Fred Frith Albums (39)
What The Critics Say
This first meeting between British vanguard improviser Fred Frith and world-renowned drummer and percussionist Evelyn Glennie (who happens to be deaf) was created, for the most part, in a disused sugar factory where a makeshift studio was created and the two performers played 100 feet apart from one another. According to Frith's liner notes, the pretext was to make music for a documentary film by Thomas Riedelscheimer entitled Touch the Sound, based on Glennie's life as an artist. (She is the first percussionist ever to have a successful career as a soloist.) The music here is not the soundtrack to the film -- which exists in its own right -- but an album compiled by the pair from the total of the music they cut together. There are some re-recordings, but they are virtually indistinguishable from the material recorded at the sugar factory. (Once the listener engages the disc, it will be a surprise since the reverb -- a natural part of the sound environment -- never actually disappears.) Frith plays electric guitar, bass, organ, and "metal objects" with Glennie improvising on everything from drums, gongs, marimba, and vibraphones, steel drums, a toy piano, and bell-tree, and her voice, to name just some of the instruments and objects put into play here. Just under 50 minutes in length, and edited by Frith, who took his versions to Glennie before re-recording, this is a document that will be fascinating to those who are well-versed in the guitarist's own work, but may come as a shock to those who have heard Glennie's more cohesive work. It is divided into six tracks, but it needn't have been. It flows seamlessly from one piece to another, and feels like a complete collaborative work. Dynamics, textures, tensions, and aesthetic values complement one another nearly instinctively despite the challenges of the sound environments. Glennie is "noisier" than she normally is, but that's what makes this so compelling: there are moments here where all the cacophony results in a blisslike listening experience for the listener. Nowhere is this more true than on the album's final 15 minutes, in a work called "The Walls Are Loosening/A Little Prayer." (The latter end of that title is an actual composition by Glennie.) The sheer wail and whomp of large bassy drums are juxtaposed against electric guitar lines that range from near ambient to feedback-driven, from open strings left to resonate a bit to scree and skronk. But control is everything, and these two practice it at every turn, even at the work's most bombastic parts. There is little to hold on to and that is the desired effect: to let go. As the "walls loosen," every sound that emerges becomes a part of the bigger body of the work, the players and the listener. It's almost an aesthetic that came out of spontaneity and keen listening -- as well as major-league ego control by the participants. The Sugar Factory is a listening experience unlike anything else. It's deep, humorous, sublime, rattling, and warm. It's a universe of sound and noise that becomes, by the time the disc has played its entire run of 49 minutes, a new approach to both playing and encountering that wonderfully magical and poetic thing called music. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'The Happy End Problem'
Release Date 1/15/2007
Tracks 10
Label RER Megacorp
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What The Critics Say
This single CD culls two side-long works for choreographer Amanda Miller of the Pretty Ugly Dance Company. The fact that they are presented together is not simply a matter of convenience; they were premiered within 11 months, they are both scored for small ensemble, and four musicians (Carla Kihlstedt, William Winant, Patrice Scanlon and Frith) are featured in both of them. However, on a musical level, they are very different pieces. First up is "Imitation," a suite in nine parts. Slow-paced, careful, almost ceremonial, this work draws heavily on the character and peacefulness of Kikutsubo Day's shakuhachi. Building around an oriental-sounding melody, the suite proceeds through various variations. Some sections have a contemporary new age quality to them strongly reminiscent of the composers associated with the Cold Blue label (Jim Fox and Rick Cox, mostly), especially in the violin and cello parts. Three sections are co-credited to Frith and electronicist Patrice Scanlon, whose manipulations of Frith's cyclical piano motives have a strong Klaus Schulze flavor (especially in "Tan"). If these references are rather unusual in Frith's oeuvre, as a whole, the piece retains a definite Frithian quality and makes for a gentle and pleasurable listen. "The Happy End Problem," the second work of this set, is more typical of Frith. Orientalism is still at the heart of this piece, embodied this time by Wu Fei's gu-zheng (a zither-like Chinese instrument). Overall less gentle, "The Happy End Problem" features sudden changes in textures and moods, grittier passages, and a stronger unspoken narrative. Fans of Henry Cow might even detect in it that special epic something that graced the legendary group's longer pieces. Whether you prefer the calm of "Imitation" or the more disquieting overtones of "The Happy End Problem," both pieces fare very well without their choreographed component. