Robert Fripp & Brian Eno - Equatorial Stars 2005 (repost)

Previously posted in mp3 format by

Posted By : gatopaco | Date : 18 May 2007 00:44 | Comments : 1
http://www.avaxhome.ws/music/fripp_eno_the_equatorial_stars.html

link seems active still



by Peter Marsh
05 July 2004

Almost 32 years ago, King Crimson lynchpin and guitar demon Robert Fripp visited glamour puss art rock strategist Brian Eno at his Maida Vale flat with the intention of playing around with a tape delay system of Eno's devising. Within an hour, the pair had recorded "The Heavenly Music Corporation", later released as the first side of the duo's No Pussyfooting album. While it's now one of those albums that's spoken about in hushed, reverential tones as a proto-ambient classic, it's worth remembering that Island records weren't too keen on Eno's association with Fripp, fearing that the latter might lead the former into less commercial territory (huh?).

Since then their collaborations have been occasional, but always inspired. Eno's sonic awareness and unorthodox musical approaches have combined with Fripp's ability to cope with anything that's thrown his way to produce some of the best moments in either man's work (and David Bowie's as well).

So there's some expectation surrounding this record, despite the low-key nature of its release. Though it's not really a retread of former glories, immediately you're certain that this music couldn't have been made by anyone else as you get sucked into its weightless beauties.

Eno's settings range from the celestial shimmer of Apollo ("Lyra") to muted, distant machine funk ("Altair") or the darker textures of the closing "Terebellum", while Fripp's rhapsodic, mournful lines wander through them to crushingly beautiful effect.

There's no doubt that despite his rather cerebral reputation, Fripp's playing can carry a quietly devastating emotional charge. Daryl Hall's likened it to the sound of the universe crying; until NASA actually gets a recording of such a cosmic event we'll have to take his word for it, but you'll know what he means by the time the CD's over. The Equatorial Stars is one of the finest things Robert or Brian have done in years, and its austere, graceful beauty left me literally breathless at times. A marriage made in the heavens, indeed.

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CommentsThe music that nurtures lives and feeds the stars.
James

you know what, i have tons of records and they mostly stands on my big shelf. i found the time to listen to this record even if it means never eat fresh fish ever again. in times when i'm not sure if people ever listen to music anymore, these two characters have come up with the most luminescent sound i cannot imagine. if you do not listen to this record we may as well return to the old world once for all. please help.
diego chersicola - italy

Rather common~em~~
kiti,China

A welcome return to Apollo.. but not as sucessful landing.. aparentky the masters of the original were deleted by B Eno. but this retake is still great amongst the sea of tranquility. Ix - Manchester
Ix Wiz



Rubbish
Mike Liverpool

It's more empty steel and bright cold stars, than the womb-like, organic space of Apollo. It's closer to Eno's work with Peter Schwalm - particularly 'Music for Onmyoji'. You have to listen to this on a good stereo in a darkened room, late at night. Definitely the most ambient Eno's been in a long while.
Paul, UK

Incredible - no other word for it ! I've listened to little else since it arrived through my letterbox.More chaps ,please !!! and soon !
Ian Gill ,Harrogate UK

Yes, absolutely beautiful.
Ollie, Wandsworth Town Hall

HAVEN'T HEARD IT
ROB BRISTOL

This music is very rewarding but the listener has to make at least a small effort. Best listened too on headphones and not interupted by making tea or answering the phone every few minuets. If you want something thats effortless and can be dipped in and out of then there's hundreds of hours of such pap churned out weekly. Immerse yourself in this, and similar, and it can be very rewarding.
derek cooper, birmingham, england

I think it's the most "friendly" on first listen of the three Fripp/Eno collaborations, and I love it as much as the others. What came first – the title or the music??
Bruce Bosso/Brooklyn NY

Just a step towards hevean… simply and if "the man might supervise… the costruktion of light…"
Michele Italy

I think this is one of the most interesting works from the both of them - actually, it seems they do improve one each other, when they meet. And a CD that needs to be listened to a couple of times.
Antonio, Pavia (Italy)

