| The Technology of Tears | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1988 | |||
| Recorded | 1986–1987, United States | |||
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| Length | 82:59 (LP releases) 60:15 (CD releases) | |||
| Label | RecRec (Switzerland) | |||
| Producer | Fred Frith | |||
| Fred Frith chronology | ||||
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| Music for Dance series chronology | ||||
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The Technology of Tears (And Other Music for Dance and Theatre) is a double album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It is the first of a series of Music for Dance albums Frith made, and is sometimes subtitled Music for Dance volume 1. It was recorded between June 1986 and April 1987, and released on a double LP and a single CD by RecRec Music (Switzerland), and on a double LP only by SST Records (United States) in 1988. It was re-issued on CD in 2008 by Fred Records (United Kingdom). All the CD releases omit the Propaganda suite (side 4 of the double LP).
The album comprises three suites:
- The Technology of Tears, commissioned by Rosalind Newman and first performed by her dance company at the Joyce Theatre, New York City in February 1987;
- Jigsaw, commissioned by the Concert Dance Company of Boston as a collaboration between Fred Frith, Rosalind Newman and Pier Voulkos and funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Works Program of the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities;
- Propaganda (omitted on the CD releases), commissioned by the Creation Production Company, written and directed by Matthew Maguire and first performed at La Mama ETC in New York City from 1 to 24 May 1987.
Frith composed all the music and plays most of the instruments, with assistance from John Zorn, Tenko Ueno, Christian Marclay and Jim Staley.
The Propaganda suite was reworked and remastered in February 2015, and released by Fred Records as Propaganda in November 2015.