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PROJEKCT TWO: SPACE GROOVE

King Crimson

Eclectic Prog


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King Crimson ProjeKct Two: Space Groove album cover
3.06 | 309 ratings | 15 reviews | 11% 5 stars

Good, but non-essential

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Studio Album, released in 1998

Songs / Tracks Listing

CD 1: Space Groove (38:56)
1. Space Groove II (19:03)
2. Space Groove III (2:40)
3. Space Groove I (17:13)
+ Enhanced section (PC, Mac): Discography of DGM label

CD 2: Vector Patrol (51:34)
- The Planet Zarg Quartet -
1. Happy Hour on Planet Zarg (4:56)
2. Is There Life on Zarg? (2:25)
3. Low Life in Sector Q-3 (1:32)
4. Sector Shift (0:46)
5. Laura in Space (3:17)
6. Sector Drift (0:54)
7. Sector Patrol (3:41)
- Lost in Space -
8. In Space There Is No North, in Space There Is No South, in Space There Is No East, in Space There Is No West (2:52)
9. Vector Patrol (3:41)
10. Deserts of Arcadia (North) (8:57)
11. Deserts of Arcadia (South) (4:11)
12. Snake Drummers of Sector Q-3 (0:26)
13. Escape from Sagittarius A (10:53)
14. Return to Station B (3:03)

Total Time 90:30

Line-up / Musicians

- Robert Fripp / guitars, Fx
- Trey Gunn / Warr guitar, guitar synth
- Adrian Belew / Roland V-Drums

Releases information

Artwork: John Miller with Hugh O'Donnell (design)

2xCD Discipline Global Mobile ‎- DGM9801 (1998, UK)

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
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KING CRIMSON ProjeKct Two: Space Groove ratings distribution


3.06
(309 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(11%)
11%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(22%)
22%
Good, but non-essential (39%)
39%
Collectors/fans only (21%)
21%
Poor. Only for completionists (7%)
7%

KING CRIMSON ProjeKct Two: Space Groove reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Syzygy
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars King Crimson's Projekcts were a series of 'fractals' of the double trio line up which made 'Thrak'. Confusingly, Projekct 2 was the first into action - according to the sleeve notes the whole thing happened more or less spontaneously when Fripp, Belew and Gunn started jamming in Belew's studio. The resulting improvs over the next 3 days were then released as this double CD set. One major point in favour of this album is that Fripp is the sole lead guitarist, and it is refreshing to hear him leading from the front for once. Gunn's WARR guitar has a huge range of notes, enabling him to function as either bass or second guitar as rquired, and the V drums can trigger bass lines and samples, so at times it sounds like a lot more than 3 musicians. CD1 features 2 lengthy, jazz inflected improvs and one much shorter piece. These tracks are pleasant but a little self indulgent - Belew had only just taken dlivery of the V drums and at times it really shows. The shorter pieces on CD 2 are often excellent, with a much sharper focus. Belew is no Bill Bruford, but acquits himself well on drums most of the time and there is often a sense that he was enjoying thrashing about. This is definitely non essential, but if you're a Fripp fan add on at least one extra star for the chance to hear the man doing what he does best.
Review by snobb
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars I don't think, that this album should be named as King Crimson album. OK, all musicains were the members of King Crimson of that time, but - is it enough?Fripp has myriads of solo or side projects, the same with Beliew and Gunn. Even more - there are many places, where Gunn and Fripp are playing together ( outside of KC). So - ?

The music is KC-related,it's for sure. It's nice to hear plenty of Fripp's guitar, Gunn's stick sounds still at the beginning of his long Warr/Bass stick history. Weak point is Beliew, but he isn't drummer at all. OK , electronic V-drum sound has some new and interesting nuances, but drumming technique is very primitive.

Most interesting is the first CD, three compositions on it can be named as musical compositions. At the start they sound attractive, but after too long repetetive loops become a little boring. In fact, I think they could be used for some strong compositions after serious producer's job.

Second CD contains more short compositions, which sound more like blueprints with some grains of musical/audio ideas. Some sounds and melodic moves are interesting, many - just repetetive, but all Cd in total could not be named as real music CD. There you feel,that these improvs are more like technical training/demonstration with just SOME ideas for future musical compositions.

All-together, this double album would be interesting mainly for KC-maniacs, as demonstration of technical/musical ideas for group's future works. Album isn't bad, but has quite specific listener for it's music. For those, who aren't in KC-music, can sound very strange, just as raw material.

I think album's musical material could be used for serious producer's work, and after some re- recordings could be mixed to quite strong ( but for sure - shorter, just one CD) regular album.

Review by Neu!mann
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars A strict reading of the Prog Archives rating system would leave this album with a perfectly respectable two stars: for collectors and KING CRIMSON fans only. But in truth the music here was a departure at the time for the post-'Thrak' double trio, opening horizons beyond the vaulted ceilings of the Crimson Court.

