The ConstruKction of FraKctured - from the diaries of Robert Fripp

Thursday 20th. April, 2000

10.58
This morning's reading was abbreviated to give more time for practising guitar: "Fractured" is hovering & exerting its terrifying influence.

Monday 1st. May, 2000

19.34
That's it for today's rehearsals: better than we had hoped. There were also some classic Crim moments: the expression on Trey's face as he looked towards Pat, hopefully, for some clue or faint indication as to where he might be (TCOL); Pat's face in "FraKctured" as terror erupted in the running lines.

Tuesday 2nd. May, 2000

11.35
The Rhythm Buddies have arrived. John is kneeling in front of the Lunar Module: this is not an act of obeisance, I believe, more an attempt to get it responding to some command. Sounds now emerge from a guitarist I recognise as (the formerly Baldy) Belew, struggling to merit a place in King Crimson. I shall join shortly and audition for the role of second guitarist. Oh no! it's the shots from "FraKctured" to begin the day!

18.21
Two days in and we're begin to vibrate. And dribble. And sweat. Our approach is to paint in broad strokes, to get an overview, and then move in to the details. "FraKctured" is terrifying, but we're getting better at picking up when we fall apart. And, on stage, there are going to be some impressive pile ups with this one.

Wednesday 3rd. May, 2000

The team arrived around 11.30 and the full Beast began pulling disturbing errors from the air around 13.00 - always new notes to be discovered and played in unlikely places. Terror of the day: the fast shots in "FraKctured". But mostly the new repertoire is falling into place. We began with TCOL: bouncing & moving forwards: a treat. And Adrian's solo on "Larks' IV" is astonishing.

Thursday 4th. May, 2000
21.37
During today's playing King Crimson came to visit. Simply, the musicians playing became King Crimson. I nearly wept.

We are examining the parts from the album & changing them where translation to live performance makes the point clearer. Today, notably on "FraKctured". When recording began, the aim was to reproduce live performance. Now, 100 years later, live performance (mainly) aims to reproduce recorded performance.

Sunday 14th. May, 2000

10.23
We may not be perfect, but we may know perfection.

Any practice with set external standards, eg a martial art, or playing a musical instrument, presents a standard against which we measure ourselves. When, suddenly, we slip through the invisible barrier between our practising and our practice, we find ourselves in a place where "this is what it is": not so much, we are playing well as we are the playing; or, we are the movement; or we are the gesture. This "taste" is now available to us as our own internal standard.

13.27
We are rehearsing beginning at 15.00. This is preparing us for a time change: from working in the day to working at night. In other fields this is referred to as anti-social hours.

Yesterday we began around 20.15: there is a frightening amount of technology whose assistance is to be encouraged. The perversity of material objects is not something we want right now. Pat particularly is operating in uncharted territory. Our ears are learning to accommodate the increase in schizophonia and sense of separation from the other members.

This morning, for my personal preparation, I've been listening to pieces from TCOL & "Dinosaur" from THRAK. The solo on "Dinosaur" was giving me difficulties: then my motor memory triggered another memory - the solo was played using different equipment, which enabled a swift shifting of octaves by simply throwing a guitar switch. I'd been trying to play this up an octave: no wonder my fingers didn't enjoin a visceral remembrance of the solo.

23.28
Incremental advances. And dinner with Vic Garbarini & Katie Dombroski during our break.
KC continues to discover new variables, aka mistakes. "FraKctured" is not only a minefield, each player functions as an encourager for the others to fall over. I'm not sure we are playing this any better, but we are getting much better at emerging from the cacophonous mess into which we regularly collapse.

The reviews of TCOL on the Guestbook & in ET cover a fairly wide spectrum of responses, mostly favourable. But if the album isn't welcomed on these two sites - hey! - it won't be welcomed anywhere. Here's one example from ET:

Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 03:07:13 -0400
From: "Timothy W Cox"
Subject: TCOL

Yo! dude, you is the groover, I say to Timothy. Responses from myself to these, and other, commentaries :

1. It's not possible to judge the new incarnation of King Crimson the group, rather than the album, from listening to TCOL on its own. A reviewer (professional or not) will have to hear ProjeKct X and TCOL back-to-back to form an impression. And even then, this will be a view of the group in a recording studio rather than live act.

