripp expressed a desire to end the band, the group did not formally disband until 25 September 1974 and later Fripp announced that King Crimson had "ceased to exist" and was "completely over for ever and ever". It
6955-798: The group to continue developing ideas and searching for a new direction without the practical difficulty (and expense) of convening all six musicians at once. From 1997 to 1999, the first four ProjeKcts played live in the United States and the United Kingdom, and released recordings that showed a high degree of free improvisation, with influences ranging from jazz, industrial, techno and drum'n'bass . These have been collectively described by music critic J. D. Considine as "frequently astonishing" but lacking in melody. After Bruford had played four dates with Projekct One in December 1997, he left King Crimson to resume working with his own jazz group Earthworks . In October 1999, King Crimson reconvened. Tony Levin
7062-505: The group took on the nickname of "the Seven-Headed Beast". This drastically revamped King Crimson had no plans to record in the studio, focussing instead on playing "reconfigured" versions of past material in live concerts. Looking back later at this King Crimson phase, Tony Levin would comment "we were instructed/advised by Robert Fripp to look at the older classic King Crimson material as if we had written it. And so we did that with
7169-453: The interlocking guitars of the 1980s mixed with the layered, heavier feel of the 1970s period. There was also a vague influence from the industrial music of that time. Many of the songs were written or finalised by Belew, and displayed stronger elements of 1960s pop than before; in particular, a Beatles influence. Bruford would refer to the band as sounding like "a dissonant Shadows on steroids". As with previous lineups, new technology
7276-488: The late autumn of 1980, having spent several years on spiritual pursuits and then gradually returning to music (playing guitar for David Bowie , Peter Gabriel and Daryl Hall , pursuing an experimental solo career, leading instrumental new wave band The League of Gentlemen ), Fripp decided to form a new "first division" rock group, but had no intentions of it being King Crimson. Having recruited Bill Bruford as drummer, Fripp asked singer and guitarist Adrian Belew to join,
7383-537: The magus in the court of the Crimson King. This was going to be more than three chords and a pint of Guinness." The next incarnation of King Crimson was radically different from the previous configurations. Fripp's four new recruits were free-improvising percussionist Jamie Muir , drummer Bill Bruford , who left Yes at a commercial peak in their career in favour of the "darker" Crimson, bassist and vocalist John Wetton (who left Family ), and violinist, keyboardist and flautist David Cross , whom Fripp had met when he
7490-524: The main players/composers, with Tony Levin playing bass and Gavin Harrison playing drums. At one point, Fripp referred to the band as "P7" (ProjeKct Seven). Unusually for a ProjeKct, it was based around "finely crafted" and "mid-paced" original songs derived from improvised sessions. In September 2013, Fripp announced King Crimson's return to activity with a "very different reformation to what has gone before: seven players, four English and three American, with three drummers". He cited several reasons to make
7597-532: The more straightforward ballad "One Time", as well as "Radio I" and "Radio II"- a pair of Fripp's Soundscapes instrumentals. King Crimson resumed touring in 1995 and into 1996; dates from October and November 1995 were recorded and released on the live album THRaKaTTaK in May 1996, which is an hour of improvised music integrating sections from performances from the "THRAK" tour in the United States and Japan, mixed and arranged by Fripp's DGM partner, engineer David Singleton. A more conventional live recording from
7704-434: The music industry, often citing the unsympathetic aspects of the life of a touring musician, such as " the illusion of intimacy with celebrities ". On 21 September 2006, former King Crimson member Boz Burrell died of a heart attack, followed by another former member, Ian Wallace , who died of esophageal cancer on 22 February 2007. A new King Crimson formation was announced in 2007: Fripp, Belew, Levin, Mastelotto, and
7811-543: The music industry, turned his attention to the works of English mystic J.G. Bennett and had a spiritual experience in which "the top of my head blew off". Most of the album had been developed during live improvisations before Fripp retreated into himself and "withdrew his opinion", leaving Bruford and Wetton to direct the recording sessions. The album contains one live track, "Providence", recorded on 30 June 1974 with Cross playing violin. Several guest musicians (including former members Ian McDonald and Mel Collins) contributed to
7918-432: The musicians remained professional on stage. "Robert broke up the group, again, for the umpteenth time, dwelling at length, I suppose, on our lack of imagination, ability, direction and a thousand other things we were doubtless missing. I suppose this only because I remember not listening to this litany of failures. Might as well quit while you're ahead, I thought." Following the 1984 tour, Fripp dissolved King Crimson for
