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Norrgården Nyvla
Killing Time
or download FRED FRITH AND THE GRAVITY BAND @ Bandcamp

FRED FRITH AND THE GRAVITY BAND Fred Frith And The Gravity Band

CD album | gg514
Fred Frith is one of the most important musicians of our time. He was born in Sussex, UK and now lives in California, USA. He first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. He was and is also a member of groups like Massacre, Art Bears, Skeleton Crew and Cosa Brava. Over the past 40 years Fred has collaborated with outstanding musicians like John Zorn, Tom Cora, Bill Laswell, Carla Kihlstedt, Henry Kaiser, Phil Minton, Brian Eno, The Residents, Marc Ribot, Lol Coxhill, Ikue Mori, Zeena Parkins, Derek Bailey, Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker, John Butcher, Laurie Anderson - the list could go on much longer. In 1974 Fred Frith released his landmark album Guitar Solos, a glimpse into what he had been doing with his guitar. It was improvised and recorded within four days and presented an experimental and innovative way of playing the instrument. After the break up of Henry Cow, Frith relocated to New York and quickly became part of the downtown avant-garde scene, something he found inspiring and liberating. Fred also started composing music for film, dance and theatre, not to mention other musicians! After a few years in Stuttgart, Germany, Frith returned to the States in 1999 to teach at Mills College in Oakland, CA, where he remained until his retirement twenty years later. Meanwhile, back in 1980, The Residents' label Ralph records had released his album Gravity, focusing on dance music viewed from many different angles. It featured guests like Marc Hollander, Sammla Mannas Mamma and The Muffins. Thirty years later, In 2014, Frith took the album on the road again with a special line-up of musicians. The Gravity Band was the brainchild of Aaron Novik and Dominique Leone, who proposed joining their two groups together to perform this material. Klanggalerie are now proud to bring you a recording of this incredible group in action for the first time on CD. It features music from the shows in Nijmegen, The Netherlands and Moers, Germany. . Full tracklist: 1. The Boy Beats The Rams 2. Spring Any Day Now 3. Don’t Cry For Me 4. The Hands Of The Juggler 5. Norrgården Nyvla 6. Year Of the Monkey 7. What A Dilemma 8. Another Crack In The Concrete 9. Come Across 10. Dancing In the Street 11. Slap Dance 12. A Career In Real Estate 13. Dancing in Nijmegen, Holland 14. Killing Time 15. Not Quite Tom. Price: € 20,-/copy incl. worldwide shipping.

The short version: This is an essential release for Frith fans or connoisseurs of art rock/improv music. (...) Its a joy to listen to this band. Kudos to Klanggalerie for making this happen.
(Vital Weekly, September 2025)

Als, über die verständliche Nostalgie hinweg, Wiederhören mit Frith at his best. Sein betörendes File under popular aus der Hoch-zeit mit Art Bears, Aksak Maboul, Lindsay Cooper, Massacre, The Muffins, Material im kalifornisch orchestrierten Update.
(Bad Alchemy, November 2025)

Friths Gravity music still has its timeless, genre-bending magic, driving and subversive spirit, Friths quirky guitar tricks, and, obviously, many irresistible, joyful dance songs. These songs incorporate elements from Celtic, Bossa Nova, Caribbean, Balkan, and Middle Eastern folk songs into Friths rich, eclectic, thought-provoking, and ironic musical universe, and were performed in a captivating, passionate manner.
(Salt Peanuts, December 2025)