Historically, KC studio albums have favoured Dr. Jekyll: Mr. Hyde came out to play at shows. KC & PX present both personas on different CDs released (almost) simultaneously.

2. TCOL is primarily composed. ProjeKct X is primarily improvised.

There are six different creative strategies (plus an invisible seventh). Composition & improvisation are two of these six. Composition is the strategy where we order musical materials, to establish what is possible. Improvisation is the strategy where we make room for the impossible. In any full, complete & rich process, all six strategies will be involved. This is rarely the case in practice: individuals generally tend to be limited to one or two basic strategic functions.

3. If I wish to draw upon my personal musical vocabulary (which began to speak to me in 1971) I am not prepared to censor myself. I no longer feel governed or directed by the dictates of fashion or current taste. This is partly a function of maturation.

For example, in 1981 (after the punk explosion) it was impossible to talk publicly in the dialect & argot of 1972/4. This was:

i. A function of fashion, and a generational reaction to the excesses of the prior generation.

ii. A function of music. In 1969 KC & other rock groups of that generation felt able to draw upon the European tonal harmonic tradition ("classical" music). After 1976 world musics became more freely available. This musical influence mainly "replaced" the European influence in 1981-84 Crimson.

Now, after 31 years KC, has its own identity regardless of the mainstream & current fave raves. So, for my contribution to material on TCOL, I gave myself permission to access & use any musical materials or vocabulary which sounded right & felt convincing. This (as above) is distinct from 1981 (constructing "Discipline") where I censored my vocabulary of 1971-74; and 1994 ("THRAK") where I censored the vocabulary of 1981-84 (such as the interlocking guitar lines).

On TCOL, where an idea lead, I followed.

4. I'm not sure that I have to rationalise this, and certainly not justify it. But if I were to present a basement answer to the question: "Why `FracKtured'?" it might be this:

i. I'd like to play Fracture again, but it's not a piece for this Crimson. It's Crimson historical repertoire, and good repertoire, but it's part of the lives of other people, in another country & another period.

ii. I read enthusiast feedback on how much enthusiasts would like to hear "Fracture" live.

iii. If Crimson did play it again, Pat, Trey & Adrian would have to learn the parts of Bill, John & David. That wouldn't work, for several reasons. Like, they were not involved in the process of that music coming into the world. We have an entirely different relationship with a piece if we were a "parent" to it. And "Fracture" requires more than purely professional skills to make it live.

iv. I have some reservations with the piece. If I were going to rewrite or rearrange it, I'd probably begin again.

v. If I did begin again, what would it sound like?

vi. Another approach: addressing the same musical intent today, & speaking with my own voice, working with these people in this incarnation, what might happen? One answer to that is "FraKctured". It's not "Fracture", but it is close family.

vii. Similarly, "Larks' IV". This band is not going to play "Larks' II", which was written for other people at another time. But, if I were to address the same issues under the conditions of present time, place and person, what would happen?

5. So, we are looking at a third creative strategy here: renewal.

The musical identity, "tradition" or "way of doing things" is given - King Crimson! - and this is one way, within that tradition, of keeping the creative process moving. The externals may sometimes seem familiar, recognisable, and even appear to be the same, but the inside is fresh.

The physical incarnation is also renewed, kind of, certainly from the last KC quartet formation (1984). And it's also not yet quite born - delivery is anticipated in one week's time. This KC incarnation is essentially a rock group. It hasn't been quite like this since 1974. The rock power then was John, the rock power now is Pat.

6. Please remember that we're making this up as we go along. We don't know how this group will be or sound live, although I'm beginning to get a sense: it's KC as rock group. Not avant garde, fusion, prog, reformation classic rock, or improv. A rock group: the King Crimson rock group. But that's only today, on the basis of 10 days' rehearsals.

