@@robinwatson4282 I think he’s speaking on randomness; and how we don’t always pick and choose who and what we are as musicians or serious listeners for that matter.
Possibly stems partly from Bob’s esoteric studies? Wasn’t it Georges Gurdjieff who spoke of engaging in Work-with the primary aim of remaining acutely awake, as most of humanity functions in a profound slumber. Thus, taking the time to utter meaningful statements, thoughtfully, instead of just spewing rote language regurgitated from previous interviews, may be partly a result of Mr. Fripp’s spiritual studies and evolution.
Discipline was, and remains, a crucial milestone in my own personal relationship with music. Hearing Robert speak about it has helped clarify some things and amplify others. Reading Bill's comments has - as always - helped flesh out my understanding and appreciation. Thank you so very much.
I'm with you. The early 80's "trilogy" of albums opened up my square head into understanding that music need not fit into neat little pigeon holes. Paraphrasing RF speaking with Daryl Hall and his band, Robert's epiphany was recognizing that the common categories of music are "all the same music"...dialects of a language. In those college years when I heard KC for the first time, I was also exposed (thanks in large part to a musician roommate) to Brian Eno, David Bowie, David Byrne and Talking Heads, among others. Category busting, all of them.
Yep. You kinda had to set the record apart from others. It was something to look deeper & deeper into with passing years. To hear Fripp talk about it here just confirms that weird feeling of playfully serious, perception expanding properties you discover about it. That said, I actually prefer Discipline’s compositions as live performances on Absent Lovers. It’s so damn fun and alive.
Regardless of what he is saying here, one has to absolutely marvel at his mastery of the language, with no reliance on filler words (e.g., “umm”, “uhhh,” and “like”) or filler phrases (e.g., “you know,” “and what not,” etc.).
The entire 60s, 70s, 80s King Crimson Collection is ONE whole continuous complete package. I've got the entire collection laid out in front of me now and couldn't honestly choose a favourite album. It's all ONE unique journey....
@volpeverde6441 Yes, those too!! The 2003 album "The Power to Believe" also included! So "late 60s to early noughties" "Earthbound" 1972, is an odd live album. Despite its poor quality cassette recording, the unique spirit shines through
Sharing the money equally didn't mean he thought everyone should get an equal share. Like, for example, if you have 5 people you can divide the money into 6 or 7 piles and give one or more of the people 2 equal shares if you believe or can justify that they are doing 2 shares worth compared with the others. If you read Robert's recent diary entries you can see how he devised sharing in letters and emails to the other band members and it goes into more depth about how he saw that a straightforward 5 way split wouldn't be equal. He hints at some of these ideas in this video. i.e at the idea that the (c) system separates the idea of writing, performing etc, and in that sense the equal shares weren't necessarily divided equally in the naive sense. A few rock bands add everyone to writing credits even if only 1 or 2 members really had a significant part in composing or writing the material. Others give credit to one or two. And of course it's common for artists to lose writing credits they feel their deserve (anyone involved with Ozzy Osbourne for example) - in the modern day it includes people who are trying to sell songs to established artists who end up having to give the artist co-writing credit even if they didn't co-write. KC seems to have tried to be equitable rather than equal in the fantasy socialist sense that you appear to have interpreted 'share the money equally"
This is a rare Fripp interview so thanks to Bill for digging it out. You are at once struck by a man in the music business with erudition, thought, and a music vocabulary which enabled Crim to achieve phenomenal success and be an inspiration and considerable influence in the progressive rock genre and by extension music generally. The maestro, the master, the Crimson King. Welcome to the court.
Thanks Bill. I was at this show at Toad's Place, one of the best KC performances I've attended. The atmosphere in the hall was an intense energetic plasma of rhythms and counter rhythms. Thanks for the fond memories.
Me too. I was there also. My table was right up against the stage … close enough to talk with Fripp during the show. I remember Fripp and Adrian Belew opening the show with the two guitars interplay of “Discipline”. I also saw them again in West Hartford with Bill opening the show with “Waiting Man”. Now I am old and stay home.
A nive rare treat to actually hear Fripp praising a fellow King Crimson member, that really speaks volumes of not only the kind of musician Bill Bruford is but the kind of person Fripp is because he very rarely ever gave out praise to anyone let alone someone from his own band. Whenever Fripp and Bruford got together, it was magic and they made some of the greatest music ever.
Well, the 80-84 Crimson certainly changed the way I think and feel about music, and I cherish it very much to this day. This was a great interview, thanks Bill! Wise words in your description too.
I was at this concert, it was outstanding! I got up to the front and was in awe at the spectacular musicianship. One of the highlights in my short New Haven period.
3:37 // I KNEW IT - Robert's statements on expanded attention is really what's required to play those "mandala guitar passages" on tracks like Frame By Frame. If the rhythm is in 7/8 and you need to play in 13/8 to phase the guitars throughout several measures, you can't concentrate on the riff note by note or measure by measure, especially live when it's so easy to get lost in the process. It's missing the mandala for the colored grains of sand, so to speak. The goal is to capture the entirety of the process as you're creating it; it's only through this method that you can actually appreciate that part of Frame By Frame for what it is - after all, it's destroyed as soon as it's completed. Right?
right! especially the mandela-grains of sand part. and as @vcp93 notes below, the point of acquring technique is to be able to forget about it, so your grains of sand build the mandala properly. right?
I saw KC on 25 Feb 1982 at the Landmark Theater in Syracuse, just before this interview. What a fabulous time to see King Crimson. The band was brilliant, and Robert stood and studied the crowd after their encore. Bill’s autobiography is very illuminating on this era and working with Robert.
A beautiful mind. I feel nothing but respect and joy for Mr. Fripp and the body of work with KC. Same is true for Mr. Bruford, always looking for the next artistical thrill instead of sticking to the proven. Peak Yes is attached to Bill, peak King Crimson is attached to Bill, peak music with UK and many others is attached to Bill. Thank you for your work. I spent some hundred hours of my life listening to your music, we survived the Simmons years together, I'd like to call you Bill by now. I hope you don't mind Mr. Bruford.
