ProjeKct Four: West Coast Live

PROJEKCT FOUR: WEST COAST LIVE (1999)

1) Ghost (Part 1) 1–4; 2) Deception Of The Thrush; 3) Hindu Fizz; 4) ProjeKction; 5) Ghost (Part 2) 1–4.

General verdict: Good to have Levin back, but at this point the ProjeKcts have turned into a fairly predictable musical workshop.

ProjeKct Four, as befits the number, returns us to a quartet format: Fripp, Levin, Gunn, and Mastelotto. «West Coast» is self-explanatory; the album was compiled out of a couple of San Francisco shows from November 1998. The biggest difference from 2-3, as you can see, is the return of Levin, so you can expect the album to feature a lot of flashy bass playing, and it does. Gunn is restricted to touch guitar, Mastelotto plays electronic drums, and if there is any specific theme or mood to the album, it would probably be spooky / creepy — the bulk of it is occupied by the lengthy improvised suite ʽGhostʼ, a fairly suitable title.

With so many different ProjeKcts behind us already, there is really no single thing that would make this one particularly special. In places, it might be the heaviest-sounding of them all, just because of Levinʼs deep rumble, but I cannot seem to pick up anything that was not already present in some form on the previous albums. Still, it is a pleasure to see all those elements shape themselves in an arguably cohesive whole on the ʽGhostʼ suite, where Gunn, Levin, and Fripp seem to compete for whoever first produces a perfect impersonation of a disembodied spirit roaming out there in the aether. Ultimately, itʼs probably a tie between Gunn and Fripp in the fourth movement of the first part, where they conjure up some fairly mind-blowing howling in a friendly duet; but Levin holds his own with gruff, but melodic fusion-style parts in the relatively quiet and downkey third movement.

Curiously, there is another version of ʽDeception Of The Thrushʼ here, fairly similar to the one played by ProjeKct Two, but with a much more prominent bass presence (of course). ʽHindu Fizzʼ, as you would expect, introduces a slightly Eastern feel, though, to be honest, Frippʼs soloing here rather brings on associations with Near Eastern than Indian music. ʽProjeKctionʼ seems to be a fan favorite; it is arguably the most accessible of these tracks, with a fairly straight rock beat, a grungy attitude, and lots of old school psychedelic soloing that places it in the same category as the brutal rockers from 1973–74 and 1995–96 periods.

I do have to say that the addition of five more movements of ʽGhost (Part 2)ʼ seems rather superfluous to me — the second part just goes over the same territory, albeit much quicker, as if symbolizing that sooner or later, even mega-talented musicians get stuck in a rut if they let a good idea simmer and sizzle for much too long. Because, honestly, while all of the ProjeKcts sound great in general, sitting through the entire boxset from start to finish eventually makes it a chore. After all, this is just a kitchen of ideas, and as cool as it is to watch a great chef in action, thereʼs only so much time you can spare for slicing onions and chopping liver before amazement turns to routine boredom. So perhaps it is high time to return to the main course itself. 

ProjeKct Three: Masque

PROJEKCT THREE: MASQUE (1999)

1) Masque 1; 2) Masque 2; 3) Masque 3; 4) Masque 4; 5) Masque 5; 6) Masque 6; 7) Masque 7; 8) Masque 8; 9) Masque 9; 10) Masque 10; 11) Masque 11; 12) Masque 12; 13) Masque 13.

General verdict: Good album. Let Crimsonologists figure out the rest.

All right, onwards to ProjeKct Three. Since itʼs three, it made sense to have only three players... well, ProjeKct Two also had three players, but I guess thereʼs a bare minimum beyond which a ProjeKct ceases to be a ProjeKct and becomes «Fripp and annoying sidekick». Anyway, this here ProjeKct Three consists of Fripp, Gunn, and Pat Mastelotto replacing Adrian Belew. Given that in the previous ProjeKct Belew was playing drums as well, one might think that there wouldnʼt be that much difference, but there definitely is — Mastelotto is, after all, a professional drummer, and, unsurprisingly, ProjeKct Three is far more percussion-heavy and percussion-dependent than its immediate predecessor. And I do prefer the sound of real drums to that of V-drums, so thank you very much for bringing back this weird human element.

The five live shows by ProjeKct Three all took place in March 1999 somewhere in Texas; full versions, as usual, have been available from DGMLive since 2014, but casual fans will probably find contentment with Masque, collecting about sixty minutesʼ worth of performances from all the five shows. Sonically, this particular ProjeKct stands somewhere in between One and Two: it sort of preserves the astral-groove vibe of Two, but returns to darker and heavier territory, with consistently aggressive bass playing and plenty of thick, distorted, dirty lead playing from the Frippmeister, though he seems just as happy playing any possible or impossible sort of weird psychedelic tone that he sees fit on any occasion.