The late-'90s sextet had been reconfigured into smaller, more manageable combinations, aiming to kick-start the band-at-large through a series of open improvisations. This particular line-up featured the single trio of Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn, and Adrian Belew, for the moment relinquishing his guitar to step behind the new virtual (i.e. digital) drum set.

Keep in mind the music here was never intended as anything more than research and development for the dormant King Crimson. The boys had just unwrapped a shiny new, state-of-the-art toy, and simply wanted to play with it. Their initial jam session, recorded immediately after first plugging in the untested V-Drums, is included here in all its unplanned spontaneity, and the rest of the album followed within a matter of hours.

Trey Gunn's initial verdict, as recorded in his dairy that day: "There is some absolutely hilarious music here." And he's right, this was a more playful sound than could be expected from the sometimes over-earnest Crimson Kings, like something George and Jane Jetson might enjoy while sipping cyber-martinis in a zero-gravity moon lounge. Belew's drumming isn't propelled with the same whirling dervish intensity later to be heard from Pat Mastelotto in ProjeKcts Three and Four (Adrian seems overly fond of that 'breaking glass' drum patch). But his steady yet unconventional rhythms, with the kick drum often programmed to trigger a sequential bass line, firmly anchor the flights of electronic fancy from the twin guitars of Fripp and Gunn.

It really didn't need to be a 2-disc album: the combined running time of just over ninety minutes could have fit on a single CD with only minor editing (hours of equally valid jamming were already left on the cutting room floor). And there are, as you might expect from an entirely improvised album, more than a few moments of seemingly aimless noodling.

But a trio of this caliber can drift all day and still be worth hearing. And the payoff from the R&D would arrive a few years later, in the exhilarating techno-grooves galvanizing the Heavy ConstruKction tour at the tail end of the Millennium.

Review by Evolver
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Crossover & JR/F/Canterbury Teams
3 stars This album was the first release by the "projeKcts" a smaller grouping taken from the "double trio" King Crimson lineup. This lineup was Robert Fripp on guitar, Trey Gunn on touch guitar and guitar synth, and Adrian Belew on v-drums, basically a set of synth pads set up in drum kit style. The songs are all inprovised jams, built around the v-drums, which, in most cases, had bass tones programmed into the kick drum, and a few other synth patches set to trigger from from the pads, as well as traditional drum sounds.

The music is nothing like King Crimson. Mostly, because of the synth patched used by Fripp and Gunn (mostly piano, horns and other keyboard sounds), the album has sort of an acid jazz feel to it. Belew's drumming is simplistic, but because os the synth patches stays somewhat interesting. Fripp and Gunn tend to not break out into wild soloing, but remain laid back and tasteful.

What remains is a fair album of instrumental background music. This is a fine recording to play at a gathering (party, barbecue, whatever). The music will not overwhelm, but might cause guests to occasionally perk up and ask what they are listening to.

Review by colorofmoney91
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Space Groove isn't completely considered as a King Crimson album by most, but think it definitely is. It features the three most important members of the band jamming on funky jazz-fusion inspired grooves that occasionally show some signs of psychedelic influence. I'm usually a fan of anything jazz-fusion or funk related, and this is no exception. I personally think these improvisation jams are incredible and display impeccable musicianship. This album works well as intelligent music to focus on solely, but also works well for background music, which is just fine. This is a definite oddity in the King Crimson discography, and I have to say that I recommend it to anyone who happens to be a fan of instrumental jams of the intelligent and slightly experimental sort.
Review by Slartibartfast
COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam
2 stars File this one under the try it before you buy it category.

It seemed so promising, too. Looking at the song titles in the store it had such promise. What you get are what appear to be various jams getting titles that are more interesting than the music. Fripp's concept with the Projekcts was to do "fractals" of the then six member King Crimson. This one consisting of Fripp, Belew, and Gunn. That it didn't go beyond one album rather speaks for itself. But that's rather typical of the Projekcts anyway. I think to date only two or three have made it to the studio album level, most being just a few live performances.

In the end nothing particularly memorable here or anything draws me back to the album.

Review by patrickq
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars First of all, Adrian Belew is a pretty good drummer.

The first nineteen minutes of CD 1, Space Groove, is a power-trio jam titled "Space Groove II;" the other twenty minutes (or so) is also three-piece jamming, this time divided over two tracks. These songs, "Space Groove III" and "Space Groove I," are more electronic and appear less rehearsed. Whereas the drumming on Part II seems to have been played live, there are parts of Part I which seem a bit quantized, perhaps after the fact. At a minimum, the time-based instrument effects are in sync with the drums, which implies at least an electron metronome. Part II changes tone about halfway through as guitarist Robert Fripp commences with the shredding. After two minutes of that, the experimental feel returns.