Well I dunno. Belew - who is or was clearly a little upset at his lack of inclusion in the 50 year tour did point out in the KC documentary by asking where was the new material? That they were basically touring playing old material. There's a lot of waffling in that documentary about what King Crimson is supposed to be or isn't supposed to be. I wouldn't take it too seriously. They might favour the idea of trying to avoid individual egos in the band but that doesn't mean collectively they aren't drunk on their own kool aid. As one of them implied, quite possibly Bruford the Americans in the band weren't so silly and just played stuff I think he called it a can do attitude. Which probably owes more to their creative output than the middle class pretension of the others. Belew may not have been at the Albert Hall in person but he was definitely there because they look back to the 70s and 80s more than they're looking forward.
I saw King Crimson at Toad's Place, New Haven with the following line up. Fripp, Belew, Levin and of course Bill Bruford. Standing only a few yards behind Fripp while performing, "Elephant Talk"..... Outstanding.
Cannot wait for this. The Holdsworth interview was fascinating. I would implore that if an uninterrupted take of the "Discipline" performance which appeared on the original Bruford And The Beat is among the tapes that have been newly re-discovered, that it gets uploaded here in time as well as the rest of Bill's solo pieces!
It’s awesome when Fripp is given enough time to develop his thoughts. Which is the case for anyone thoughtful, but it really pays off here, what a treat.
He was motivated by artistic challenge rather than money. If he cared for money more than pushing himself as an artist, he could've stayed in Yes and raked in far more cash. He could've milked the success of The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge forever if he chose to. Instead he ditched it all and voyaged into the musical unknown with Robert .
Bruford, a drummer of great character, could never replace the swinging NY jazzers of any era. However, the average NY jazz drummer like Guiliana, Sanchez, Harland, Stewart or Blade, could effortlessly do the entire UK teenage "progressive rock" catalogue with extreme modesty
Incredible video of insight into the band. Thank you Bill Bruford, we hope to reach the spiritual heights you and KC have seen through this art of ours
I was born blocks away from Toads Place and played there once or twice with an all-original fusion group in the early 1990s, Electric Fish. This was a terrific venue. That’s right in the heart of the Yale University campus, where my father was a young music professor in the early 1960s before moving on to another teaching job.
I like the way he talks about being aware of the totality of the piece/set at the same time as paying attention the bar you're playing. It reminds me of some of the ideas in John Stevens' Search and Reflect.
The whole universe resides in Robert's cranium.Lucky to have experienced Larks Tongue( twice),Discipline,The Power To Believe and one additional recent tour.Always a truly moving experience.
Thanks a lot Bill for this... Long time ago, but always effective... I always miss your drummin' parts, as the violin of David Cross or the guitar of Adrian Belew in the 2014/2021 incarnation of Crimson... King Crimson is a multi headed beast, and for sure You're for ever a big part of it... I remember a show of the double Trio in Lyon, France... You' were the only one musician to come and talk with some guys like me... No one of us speaks fluent english, so we can't express your love and admiration... You're a good guy... I have read your biography book, and understand better your difficulties with someone so complex like Fripp... His own words about You at the very beginning of the interview are very rude... The poison was already there, prepare to kill at the end of the double Trio, before fracktualisation of Crimson, without You... Nevermind, what you gives to Crimson's music stands at the Best european rock music ever done... Thanks for all
@@michael1 I feel you're underestimating the terror of performing something to the best of your ability with an open, vulnerable heart and no safety net beneath you. With the eyes of the entire world (with all of their judgements and motives) looking right at you. - There's a reason many folks are horrified at the thought of public speaking, never mind showing your innermost being through art, before a room filled with strangers eyes. ....Making 'being up there' look easy & natural is all a part of the high-wire performance. It is not easy, it's supremely hard.
I remember seeing them on the Discipline tour. It was freshman year at college, 10/30/1981 at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia. I am pretty sure this was the first concert I saw in college and it is still one of my all time favorite shows, even though, like a lot of us who grew up on KC in the 1970s, I was a little disappointed at first that they didn't play Schizoid Man!
I've seen a lot of shows at Toad's Place. I wish I saw this one. Music was bleak in the early 80's and Discipline was a revelation and my favorite album. I don't know how I missed it. I was 20 and probably too broke that week.
It's as if he thinks about each answer before he speaks - that can't be right, surely? I have listened to Discipline quite a few times and it definitely reminds me of music, although I’m not exactly sure why - or when.
Thanks for the upload, Bill. How do I love this video, as opposed to hitting like? I find it so wonderful how many times I write music, and as I listen to KC and the wisdom behind it, I am somehow on the same page. -In 2018, I started getting interested in the octatonic scale and quartal harmonies. Also started listening to THRAK, which used both. -More and more since then, Ive been developing a scheduled, meditative practice that preceeds producing a song. This includes going to a park, reading Bible verses, or even playing video games. Just my two cents.