I saw the show in birmingham and i was totally blown away by fripp, satriani and vai were great too, but fripp stole the show. If your reading this Mr. Fripp, i would like to tell you to ignore the people knocking your performance, most of them can apreciate you art and think super fast guitar is the only type of musical talent. You are an absolute legend fripp and i couldnt appreciate your performance and exsistance more. I had the greatest half hour of my life watching you at G3 and i would like to thank you for the amazing experiance.
Tom South Wales

I like it. It soothes me. It helps me. It calms me. It becomes me.
Gary - Berkeley, California

Both Eno & Fripp are ruled by Taurus….like years before these works a terribly relevant and relaxing…the essence of what Taurus means…I want a few.
Toulmin Brown Jr. New Orleans

It sound good as long as they don't do archaic progressive music,fripp and eno are not musician but engineer.I call that kind of music 'scientific music'.thanx
rene francoeur shawinigan,quebec,canada

love the album. it is indescribable, except to say i now listen to it on my way to work, and i'm a better person for it. thank you, again, Mr. Fripp & Mr. Eno. Thank you very much. Now Mr. Eno, I don't mean to sound greedy, but Mr. Fripp still gives us some Crimson… how about supplying us with some of that "pop" music you used to have fun with? Best wishes…
jason, new jersey, usa (it's not all dreary here

Why does it take so bloody long for good stuff [like this promises to be] to get to our shores? waiting…waiting..waiting…
Errol Tout Australia

Who put the con in concept? Eno, sadly & eventually….
The Bogus Man, London

I found some peoples opinion of "The Equatorial Stars" is, that it is uninspired. So I wrote the following to them: Sorry - the new Fripp&Eno release: uninspired??? I own every record of these two guys and I find "The Equatorial Stars" the most inspired work they've done so far. It lives from the spirit of the previous releases from the 70ies and carry it to a focal point. Minimalistic, dark, intense. The way Fripp is playing his guitar on the new record without distortion, just the clean sustainiaced sound, sometimes reminds me to the art of Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (Rudra Veena). He shows how deep his understanding and feeling for the music really goes. Of course it a question of taste, but also a question of how one listens to music. And at this point I miss the open ears of some listeners, which are possibly jammed with the mass of effect-catching music of the last decade or how music had to sound like, if it wants to be "ministerially". I talked to Eno in May this year at his Quiet Club in Frankfurt. If anyone had seen his eyes radiating while talking about this new record nobody would have been thinking about, that it could be uninspired. However, the consument (listener) is the judge… but he is commited to listen. And this recored is not explored by listening to it once while doing the dishes!
Dighom, Germany

nice to hear fripp & eno again ! wonderful soundscapes/frippertronics which give very much relaxation and dreamscapes!
serge, belgium

The Equatorial Stars (48:00 in length) starts out like something akin to Apollo (a similar atmosphere to the Signals track to be specific)…then enter the Fripp guitar! Robert meanders his bent notes with Brian "pittering" away in the backgound - a very light & ghostly sound - but better and more cohesive in overall structure than Apollo (an album which I like a lot–I just think that Fripp brings more meat to the table than does Lanois, IMHO). The album moves on in Apollo-like stature with either one of the lads taking the foreground or background to the other, Fripp sometimes out front with a melancholy solo, sometimes creating a background atmosphere (also akin to the recent Budd/Foxx double CD collaboration in terms of "light", but effective, atmospheres). There are some organic, gentle percussive "beats" on @ least 2 of the tracks (Lupus & Altair) as well as some cool background distorted glitchy sounds & soft thuds (Anikaa in particular); Fripp's guitar navigating over a darkened Eno-scape. Altair, the 6th track actually "rocks" (ambiently speaking) with the most prominent percussion on the disc and this time Eno on background guitar with Fripp droning away (a drastically racheted down, slow-dance-able. version of Ali Click, sans vocals). …here's what I mixed it with last night (79:27): monolake - credit vir unis/christopher short - starry night fripp-&-eno - lupus the circular ruins - eccentric souvenirs bill nelson - sanctus illuminatus fripp-&-eno - meissa numina/caul - the gathering (off The Hollow Realm) saul stokes - somewhere current fripp-&-eno - altair kraftwerk - la forme
g.a.b. United States

…simply another Ambient/Illbient masterpiece. Close your eyes and take another trip with these magic duo.
Chemikangelo - Clubbity.com

It's gorgeous. And it will ensure a deep night's sleep if you put it on, rather softly, and climb into bed.
Stephanie, Washington DC