The second CD, Vector Patrol, is made up of two seven-track suites - - I can see why this stuff is sometimes called math rock. The ends of some tracks flow smoothly into their successors, while others seem to be distinct "songs." Like the second half of the first CD, Vector Patrol has a processed, or what strikes me as an "electronic" sound. Even more of the rhythmic parts on Vector Patrol seem programmed (they may be more akin to "triggered loops" than to preprogrammed sequencer or drum- machine patterns), perhaps after the fact. Vector Patrol is more varied than Space Groove, but whereas some of this variety is interesting, much of it is not.

Ordinarily I separate three aspects of an album to discuss: the performances, the production, and the composition. The performance and production on Space Groove / Vector Patrol are good, but the line separating them is intentionally blurred. As Fripp himself had done prior to this, the performances are (apparently) post-processed, sliced, reordered, spliced, re-processed, and so on, to create the final work. In some cases (i.e., "Space Groove II"), this editing is either minimal or noninvasive, such that the final product doesn't sound as though it's been processed. In other cases, like "Escape from Sagittarius A" from Vector Patrol, overt edits are a part of the performance itself.

Between the improvisation which provides the raw material, and the post-performance processing of that material, there is very little traditional composition evident on Space Groove / Vector Patrol. This "studio composition" may be a good approach or not, but it yields a final musical product whose compositional qualities can nonetheless be evaluated, and in the case of Space Groove / Vector Patrol, the composition is lacking. I say this with full respect for the fact that Fripp and company did not sit down in advance with a blank piece of staff paper and begin placing notes and rests.

Two stars: a decent album, and one that will likely appeal mainly to fans of 1990s King Crimson.

Latest members reviews

2 stars Noodling. One of the first "ProjeKcts" to be released, this album sees Adrian Belew take over the drum stool, while Fripp mostly provides space noises, but also some solos, and Trey Gunn provides both bass and other touch-guitar (Warr guitar). The music is largely improvised, and can get fairly g ... (read more)

Report this review (#1696037) | Posted by Walkscore | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Review Permanlink

5 stars ProjeKct Two Space Groove is the best King Crimson album because nobody knows it exists. I was first introduced to this album by someone who was not really a fan of progressive rock at all. They were big into 80s and 90s alt rock dinosaurs like Dinosaur Jr., Butthole Surfers, and The Flamin ... (read more)

Report this review (#964743) | Posted by Harry Hood | Friday, May 24, 2013 | Review Permanlink

2 stars I just don`t understand why this CD is within king crimson collection while projeckt 4 not.... there are a lot of fracktal groups, I don`t know why THIS ONE and projeckt X made it to the kc list. now talking about this CD...... I don`t like it.... this is pure improvisation, maybe it`d be ... (read more)

Report this review (#269877) | Posted by 12212112 | Friday, March 5, 2010 | Review Permanlink

5 stars "ProjeKct Two - Space Goove" quite simply, marvelous! The music is edited improvisation. This collection is some of the best avant-garde jazz-rock around. The whole theme here has to do with impressions of outer space; however, that's as far as a description can go, this CD set defies description. ... (read more)

Report this review (#153188) | Posted by convocation | Thursday, November 29, 2007 | Review Permanlink

2 stars In the 90s Fripp decided to divide Crimson into sub-groups. He says, on the sleeve: "The practical difficulties of King Crimson working together are immense, expectation from audiences - of repertoire, and what the legendary and august Crimson is, or might be (...) Our current and alternative app ... (read more)

Report this review (#126334) | Posted by Evandro Martini | Tuesday, June 19, 2007 | Review Permanlink

3 stars This album couldn't be named better. It is spacy and it is groovy. This is one of the CDs that were produced when King Crimson splitted the double trios to experiment with Fractals as Fripp named them. The lineup of ProjecKt Two is composed of Fripp (guitars), Trey Gunn (warr guitar) and Adrian B ... (read more)

Report this review (#77790) | Posted by Bern | Wednesday, May 10, 2006 | Review Permanlink

3 stars ProjeKct Two's "Space Groove" is 90 minutes of improvs from three members of King Crimson. Here Adrian Belew uses a V-Drum kit which gives a very groovy rhythm section, and Trey Gunn's guitar playing gives the spacey touch. The first part of the album has two long tracks while the second part ... (read more)

Report this review (#70580) | Posted by zaxx | Sunday, February 26, 2006 | Review Permanlink

4 stars something in space groove genere ;) The first CD is very good. Groovy and spacy. Improvising Crim at its best. Second falls omewhat short on ideas, but still is very enjoable. If you like the ProjeKcts era of KC then this disc is defenitly for you. If you're the one that thinks KC ended on Red or T ... (read more)

Report this review (#15530) | Posted by silentman | Saturday, April 24, 2004 | Review Permanlink

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