oh hey, i remember this date. Crimson played an early version of Absent Lovers, which included a few parts that would be adapted for Three of a Perfect Pair. someone booed them after they finished it
Yeah, imagine that. You know, I used to kinda look up to Europe back when it was guys like this... well, there's not _really_ any other guys like this exactly, but, ehh... these days Europeans are pretty widely exposed as being just as big of goof balls as what I've seen in the states. That's not the distinction you intend. There is a handful of people in America that are actually insightful and a handful in Europe and other places. We can fucking see your idiots all day too now, to be blunt. Those people reflect your meaning? What if Katie Price was the only brit I'd ever seen or heard? 99% of America *is* shit but the few that are cool and interesting are, from my experience, more of everything you imagine Europe to be except for the pettiness, pretentiousness, and single minded arrogance. I don't find notions of national character very reflective of artist weirdo types at all. Heh. But yeah, sure, we are all like the tourists you get and the idiots on the goddamned tv. That's how life is, right genius? The people on the BBC are your best and brightest hidden gem mind-bending brilliant laughing madmen? What a vulgar limited position to take in light of the superior insight of Mr. Fripp. I suppose you won't be following any of his advice ultimately if this is any indication. Certainly not what is discussed in the interview. I could complain all day about "Americas" but I find everywhere I go most people are pretty dumb and goofy for one reason or another and in any country intelligence and education is seen much more widely than actual meaningful insight. I don't go in for the academic chiselers these days and am only impressed with fresh real ideas and I find that is not so common in any country. Can you direct me to these other current specificlly non-Americans that demonstrate a similar eloquence and acuity in their discipline? Because I have been discussing these issues he mentions my entire life in one way or another and I slapped my knee hearing this. It's not that it was a lesson, it was just a very good, maybe one of the best I've heard, descriptions of these specific ideas. I hear a lot of smart people talk and I'm not particularly impressed so if you know something this good I'd be intrested. I rarely have, especially with music which I find to be largely devoid of intellectually dynamic thought. The craftsmanship and the math homework is the only thing most of them can even conceive of, it's embarrassing to me. Like most British people I've met or seen since the 90s. I do agree his generation was statisticly superior on the whole, not across the board, but certainly in number. But that's an issue of time and individuals, not geography and nation. So yes, I can imagine an American talk like this because I am one and have known or read or seen a few; but not like this. It's not the knowledge here but the relatable insight. This guy is one of the few I've seen that genuinely impress me in a personal way and this is a great example. Anyway, I'm inebriated. Feel free to not respond or tell me off if you like or whatever you prefer. I've said my piece. I'm sure I didn't convince you, this is written like shit; but that's exactly what you get when you talk smack about New Albion, there, jeeves. 🎉
@@FromTheRoomOfLittleEase The world is a different place now. The OP made a valid point. I left the states for Europe to find such individuals. And to a degree found them. That was almost 50 years ago. The world is different now
Let me explain something to you. Um, I am not "Mr. Lebowski". You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm The Frippinator, so that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Frippness, or uh, Fripper, or El Fripperino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
Thank you so much for posting this, Bill. May I call you Bill? I read your autobiography back when it came out, in two sittings in a library here in Canada. Watching this video immediately brought back wonderful memories of reading your book. When it comes to large language models, I doubt a machine has anything to say that would be more interesting to me than what even the least articulate human could try to express. I mean, they're built to just give us what we want, right? That's not what I want from art; I want the artist to provide me with what I need, but don't know it yet until they reveal it to me. But I'm open-minded 😉 Cheers Bill. Thank you again.
Sorry UA-cam caption doesn't work well. Maybe Mr. Fripp is mentioning gamelan as an example, which is consistent with their music at that era. December 5, 2021, at Tachikawa Stage Garden, Mr. Fripp got stuck in Discipline because of a technological trouble. As a result, they gave us a perfect performance of Discipline for the encore, and made us all happy. That was providence.
What a very serious young musician he was then. He's lightened up considerably since, I'd say. For those of you following, can you pick out the bits that made it into Bill's instructional video?
I can completely relate to his "music plays the musician". As a musician, I just allow music to be created, in a natural internal way. I'm not planning anything, but letting it come forth, and simply facilitate it into recorded form. It can lead to instant songs / instant music, that doesn't sound like any other bands / musicians. I'm really not sure where the music is coming from, which is great!
Amazing! Thank you, Mr Bruford. Is there more to this interview? And I love what RF says about you and your attitude to a new start. VERY complimentary. But I would love to see more of Fripp explaining.
Fripp is a artistic intellectual. He draws upon psychological examples to help explain his ideas of music as a free entity of our conciousness. That we, have to come to terms with it's natural order. It leads us, by opening up our imagination to serve it's purpose. If this sounds pretentious, well, I can't blame anyone for thinking that Fripp is merely trying to be cagey. So, profundity go's only as far as the individual expressing it's purpose. So, in the end, we get an intellectually thoughtful brain-beating by a non compromising musician. He is giving his two cents. What makes it all work in the end for a thinking musician. It could be gospel, it could be nonsense. It is undoubtedly, Robert Fripp.
All the great musicians say the same thing. The focus on technical expertise is so you can forget about it. Vinnie Colaiuta said it best, "... Thought is the enemy of flow..."
Yes.. Any band can learn charts, note for note - My band for 25+ years.. made a point of Not rehearsing the music we played live. Only by feel and our combined musical abilities would we impress ourselves (on rare occasions) simply by flow and intuition.
Towards the end of the video, Robert talks about Gamblin or gambling or something like that. I can’t figure out what he’s talking about. There’s anybody out there know what he’s talking about?
To add on to what you said. Its influence can be mostly felt on the 80s records. Though Fripp has been toying with the idea of Gamelan rock as far back as Larks' tongues in aspic part 1 (the intro). After the 80s, the influence of Gamelan still permeates King Crimson' music, though it is much less prevalent. @@TheMadalucard
Gamelan is an Indonesian percussion orchestra, often accompanied by singing. Each Gamelan set has its own tuning. --- Yesterday, I posted a link to the Gamelan musician and academic musicologist Marc Benamou and his book on Gamelan performance, for those who want to learn more. His dissertation under Judith Becker is available for free as a pdf at the University of Michigan. I thought that this academic information would be appropriate, especially because Dr. Bill Bruford has been a closet academic forever and has been a Ph.D. in music for some years. Perhaps it was removed as marketing "Spam", sic. (Spam is a registered trademark.) --- I hope this helps.
Some musicians may study and train with absolute discipline and use certain techniques to achieve, improve, master their “ Craft “ as it is labelled in an elitist manor. However, my Dad has natural talent, can’t read music, but can play by ear, harmonica and piano accordion, it’s an amazing gift from God in my opinion and reaches down into the depths of one’s soul.
He is simply one of the most well considered and fluently articulate of 20th Century electric guitarist / frontman / composer musicians ever - You can just SEE he practices _everything_ that he preaches. So every idea is welcome. 🙂7
They probably did. Though Belew has often said that he feels unsatisfied with the credit which he thinks he deserves after acting like the leader of the group from the 80s until 2000s. Don't know if he's referring to the money or to the recognition, but that's somewhere you could start looking into.