8025-412: The new music being developed by the band; Longstanding friction and disagreements between himself and Bruford led to the latter deciding to leave King Crimson for good. The resulting bad atmosphere and the lack of workable material almost broke the band up altogether. Instead, the six members opted to work in four smaller groups (or "fraKctalisations", as Fripp called them) known as ProjeKcts . This enabled
8132-419: The offer, though the two collaborated as Sylvian/Fripp. In June 1993, Fripp began to assemble a larger version of the band, joined by Belew and Levin from the 1980s quartet, Chapman Stick player Trey Gunn (a veteran of Fripp's Guitar Craft courses ) and drummer Jerry Marotta , with whom Fripp had played with Peter Gabriel . After Sylvian/Fripp's closing concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in December 1993,
8239-524: The original Crimson thus: "If it sounded at all popular, it was out. So it had to be complicated, it had to be more expansive chords, it had to have strange influences. If it sounded, like, too simple, we'd make it more complicated, we'd play it in 7/8 or 5/8, just to show off". King Crimson's first live performance was at the Speakeasy Club in London on 9 April 1969 (with Yes guitarist Peter Banks among
8346-503: The period was later made available as the double CD release Vrooom Vrooom (2001), while a full 1995 concert was released on VHS in 1996 as Live in Japan and re-released on DVD in 1999 as Déjà Vrooom . The double trio would be further honored by the THRAK (1994–1997) box set in 2015. Writing rehearsals began in May 1997 in Nashville, Tennessee . Fripp was dissatisfied with the quality of
8453-403: The primary home for Fripp's work, with larger album releases distributed to bigger record companies (initially Virgin records ), and smaller releases handled by DGM. This afforded Fripp and his associates greater creative freedom and more control over all aspects of their work. In late 1991, Fripp asked former Japan singer David Sylvian to join the new King Crimson band, but Sylvian declined
8560-479: The project Uniko , together with Kronos Quartet . Percussionist Pat Mastelotto and touch guitarist Trey Gunn have enjoyed successful careers with the band King Crimson . The two met at Peter Gabriel 's Real World Studios before touring with David Sylvian & Robert Fripp . As the duo TU, they have released one studio album. Seeds for KTU took root at SXSW in Austin, Texas in March 1999, when Pohjonen shared
8667-425: The public that Muir had sustained an onstage injury caused by a gong landing on his foot. With Muir gone, the remaining members reconvened in January 1974 to produce Starless and Bible Black , released in March 1974, which earned them a positive Rolling Stone review. Though most of the album was recorded live during the band's late 1973 tour, the recordings were carefully edited and overdubbed to sound like
8774-452: The road, existential angst and romanticism. While Beat was more accessible, it had the improvised "Requiem", which featured Frippertronics , a guitar technique invented by Brian Eno and Robert Fripp using a tape loop system. Recording Beat was faced with tension with Belew suffering high stress levels over his duties as front man, lead singer, and principal songwriter. On one occasion, he clashed with Fripp and ordered him out of
8881-464: The same show was also released on VHS as The High Road ). The VHS was later re-released as part of the Neal and Jack and Me DVD in 2004. King Crimson's next album, Three of a Perfect Pair , was recorded in 1983 and released in March 1984. Having encountered difficulty in both writing and determining a direction for the album, the band chose to record and call the album's first half a "left side" – four of
8988-593: The second time, exactly ten years after dissolving the previous group. Bruford and Belew expressed some frustration over this; Belew recalled the first he had heard of the split was when he read about it in a report in Musician magazine. In the summer of 1991, Belew met with Fripp in England to express an interest in reviving King Crimson. One year later, Fripp established his Discipline Global Mobile (DGM) record label with producer David Singleton . Subsequently, DGM would be
9095-1032: The setlist, although some instrumentals from the period were played (including items from THRAK and The Power to Believe ). At the same time, two brand new songs mainly written by Fripp and Jakszyk ("Meltdown" and "Suitable Grounds for the Blues") were debuted at live concerts. KTU (band) KTU (pronounced K2) is a Finnish-American progressive / experimental musical supergroup . In 2004, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto started collaborating with Kimmo Pohjonen and Samuli Kosminen , forming KTU out of their respective duos TU and Kluster. Pohjonen and Kosminen formed Kluster in 2001. Both award-winning musicians are known as adventurers in their respective fields and their partnership takes accordion music to new and unexplored territory. On stage, Kosminen reproduces samples of Pohjonen's accordion and voice percussively by way of electronic drum pads. Samuli also drums with Icelandic band Múm , and other recent Kluster collaborations include