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Stone: Issue Two is a continuous live performance from electric guitarist Fred Frith and percussionist Chris Cutler that acts as a fast forwarded audio trip from night-to-day and back-to-night. This scenario falls within the urban landscape genre, consistently cresting high and settling into underground subtones. Electronics and percussion are utilized as underpinnings below a distinctive jagged riff, noise wash, chattering or screaming, ringing or vocal-like guitar sound from Frith. A drum phrase by Cutler breaks in only very infrequently. Each small segment comes and goes quickly; up and down, soft and loud, introspective or bold, and little is sustained for any long period. Frith will state an actual bizarre melody, then cut it off, play layers of sound that are replete with girth and grit, then go serene. A ring modulated or vocal speaking-in-tongues motif, wah-wah, gut-bucket, industrial and dense facades, minimalist late-night forest soundscapes, birds, garbage trucks at dawn, carnival atmosphere, bizarro world dynamics, space à la Frippertronics, reverse effects, and sensual midnight serenity is all at the duo's command. Cutler is clearly a co-conspirator as his electronic colorations are most intriguing, but it is Frith who is challenging, commanding, and demonstrative. A recording that fans will have to sit down and listen to as the patrons did during the performance, it will yield the sense of passion, wonder, and depth these two have displayed in their music since their days with Henry Cow, but digging deeper than ever. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide
'The Compass, Log and Lead'
Release Date 1/1/2006
Tracks 12
Label Intakt
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'Eleventh Hour'
Release Date 4/12/2005
Tracks 19
Label Winter & Winter
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What The Critics Say
Guitarist, bassist, violinist and composer Fred Frith has made many different kinds of music over the course of his celebrated career, from the politically progressive avant-rock of Henry Cow and the Art Bears to the more abrasive punk jazz of Massacre and his richly varied solo work, some of which is esoteric and forbidding (Guitar Solos) and some of which is downright lyrical and inviting (Gravity). Allies, a suite of compositions for Frith's various solo instruments accompanied by drums, saxophone and cello, is one of his most impressive accomplishments, a work of maturity and depth that never panders to the listener but never goes out of its way to alienate, either. In fact, these six pieces are all quite easy on the ear; "Rifka," which opens the program, is much more rhythmically complex than it sounds at first, but its melodic structure is straightforward and lovely. The melody builds among the various instruments on a rocketing principle that distributes the melody notes from instrument to instrument while Joey Baron stitches things together with a spare but elegant drum part. "Nenad" is less immediately captivating, but builds nicely with interlocked rhythmic patterns that unfold in a manner reminiscent of Steve Reich's early work. Only "Davor and Dzeneta" fails to really engage the imagination, and even it contains moments of genuine interest. The overall mood of the six compositions is rather sad and contemplative, but not unattractively so. Very highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Fred Frith is on something of a creative roll at the turn of the century, turning out new projects, new collaborations, and several film scores in addition to re-releasing some of his back catalog on his Fred label imprint. Eye to Ear, Vol. 2 is another compilation of pieces composed (and sometimes not used) for various short films. For most of the program, it's just Frith overdubbing himself, a talent he's used for decades now. Since these pieces were conceived to augment and accompany images, they tend to evoke mood and feeling rather than being true compositions unto themselves. They run the gamut from dark soundscapes to pretty Asian-sounding themes, and can switch gears dramatically within the course of a single piece. For example, at one point in "Gambling, Gods and LSD," sampled percussion enters so jarringly, one might imagine the percussion is entering your system from a wholly different source (although it works in the long run). There are also places where he gets into some nice melodic sequences, but the tunes tend to progress fairly quickly. The pieces are not grouped by film, except for the last four tracks, where Frith is joined by accordion, voice, and gu zheng. These beautiful pieces clearly belong together, and make for an excellent closing to the album. Eye to Ear, Vol. 2 demonstrates once again that there is almost no end to Fred Frith's music-making abilities. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
'Rivers and Tides: Working With Time'
Release Date 7/1/2003
Tracks 8
Label Winter & Winter
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What The Critics Say
Rivers and Tides: Working With Time is Fred Frith's score to a film by Thomas Riedelsheimer about the "land art works" of Andy Goldsworthy. Goldsworthy is preoccupied with the natural processes of water, beaches, and tides, and these elements are used extensively in his art. After viewing the film, Frith not only took his cues from the sounds of nature (the actual sound of water recurs throughout), but composed music that uncannily echoes the processes involved as well. Anyone who has spent time at the shore will recognize these elements: the repetition of waves on the beach, the inexorability of the tides, and a sense of time that can be so slowed as to be almost static. All of that is reflected beautifully in Frith's score, principally through piano, violin, and soprano sax. As with any large body of water, the music is mostly serene but can have some discord at times as well, as heard in "Part III." with its martial drumbeat and generally noisier demeanor. Rivers and Tides demonstrates that Frith is not only a skewed pop genius and fearless improviser, but a remarkably empathetic soundtrack composer as well. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