@@AboubacarSiddikh I really don't remember what term he used exactly. However, it seems to me that the implication was that he lead the group. He mentions that he wasn't just the second guitarist; he also had to write a lot of the music and all of the lyrics, I think he also said that he essentially acted as band leader during that period, but don't quote me on that. There is an interview on youtube, it is very recent and he also talks about his name being mentioned in guardians of the galaxy 3 (alongside King Crimson), which is amusing.
@@MarceloKatayama Well, for me it was clear even before 1981, that with regards to Crimson, Fripp called the shots. He decided who was in it and who was not (if the musician wanted to of course), he decided when a formation would form (if legalities allowed) and when it would cease to exist. It seems peculiar to me Belew never really seemed to acknowledge that. The first year with Adrian was the best. They never topped Discipline. Time to move on. Long overdue when it finally happened. Fripp already asked David Sylvian to join in the early 1990's. What does that tell you? What should it have told Adrian?
@@AboubacarSiddikh Haha, I do know that it was Fripp's band from the 1970s onwards. No need to get so jumpy about it. I'm just telling you what Adrian seems to think on the matter, nothing else.
Thank you Bill! As I understand it, you were one of only a few musicians who 'got along' for the most part with Fripp. I am wondering how Robert took your comments about him in your book.. calling him "The Owl"? And this comment is not meant in a mean-spirited way. I am your biggest fan ever. But for years I have wondered if those things said in your book have hurt your relationship with him? I know you say King Crimson will always be your true love, as it is mine.
At this time they were just about to begin recording 'Beat' - the follow-up to 'Discipline' - and while it may not be as strong a record as it's predecessor - it does have one of their most amazing instrumentals .. "Sartori in Tangier"
Bill Bruford: if you are currently increasingly interested in interactive connections with other musicians, does this mean you are coming out of retirement for a particular project or at least showing us your handsome face again in some sort of public performance forum? Releasing any new music? Anything new being recorded?
I have no idea what he's talking about, and frankly it sounds somewhat nonsensical but he's clearly thought it through and HE'S the musical genius so who am I to argue.
To hear Robert Fripp discuss anything at length is a treat.
To hear Fripp discuss anything is a teat.
on a another level if ya ask me
@@DaveKeenertheking Not my idea of music theory. It's not a 'friend' that comes knocking on your door. Ffs, what utter bollocks.
How can you decree what others experience something as? How can you decree what truth is to all people?@@robinwatson4282
@@robinwatson4282 I think he’s speaking on randomness; and how we don’t always pick and choose who and what we are as musicians or serious listeners for that matter.
I love Bob's silent contemplating of any question.
Was thinking the same thing. ❤
Robert, to you.
Uncle Bobbie
Possibly stems partly from Bob’s esoteric studies? Wasn’t it Georges Gurdjieff who spoke of engaging in Work-with the primary aim of remaining acutely awake, as most of humanity functions in a profound slumber. Thus, taking the time to utter meaningful statements, thoughtfully, instead of just spewing rote language regurgitated from previous interviews, may be partly a result of Mr. Fripp’s spiritual studies and evolution.
@@rhythmfieldwho was that, please
Discipline was, and remains, a crucial milestone in my own personal relationship with music.
Hearing Robert speak about it has helped clarify some things and amplify others.
Reading Bill's comments has - as always - helped flesh out my understanding and appreciation.
Thank you so very much.
I'm with you. The early 80's "trilogy" of albums opened up my square head into understanding that music need not fit into neat little pigeon holes. Paraphrasing RF speaking with Daryl Hall and his band, Robert's epiphany was recognizing that the common categories of music are "all the same music"...dialects of a language. In those college years when I heard KC for the first time, I was also exposed (thanks in large part to a musician roommate) to Brian Eno, David Bowie, David Byrne and Talking Heads, among others. Category busting, all of them.
@@apex107lrpA big Hurrah! for your musician room-mate!
Right on, brother....
Yep. You kinda had to set the record apart from others. It was something to look deeper & deeper into with passing years.
To hear Fripp talk about it here just confirms that weird feeling of playfully serious, perception expanding properties you discover about it.
That said, I actually prefer Discipline’s compositions as live performances on Absent Lovers. It’s so damn fun and alive.
Regardless of what he is saying here, one has to absolutely marvel at his mastery of the language, with no reliance on filler words (e.g., “umm”, “uhhh,” and “like”) or filler phrases (e.g., “you know,” “and what not,” etc.).
absolutely
He does use "uhh" a couple of times. But he is a very eloquent speaker, yes.
Love Fripp.
@@MelHaylerAnd then he talked straight forward. But hey, we all focus on what is important to us.
Marvel? It’s normal good English.
@@WinstonTexas829 Proper, eloquent, well-spoken English ain’t really so normal no more …
The entire 60s, 70s, 80s King Crimson Collection is ONE whole continuous complete package. I've got the entire collection laid out in front of me now and couldn't honestly choose a favourite album. It's all ONE unique journey....
Hear! Hear!
Listen! Listen!
THRAK....
CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHT....
@volpeverde6441 Yes, those too!!
The 2003 album "The Power to Believe" also included! So "late 60s to early noughties"
"Earthbound" 1972, is an odd live album. Despite its poor quality cassette recording, the unique spirit shines through
Please don’t tell me that a tissue box and hand cream is nearby!
I had no idea Fripp had such beautiful ideas about society, or that you shared all the money equally. Wonderful interview.
I agree Mr. Friop.
Mr. Friop..
