A certain degree of mystery surrounds the origins of what is effectively a 22-minute Frippertronics EP. Delving into the audio archive at DGM HQ, ace engineer Alex Mundy discovered a tape marked Blue Rock, dated 20th December 1979. Threading the tape onto his player he listened as Frippertronics filled the air of his office.
Curious to know more, and with the signal on the left channel only, Mr. Stormy sought clarification from Fripp. “Have you got any recollection of making that recording, and if it was specifically for a project? It has only been recorded on the left, so I assume, you didn't play it back for live purposes?”
On checking his dairy for 1979 Fripp discovered he was indeed in New York, recording at Blue Rock and later that week at The Hit Factory. “Not sure what this would have been for, but Eno seems to have been involved.”
Mr.Stormy then did a little digging about. “I found that Eno recorded at Blue Rock with David Byrne, on My life in the Bush of Ghosts" around that time, maybe he thought he might use it on that, but didn't?"
Fripp responded “I think I remember the session. Although I played on a track/s for MLITBOG, I declined to sign the EG Session Contract, as I didn’t take money for working on Eno's material. But EG most likely would have told Brian not to use it, or perhaps Brian didn't want to. But it was some good playing, and was bootlegged. Probably by a tape op at Blue Rock. The track appeared, with me on it, but not commercially.”
Fripp is co-credited for the arrangement on Regiment from My Life On The Bush Of Ghosts, and in the first section prior to the sampled vocal entering, something that sounds very like Frippertronics can be faintly heard werning away in the background.
Is it possible that these reels are the source for those ghostly notes on the album?
