Robert Fripp

King Crimson's relentless innovator of precision, loops and sustain

Robert Fripp was born in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, in 1946 and began playing guitar at eleven, working through rock and roll, trad jazz and music theory lessons in his teens. In 1967 he joined brothers Michael and Peter Giles in the eccentric pop trio Giles, Giles and Fripp. That project evolved into King Crimson, whose 1969 debut In the Court of the Crimson King fused jazz, classical and heavy rock with a ferocity that helped launch progressive rock almost overnight.

Crimson's lineup changed constantly, but Fripp remained its centre. The mid-1970s band with John Wetton and Bill Bruford produced Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red, dense and aggressive records that anticipated both heavy metal and math rock. At the same time Fripp began working with Brian Eno, using a pair of tape machines to build long looping drones on No Pussyfooting. In 1974 he dissolved King Crimson and soon stepped away from music to study at J.G. Bennett's academy.

He returned as an in-demand collaborator, adding searing lead lines to David Bowie's Heroes and working with Peter Gabriel, Daryl Hall and Blondie. His 1979 solo album Exposure and a run of solo Frippertronics performances presented his tape-loop system to the public. In 1981 he revived King Crimson with Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Bruford, and albums such as Discipline introduced an interlocking, gamelan-like guitar language. In 1985 he launched Guitar Craft, courses that taught his new tuning alongside a disciplined approach to practice.

From the 1990s onward Fripp alternated fresh King Crimson incarnations, including double-trio and multi-drummer lineups, with ambient Soundscapes performances and collaborations with David Sylvian and others. His ambient work even reached millions of computer users when he recorded sounds for Windows Vista. In 1986 he married singer Toyah Willcox, and during the 2020 lockdowns their playful home videos introduced him to a huge new audience. With hundreds of releases to his name, he remains one of rock's most uncompromising thinkers.

The 10 greatest Robert Fripp solos

1. 1
   21st Century Schizoid Man

   King Crimson · solo by Robert Fripp · 1969
2. 2
   Fracture

   King Crimson · solo by Robert Fripp · 1974
3. 3
   Baby's on Fire

   Brian Eno · solo by Robert Fripp · 1974
4. 4
   Heroes

   David Bowie · solo by Robert Fripp · 1977
5. 5
   Red

   King Crimson · solo by Robert Fripp · 1974
6. 6
   Sailor's Tale

   King Crimson · solo by Robert Fripp · 1971
7. 7
   Starless

   King Crimson · solo by Robert Fripp · 1974
8. 8
   Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two

   King Crimson · solo by Robert Fripp · 1973
9. 9
   Frame by Frame

   King Crimson · solo by Robert Fripp · 1981
10. 10
    Fade Away and Radiate

    Blondie · solo by Robert Fripp · 1978

The sound

Fripp's playing is precise, disciplined and often unnervingly intense. He favours strict alternate picking, which lets him execute fast, evenly accented cross-picked patterns and long, spiralling ostinatos with machine-like clarity. His lead tone is a sustaining, violin-like fuzz that can hold a note almost indefinitely, heard most famously on Bowie's Heroes. Harmonically he avoids blues clichés in favour of whole-tone, diminished and polyrhythmic ideas, and from 1985 onward his New Standard Tuning, built largely on fifths, shaped wide, open voicings. Loops, delays and guitar synthesis extend his sound into orchestral ambience.

• Gibson Les Paul Custom (guitar) His main electric through the classic 1970s King Crimson years.
• Revox tape machines (Frippertronics) (effect) Two linked reel-to-reel decks created the long delay loops of his work with Eno and his solo shows.
• Roland guitar synthesizer (guitar) Central to the synthetic, layered textures of 1980s King Crimson.
• Fernandes Les Paul-style with Sustainer (guitar) A later main guitar whose built-in sustainer gives endless, singing notes.
• Digital delay and harmonizer rack (Soundscapes) (effect) The digital successor to Frippertronics, used for his ambient Soundscapes performances.

Covers

• Mars, originally by Gustav Holst Early King Crimson turned Holst's menacing march into a thunderous live piece.
• Get Thy Bearings, originally by Donovan The 1969 band used Donovan's song as a launch pad for jazzy improvisation.
• Here Comes the Flood, originally by Peter Gabriel A stark, pared-down version featuring Gabriel himself, far sparser than the original.
• Heroes, originally by David Bowie King Crimson's tribute after Bowie's death, with Fripp revisiting his own famous part.
• Enter Sandman, originally by Metallica A tongue-in-cheek lockdown performance with Toyah Willcox that went viral.

Timeline

• 1946 Born in Wimborne Minster, Dorset
• 1967 Forms Giles, Giles and Fripp
• 1969 King Crimson release In the Court of the Crimson King
• 1973 Releases No Pussyfooting with Brian Eno
• 1974 Disbands King Crimson after Red
• 1977 Plays lead guitar on David Bowie's Heroes
• 1979 Releases solo album Exposure
• 1981 Revives King Crimson with Discipline
• 1985 Launches Guitar Craft and New Standard Tuning
• 1986 Marries Toyah Willcox

Facts

1. He began playing guitar at the age of eleven.
2. Frippertronics used two tape recorders to loop and layer sounds in real time.
3. His New Standard Tuning runs C-G-D-A-E-G from low to high.
4. He took a sabbatical in the mid-1970s to study at J.G. Bennett's academy, influenced by the ideas of Gurdjieff.
5. He recorded sounds for Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system.
6. Asteroid 81947 Fripp is named after him.
7. He usually performs seated rather than standing.
8. He played on Talking Heads' Fear of Music and on albums by Peter Gabriel and Daryl Hall.
9. Rolling Stone ranked him 62nd on its 2011 list of the greatest guitarists.
10. He has been married to singer and actress Toyah Willcox since 1986.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Robert Fripp