Sharing the money equally didn't mean he thought everyone should get an equal share. Like, for example, if you have 5 people you can divide the money into 6 or 7 piles and give one or more of the people 2 equal shares if you believe or can justify that they are doing 2 shares worth compared with the others. If you read Robert's recent diary entries you can see how he devised sharing in letters and emails to the other band members and it goes into more depth about how he saw that a straightforward 5 way split wouldn't be equal. He hints at some of these ideas in this video. i.e at the idea that the (c) system separates the idea of writing, performing etc, and in that sense the equal shares weren't necessarily divided equally in the naive sense. A few rock bands add everyone to writing credits even if only 1 or 2 members really had a significant part in composing or writing the material. Others give credit to one or two. And of course it's common for artists to lose writing credits they feel their deserve (anyone involved with Ozzy Osbourne for example) - in the modern day it includes people who are trying to sell songs to established artists who end up having to give the artist co-writing credit even if they didn't co-write. KC seems to have tried to be equitable rather than equal in the fantasy socialist sense that you appear to have interpreted 'share the money equally"
Sharing money equally that was earned by the group.
Fripp dropping wisdom bombs. Great piece of knowledge especially for young musician like me.
Well you can guarantee he would never use a crass phrase like 'wisdom bombs' .
@DrTWG fortunately it is me who used it, not him.
Robert Fripp commands the presence and respect of a world leader far more than a rock musician.
This is a rare Fripp interview so thanks to Bill for digging it out. You are at once struck by a man in the music business with erudition, thought, and a music vocabulary which enabled Crim to achieve phenomenal success and be an inspiration and considerable influence in the progressive rock genre and by extension music generally. The maestro, the master, the Crimson King. Welcome to the court.
Thanks Bill. I was at this show at Toad's Place, one of the best KC performances I've attended. The atmosphere in the hall was an intense energetic plasma of rhythms and counter rhythms. Thanks for the fond memories.
I was there too - and it was LOUD! I remember my ears ringing the entire next day - my wife’s and friends too. But - GREAT show.
Wow, a meeting of attendees that were there. Indeed it was incredibly intense, such a fantastic memory.
Me too. I was there also. My table was right up against the stage … close enough to talk with Fripp during the show. I remember Fripp and Adrian Belew opening the show with the two guitars interplay of “Discipline”. I also saw them again in West Hartford with Bill opening the show with “Waiting Man”. Now I am old and stay home.
@paulk9230 you may be home, but you're here
A nive rare treat to actually hear Fripp praising a fellow King Crimson member, that really speaks volumes of not only the kind of musician Bill Bruford is but the kind of person Fripp is because he very rarely ever gave out praise to anyone let alone someone from his own band. Whenever Fripp and Bruford got together, it was magic and they made some of the greatest music ever.
It's not rare at all. Stop making things up.
Well, the 80-84 Crimson certainly changed the way I think and feel about music, and I cherish it very much to this day. This was a great interview, thanks Bill! Wise words in your description too.
I was at this concert, it was outstanding! I got up to the front and was in awe at the spectacular musicianship. One of the highlights in my short New Haven period.
3:37 // I KNEW IT - Robert's statements on expanded attention is really what's required to play those "mandala guitar passages" on tracks like Frame By Frame.
If the rhythm is in 7/8 and you need to play in 13/8 to phase the guitars throughout several measures, you can't concentrate on the riff note by note or measure by measure, especially live when it's so easy to get lost in the process. It's missing the mandala for the colored grains of sand, so to speak. The goal is to capture the entirety of the process as you're creating it; it's only through this method that you can actually appreciate that part of Frame By Frame for what it is - after all, it's destroyed as soon as it's completed. Right?
right! especially the mandela-grains of sand part. and as @vcp93 notes below, the point of acquring technique is to be able to forget about it, so your grains of sand build the mandala properly. right?
I saw KC on 25 Feb 1982 at the Landmark Theater in Syracuse, just before this interview. What a fabulous time to see King Crimson. The band was brilliant, and Robert stood and studied the crowd after their encore. Bill’s autobiography is very illuminating on this era and working with Robert.
A beautiful mind. I feel nothing but respect and joy for Mr. Fripp and the body of work with KC. Same is true for Mr. Bruford, always looking for the next artistical thrill instead of sticking to the proven. Peak Yes is attached to Bill, peak King Crimson is attached to Bill, peak music with UK and many others is attached to Bill.
Thank you for your work. I spent some hundred hours of my life listening to your music, we survived the Simmons years together, I'd like to call you Bill by now. I hope you don't mind Mr. Bruford.
Well I dunno. Belew - who is or was clearly a little upset at his lack of inclusion in the 50 year tour did point out in the KC documentary by asking where was the new material? That they were basically touring playing old material. There's a lot of waffling in that documentary about what King Crimson is supposed to be or isn't supposed to be. I wouldn't take it too seriously. They might favour the idea of trying to avoid individual egos in the band but that doesn't mean collectively they aren't drunk on their own kool aid. As one of them implied, quite possibly Bruford the Americans in the band weren't so silly and just played stuff I think he called it a can do attitude. Which probably owes more to their creative output than the middle class pretension of the others. Belew may not have been at the Albert Hall in person but he was definitely there because they look back to the 70s and 80s more than they're looking forward.
He is definitely one of a kind
I saw King Crimson at Toad's Place, New Haven with the following line up. Fripp, Belew, Levin and of course Bill Bruford. Standing only a few yards behind Fripp while performing, "Elephant Talk"..... Outstanding.
Cannot wait for this. The Holdsworth interview was fascinating.
I would implore that if an uninterrupted take of the "Discipline" performance which appeared on the original Bruford And The Beat is among the tapes that have been newly re-discovered, that it gets uploaded here in time as well as the rest of Bill's solo pieces!
YESSSS!!!!
@@AboubacarSiddikhand yes.
6:16 Fripp playing a paradiddle in 5! (for drummers only)
THX Bill and Robert of course too! ;-) Very interesting! Very wise!
It’s awesome when Fripp is given enough time to develop his thoughts. Which is the case for anyone thoughtful, but it really pays off here, what a treat.
He has a stammer and just hides it well. Please be cognizant of a person's health issues.
@@Frip36 I think you’ve misread my comment.
