Fripp & Eno - (No Pussyfooting)
First, here's a little background on Robert Fripp and Brian Eno just in case some of you aren't familiar. Hopefully, this is not the case.
From wiki (cause I'm lazy bitches):
Moving right along....
I've been wanting an excuse to talk about ambient music more, and I figured I should touch on some older stuff as opposed to flooding the thread with more jabber about this whole analog scene that's eating away at me, slowly but surely.
So, (No Pussyfooting), released in 1973, was the first of three collaborations between Fripp and Eno. At the time of release the album didn't make the charts (oh no!), and met a generally negative reaction. It didn't help I suppose that Eno released Here Come the Warm Jets, his first solo record since leaving Roxy Music. To put it mildly, Here Come the Warm Jets is a much more approachable album, and genius in it's own right.
Anyways, (NP) made use of "Frippertronics", this system of tape loops that was developed in the early '60's. It was first used by composers like Terry Riley (he surely deserves a mention in this thread). The use of this system didn't really gain popularity until it's use in ambience by guess who? Fripp and Eno. For the sake of the geeks who may be reading this, here's an explanation of what I'm talking about:
To say the least, this album is epic, and quite a bit to take in. Many of the artists I love today that are involved in the whole drone/experimental electronic stuff owe plenty to albums like this. There's no way around that. Pure proto-ambient bliss is an easy way to sum things up. Fripp's guitar playing is superb, and Eno's work with the loops is amazing (although this was surely a learning process). Perfect for a calm drive through under a tree bridge or something to relax to while you soak in the tub. If you do that, I'm all about the shower personally.
Ok, this is getting long, so I'll just say that if you are into Fripp or Eno, or anything they've been involved in you owe it to yourself to give this album a spin. Ambience may not be your big thing, but this is essential.
Robert Fripp
Brian Eno
First, here's a little background on Robert Fripp and Brian Eno just in case some of you aren't familiar. Hopefully, this is not the case.
From wiki (cause I'm lazy bitches):
Quote:
| Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946 in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England) is a guitarist, composer and a record producer best known for being the guitarist for, and only constant member of, the progressive rock band King Crimson. Huge discog without counting his work with KC. |
Quote:
| Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno[1] (born 15 May 1948), commonly known as Brian Eno (pronounced /ˈiːnoʊ/), is an English musician, composer, record producer, music theorist and singer, who, as a solo artist, is best known as the father of ambient music. Eno studied at art school, taking inspiration from minimalist painting, but he had little musical education or playing experience when he joined the band Roxy Music as their keyboards and synthesisers player in the early 1970s. Roxy Music's success in the glam rock scene came quickly, but Eno soon tired of touring, and he left the group after their For Your Pleasure (1973), beginning his solo career with Here Come the Warm Jets (1973) and Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (1974). |
So, (No Pussyfooting), released in 1973, was the first of three collaborations between Fripp and Eno. At the time of release the album didn't make the charts (oh no!), and met a generally negative reaction. It didn't help I suppose that Eno released Here Come the Warm Jets, his first solo record since leaving Roxy Music. To put it mildly, Here Come the Warm Jets is a much more approachable album, and genius in it's own right.
Anyways, (NP) made use of "Frippertronics", this system of tape loops that was developed in the early '60's. It was first used by composers like Terry Riley (he surely deserves a mention in this thread). The use of this system didn't really gain popularity until it's use in ambience by guess who? Fripp and Eno. For the sake of the geeks who may be reading this, here's an explanation of what I'm talking about:
Quote:
| Frippertronics (a term coined by Joanna Walton, Fripp's poet girlfriend in the late 1970s) is an analog delay system consisting of two reel-to-reel tape recorders situated side-by-side. The two machines are configured so that the tape travels from the supply reel of the first machine to the take-up reel of the second, thereby allowing sound recorded by the first machine to be played back some time later on the second. The audio of the second machine is routed back to the first, causing the delayed signal to repeat while new audio is mixed in with it. The amount of delay (usually 3 to 5 seconds) is controlled by increasing or reducing the distance between the machines. Fripp used this technique to dynamically create recordings containing layer upon layer of electric guitar sounds in a real time fashion. An added advantage was that, by nature of the technique, the complete performances were recorded in their entirety on the original looped tape. |
Ok, this is getting long, so I'll just say that if you are into Fripp or Eno, or anything they've been involved in you owe it to yourself to give this album a spin. Ambience may not be your big thing, but this is essential.
Robert Fripp
Brian Eno
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