Robert Fripp - The Man Behind King Crimson

Robert Fripp co-founded King Crimson with Michael Giles in 1969 after the break up of their previous band, Giles, Giles and Fripp. He is the only original member still in the band, and even though he re-formed the band's line up several times, he never intended to be seen as the head of King Crimson.

King Crimson had a huge impact on the early progressive rock movement, but the early band was very unstable, braking up by the release of their second album, then reforming with mostly new members for the third album. The band continued to have line up changes, and despite a large cult following, they never reached the same success of their debut, In the Court of the Crimson King.

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 Centipede's 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 finally disbanded King Crimson in 1974, and after a short break, returned to the music recording and touring with Peter Gabriel using the pseudonym "Dusty Rhodes" in 1976.

In 1977, Fripp agreed to play guitar for David Bowie's album Heroes, he contributed his musical and production talents to Peter Gabriel's second album, and collaborated with Daryl Hall on Sacred Songs. During this time, Fripp was 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,

During his time living in New York, Fripp contributed to albums and live performances by Blondie and Talking Heads, produced The Roches' first album, which featured several of Fripp's characteristic guitar solos, and worked on David Bowie's Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps).

Fripp 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) which toured during 1980.

In 1981, Robert Fripp formed a new group called "Discipline," with Adrian Belew,Bill Bruford, and Tony Levin. Bill Bruford had been a member of King Crimson when it broke up in 1974, but Fripp didn't originally plan to reform King Crimson. By October, they changed their name to King Crimson after Fripp learned that the rest of the group felt it would be a better name for them.

This version of the group released the albums Discipline in 1981, Beat in 1982, and Three of a Perfect Pair in 1984 before breaking up, and Beat marked the first time the same line up of musicians worked on two successive King Crimson albums.

In 1985, Fripp started the record label Discipline Global Mobile for King Crimson and related projects, and began his Guitar Craft school. Guitar Craft resulted in the performance group, The League of Crafty Guitarists, which has released several albums, and the California Guitar Trio are former members of LoCG.

During the 80s, Fripp also worked with his wife Toyah Willcox, Andy Summers of the Police, and David Sylvian of the band Japan.

In 1991, Robert Fripp offered the job of vocalist for the reforming King Crimson to David Sylvian, who 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 1993, Sylvian and Fripp released The First Day which included contributors Trey Gunn on stick and Jerry Marotta on drums. When the group toured to promote the CD, 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).

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.

Also in 1994 he supplied guitar textures on the track Flak on The Future Sound of London's album Lifeforms

In late 1994, Fripp re-formed the 1981 lineup of King Crimson for its fifth incarnation, adding Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto in a configuration known as the "double trio". This lineup released Thrak in 1995.

From 1997 to 1999, and again in 2006, the band King Crimson "fraKctalised" into five sub-groups known as ProjeKcts.

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. Tony Levin returned in 2004 to replace Trey Gunn.

During 2004, Fripp toured with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai as the guitar trio G3.

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 (drums) and Hector Zazou (electronics). This collective of musicians toured the west coast in May 2006.

In October 2006, ProjeKct Six (Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew) played at select venues on the east coast of the U.S., 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.

In late 2006, Robert Fripp worked at Microsoft's studios to record new sounds and atmospheres for Windows Vista.

Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree joined King Crimson in 2008 to perform as a second drummer for their "40th Anniversary Celebration". These "Celebrations" began in August 08 and King Crimson only played a select number of shows in the United States.

Current plans are for King Crimson to return to a more active status in 2009.

The music press has had a great time with Fripp. He has been called "the world's most rational rock star," "the Mr. Spock of rock," "the owlish one," a "persnickety plectrist" and a "plectral purist." He has been characterized as a "nouveau conceptualist," a "tin woodsman with a microtonal heart," and as "a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a guitarist."

-- Robert Fripp - From Crimson King To Crafty Master
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