Mr. Bruford has appeared to have stayed true to his work over the years.
liked him best in yes and kc
He was motivated by artistic challenge rather than money. If he cared for money more than pushing himself as an artist, he could've stayed in Yes and raked in far more cash. He could've milked the success of The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge forever if he chose to. Instead he ditched it all and voyaged into the musical unknown with Robert .
@@IzunaSlapyou called them muscical unknown? Are you out of your mind?
Bruford, a drummer of great character, could never replace the swinging NY jazzers of any era. However, the average NY jazz drummer like Guiliana, Sanchez, Harland, Stewart or Blade, could effortlessly do the entire UK teenage "progressive rock" catalogue with extreme modesty
That's right.....he NEVER sold out.
Interesting to hear him, first time for me. His speaking voice reminds me a lot of Chris Squire, and he talks slow and deliberately like Squire too.
The ONLY thing Chris Squire didn't do slowly was play bass.
80s KC - best band ever.
For me nothing beats the power of the 73-74 quartet, or the exploration of the 72 quintet. My favorite bands ever. But the 80s band was great too.
Certainly the Best Band In The World at the time.
I was in the audience when KC Discipline toured. It was a spellbinding experience. So pleased to see this interview.
Incredible video of insight into the band. Thank you Bill Bruford, we hope to reach the spiritual heights you and KC have seen through this art of ours
I was born blocks away from Toads Place and played there once or twice with an all-original fusion group in the early 1990s, Electric Fish. This was a terrific venue. That’s right in the heart of the Yale University campus, where my father was a young music professor in the early 1960s before moving on to another teaching job.
Robert is from the same park of the country my family is from and whenever I hear him speak he sounds like my late great-uncle.
You are listening to a zen master. To think everything through to it's logical conclusion is a rare skill.
Not zen.
I like the way he talks about being aware of the totality of the piece/set at the same time as paying attention the bar you're playing. It reminds me of some of the ideas in John Stevens' Search and Reflect.
The whole universe resides in Robert's cranium.Lucky to have experienced Larks Tongue( twice),Discipline,The Power To Believe and one additional recent tour.Always a truly moving experience.
This is an awesome interview.
Thanks a lot Bill for this... Long time ago, but always effective...
I always miss your drummin' parts, as the violin of David Cross or the guitar of Adrian Belew in the 2014/2021 incarnation of Crimson...
King Crimson is a multi headed beast, and for sure You're for ever a big part of it...
I remember a show of the double Trio in Lyon, France... You' were the only one musician to come and talk with some guys like me... No one of us speaks fluent english, so we can't express your love and admiration... You're a good guy... I have read your biography book, and understand better your difficulties with someone so complex like Fripp... His own words about You at the very beginning of the interview are very rude... The poison was already there, prepare to kill at the end of the double Trio, before fracktualisation of Crimson, without You... Nevermind, what you gives to Crimson's music stands at the Best european rock music ever done...
Thanks for all
"Everything you've heard about King Crimson is true: It is a terrifying place" - Bill Bruford.
Words that can only have been spoken by someone lucky enough never to have been in a terrifying place.
Yesss even Adrian has told that he was afraid of doing like silly things when he joined King Crimson lmao
That near mugging was in New york city, if i remember right
@@michael1 I feel you're underestimating the terror of performing something to the best of your ability with an open, vulnerable heart and no safety net beneath you.
With the eyes of the entire world (with all of their judgements and motives) looking right at you.
- There's a reason many folks are horrified at the thought of public speaking, never mind showing your innermost being through art, before a room filled with strangers eyes.
....Making 'being up there' look easy & natural is all a part of the high-wire performance.
It is not easy, it's supremely hard.
This was included in the "Bruford and the Beat" video, I think.
In a highly edited form, yes. I'm imagining we'll be getting the unexpurgated version :-)
@@duncanparsons Yes, I hope so too.
Correct. I have that VHS tape around here, somewhere
@@malinwj1167 I have it too!
I remember seeing them on the Discipline tour. It was freshman year at college, 10/30/1981 at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia. I am pretty sure this was the first concert I saw in college and it is still one of my all time favorite shows, even though, like a lot of us who grew up on KC in the 1970s, I was a little disappointed at first that they didn't play Schizoid Man!
I saw Fripp at Toad’s Place in 83 or 84 performing a solo Frippertronics concert with lecture!
I've seen a lot of shows at Toad's Place. I wish I saw this one. Music was bleak in the early 80's and Discipline was a revelation and my favorite album. I don't know how I missed it. I was 20 and probably too broke that week.
what a great interview!
It's as if he thinks about each answer before he speaks - that can't be right, surely? I have listened to Discipline quite a few times and it definitely reminds me of music, although I’m not exactly sure why - or when.
Thank you mr Bruford.
I was at that show. Seen them and marillion and Steve hackett there in early 80’s. Great shows
Great interview. Thanks for all the uploads
I keep expecting him to say “inconceivable!!!”
The likeness is striking to me.
Thanks for the upload, Bill. How do I love this video, as opposed to hitting like?
I find it so wonderful how many times I write music, and as I listen to KC and the wisdom behind it, I am somehow on the same page.
-In 2018, I started getting interested in the octatonic scale and quartal harmonies. Also started listening to THRAK, which used both.
-More and more since then, Ive been developing a scheduled, meditative practice that preceeds producing a song. This includes going to a park, reading Bible verses, or even playing video games.
Just my two cents.
Love your writings too!
oh hey, i remember this date. Crimson played an early version of Absent Lovers, which included a few parts that would be adapted for Three of a Perfect Pair. someone booed them after they finished it
Fripp is a treat. Try to hear an American musician discuss music in this way. 72-74 Crimson wasstill the best live outfit.
Yeah, imagine that.
You know, I used to kinda look up to Europe back when it was guys like this... well, there's not _really_ any other guys like this exactly, but, ehh... these days Europeans are pretty widely exposed as being just as big of goof balls as what I've seen in the states.
That's not the distinction you intend.
There is a handful of people in America that are actually insightful and a handful in Europe and other places.