I was so afraid it would be another Swastika Girls. I was hoping it would be more Evening Star-esque. Fortunately, it was somewhere between the two. It seemed more like Eno, Fripp finally work together with Budd. Thank God this kind of sonic territory sees no end and no boundaries. Always inspirational, thought provoking, and sonically affirming. Fripp & Eno have their pulse on creating sounds that never before existed. Absolutely magical! (Listen to it wide awake first then take it to bed with you – cause you dont want to miss a tone!)
cemego, rockville MD

Been listening to these 2 for almost 25 years now. To all those modern electro so-called 'ambient' musicians. LISTEN UP. Forget your latest laptop software…without soul you ain't got nothing…and its here. This is serious music, not muzak.
Tom green London UK

Loved it! Just a request: Won't you ever come (either you or the KC) and play in Greece? please don't ignore us. There are so many people here who love your work!
Theo Boukalis ATHENS

g.a.b. United States: thanks for your extremely informative review. I’m a carved in stone Eno fan, and I found you cross references to his other work really helpful. I’m definitely buying!
Dave, Dublin, Ireland

Where can I buy?
Ian Hastings England

clean, simple and pure - an affirmation of the positive in a world drowning in hyped up, sexed up sludge
steven sherwin. australia

It's just amazing!
Oleg Starodubtsev, Petrozavodsk, Russia

Another opinion from another long-time devotee of both artists: RESURRECTION. I'm not the kind of fan who automatically praises every record of his favourite artist(s). Though never losing the deeepest respect for these gentlemen and their art, I generally hasn't been thrilled by their recordings since "Thursday Afternoon" (Eno) and "The First Day" (Fripp participation on D.Sylvian's album). I loved everything BEFORE, but after… ok, "Drawn from Life" (Eno) was an exception. It was good enough. I'm a KC fan, and I love Frippetronics… But for me, the heights of Fripp's guitarism remained somwhere in 80s. And now this one… I think "The Equatorial Stars" is the first truly insprired recording they made in ages. It matches their very heights. Actually it is a HEIGHT. I was touched, deeply. It's the music you can follow in every detail when listening. It works on many levels. But the most important word here is still INSPIRATION. The record breathes inspiration. And Fripp's guitar work is of astonishing restraint, after all this 90s KC mayhem I couldn't believe he retained the possibility… actually ALL the possibilities ;) The final word is - Ingenious.
snobo, Latvia

I kicked it first time, and it was in the back of the net.
RailheaD, Atlantic Canada

Above, Dighom in Germany compares this Fripp & Eno self-indulgent emotionless noodling to Zia Mohiuddin Dagar! This is outrageous! Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Indian classical music will know what I mean….
T&K

Pure sonic joy!!! A pleasure to immerse oneself in and enjoy. Gentlemen, thank you for the chance to hear music with intelect once more…
IAK - Liverpoll

I was 14 when listening to Crimson in the late 60's. The shock the happiness i felt, iv'e carried with me all my life. (age 49)Everything after that, like No pussyfooting gives me inspiration och helps me live. Anything produced by these noble gentlemen is like water to a thirsty man. Couldn't live without it. This smooth flowing flood of fantasy is just "so! Good".
Rolf, Sweden

I don't know why this album was so difficult to acquire - A local vendor here special ordered it from somewhere in Russia, of all places. Well my copy arrived & I've heard it twice. There seem to be microtones in this thing so isolated that you're unaware they're even playing until several minutes have elapsed, as if the frequency of the most distant celestial objects were focused in on. Within this expansive realm of exquisitely tweaked sonics, Fripp's achingly beautiful guitar notes spin through the vacuum as if dialing in on a lost mercurial cosmic radio signal. Eno's expansive distillate of manipulations pick up on the most distant frequencies, perfectly complementing the Frippertronics. Beyond Apollo.
shaun USA

I enjoy it very much. It seems to have a muted quality to it. The sounds are far more interesting than his art exhibition pieces.
James: Wisconsin USA

