Just about anyone with some degree of musical awareness has heard of Fred Frith, right? Mention his name to someone who’s bought something less accessible than the Titanic soundtrack, and he or she will probably offer a glimmer of recognition, however slight. Anyway, on Ayaya Moses, Frith and the other three quarters of his quartet (René Lussier, Nick Didkovsky and Mark Stewart) once again remind the listening public that that the guitar is an instrument with six discrete strings (sometimes twelve) that can be tapped, plucked and scraped as well as strummed. The results can be beautiful (the first half of the title cut), harrowing (the second half of the title cut), fascinating (“Trummings”, “Geco Rettile Mialgico”), orchestral (“Pulau Dewata”) and downright confrontational (“The Stinky Boy Suite”). Since a lot of neophyte listeners expect nothing but dischord from “avant-guitar” compositions, Ayaya Moses is an effective tool for displaying the sheer range of both the instrument and the genre; yes, there are tracks that sound like the guitar is being thrown down a flight of stairs, but there are far more instances where Frith et al coax astonishingly varied and innovative tones from their instruments. Everyone should own at least one FFGQ album — it’s useful deprogramming after too much 3-chord punk rock, and it’s fun to taunt Teen Punk Rockers with it by confronting them with the fact that Frith is an “old guy” whose music is too challenging for them.

If you’re a fan of avant-garde music from the last 25 years, progressive cross-genre performer and composer Fred Frith has most assuredly wowed you in one form or another. Combining guitar forces, this quartet engages in a variety of styles, from intricately delicate, lush compositions, to noisy, experimental beasts that seem barely tamed by the axes of Stewart, Lussier, Didkovsky and Frith. You practically have to wipe Spitty Boy off of your face, as its quick-tempered excitement sprays forth in a mere 52 seconds. No Bones is a noisy concoction that presents several layers of riffs and leads that smartly intertwine, manifesting in a composition that’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and comparable to, dare I say, Naked City’s most sparkling, definitive moments. However, the FFGQ also harnesses space, as it guides several tunes through periods of tranquility and fragility that are sure signs of musical maturity. Frith’s considerable creativity and tenure are apt guides, as the variety and complexity of these 13 tracks show that you’re not dealing with some flippant “nuvo-guitar-artiste” but rather the exalted Fred Frith, with guitar surgically attached to hand and creative juices that are always simmering with fresh ideas.

Experimental legend Fred Frith once again combines the talents of guitarists Nick Didkovsky, René Lussier and Mark Stewart and comes up with 13 pieces that manage to breath new life into the six string. Repetitive lines play underneath free guitar noise as experimentation and discipline are comfortably intertwined. 8,5/10

The live recordings from the 1997 European tour include compositions by all FFGQ members. Nearly thirty-year musical career of Fred Frith has always distinctly confirmed his consequent attitude of breaking the fossilized conventions of rock music. One cannot help noticing that this attitude serves as the example for other rockmen, especially guitarists who since The Beatles’ times have been considered the most attractive figures on the rock scene.

While it is obvious that each decision on abandoning deep ruts of any behavioral pattern is always painful, any effort aimed at changing rock music habits is nearly destructive for the apostate. I can tell out of my own experience that to break the conservatism of rock fans is almost impossible: in majority they will surely go on listening exclusively to new mutations of Velvet Underground, MC5 or Sex Pistols. Frith keeps on changing himself all the time. He changes himself, but continues to develop his creative method, and that is why both old and new listeners still find him attractive.

When ten years ago Fred presented his electric guitar quartet for the first time (the idea itself being not new, cf. Glenn Branca, Robert Fripp or Fred’s experiments of the Seventies) his fans bore a grudge against it and complained that he did not choose to simply continue the old Henry Cow or Skeleton Crew line instead. But Frith insisted on systematic developing new skills of interaction in music on electric instruments. The original expression, so characteristic of rock music, was now to excite listeners’ emotions through giving them an opportunity to follow the clear four-person teamwork relations and preferably to implement the organization samples in their private lives. Any solos, duos, trios and quartets that might have resulted from the given composition depicted some emotional relations borrowed from real social and political life. It is clearly visible in a live situation when we can see how the musicians communicate with each other by way of some special gestures or face expressions, how they share instruction and leadership waiting until the right time.

With this CD Frith’s quartet evokes a slightly different atmosphere. Since its members willingly participate in various projects, which stylistic range can make any purist dizzy, their individual experiences naturally influence the quality of the music they create together. The leader stays as the most influential among them taking advantage of his arsenal of unorthodox playing techniques still improved since the mid-Seventies. Stewart and Didkovsky are characterized by the rare ability to keep balance while zapping between desperately discordant genres, which not devoid of distance and humor enables the group to tell its stories with impressive sprite and eloquence. Lussier, somewhat “hidden” or “blended” into the quartet sound, seems happy to go on as the masterly precise reader of the group’s scores. His full capabilities are better demonstrated only in his solo of Tout de suite.

C’est un deuxième album pour cette formation, le Fred Frith Guitar Quartet, qui, à l’instar des 4 guitaristes de l’Apocalyspo bar, rassemble quatre éminents membres de la chose guitaristique: René Lussier, Mark Stewart et Nick Didkowsky entourent ici le leader. Les pieces q’on y entend ont été enregistrées en spectacle lors d’une tournée, mais curieusement, on n’y sent pas du tout le direct. On y passe de solliloques cérébraux à des clins d’œil plein d’humour, d’explorations sonores méditatives à des sonorités agressives; la guitare se donne ici une personnalité multiple imitant le gong, les cloches, la cornemuse même. Les cordes crissent, cIaques, dialoguent, se heurent et se complètent tour à tour. Les quatre musiciens et compositeurs (contrairement au de précédent, Ayaya Moses, toujours sur Ambiances magnétiques, aucune pièce n’émane d’un compositeur externe ici) semblent s’amuser ferme (!) en passant du country au ragtime, pour ensuite sauter dans une veine métal et se retrouver par suite au benu milieu d’un soIo hyperactif de René Lussier. Ce disque a résolument une gueule d’atmosphéres. Et j’insiste sur le pluriel. Maniaco-dépressifs s’abstenir. 3,5/5