We can fucking see your idiots all day too now, to be blunt. Those people reflect your meaning? What if Katie Price was the only brit I'd ever seen or heard?
99% of America *is* shit but the few that are cool and interesting are, from my experience, more of everything you imagine Europe to be except for the pettiness, pretentiousness, and single minded arrogance. I don't find notions of national character very reflective of artist weirdo types at all. Heh.
But yeah, sure, we are all like the tourists you get and the idiots on the goddamned tv. That's how life is, right genius? The people on the BBC are your best and brightest hidden gem mind-bending brilliant laughing madmen?
What a vulgar limited position to take in light of the superior insight of Mr. Fripp.
I suppose you won't be following any of his advice ultimately if this is any indication. Certainly not what is discussed in the interview. I could complain all day about "Americas" but I find everywhere I go most people are pretty dumb and goofy for one reason or another and in any country intelligence and education is seen much more widely than actual meaningful insight. I don't go in for the academic chiselers these days and am only impressed with fresh real ideas and I find that is not so common in any country.
Can you direct me to these other current specificlly non-Americans that demonstrate a similar eloquence and acuity in their discipline? Because I have been discussing these issues he mentions my entire life in one way or another and I slapped my knee hearing this. It's not that it was a lesson, it was just a very good, maybe one of the best I've heard, descriptions of these specific ideas. I hear a lot of smart people talk and I'm not particularly impressed so if you know something this good I'd be intrested.
I rarely have, especially with music which I find to be largely devoid of intellectually dynamic thought.
The craftsmanship and the math homework is the only thing most of them can even conceive of, it's embarrassing to me.
Like most British people I've met or seen since the 90s.
I do agree his generation was statisticly superior on the whole, not across the board, but certainly in number. But that's an issue of time and individuals, not geography and nation.
So yes, I can imagine an American talk like this because I am one and have known or read or seen a few; but not like this. It's not the knowledge here but the relatable insight. This guy is one of the few I've seen that genuinely impress me in a personal way and this is a great example.
Anyway, I'm inebriated. Feel free to not respond or tell me off if you like or whatever you prefer. I've said my piece. I'm sure I didn't convince you, this is written like shit; but that's exactly what you get when you talk smack about New Albion, there, jeeves. 🎉
@@FromTheRoomOfLittleEase
The world is a different place now.
The OP made a valid point.
I left the states for Europe to find such individuals.
And to a degree found them.
That was almost 50 years ago.
The world is different now
Muddy Waters was illiterate. Do you want shit all over him for that, as well?
Finally! The whole thing is here. Thanks you BB.
Thank you so much for posting this.
This is by far one of the most profound explanations of anything, just in this case it’s music
Let me explain something to you. Um, I am not "Mr. Lebowski". You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm The Frippinator, so that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Frippness, or uh, Fripper, or El Fripperino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
Frippertron!
El Frippin'eno
Jesse, what the fuck are you talking about?
Donnie, please.
your out of your depth
No one in rock music is like Fripp. He's other-wordly.
I want Fripp's sweater.
Thank you so much for posting this, Bill. May I call you Bill? I read your autobiography back when it came out, in two sittings in a library here in Canada. Watching this video immediately brought back wonderful memories of reading your book.
When it comes to large language models, I doubt a machine has anything to say that would be more interesting to me than what even the least articulate human could try to express. I mean, they're built to just give us what we want, right? That's not what I want from art; I want the artist to provide me with what I need, but don't know it yet until they reveal it to me. But I'm open-minded 😉
Cheers Bill. Thank you again.
Date: Monday, July 26, 1982
Venue: Toad's Place
Location: New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Notes: $9.00 - 10:30 show
I WAS THERE!
I was there, standing right behind Fripp during the whole show..... incredible!
Wow. Just brilliant.
Sorry UA-cam caption doesn't work well. Maybe Mr. Fripp is mentioning gamelan as an example, which is consistent with their music at that era. December 5, 2021, at Tachikawa Stage Garden, Mr. Fripp got stuck in Discipline because of a technological trouble. As a result, they gave us a perfect performance of Discipline for the encore, and made us all happy. That was providence.
What a very serious young musician he was then. He's lightened up considerably since, I'd say. For those of you following, can you pick out the bits that made it into Bill's instructional video?
golden. thank you
Check out the dialogue between Fripp and Mcglaughlin . It’s on line .
Excellent reference video Bill, should you need a character reference for your next band try-out.
a blast from the past
I can completely relate to his "music plays the musician". As a musician, I just allow music to be created, in a natural internal way. I'm not planning anything, but letting it come forth, and simply facilitate it into recorded form. It can lead to instant songs / instant music, that doesn't sound like any other bands / musicians. I'm really not sure where the music is coming from, which is great!
Martin Freeman could play Robert in his biopic. :^D
That’s funny, I thought there was a resemblance from the thumbnail. Strange minds think alike.
I thought this too- and in hitchhikers guide, he’s wearing that robe that kinda looks like this sweater
Amazing! Thank you, Mr Bruford. Is there more to this interview? And I love what RF says about you and your attitude to a new start. VERY complimentary. But I would love to see more of Fripp explaining.
I would love to hear him interviewed on Radio3 by Tom Service. That section on the three disciplines is wonderful.
Fripp is a artistic intellectual. He draws upon psychological examples to help explain his ideas of music as a free entity of our conciousness. That we, have to come to terms with it's natural order. It leads us, by opening up our imagination to serve it's purpose.
If this sounds pretentious, well, I can't blame anyone for thinking that Fripp is merely trying to be cagey. So, profundity go's only as far as the individual expressing it's purpose. So, in the end, we get an intellectually thoughtful brain-beating by a non compromising musician. He is giving his two cents. What makes it all work in the end for a thinking musician.
It could be gospel, it could be nonsense. It is undoubtedly, Robert Fripp.
Thanks for the upload! Inspiring stuff! Subbed! 😊
Respect .Thanks Mr Fripp.
Robert Fripp= 7/8 I repeat myself when under stress…
All the great musicians say the same thing. The focus on technical expertise is so you can forget about it. Vinnie Colaiuta said it best, "... Thought is the enemy of flow..."