If anyone is wondering about coming to a live KC show, and knows precisely & exactly what they want, or expect, KC to be (especially given the high price of tickets) don't come. Two of the reasons I was hoping for lower ticket prices: for the undecided to take a chance, & to encourage young, innocent & under-earning ears.

If you expect / want a radically new KC which sounds utterly unlike anything you've heard before; or a Crim which sounds very much something you've heard before; save your money. If you don't like TCOL, you probably won't like us. Wait until you read reviews or feedback on the net - these will begin in 8 days time - and then consider your position. But only come if you are prepared to get engaged. Can I get clearer than that?

18.08
Adrian fell asleep this afternoon, after our lunchtime work. So the Rhythm Buddies got grooving, P3 swung into action and then practised the terrifying parts of "FraKctured". It remains terrifying.

Monday 15th. May, 2000

King Crimson is pulling together, as well as discovering new ways of pulling apart. Our recoveries are getting better. Let's face it, we have enough opportunities to discover how. Trey has bought a rubber band bass. This is one of the silliest instruments I've ever seen - T. Lev also used one. It sounds as great as it looks silly. Adrian has put two cabinets in front of him for facial thrust. Pat throws out occasional samples in incongruous places; like a voice (Adrian's) which shouts "Bum!" in unlikely places. I've put up an octave two of the fast running lines in "FraKctured" which were getting lost in the lower register.

Saturday 20th. May, 2000

00.06
Well, as Pat said before the gig, twenty nine to go. My comment in the pre-stage fistication was this: "Mistakes will be made". And "FraKctured" was the impressive train wreck which I have been promising. Also impressive were the recoveries, and the acceptance of mistakes being made with good humour, without judgement. The group enjoyed themselves.

Adrian was superb. I noticed a change in his relationship with the group today: I won't say more about this, at least for a while, until I see this commented upon by others. Trey's playing on "The Deception Of The Thrush" was exceptional; Pat a hero throughout. I tried hard to keep up with, and didn't always succeed.

George was being kind to the audience yesterday: there were very little people at the soundcheck / dress rehearsal - Belew & Gunn little people. George pulled the volume back for them. We learnt from yesterday: repositioned Adrian's extension speakers, recalibrated monitors, a new set list from Adrian.

BootlegTV were filming the show.

The audience were superb & supportive, and all that one could ask for.

My Sister was a force of nature at the merchandising table. I took her water, to say hello: "I don't need water - I need fives. Here's a hundred". We were brought up in trade, you see.

Sunday 21st. May, 2000

00.13
The Lunar Module seized on a double wind harp programme just before the spraying lines of burning terror in "FraKctured". Well, we stopped, rebooted the rig & picked up where we left off.

The audience were substantially the same as last night (60%?) and my Sister was working her magic at the merchadising table. When it comes to selling stuff which my Sister believes in, she does not wait for the world to discover their merits.

How was it? The second step in any staged process is the weakest. So, there wasn't quite the tension or edge of last night - you don't lose your virginity twice, and the word "premier" doesn't mean "every night" - but we played more accurately. Beforehand Trey & I discussed how much to throw away accuracy & go for it, which happened quite often. We could also serve Crim Chowder from the clams tonight, including one terrific piece of horror from me (which hasn't yet been discovered & I'm keeping quiet for now).

BootlegTV were filming again tonight, this time from stage left.

23.36
The first show was violated somehow: I was making mistakes that I didn't need to make. The heart of the performance was dying. Then I knew: we were being bootlegged.

The second show was good, high energy. Ade & I found mistakes in the "easy" parts of "FraKctured" but the "difficult" parts were more straightforward. A salad was waiting for me in the dressing room for the first time so, rather than run away quickly, I eat it hiding in the shower, with the shower curtain closed, to shield myself from backstage visitors seeking to attract my attention.

My Sister functioned as a warm up for the show. She is as outward going as I am inward going. I love my Sister.

Thursday 1st. June, 2000

00.53
Hotel Very Acceptable, Berlin.

A 2.5 hour drive from Hamburg to Berlin.