Everything is perfectly listenable because, as with the other ProjeKcts, groove always takes precedence over experimentation — rule of thumb is that you can do just about anything as long as it does not take you off the beaten path. Describing the music is another matter, though: each track is somewhat special and predictable at the same time. ʽMasque 1ʼ, for instance, begins like a slightly grungified jazz-fusion track from the mid-Seventies, then lays on the percussion and bass so thick that it switches over to the «industrial» realm, going from gently stroking your ass to kicking it real hard in a matter of seconds. Itʼs cool, except that about half, if not more, of the other ʽMasquesʼ behave in more or less the same way, veering between the fusionesque and the industrial-esque. Formally, the grooves are all different in terms of chords, tonalities, and tempos, but on the whole, it just feels like one very, very, very long experience.

I was a little amused about ʽMasque 2ʼ, though — for all I know, it seems to borrow its groove, with a few small modifications, from the poppy Belew track ʽMan With An Open Heartʼ (just listen to that bassline); no idea if that was intentional or not, but I like to think of this particular improv as an exercise in creative deconstruction, and it does stand out from the rest because of the relaxed, simple pop groove, contrasting with all that other math-rock stuff. Other than that, well... just another day in the life of the ProjeKcts.

ProjeKct Two: Live Groove

PROJEKCT TWO: LIVE GROOVE (1999)

1) Sus-tayn-Z; 2) Heavy ConstruKction; 3) The Deception Of The Thrush; 4) X-chayn-jiZ; 5) Light ConstruKction; 6) Vector Shift To Planet Detroit; 7) Contrary ConstruKction; 8) Live Groove; 9) Vector Shift To Planet Belewbeloid; 10) 21st Century Schizoid Man.

General verdict: A somewhat compromising live album that seems to make less of a point than its studio predecessor; still fairly powerful in certain spots.

As of now, no fewer than twenty-six different live shows by ProjeKct Two are available for purchase through DGMlive, and while it could be considered a respectable and devoted move on the part of Only Solitaire to give each and every one a thorough analytical check-up, I am not yet sure that such an expenditure of energy would bring final and permanent balance to the cosmos. Consequently, for now I will humbly limit myself to just a few words on Live Groove, the very first commercially released album by ProjeKct Two which was originally available as a part of the ProjeKcts boxset, or as a stand-alone title in Japan (where else?).

The first thing you see is that none of the tracks here overlap with Space Groove — but a few actually overlap with the soon-to-be newest incarnation of King Crimson, such as ʽDeception Of The Thrushʼ and the ʽConstruKctionʼ pieces (ʽLight ConstruKctionʼ would be reworked into ʽConstruKction Of Lightʼ, while ʽHeavy ConstruKctionʼ would later lend its title to the first live album from 2000). This is quite telling, since the basic idea of the ProjeKcts was to never repeat anything twice in the exact same way; yet it also means that this weirdly unique sci-fi vibe that the band had going on Space Groove is not felt nearly as strongly on the live release, much of which is more in line with traditional KC-type improvisations.

One thing that puzzles me is that only the regular ProjeKct Two trio is credited on the album, with Belew indicated as responsible for electronic drums; however, at least two of the tunes, the opening ʽSus-tayn-Zʼ and the title track, clearly feature four instruments — two guitars, bass, and regular, not electronic, drums, which actually sound like Bruford, not Belew. Was there some mix-up? is this really ProjeKct One material that somehow found its twisted way onto a ProjeKct Two album? I am quite happy to hear both of these jams, with «sus-tayn» really playing a large role throughout (actually, the main rhythm groove is exactly the same on both tracks), but it probably wouldnʼt have hurt to clarify this in the credits.

Other than that, itʼs fairly heavy business as usual, with Fripp and Gunn regularly laying on thick, crunchy layers of almost grunge-like atmosphere (ʽHeavy ConstruKctionʼ indeed); whether Belewʼs electronic drumming agrees with this atmosphere or not is up to the listener to decide, but I suppose that it is, to a large extent, responsible for why the final results still feel «weird» rather than «ass-kicking» (well, that and all the effects that make Frippʼs guitar, every once in a while, metamorphose into a symphonic orchestra or a prepared piano). When the band slows down, it is time for synthetic experiments — ʽDeception Of The Thrushʼ combines the robotic industrial pace of ʽIndisciplineʼ with fuzzy atonal solos that sound straight out of 1974 — but while they are all atmospheric and listenable, once again, I wouldnʼt go as far as to suggest that the stunned audiences were witnessing the birth of some new musical genre here.