I listen to it right now, for the first time. Just to say in my personal point of view: Fripp & Eno have never been greater than on the second track on evening star. - This album seems to have something the early ones have missed. there is more emotional tension in here. The y learned a lot in the last 20 years. it´s put down here on the equatorial. - a must for eno frip believers!!!
Himer Germany

i, too, have been nourished over time by some of fripp and eno's works - together, and individually - and having just listened to it for the first time, this one is up there with the most delicious. i want to add to the leads mentioned another artist, steve tibbetts - i'm very thankful for his austere and exquisite work, perhaps most airy and profound in _northern song_, _safe journey_ (that one's quite ecstatically aggressive in places, as well), and more recently, _a man about a horse_. ah - just relistening to meissa from this new album - ayoh, such profound, graceful tempering…
klm, USA

imagine a room full of white pods and IT personnel, one of whom has discovered peace on first listen to this CD on headphones plugged in while contemplating java and ignoring chaos
lor, detroit, michigan

when did it begin ? or end, for that matter ? not bad but… ? unlike " NO PUSSYFOOTING " this just sort of floats on top of the bowl. nice binking and bonking but no bottom. two old white guys searching for passion…and in the end recieving my $ 17. 10
mink USA

There will be an NST (New Standard Tuning) Day organized in conjuntion with Robert Fripp's Guitar Craft School within the UK on 2nd & 3rd July 2005. See: www.nstweekend.co.nr www.guitarcraft.com.
Anthony UK

Astonishing and full of intuition. I was waiting for this by years
Steve Di Rico - Italy

Opon first hearing this CD,my first impression is that it sounded more like an ambient Eno solo project than a Fripp And Eno one.Which is not to say that its bad,just that it doesnt sound like the Frippertronics of yore….
FranksInertia–-USA

Like many of the reviewers I found this latest work reminiscent of Fripp and Eno's earlier collaborations and I was completely spellbound by it. Yes echoes of Apollo and echoes of Evening Star. I am definitely impressed with a work I didn't know existed until I happened upon it my local eclectic music shop. Simply stunning and ethereal!!
B.C.

have it on cd, great stuff. but what else to expect from fripp and eno?
hans v geel holland

Evocatively hypnotic!!!
Karl Townsend

Another sonic outing of blissful ambience!!! has Eno truely gone surpassingly beyond all comprehensible realms of cerebral logic???
Karl Townsend, Leamington Spa

one of the best ambiant music you can find!
Mario, Montreal Canada

Another rumptious fest of blissful ambience!!!
Mr Scuff

there are two albums in the last years which for me are much more than masterpieces:Justin Sullivan's Navigating by the Stars and this one, hmm!what a coincidence! Think for a show in Romania too, you'll find a lot of fans.
Nic, Romania

BTW: if you want a successor to No Pussyfooting try 'Clint Eastwood Clare Offreduccio and Me' by Devine and Sterling - truly, an updated version for the 21st century
jaime suffolk

Yes Mr Eno has done it once again! to go beyond the cerebal realms of mental comprehesion in producing another stonking album of sexual ambience! though at times you would think that he becomes so languidly lost within this ambient wonderness woludnt you???
Mr Scuff, part 2, Leamington Spa

In parts its a sonic stepping stone away from "Atmospheres and Soundtracks" but is rewarded with some beautifully blissful ambient stretchs of drawn out super nova wizardry!!! Looking at it none subjectively it doesnt matter what Mr Eno mindfully conjures up I'll always be the ultra appreciater of his adroit skill as a sound artist/musician. Its all good stuff…
Mr Scuff, part 3

A highly intersting set of music. Any buyers of the CD I know what to expect - won't be dissapointed!
sequent c

ambient at highest level. stunning! blows me off!
al, buenos aires, argentina

i got turned on to eno/fripp through bowie. another green world, music for airports, apollo, king crimson, etc. this is great stuff that most people either don't know how to listen to - or just don't have the patience for. too bad for them that this is a sonic interpretion of a pictoral masterpiece which they never see - or hear.
abogner90 - Westbrook,ME

Very deep, i use it in my work when I need extremely concentration. I think its a jam and sound very fresh. Are there any dvd of this two guys on stage ????
Rijastan - Chile



Released
Recorded 2004
Genre Ambient
Length 47:57


"Meissa" – 8:08
"Lyra" – 7:45
"Tarazed" – 5:03
"Lupus" – 5:09
"Ankaa" – 7:01
"Altair" – 5:11
"Terebellum" – 9:40