9202-580: The sound of a "rock gamelan ", with an interlocking rhythmic quality to the paired guitars that he found similar to Indonesian gamelan ensembles. Fripp concentrated on playing complex picked arpeggios, while Belew provided an arsenal of guitar sounds that "often mimic animal noises". In addition to bass guitar, Levin used the Chapman Stick , a ten-string two-handed tapping , hybrid guitar and bass instrument which he played in an "utterly original style". Bruford experimented with cymbal-less acoustic kits and
9309-626: The studio. As Beat reached No. 39 in the UK and No. 52 in the US, King Crimson resumed touring. "Heartbeat" was released as a single which peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Around this time the band released the VHS The Noise: Live in Frejus , a document of a show played at the Arena, Frejus , France on 27 August 1982, co-headlining with Roxy Music (whose set from
9416-555: The tapes rendered some of Cross' playing inaudible, so Eddie Jobson of Roxy Music was hired to perform violin and keyboard overdubs in a studio; further edits were also made to allow the music to fit on a single LP. More live recordings from the 1972–1974 era would be issued as The Night Watch in 1997, and as part of the box sets The Great Deceiver (1992), Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1972–1973) (2012), The Road to Red (1974) , and Starless (1973–1974) (both 2014). Between 1975 and 1981, King Crimson were completely inactive. In
9523-646: The third album, Lizard , themselves – with Haskell, Collins and McCulloch having no say in the direction of the material. In addition to the core band, several session musicians contributed to the Lizard recording, including the returning Keith Tippett, who was offered to be a member of the new lineup, but due to other commitments preferred to continue working with the band as an occasional guest musician, and two members of Tippett's band, Mark Charig on cornet , and Nick Evans on trombone . Robin Miller (on oboe and cor anglais ) also appeared, while Jon Anderson of Yes
9630-657: The third day, Fripp left after roughly three auditions, only to return several hours later with Tony Levin (who got the job after playing a single chorus of "Red"). Fripp later confessed that, had he known that Levin (whom Fripp had played with in Peter Gabriel 's group) was available and interested, he would have selected him without holding auditions. Fripp named the new quartet Discipline, and they went to England to rehearse and write new material. They made their live debut at Moles Club in Bath, Somerset on 30 April 1981, and completed
9737-541: The tour to the point where most of the band decided to continue on, however Fripp opted to part company with the other three, restructuring King Crimson with new musicians, as he felt the other members wouldn't be fully engaged in the musical direction he had in mind. "It was going to be an interesting ride when ... I wasn't given a setlist when I joined the band, more a reading list. Ouspensky , J. G. Bennett , Gurdjieff and Castaneda were all hot. Wicca , personality changes, low-level magic, pyromancy – all this from
9844-478: The tracks from Vrooom , plus new tracks, the album was described by Q magazine as having "jazz-scented rock structures, characterised by noisy, angular, exquisite guitar interplay" and an "athletic, ever-inventive rhythm section," while being in tune with the sound of alternative rock of the mid-1990s. Examples of the band's efforts to integrate their multiple elements could be heard on the accessible (but complex) songs "Dinosaur" and " Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream ",
9951-410: The trio of albums Discipline (1981), Beat (1982) and Three of a Perfect Pair (1984). Following a decade-long hiatus, they reformed in 1994, adding Pat Mastelotto and Trey Gunn for a sextet line-up Fripp called "The Double Trio". The double trio participated in another three-year cycle of activity that included the album Thrak (1995). Fripp, Belew, Mastelotto and Gunn reunited in 2000 as
10058-577: Was "more (him) than them" and that he and Giles should therefore be the ones to leave. McDonald later said he "was probably not emotionally mature enough to handle it" and made a "rash decision to leave without consulting anyone". The original lineup played their last show at the Fillmore West in San Francisco on 14 December 1969, a little over one year after forming. Live recordings of the band from 1969 were released in 1997 on Epitaph and in 2010 on
10165-462: Was a partially written, part-improvised piece created in order to give Bruford a chance to escape from the strict rhythmic demands of the rest of the album. Released in September 1981, Discipline reached No. 41 in the UK and No. 45 in the US. In June 1982, King Crimson followed Discipline with Beat , the first King Crimson album recorded with the same band lineup as the album preceding it. Beat