Most interesting is the inclusion, at the end, of a very special rendition of ʽ21st Century Schizoid Manʼ — not so much the song itself as part of the ʽMirrorsʼ section, played with the aid of Adrianʼs «V-drums», Treyʼs bass, and (supposedly) Frippʼs guitar which has this time been rigged to sound like chimes. Itʼs just a short two-minute long segment, appended to the main bulk of the show like some sort of ʽHer Majestyʼ-style musical joke, but it is pretty symbolic of the ProjeKctsʼ burning desire to change as many rules as possible while still retaining the Crimsonian essence in everything they do. Not that the piece, by itself, does anything other than demonstrate what we already knew well enough (namely, how insanely cool and catchy that jazzy mid-section is), but, well, a surprise is a surprise even if it does not have any particular meaning.

On the whole, this is hardly the ProjeKctsʼ shiniest moment — sort of a half-assed compromise between the completely different sound of Space Groove and a regular King Crimson jam — but for those interested in the «road to the Double Duo», it might be one of the most important ProjeKct releases. 

King Crimson: Space Groove

PROJEKCT TWO: SPACE GROOVE (1998)

Vol. I: 1) Space Groove II; 2) Space Groove III; 3) Space Groove I.

Vol. II: 1) Happy Hour On Planet Zarg; 2) Is There Life On Zarg?; 3) Low Life In Sector Q-3; 4) Sector Shift; 5) Laura In Space; 6) Sector Drift; 7) Sector Patrol; 8) In Space There Is No North, In Space There Is No South, In Space There Is No East, In Space There Is No West; 9) Vector Patrol; 10) Deserts Of Arcadia (North); 11) Deserts Of Arcadia (South); 12) Snake Drummers Of Sector Q-3; 13) Escape From Sagittarius A; 14) Return To Station B.

General verdict: This is Fripp, Belew, and Gunn doing a little cosmic tourism — weird, chilly, and decidedly inoffensive.

Whoah, this doesnʼt sound like ProjeKct One at all — in fact, come to think of it, it doesnʼt sound much like Ninetiesʼ, or Eightiesʼ, or Seventiesʼ King Crimson; and not just because this time around, Bruford preferred to sit it out, with Belew taking care of the electronic drumming instead of guitar playing. Surprisingly, this is a studio rather than live effort, much of it still improvised, according to ProjeKct guidelines, but with quite a few tracks that were clearly pre-composed, sometimes even featuring memorable main themes. Most importantly, however, the fairly unpretentiously named (for KC standards) Space Groove is exactly what it advertises itself as: a collection of groovy, funky-fusionistic pieces with psychedelic / cosmic overtones.

To be honest, in the overall context of King Crimson activity this particular ProjeKct seems like a joke — who could have ever aspired to see a Fripp-sanctioned record begin with a track called ʽHappy Hour On Planet Zargʼ? (The only thing lacking would be to see a picture of Robert in an Enterprise uniform). But those who have also followed Robertʼs solo career know fairly well that Fripp is no stranger to musical jokes (the entire Exposure album might look like one extended, and very funny, joke), and the idea of a Fripp / Gunn / Belew trio doing something completely different for a change is seductive by definition — hell, we probably wouldnʼt mind them picking up a set of bagpipes or covering an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in its entirety.

The drumming, by the way, does make for a lot of difference: since Belewʼs playing (and / or programming) style is naturally more simple than Brufordʼs (think all those times when Paul substituted for Ringo on the drums), the music sort of comes across as more accessible — and, in order to achieve perfect sync, Gunn and Fripp also tend to go for slightly more simplified and straightforward playing patterns. The landscape is quite sparse and feels as uncluttered as the arrangements on Discipline, but already with ʽHappy Hour On Planet Zargʼ you will see that the emphasis is on chillinʼ rather than drivinʼ — this here is a fairly relaxed approach, with a chumpy drums/bass groove holding things down and quirky guitar mini-melodies whirring past the groove, like tiny astral bodies whooshing past your supersonic rocket ship.

Later on, the music gets even more relaxed, with slowed tempos, limp, marimba-like percussion and dense synth textures replacing or overshadowing guitars (ʽLaura In Spaceʼ, etc.), though every once in a while the disciplined bass groove comes back, and there is enough diversity in the tempos, signatures, and moods to suggest that the three lads are really churning out a concept album about a journey through space — although, as a soundtrack, this would have probably worked better in an old adventure game franchise such as Space Quest rather than in any version of Star Trek: too goofy and quirky to attach itself to anything other than pure comedy.

Technically, I suppose the album might be labeled «fusion», and the closest equivalent of this sound that comes to mind is classic Brand X, before they became way too adult contemporary for their own good. But to be 100% legitimate fusion, Space Groove should have been jazzier, whereas Belew is not a jazz musician at all, especially when it comes to laying down a percussive groove, so in the end, this is more «blues fusion» than «jazz fusion», if that makes any sense to you. Regardless, itʼs largely cool, relaxing, friendly blues fusion, rarely memorable (apart from a small bunch of themes) but never really pretending that it should be, either. Just a special way to chill out from a band that typically makes its living by making you stand on edge, but this time decides to spare your senses and, instead of the usual elevator to Hell, get you a nice space cruise ticket for a change.

