Robert Fripp's Diary

We believe we listen to

Should anyone doubt the veracity of these comments, read ET & the Guestbook.

Oh! how I wish that I were able to discuss performance, with those whose nominal aim it is to be among an audience, at a level where value is involved; where information drawn from direct experience is exchanged; where the discussion is real and touches on what is true; where we are the same person; where music sings to us in our own voice, listens to itself through our own ears, where we are ourselves the music of life & its living: feeling its inexpressible benevolence & knowing the gentlest of necessities.

Whether I like the (particular expression of) music is irrelevant and without value, other than what it tells me of myself; whether I like the performer or not is irrelevant, other than what it tells me of myself; my deeply held opinions fashioned over years of fondling cardboard LP jackets is an obstacle which I proudly place in front of me, to trip me up and spoil the moment for everyone. All of these trifles, publicly expressed, combine to reinforce our resolve to mount an assassination attempt upon the act of music.

May we abandon confusion & move to contact.
Contact facilitates connection.
Connection is a vehicle for communion.

I note, en passant, that I have yet to read, either in ET or the Guestbook, a poster who uses the words "genius" or "master" and convinces me that the poster has any substantial sense of what is intended by either of these words. If we knew what these words meant, it would be a beginning. If we had a taste of understanding what is involved in the worlds of genius, or mastery, or even craft, our discussion would begin to be becoming up & running.

There have been a small number of comments in the Guestbook (using other words) where I recognise in the poster's comments an authenticity & authority. This A&A is derived from a direct connection with the subject/object of commentary; that is, the posting transmits a point of seeing. Points of seeing are "gifts" which may be presented in response to application & endeavour; alternatively, as an "investment"; alternatively, simply as gifts which ask nothing in return. A genuine point of seeing is always creative in its nature, although it is then subject to the dangers of interpretation when it is presented/ described to others. The creative "moment" of a point of seeing (fractionally short in linear time) extends to infinity, and perhaps beyond.

There are different intensities of "points of seeing" but this quality of experiencing begins where we see "face to face". Mixing metaphors, this is where we hear music speaking to us directly, personally, individually, one to one, and as "equals". A deeper stage of engagement is where we realise that music is not speaking to us, but listening to us. A deeper stage of engagement is where we are the music: there is no separation. This is where we experience the symphony of life as communion. And, if we want, we may piss in the communion wine and spit on the bread. We have the right, after all, as human beings to make choices, & decisions, and exert the freedom of will that is our birthright.

And now, apropos of nothing in particular & moving associationally along, Hernan Nunez recently sent me a translation by Gringo Eric Olsson (a Texan who attended the Guitar Craft course in Gandara last April) of an article which appeared in La Nacion. This is based upon an interview conducted at the seminary in Argentina where the courses have been held.

Robert Fripp
Recipes from the Crimson King

The creator and craftsman of King Crimson, which just released "The ConstruKction of Light", stopped in Buenos Aires and spoke with La NaciÛn about his various methods of composition.

Robert Fripp loves latin cultures, and especially Argentina. He said as much a few days ago, in a room in the San JosÈ Seminary in G·ndara, in the middle of the humid Pampa. This was the place chosen for him to direct one of his Guitar Craft courses. We refer to "course" for lack of a better word, because in reality it's a global experience. In this place, where for decades aspiring priests defined their paths, Fripp proposes an encounter with the guitar, but also, and above all, with oneself.

For one week, the leader of King Crimson lived there together with musicians and non-musicians. But Guitar Craft does not have to do with learning skills or new techniques with the instrument. Rather the proposal is to unlearn that which has already been learned in order to start down other paths. For this reason, they say, expert guitarists who have to forget what they know are paired with beginners who are facing everything for the first time.

It's even stranger to arrive as a guest, in the middle of this experience. Fripp knows this. So when he begins to speak, seated in one of the rooms of the seminary, in an environment which one knows has been a place for reflection and gathering for many decades, he speaks about what happens in the course in action.