The venue was much better than last night's in Hamburg: standing, and with manageable acoustics.
At the soundcheck P3 looked at "FraKctured" when Adrian returned to the hotel. Trey & I had both independently come to the same conclusion: the fuzz blasting lines of terror in 15 are unplayable as the rhythm section parts are presently written. So, there and then, the Rhythm Buddies re-arranged their parts and came up with a very different approach. Now, the piece is very hard but possible: we are all travelling on the same map, rather than following grids placed above & below each other. There is flexibility regarding how we move across the terrain, but now we seem to be heading the same way!

This is a novelty for me in Crimson: to have a rhythm section which supports & encourages the front line, as well as following its own initiatives. I'm rather more used to a guitar solo being the excuse for the rhythm section to hurtle even more precariously sideways than during the written material. Adrian handles this superbly & without even drawing breath: he werns, squerns, blasts, honks & stomps over whatever terror (nominally in support or accompaniment position) he gets handed (or dropped into).

Michael Giles established the Crimson convention of drummers defying gravity and, where either necessity or an opportunity presents itself, defying the front line. No one on the planet could have followed Giles when he left at the end of 1969: he was the leader in a pack of one.

One of the strengths & determining characteristics of Crimson is this: it enables and makes possible opportunities for players which aren't possible anywhere else. This is part of what makes Crimson special (acknowledging my bias). But a price is paid for that enablingness. Crimson was the only group in which Giles could have been Giles. And was he not? I never knew Michael play badly - ever, in whatever situation: recording, rehearsing, performing. In 1969 this man was a force of nature. His work in rock has never been surpassed.

Ian Wallace, underrated for his work in Crimson but well-established & respected outside the narrow cellar of prog commentary, was more concerned with working within tradition: providing a pocket & a groove, and then moving from there with inflection & deviation. Ian's two idiosyncratic & quintessentially Crim parts are those to "Sailor's Tale" & "Ladies Of The Road" (of which Ian is well aware). Archive recordings featuring his drum solos (usually synthesised) show the boy's no slouch when it comes to stepping out. But fundamentally, Ian interpreted his role as supportive, foundational & related to the provision of time. Boz' beginning status as bass player (but not as musician) rather made this a necessity, anyway, as Ian's own comments have made clear. (Anyone doubting Ian's calibre might reflect on whether Bob Dylan or Don Henley are known for compromising over the quality of their players).

The rhythm section of John Wetton & Bill Bruford (1973/74) is an English rock classic of staggering power. Their idea of accompaniment was to dance on the fingertips of a soloist hanging from a thin ledge over a ravine; at least, that's when they were being sensitive & supportive. When they brought the back line into the front line (a legitimate Crimson convention, and a form of Double Duo) they were less considerate of our position.

The section of 1981/84 was intended to be internally balanced, and then in turn balanced against the front line. I had hoped that T. Lev would lock Bill into the group pulse, allowing Bill within that all the room he wanted to deviate, inflect, twist & be the contagiously enthusiastic Bartley Butsford that we know and love. I hadn't allowed for how supportive & fair-minded Tony was & is. He figured, "Well, that's another approach", and followed Bill through the ensuing twists & turns, even when the front line was holding on to time by its teeth. Bill's idea of accompaniment (at that period) was to kick out at the lips of guitarists hanging by their incisors from a bending polymetric twig dangling over a precipice next to a sign pointing downwards with the words written upon it: "Certain Death".

Tonight's performance was mainly successful (putting aside for the moment a debate on "what is successful performance?"). An earnest gentleman shouted "Bruford!" several times when we arrived onstage. Perhaps he got with the programme, modified his attitude, accepted that Bill has become a little more thick set with a change of hair colour, even fell into quietude, or left. Another gentleman in the front row hated "Heroes" (an encore) if his booing (loudly & heroically) was in any way indicative; alternatively, maybe he had simply adopted an ironic post-modernist audience stance. Adrian noticed two serious men in front of me, & guessed they'd come to see flying fingers. I'm not a guitarist for that kind of person, so maybe their unsmiling faces indicated disappointment, or approval. How to interpret this mass of faces?

