Fripp himself has often remarked that his best playing is on other people’s records, where he does not need to concern himself with the totality of the project, and is free just to be a guitarist. As in his work with Bowie and Gabriel. Or indeed, although he was also the producer, the Roches.

That same freedom and originality can be seen in the various collaborations. Fripp has often remarked that working with Eno is always fun – Eno sets him free to play.  In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked Fripp & Eno fifteenth in a list of the greatest duos of all time. They have made four albums together, as well as Fripp contributions to Eno’s own albums, such as the memorable St Elmo’s Fire.

Other collaborations open up different unique, fresh and exciting palates. 

Robert Fripp and Andy Summers knew each back in 1960s with Fripp replacing Summers in the Majestic Hotel band after Summers left to go to London and join Zoot Money. By the time Fripp and Summers renewed their acquaintance, Summers was a member of The Police, who were a world-wide success. Fripp had immense respect for Summers remarking in 1981 that Summers was "the only player I know who's taken the Sixties jazz style – Wes Montgomery and all that – and updated it into the eighties”. The pair began work at Arny’s Shack in Dorset immediately following Fripp’s solo performances at New York’s Inroads in August 1981. They released  I Advance Masked, an album of striking instrumentals, now newly remixed, in 1982.

With David Sylvian, Fripp had already made guest appearances on Sylvian’s own albums before they toured together in Japan and Europe in 1992 and recorded the album “The First Day” released in 1993. It was Sylvian that introduced Fripp to the extended looping possibilities in the new digital delay units – as “Frippertronics” morphed into “Soundscapes”.   Sylvian’s comments at the time might speak about such collaborations more generally “a cathartic experience, both for Robert and myself…a way of combining Robert’s and my approach to recording music, and a challenge that I enjoyed.”