"Guitar Craft is like a pressure cooker," he explains. "It functions in such a way as to increase the intensity of our normal lives. When the energy increases, it reaches a point where things transform, as when a raw vegetable is cooked. So something new becomes possible."

Robert Fripp speaks and teaches. This is what he does with his students as well. They say that in the first of the seven days he observed them, attentively. And later, while the duos and trios were preparing to practice, he distributed them in a way described as "wise" by some students.

So he also sees, in each one, the experiences they have been through. "If someone has a background in drugs, the pot he is cooking in has holes. When I am giving out exercises, I can look in their eyes and see the drugs that were there." He says this with a face not of displeasure, but of concern. "The point is how to say to the person, in a friendly way, that he is injured."

The seventy-five people that took part in the course this time are divided in groups. There is a Level One, for those attending for the first time, and the Kitchen Team, the more experienced, which are also those that actually work in the kitchen. "Because working in the kitchen, with fire, boiling water, and large casseroles is dangerous."

As the afternoon passes and his form is contrasted more and more in game of light and shadows, Fripp says that the levels are also those of the stages through which the course has passed in its 15-year history, and is also that of any process. "The first stage, from 1985 to 1992, was of growth. We began with innocence, and in that there is a power, a surprising force, and since we do not know very well what we are doing, we can achieve the impossible - we do not have an awareness of our limitations. The seven years that followed are, in some way, the level of stupid people: it's when, having had a brush with power, we think that we can do everything. You are between two things, which we call the great divide, because you are too far from the beginning to turn back, and too far from the end to continue forward. The third stage has started, and my impression is that something has become available again in a totally natural way."

Looking for the Light

Guitar Craft is not the only thing occupying him. "The ConstruKction of Light" is the new King Crimson disc, which has just been released. In this new stage, the band that spans three decades is no longer a double trio, as in "Thrak", but a double duo including Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto. "We arrived at this after two and a half years of trying to reunite the double trio, which is difficult with six busy professionals. Finally I took the initiative, made a call and we came to be the double duo. But the door is open, in the future, for the double trio, or a triple quartet, because this is King Crimson." During this period, he says, they made two CDs: the one already mentioned and another, ProjeKct X, which can only be ordered, for now, from their web page. "They are the same bodies, taking a different approach. KC is composition, and ProjeKct is improvisation."

The discipline of Guitar Craft has not translated to the band, because "they are not men who come to me for me to teach them, rather I'm the one who learns from them. Trey Gunn is the only one who has a background in Guitar Craft and I don't think I've worked with any other musician as much as I've worked with him; Belew is fantastic, amazing, and Pat Mastelotto has developed into a great drummer. Because working with Bill Bruford has not been easy, it was hard for both of them. Bill felt that it was his drummer's stool, and including another required magnanimity on his part. While for Pat, an established drummer, to accept a junior role next to the senior Bill required humility. So with respect for both, within this context Pat never had room to flourish. Now he does, and it's surprising. The character of a group is determined by the drummer: If you have a jazz drummer, you will never be able to play rock and vice versa. Pat is a rock drummer, and this new album is King Crimson reconnecting with its roots as a rock group. Very hard."

An Englishman in the Pampa

Fripp wants to play with King Crimson here. But he will have to wait until the beginning of next year. With the last formation he began the tour here, and he also wanted to end it here. The reason for so much love [for Argentina] intrigues us.

"Life is hard here, very hard, and music sustains it. There is a lot of passion, and where there is passion, something is possible. I will explain it to you with a comparison: Music, in Europe, is art; in the United States, it's entertainment, but here, it's nourishment, it's needed to live."

There is another motive, almost secret: dulce de leche, which Hern·n NuÒez, the musician from the Gauchos Alemanes who lives in Germany and is responsible for organizing the course, tempted him with years ago. "Whenever I come here, I return fatter."