10272-462: Was brought in to sing a section of the album's title track, "Prince Rupert Awakes", which Fripp and Sinfield considered to be outside Haskell's natural range and style. Lizard featured stronger jazz and chamber-classical influences than previous albums. The album contains Sinfield's " phantasmagorical " lyrics, including "Happy Family" (an allegory of the break-up of the Beatles ), and the title track,
10379-457: Was busy working as a session musician and decided to take a hiatus from the group, so the remaining members (Fripp, Belew, Gunn and Mastelotto) formed the "Double Duo" to write and record The Construkction of Light in Belew's basement studio and garage near Nashville . Fripp was inspired by Tool's album Undertow during the writing process of The Construkction of Light . Released in May 2000,
10486-467: Was consistently being drowned out by the rhythm section, leading him to concentrate more on Mellotron and an overdriven electric piano. An increasingly frustrated Cross began to withdraw both musically and personally, with the result being that he was voted out of the group following the band's 1974 tour of Europe and America. In July 1974, Fripp, Bruford, and Wetton began recording Red . Before recording began, Fripp, now increasingly disillusioned with
10593-520: Was documented on the live album Heavy ConstruKction in 2000 and the Heaven & Earth (1997–2008) box set in 2019. Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and his band supported Crimson on some live shows. On 9 November 2001, King Crimson released a limited edition live EP called Level Five , featuring three new pieces: "Dangerous Curves", "Level Five" and "Virtuous Circle", plus versions of "The Construkction of Light" and ProjeKct's "The Deception of
10700-408: Was invited to a rehearsal of Waves, a band Cross was working in. Most of the musical compositions were collaborations between Fripp and Wetton, who each composed segments independently and fitted together those which they found compatible. With Sinfield gone, the band recruited Wetton's friend Richard Palmer-James (from the original Supertramp ) as their new lyricist. Unlike Sinfield, Palmer-James
10807-427: Was later revealed that Fripp had attempted to replace himself with McDonald and Steve Hackett of Genesis , but this idea was rejected by the managers. Following the band's disbanding, the live album USA was released in May 1975, formed of recordings from their 1974 North American tour. It received some positive reviews, including "a must" for fans of the band and "insanity you're better off having". Issues with
10914-649: Was not an official member of King Crimson, playing no part in artistic decisions, visual ideas, or sonic directions; his sole contributions to the group were his lyrics, sent via mail from his home in Germany. Following a period of rehearsals, King Crimson resumed touring on 13 October 1972 at the Zoom Club in Frankfurt , with the band's penchant for improvisation (and Muir's startling stage presence) gaining them renewed press attention. In January and February 1973, King Crimson recorded Larks' Tongues in Aspic in London which
11021-617: Was released later in 1984 (and later also included on the Neal and Jack and Me DVD). The last concert of the Three of a Perfect Pair tour, at the Spectrum in Montreal, Canada on 11 July 1984, was recorded and released in 1998 as Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal . Further live recordings of the 1980s band would be released in 2016 as part of the On (and off) The Road (1981–1984) box set. Despite their conflict,
11128-402: Was released that March. The band's new sound was exemplified by the album's two-part title track – a significant change from what King Crimson had done before, the piece emphasised the sharp instrumental interplay of the band, and drew influence from modern classical music, noisy free improv, and even heavy metal riffing. The record displayed Muir's unusual approach to percussion, which included
11235-477: Was the primary composer, with vital contributions from Fripp and Lake, while Sinfield wrote all the lyrics on his own, and also designed and operated the band's unique stage lighting, being credited with "words and illumination" on the album sleeve. Inspired by the Moody Blues , McDonald suggested the group purchase a Mellotron keyboard, and this became a key component of the early Crimson sound. Sinfield described
11342-467: Was utilised, including MIDI (extensively used as an effects filter by Belew and Gunn, and which Fripp used to replace Frippertronics with an upgraded digital version of itself called "Soundscapes") and the versatile Warr tap guitar with which Gunn replaced his Stick in 1995. King Crimson toured the album from 28 September 1994 in Buenos Aires , Argentina ; portions of these concerts were released on
11449-514: Was very much "his gig", and that Fripp had come up with a philosophical explanation for utilizing both Mastelotto and himself later. One of the conditions Fripp imposed upon Bruford if he were to return was to give up all creative control to Fripp. Following rehearsals in Woodstock, New York , the group released the EP Vrooom in October 1994. This revealed the new King Crimson sound, which featured
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