Overall, the group had a good time & most of the audience appeared enthusiastic. Once again, we note an increase in the proportion of women at all shows so far (although the one in front of Trey looked distinctly unhappy).

At the end of the set I stepped forwards to get a better sight of the audience & immediately a camera appeared & clicked away on infra red. After that, I remained towards the back of the stage. Those posters who argue that the simple act of (non-flash) photography can't possibly affect Fripp / anyone / anything in any way - but hey! you weren't playing at the time & therefore my behaviour is utterly irrelevant to you, shouts the photographer and supportive cohorts - are suggesting I disregard my feelings & experiencing.

An act bears & transmits the force (charge) of its intent. The subject of the act may experience the intent, rather than the (but it can't possibly change anything!) action. Something like, we experience an act of will, rather than an act of photography (or autography, or recording, or whatever). Artists live by their subtle perceptions. Please don't deny me mine. But why should I have to continue arguing this point with those who (I assume) have been touched in some way by Crimson / RF work? This may not be your experience. Fine. This is my experience. Surely, equally fine?

Wednesday 7th. June, 2000

00.13
Pat & Trey have just left. We have been Crim-vibrating over a glass of wine in my room.

The performance: the sound was utterly different to the sound check but, overall, open spaces are better sounding for us than nearly all the venues in Germany. But tonight was cold & the first time when I've wondered whether my fingers are too cold to play "FraKctured". My nose dribbled at one point.
But a good, supportive audience (with punctures) had a good hearted group to play to them. But, as far as we could tell, probably not our best performance.

Friday 30th. June, 2000

01.28
Shock! Surprise! Without precedent or warning! Fripp declines to sign fan autograph at stage door! Fan becomes irate & employs gestural language! Then runs around van volubly expressing displeasure and writing on its windows! What a heel, that Fripp, springing this one without warning. As Trey and I parted in the hotel corridor, Trey agrees that I'm not likely to become very popular.

Tonight: appalling acoustics at this venue. It is only possible for unsubtlety to have some effect in a space like this: broad stokes only (read "loud"). The customary violation throughout.

This is a nice point of judgement for me: a small number of deliberate, careless, dangerous photographers happy & willing to spoil a moment when they believe they have an opportunity. Trey saw several, sneakily snapping, utterly unaware that they are on full display to the stage. And then embarrassed when Trey looked at them, trying to evade his gaze.

The band are aware that, since Rome & Barcelona, if I feel unable to honourably proceed I would prefer not to continue. As "FraKctured" came closer in the set, I was thinking: there has been some re-equilibration; perhaps the photography has stopped. The centre is coming together. We'll do "FraKctured". Then, flash. So, tonight no "FraKctured".

A report on playing this almost unplayable piece during the tour: I'm now at a point where the guitar part is playable, and playing it as a group is also quite possible. Hard yes, but no longer impossible (for several reasons). Most sound checks we run it without problems. Difficulties, not problems. When we do play it publicly, as always with Crimson, our capacity to discover mines where mines aren't laid is our most inventive feature. But essentially the choice to play this at a show rests with me, and this rests in turn mainly with the audience. What I've said to the guys is, "I don't play `FraKctured' at photo sessions". I might also add, where the presence of surreptitious recording is so tangible that I feel the show's heart is compromised.

And now, our tour of continental Europe is finished.

Monday 28th. August, 2000

7a. Robert Engstrom (Bolteng@aol.com) USA

7b. Jeff Bridge (Belewp@cs.com) 05-Jul-2000 00:11 GMT Overland Park U.S.A.

RF: To play "FraKctured" you need a specific technique. To acquire that specific technique, you need an instructor who is able to introduce you to it. A guitar technique is not merely about how you play your guitar: it's about how you play your life. And, eventually, it moves to how your life plays you.

The exercises that "would help (Jeff) get the parts down correctly", and Robert's change of fingerings, are exercises that would change their relationship with their musical instrument, and therefore their personal instruments - themselves. When these exercises are introduced, they can have powerful effects. For this, better to have qualified people to respond when needed. Guitar Craft is set up to meet this need.

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