English jokes apart, all that is Latin casts a spell over him. "As an Englishman I have always felt at home here. I'll make another comparison: in England, for example, children are punishment for unprotected sex. In Latin cultures, on the other hand, children are always a gift from God. This indicates two very different viewpoints, and my heart is attracted to the Latin one. The only problem here is doing business. There are never enough personal connections, grease, arrangements..."

That Fripp should talk about business is nothing unusual. For years he has managed his record label, Discipline, in which he establishes agreements with artists in which ethical values are put before economics. For the past few months he has also been involved in another project, Bootleg Television. "It's concerned with the distribution of live music through the Internet and, later on, by satellite television."

You can find more information about the activities of this new enterprise at www.bootlegtv.com, which will start with some of the concerts that King Crimson started performing recently in Europe. The project is supported by the same principles as Discipline and duplicates the strong critique of the current state of the record industry.

"All of the laws on the subject depend on three words: exploitation, control, and property. Artists are controlled by keeping them in debt, giving them money in advance. I know how to make myself rich, it's easy: find young musicians, who need to play, like a pregnant woman about to give birth, and tell them you're going to help them, that you'll be their partner, you'll bring their child to the world and give them money. How will they say no? From this moment, they're in your hands. Discipline is, precisely, an alternative to this."

The Internet plays a key roll in both projects, an update that very few musicians have been able to do themselves. Fripp, a restless type, was not content with e-commerce or broadcasting news; the musician keeps a personal diary on his label's page, where, day by day, he offers musical and personal news, opinions, and experiences.

Q: It must be difficult work, what is your feeling?

RF: "It functions as a pointed stick that prevents my life from becoming too comfortable. My natural lassitude would have me at home with my wife, having champagne in the garden. I would be so happy that I would never leave, so the diaries make my life more uncomfortable. Second, it allows me to reflect about experience, it obligates me to control it, and in this way it feeds me. Third, it presents information to the world, in such a way as to elevate the level of the debate. Finally, it offers the participation of the audience at an early point in the creative process: so at the moment they enter the room, we have already connected and we begin from a stronger point."

The interview which, on account of his English scheduling, was supposed to last thirty minutes became a long talk of more than two hours. In the advancing darkness, Fripp is just a shadow outlined against the afternoon window.

His history is also that of his band and its changes of direction. "Whenever King Crimson came into existence, it disbanded. One asks oneself why, but it isn't difficult. In popular culture you think you are good if you are popular, and that if you are successful you will gain more freedom to create. And it's the reverse. If you are popular, you play for ever-increasing audiences which demand that you repeat yourself. But, as you well see, your record company and your manager will tell you to do the right thing; if you think it's crazy, you're the only sane person in the asylum. For this reason in 1974 I was not inclined to continue; there was a lot of alcohol and drugs, used by managers and negotiators to control the artists. And so I abandoned the business of music."

It seems a heavy load to have this raw and critical vision of manipulation in the art; however, Fripp doesn't complain. "Everything is relieved in the moments when the music approaches us and whispers in our ears. It is said that in Purgatory, those who are not yet perfect suffer terribly from their separation from God, but in order to lighten the load, He visits them from time to time and so sustains them until they are with Him. This could be a description of my 31 years with King Crimson and music's occasional visits."

Night has fallen and Fripp suggests that we eat. In a dining room with long tables the meal the Kitchen Team prepared is shared. From time to time, duos and trios from the Guitar Craft attendees perform music - on guitar, of course - for the meal.

To close the day, a performance has been arranged in the chapel. Seated in the long pews we are surrounded by a score of musicians with guitars in hand. The beginning is, simply, one note that each guitarist passes to the next and, in the middle, we feel the music embrace us.

By Adriana Franco
from the editorial staff of La NaciÛn.