Oh, and, actually, the album comes in two parts — with most of the stuff now coming at us digitally, I almost ended up missing the Volume 1 part, which consists of one short and two very long jams and is actually a little different: ʽSpace Groove 1ʼ, in particular, has plenty of nasty, distorted, Larksʼ Tongues-style solos from Fripp that create a completely different atmosphere. But something tells me that Volume 2, with its shorter tracks that actually bear specific names, is the real deal here — think of Volume 1 as the part where you undergo space flight training, and of Volume 2 as the actual journey. 

ProjeKct One: Live At The Jazz Cafe

PROJEKCT ONE: LIVE AT THE JAZZ CAFE (1998)

1) 4 i 1; 2) 4 ii 1; 3) 1 ii 2; 4) 4 ii 4; 5) 2 ii 3; 6) 3 i 2; 7) 3 ii 2; 8) 2 ii 4; 9) 4 i 3.

General verdict: Itʼs all about putting the ʽproʼ back into imPROvisation — and a touch of empathy for listeners who still want to have fun rather than suffer the insufferable.

The only difference between the so-called «ProjeKcts», operating most frequently from 1997 to 1999, and regular incarnations of King Crimson is that the former would be working almost exclusively in the instrumental / improvisational format — Fripp and Bruford came up with the idea of holding special shows to come up with ideas for future band material, and once the shows began to show some promise, it was also decided that the best performances from them would be made public. Consequently, ProjeKct material probably does not deserve detailed reviews, but there are two reasons why I am adding brief lowdowns to these pages. The first one of these has already been mentioned — these recordings are King Crimson in all but name, and since live improvisation has always been an integral part of the bandʼs artistry, there is no reason to treat them as something completely extraneous.

Second and more important, this is good stuff! When I first approached Live At The Jazz Café, the first of these albums, I was afraid I would be looking at another ThraKaTTaK — to my greatest relief, this was absolutely not the case. Even if the pieces here are indeed improvised, the big difference is that they are improvised with serious intentions to create something permanent, not simply produce a bunch of dissonant / atonal noise, but work out a series of atmospheric compositions. The lineup here is very close to Eightiesʼ KC, with the sole exception of Trey Gunn replacing Belew, and some of the music is actually more reminiscent of older classics like ʽIndisciplineʼ and ʽIndustryʼ than the more metallic sound of THRAK — but actually, there is plenty of diversity in the setlist, which ranges from ominous mood pieces to industrial grinds to exercises in Frippertronics to all-out rocking pieces in crazy time signatures.

Choosing The Jazz Café (in Camden Town, London) as the venue for these shows seems very appropriate, because the band does behave throughout like a pack of jazz improvisers — using rock instrumentation and avantgarde mentality. But I specifically appreciate that they seem to be invoking the spirit of Larksʼ Tongues In Aspic throughout — on tracks such as ʽ3 ii 2ʼ, Fripp and Gunn engage in dual guitar howling to a steadily propelling bass riff that brings to mind ʽThe Talking Drumʼ, while some of the more rocking tracks could be easily worked up to the state of ʽLarksʼ Tongues In Aspic, Pt. 4ʼ and nobody would protest (note: the real ʽPt. 4ʼ which did appear a few years later was a different composition).

Singling out individual tracks is very hard to do; I usually latch on to Levinʼs bass riffs as the key element that separates them from one another, so, for instance, ʽ4 ii 4ʼ comes on as a grungy and sludgy tribute to Alice In Chains, ʽ2 ii 4ʼ is like a slowed-down hardcore punk extravaganza, and ʽ4 ii 1ʼ could be called a chaotic deconstruction of pop-punk if you concentrate primarily on the bass. Or you could just dispense with all these descriptions altogether and just get in the groove, because most of the tracks groove like crazy — Tony will rarely let you off his hook while the guitar guys are soloing like crazy or spinning dreamy sonic webs of delay and sustain. I like quite a few of these tracks more than ʽFractureʼ, and that should probably mean something.

The downside is that, for all the endless searching, it is hard to say if they really find anything that could seem to point the way for breaking serious new ground — for each of Frippʼs solos, Levinʼs basslines and Brufordʼs polyrhythms you can find similar counterparts in the bandʼs past. Look at the whole thing from this experimental angle and you might end up disappointed. But if you look at it from the point of view of simply having fun and providing entertainment for guests with demanding taste, itʼs a whole other matter: the compositions rock, groove, blow your mind, and sometimes do all these things at once. I probably wonʼt remember a single note from here by tomorrow, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of it while it was on.