1999 SOUNDSCAPES - LIVE IN ARGENTINA

The first of Robert Fripp's Soundscape releases... a bold statement of how far those old Frippertronic loops have evolved, and an introduction to a deceptively powerful method of music-making. This initial collection of captured live performances is close to being the least accessible, with Fripp still really discovering exactly what was possible with the process (as he probably still is), resulting in some typically difficult listening - unfamiliar, extended waves of sound most certainly NOT intended for an evening of easy listening.

The Soundscape technique sees the guitarist triggering various sustained synthesized notes, including string section sounds, rumbles, cutting drones, then looping certain sections and slowly building up into electronic symphonies that are absolutely full of atmosphere and emotion. '1999's five tracks chart Fripp's expression of his predicted 'feel' for four future years, plus an interlude of what sounds like unrest and 'untangling'. The deep rumble of the first track fades in very slowly, surrounding the listener like shifting earth, gradually drawing them into the harsh environment one can associate with society, mental and material struggles, though the feel is one of oppression and brooding rather than frustration. '2000' continues this theme and introduces the onset of fear in the album's most unsettling track - very difficult to listen to, but beautifully absorbing. As the album continues, however, the years '2001' and '2002' hold sadness, reflection, and more positive tones. The final moments of the album have a certain feel of acceptance and clarity, but also the drag of defeat and fatigue, making them different from the same themes in later albums. The music cuts off very unnaturally in the full flow of these emotions, the extremely sudden silence just as effective as the hour of music in front of it.

The album does serve as a good introduction to what the Soundscapes are all about, but as mentioned it is among the most challenging for its, perhaps, overly long suites and more limited instrumental range. Minimal, and basically unpleasant, but with repeated focused listenings, somewhere along the way the penny will drop and you'll hear just how close this music is to the deepest feelings you feel and the thoughts you have. And on to 'Radiophonics'...

What sort of Frippery is this?

1999 is the definitive album by "The Artist Formerly Known As FrIpp" (or "TAFKAF"), that flamboyant, funky guitarist known for wearing tight purple outfits while prancing about the stage singing songs about releasing that ol' sexual tension.

What?

Oh, sorry. This is an album of Frippertronics, a technique developed by Robert Fripp, wherein, using a guitar to play tones into one reel-to-reel tape recorder, with a tape that then runs across the heads of a second reel-to-reel tape recorder, then feeding back to the first reel-to- reel tape recorder, the guitarist is able to compose a piece which lulls the listener into a semi- comatose state. This process was created after Fripp learned from his good friend, Brian Eno, who, while in a nearly comatose state, discovered that when in such a state, light ambient sounds actually sound like music. Fripp appears to want to create more comatose listeners to enjoy his friend Eno's ambient albums.

These pieces of background washes are saved from complete numbingness by the short Interlude, where Fripp uses some guitar effects to make the loops slightly less unlistenable.

Two stars, only because the album is better background than soft rock or jazz.

"Music for the 21st century schizoid human being"

Robert Fripp's 1994, "1999", Soundscapes - Live in Argentina. Track by track.

1999-track 1: Massive, cacophonic, uncompromising, restless, deeply intense, symphonic like overture, constructed step by step with Fripp's "trademark" soundscapes.

2000- track 2: Juxtaposed layers of contradictory melodic lines,immersed in an ocean of hypnotic and invisible, attractive, "noise" riffs.

2001-track 3: A slow flowing sonic landscape adorned with a sweeping synths and bells like guitar loops, that work as background to a minimalistic guitar soloing, that dissapears eventually in an entanglement, of the increasing presence, of layers of drone like "soundscapes", filling the whole space with an extraordinary melodic contrast of high pitched timbres and pitch black tones, which create an unexpected composition of "contemporary classical music" grandeur!

Interlude-track 4: A short exercise of tranformation from "frippertronics" to"soundscapes". This" King" has more than one kingdom.

2002-track 5: Could pass as a pre- "Blessing of Tears" track. An inviting reflection into an isolated "soundscape" filled to the top with layers of sonic textures, which eventually reduce themselves into a simple stereo guitar loop, which just like that vanishes.

No recorded applauses, as almost always, with Robert Fripp's "live" albums.

****4.5 PA stars for a top-quality, evoluting and unique musical language and performance. If you are expecting KC, it does not happen at all. You were forwarned! .