Moving associationally along from this, I quote Matt Johnson @ www.TheThe.com

After much deliberation I have decided to offer track by track/week by week free downloads of my latest album NakedSelf from my official website (first MP3 download will appear as a link in the above table of contents on 13 July 2000). This decision has not been taken lightly and below I explain the reasons why. As the tensions between artist and merchant are rising very fast I also want to stress the positive in this statement as I think this is an exhilarating time to be involved in music.

I'VE SEEN THE FUTURE, AND IT WILL BE........

A battle between the powers that be versus the powers that will be.

Through their short sighted arrogance and greed the major label media conglomerates are sowing the seeds for their own destruction. Artists are now poised to come off the nipple of the major labels and finally stand on their own two feet. With this greater responsibility will come a greater workload but artists can finally become masters of their own destinies.

New technology, both in cheap, high quality recording equipment and the tremendous potential of the Internet, mean that it's possible for musicians to fund their own recordings, own their own copyrights, distribute their own music and control their own careers. The audience will begin to deal with the artist direct and the middle men will be cut down to size.

MEET THE THE NEW BOSS

I've been in bands since I was an 11 year old kid and I've been earning from music since the age of 15 when I started working for a publisher and recording studio. I have seen the industry from many angles and through many eras. I'm also blessed with a solid and loyal global audience of approximately 750,000 for each of my 7 albums, a sales figure that was once enough to keep artist and Record Company in bread and jam, though not any more it seems. Obviously the sales potential of TheThe is not in the same league as the Limp Bizkits, Offspring and N-Syncs of this world, yet each label has (or had) a dozen artists like TheThe, each with a solid and loyal fanatic audience, each selling many CDs and each serving as a creative beacon attracting other artists, some who go on to sell millions of albums of their own.

Once these artists made sense to the shareholders.

Until now.

Although the range and diversity of music being created and performed has never been wider the traditional outlets for music have never been more restrictive.

In the blue corner: the threat (real and perceived) of MP3/Napster, digital piracy and the subsequent debates about copyright laws and intellectual property rights.

Deep in the red corner: the rampant corporate greed of the media conglomerates, major labels and radio stations which is marginalizing more and more artists by the week and forcing them to look at alternative ways of distributing their music.

All the above events are converging and have placed us on the threshold of a watershed in the music business that I believe will dwarf the punk revolution in it's ultimate significance.

MEET THE NEW BOSS

Vivendi have just swallowed Seagrams who took over PolyGram and merged it with Universal who had bought Interscope who'd purchased nothing Records (home to Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and TheThe).

In order to get the green light for the Universal/PolyGram merger, Seagrams promised their shareholders a return on cuts, not profits. They have a huge artist stable raped from three established major labels and two thirds has got to go, bringing it down to a trim, wealthy machine made up of just the plump ripe sellers. Millions of sales are now required to cover the increasing overheads at these labels. Overheads increased through ludicrous executive bonus payouts, inflated expense accounts and the quest for the Porsche. The artist is put to work harder and faster, in order to feed the machine.

VivendiUniversalSonyAOLTimeEmiWarnerBMG, all represent a basket of share dividends to holders who are quick to move on when the coming gets tough. Oasis Brand may be less appealing than Heinz Beans right now.

After a 7 year lay off I recently released NakedSelf, an album that is generally considered one of the best of my career to some of the best reviews I've ever had (check the website) I've also been on tour since November 1999 selling out shows by word of mouth across Europe and America to fantastic audience response. Yet the reaction from Interscope/Universal has been destructive and negative in the extreme. Their utter dependence on the radio means that the good ship TheThe is abandoned as soon as the fear of no-play takes hold. They can think of no alternative and why should they when they can swiftly move on to the next act on the plank (step forward Beck, whoops! step forward Nine Inch Nails..oh dear, No Doubt..Ouch! Chris Cornell....?) One act after another has fallen into the ocean. Being signed to the Universal conglomerate has been like being trapped on a cruise on the Mary Celeste. The lights are on but nobody's home.