Yes.. Any band can learn charts, note for note - My band for 25+ years.. made a point of Not rehearsing the music we played live. Only by feel and our combined musical abilities would we impress ourselves (on rare occasions) simply by flow and intuition.
You know a musician has mastered their instrument when they listen to all the notes of the other musicians within the band while playing.
Great video.
can someone tell me what is ment at 10:59. I know he repeats a word which sounds like "gamblin" can someone please clearify?
Gamelan is the traditional music from different cultures within Indonesia. Very different from Western music.
Can anyone expand on what he means by the 'gamalin'? He talks about it a lot in the latter part of the interview.
Towards the end of the video, Robert talks about Gamblin or gambling or something like that. I can’t figure out what he’s talking about. There’s anybody out there know what he’s talking about?
Gamelan, an Indonesian form of ensemble music that inspired the sounds and ideas of Discipline onwards.
To add on to what you said. Its influence can be mostly felt on the 80s records. Though Fripp has been toying with the idea of Gamelan rock as far back as Larks' tongues in aspic part 1 (the intro). After the 80s, the influence of Gamelan still permeates King Crimson' music, though it is much less prevalent. @@TheMadalucard
Gamelan is an Indonesian percussion orchestra, often accompanied by singing. Each Gamelan set has its own tuning.
---
Yesterday, I posted a link to the Gamelan musician and academic musicologist Marc Benamou and his book on Gamelan performance, for those who want to learn more. His dissertation under Judith Becker is available for free as a pdf at the University of Michigan.
I thought that this academic information would be appropriate, especially because Dr. Bill Bruford has been a closet academic forever and has been a Ph.D. in music for some years.
Perhaps it was removed as marketing "Spam", sic. (Spam is a registered trademark.)
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I hope this helps.
@@JamesBlevins0Its the Indonesian sounds Yes did many years prior on Relayer
Some musicians may study and train with absolute discipline and use certain techniques to achieve, improve, master their “ Craft “ as it is labelled in an elitist manor. However, my Dad has natural talent, can’t read music, but can play by ear, harmonica and piano accordion, it’s an amazing gift from God in my opinion and reaches down into the depths of one’s soul.
He is simply one of the most well considered and fluently articulate
of 20th Century electric guitarist / frontman / composer musicians ever
- You can just SEE he practices _everything_ that he preaches. So every idea is welcome. 🙂7
Fripp is one thoughtful cat...the talks he and Eno must of had lol KC it's a way of life 😂
Wow.
thank you Bill, and Happy Birthday today 17 May 24.
@ 10:28 : "...if you share all the money equally, which we do..". Would love to hear the other band members opinion on this subject...but do you ??
They probably did. Though Belew has often said that he feels unsatisfied with the credit which he thinks he deserves after acting like the leader of the group from the 80s until 2000s. Don't know if he's referring to the money or to the recognition, but that's somewhere you could start looking into.
@@MarceloKatayama Did Adrian Belew use the word leader? Or front man? Because these are two entirely different things. He was never KC's leader.
@@AboubacarSiddikh I really don't remember what term he used exactly. However, it seems to me that the implication was that he lead the group. He mentions that he wasn't just the second guitarist; he also had to write a lot of the music and all of the lyrics, I think he also said that he essentially acted as band leader during that period, but don't quote me on that. There is an interview on youtube, it is very recent and he also talks about his name being mentioned in guardians of the galaxy 3 (alongside King Crimson), which is amusing.
@@MarceloKatayama Well, for me it was clear even before 1981, that with regards to Crimson, Fripp called the shots. He decided who was in it and who was not (if the musician wanted to of course), he decided when a formation would form (if legalities allowed) and when it would cease to exist. It seems peculiar to me Belew never really seemed to acknowledge that. The first year with Adrian was the best. They never topped Discipline. Time to move on. Long overdue when it finally happened. Fripp already asked David Sylvian to join in the early 1990's. What does that tell you? What should it have told Adrian?
@@AboubacarSiddikh Haha, I do know that it was Fripp's band from the 1970s onwards. No need to get so jumpy about it. I'm just telling you what Adrian seems to think on the matter, nothing else.
Wonderful insights.
Thank you Bill! As I understand it, you were one of only a few musicians who 'got along' for the most part with Fripp. I am wondering how Robert took your comments about him in your book.. calling him "The Owl"? And this comment is not meant in a mean-spirited way. I am your biggest fan ever. But for years I have wondered if those things said in your book have hurt your relationship with him? I know you say King Crimson will always be your true love, as it is mine.
It was so kind of Donald Sutherland to loan Robert the sweater he wore in Animal House for this interview!
Fripp for the President of Earth!
The contrast he draws between eastern and western perspectives on music owes a lot to Gurdjieff via JG Bennett.
And Ouspensky - In Search Of The Miraculous.
Yeah. That book was just a transcript of Gurdjieff's early lectures.
At this time they were just about to begin recording 'Beat' - the follow-up to 'Discipline' - and while it may not be as strong a record as it's predecessor - it does have one of their most amazing instrumentals .. "Sartori in Tangier"
Yeah new haven!!!
I think he's saying he likes quiet time unless it's time to ROCK!
Fripp's so cute here omg
I wonder what Discipline-era Robert would make of the tutu-wearing dancing dinosaur that we saw during lockdown?
Bill Bruford: if you are currently increasingly interested in interactive connections with other musicians, does this mean you are coming out of retirement for a particular project or at least showing us your handsome face again in some sort of public performance forum? Releasing any new music? Anything new being recorded?
So young and likable.
I have no idea what he's talking about, and frankly it sounds somewhat nonsensical but he's clearly thought it through and HE'S the musical genius so who am I to argue.
Hard to believe this is the same guy that does Robert and Toyah Sunday lunch. It destroyed his mystique
I agree, while it is funny to see him act as a norma human being the aura of mistery he'd built around himself over the years was marvelous
Robert Fripp is my Alan Watts.
Profound