King Crimson

This article is about the band. For the fictional entity, see Golden Wind (manga) § Diavolo.
Not to be confused with Crimson King.

King Crimson
King Crimson in Nijmegen on 22 June 2019. Top L–R: Mel Collins, Tony Levin, Jakko Jakszyk, Robert Fripp. Bottom L–R: Pat Mastelotto, Jeremy Stacey, and Gavin Harrison.
King Crimson in Nijmegen on 22 June 2019. Top L–R: Mel Collins, Tony Levin, Jakko Jakszyk, Robert Fripp. Bottom L–R: Pat Mastelotto, Jeremy Stacey, and Gavin Harrison.
Background information
OriginLondon, England
Genres
DiscographyKing Crimson discography
Years active
  • 1968–1974
  • 1981–1984
  • 1994–2008
  • 2013–2021
Labels
Spinoffs
Spinoff of
Past members
Websitedgmlive.com

King Crimson were an English-based progressive rock band formed in London in 1968. Led by guitarist Robert Fripp,[1][2] they drew inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, blues, industrial, electronic, experimental music and new wave. They exerted a strong influence on the early 1970s progressive rock movement, including on contemporaries such as Yes and Genesis, and continue to inspire subsequent generations of artists across multiple genres.[3] The band has earned a large cult following, especially in the 21st century.[4][5]

Founded by Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield, the band initially focused on a dramatic sound layered with Mellotron, McDonald's saxophone and flute, Giles' complex and polyrhythmic drumming, Fripp's atmospheric guitar sound, and Lake's bass and powerful lead vocals, with gothic lyricism by Sinfield and creative directions by all members of the band. Their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969), remains their most commercially successful and influential release, with a potent mixture of jazz, classical and experimental music.[6] Following the sudden simultaneous departures of McDonald and Giles (with Lake leaving very shortly afterwards), the next two albums, In the Wake of Poseidon and Lizard (both 1970), were recorded during a period of instability in the band's line-up. A settled band of Fripp, Sinfield, Mel Collins, Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace recorded Islands in 1971, though in mid-1972, Fripp let go of this line-up and changed the group's instrumentation and approach, drawing from European free improvisation and developing ever more complex compositions. With Bill Bruford (formerly of Yes), John Wetton, David Cross, and briefly Jamie Muir, they reached what some saw as a creative peak on Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973), Starless and Bible Black (1974), and Red (1974). King Crimson disbanded at the end of 1974.

After seven years of inactivity, King Crimson was recreated in 1981 with another change in musical direction. The new band comprised Fripp, Bruford and two new American members: Adrian Belew, who previously worked with David Bowie, Frank Zappa and Talking Heads, and Tony Levin, a prolific session musician who was noted for his studio and live work with Peter Gabriel. They drew influence from African music, gamelan, post-punk and New York minimalism. This band lasted three years, resulting in the trio of albums Discipline (1981), Beat (1982) and Three of a Perfect Pair (1984). Following a decade-long hiatus, they reformed in 1994, adding Pat Mastelotto, formerly of Mr. Mister, and Trey Gunn for a sextet line-up Fripp called "The Double Trio". The double trio participated in another three-year cycle of activity that included the release of Thrak (1995), and multiple concert recordings. There was a hiatus between 1997 and 2000. Fripp, Belew, Mastelotto and Gunn reunited in 2000 as a more industrial-oriented King Crimson,[7] called "The Double Duo", releasing The Construkction of Light (2000) and The Power to Believe (2003). After a five-year hiatus, the band added Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree as a second drummer, with Levin returning in place of Gunn, for a 2008 tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of their 1968 formation.

Following another hiatus (2009–2012), during which Fripp was thought to be retired, King Crimson came together again in 2013; this time as a septet (and, later, octet) with an unusual three-drumkit frontline, and new second guitarist and singer Jakko Jakszyk. This version of King Crimson continued to tour from 2014 to 2021, and released multiple live albums. After the band's final show in 2021, Fripp commented that King Crimson had "moved from sound to silence."[8]

  1. ^ Meagher, John (1 April 2023). "King Crimson: how a new film captures Robert Fripp's eccentric reign". Irish Independent. Retrieved 20 June 2024. Jazz, experimental rock, metal, math-rock, industrial: under their perfectionist leader Robert Fripp, the band have pushed boundaries like few others. They are still doing so, yet the prog rock tag continues to dog them.
  2. ^ Pareles, Jon (19 September 2022). "Robert Fripp Lightens Up". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 June 2024. As the guitarist and leader of King Crimson — the band he founded in 1969 — Fripp, 76, has written music that's barbed, visceral, complex and ambitious, seizing the vanguard of progressive rock yet reaching a broad audience.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference rollingstone schizoid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference fanatics was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Shteamer, Hank (15 April 2019). "The Crimson King Seeks a New Court". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  6. ^ Buckley 2003, p. 477, "Opening with the cataclysmic heavy-metal of "21st Century Schizoid Man", and closing with the cathedral-sized title track,"
  7. ^ Freeman, Phil (10 October 2019). "A Tribute To In The Court Of The Crimson King, Released 50 Years Ago Today". stereogum.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  8. ^ Colothan, Scott (8 December 2021). "Robert Fripp says King Crimson have 'moved from sound to silence'". Planet Rock. H Bauer Publishin. Retrieved 26 June 2024.