THERE'S NO POINT IN ASKING, YOU GET NO REPLY

I know what questions to ask in order to find out when people are doing their jobs and when they're not. Artists are often able to gain the confidence of record company employees who'll tell us things about their company they won't admit to their bosses or co-workers. Though most are afraid to admit it publicly morale is now very, very low at the Universal conglomerate (at least 6 people I've worked closely with on my new album have walked out on the company and I know of several more who are planning to follow soon) The Seagrams takeover and subsequent merger of Universal and PolyGram was very traumatic, not only for many artists on the label but also for many of the employees. There are many decent hard working people in this company who wanted to work in the music business for all the right reasons but now find their hands are tied behind their backs as they are not allowed to get behind the projects they really believe in. Seagrams bottle drinks and music using the same machine and the sheer incompetence of this conglomerate just beggars belief. To fully list all the cock ups that have utterly undermined and ruined the release of NakedSelf would take all day and I'd like to stress the positive changes I'm anticipating in the industry rather than whinge and whine about the past year's mistakes. Suffice to say it has been the most disastrous episode of my entire career.

THE REAL QUESTION IS THIS

The million dollar question for all artists associated with this bloated company, and this is where it gets interesting, is this: Is this really just sheer incompetence or is this wilful neglect? Because it does seem that Interscope/Universal can be very aggressive and successful with a certain type of popular music, so it begs the question that is it not really the fact that to pay for that preposterous merger, and in order to pacify their shareholders, Seagrams had to promise to make cutbacks rather than investments for future profits? Was an executive decision taken to only back acts that they thought were 'sure-fire' instant commercial hits palatable to corporate radio stations, rather than take a chance on any artist that doesn't conform to this bland criterion?

SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

I loathe censorship even more than piracy and increasing numbers of artists are now becoming victims of censorship by apathy and neglect. They just cannot get their music heard through the traditional channels.

As Universal/Interscope seem either incapable or unwilling (or both) to distribute and promote my album properly, and as they've refused to give it back to me, then I've been forced to consider alternative ways of reaching my audience. After much deliberation I have therefore decided to offer free downloads of NakedSelf on a song by song/week by week basis from my official site. www.thethe.com. By doing so I hope more people (including the bulk of my audience) will finally get the chance to hear this album and hopefully support me by purchasing this CD and future releases. For me to just walk away from NakedSelf now would be like leaving a baby on a doorstep and I just can't do it. I believe in this album too much.

This is not a decision I've taken lightly, because as some of you may know, I've been widely quoted in recent months regarding my opposition to Napster. As musicians and songwriters, as in other professions, we have dedicated our lives to our art and craft and now face a situation of people stealing our work and passing it around the world for free. No one who has ever done a hard days work for a days pay would expect others to work for free, why should musicians? it's also a sad fact of life that the general public are still fairly ignorant as to how unfair most record company contracts really are. The artist pays for everything yet owns nothing. To receive fair and accurate royalty accounting he/she has to be able to afford to send in a team of auditors every few years to examine the books and this costs thousands of dollars to do properly. Most artists with more than a couple of years experience now sadly accept that the industry is run by principles of institutionalised corruption. The record company position is this; If you want your money you can come and find it. If you can afford to find it then you've obviously earned so much that we can afford to give you some.

THE ONLY THING THAT STAYS THE SAME IS CHANGE

This weird period we're going through in our industry right now feels both daunting and exciting and in a way reminds me of where I came from. As a teenager I was turned down by every indie and major label in the UK at least three times before I finally got a recording contract so in the meantime I started producing and selling my own cassettes at the various gigs I attended. It was a liberating and empowering experience and taught me how to stay positive in the face of apathy. When you get knocked to the floor you have a choice, you can either curl up in the foetal position and die or you can climb back onto your feet and fight.

Matt Johnson
TheThe www.TheThe.com

I include this on a good faith basis, moving information around and making it available to the DGM Diary community if they have not already