FRED FRITH - solo concert at MÓZG

Recorded at "Mózg" in Bydgoszcz (Poland) on 24.06.2006

[@Bram25]

They should release Fred Frith DLC for games like Guitar Hero, just to troll the fuck out of players.

[@Shovlaxnet]

NEW! REACTION TO FRED FRITH DLC ULTIMATE CRINGE COMPILATION 2016! ★★★NEW★★★ GONE SEXUAL!!!!!!!! bouncinbootybitches Subs: 3,000,000

[@fabianl5495]

Fred's on Fire!

[@downloader1970]

will do, i find this all very fascinating

[@antunivanovic]

Genius.

[@DarkZekeX]

@Branchdweller You don't hear the structure in this? And melody is far from the main thing that makes a musician good. What about rhythm and harmony? Also, who are you to imply that there is no melody? I agree that "trying to be different" alone is no cause for praise, but Frith has created some really cool music with his techniques. Just because its atonal doesn't make it bad.

[@TONE11111]

Fred Bought The 335 The Day Before - Instantly Invalidated The Warranty

[@ZlejChleba]

zazpívat ano,přehrát si po určitý době,kdy si to budu pamatovat,zapsat by se to taky dalo, jsou nejrůznější způsoby zápisu - jakkoli nefandim zapisování hudby,protože jí nikdy nelze skutečně zapsat.

[@deliman]

I'm wondering the same thing about myself...

[@CoaxLover]

tab pls?

[@freddysbender]

HAHA :D

[@bulletbelt97]

what an original comment

[@custino22]

@@bulletbelt97 it means transcription = dead

[@the_most_ever_company]

literally "Fairie's Aire & Death Waltz" but irl

[@kohada64]

One of the true living guitar greats . I have seen him many times. Anyone who doubts if he can "shred" listen to Henry Cow his group from 70s.. it is not a lack of chops that he plays this way .

[@deanjgn666666]

agree mate.

[@jibicusmaximus4827]

oh i see.. interesting, thanks.

[@andreavaldroni7026]

It must be a lack of shops: he couldn't find a bunch of picks.

[@postatility9703]

Fred has been way beyond unnecessary "shredding" for years.He has never had to prove anything except for his genius, which proves itself.

[@vuzganje]

Wtf with all these plebs crying about how "bad" this is, who brought them here and why...

[@frequencies7392]

It's an opinion. Ever heard of it?

[@DanPantzig]

Some hippie dickweed played this for me while I was tripping on shrooms and even then I thought/knew it was garbage.

[@markcollins1497]

‘Some hippie dickweed’. Oh piss off

[@goingfortheone1]

I love these rare videos that somehow attract an audience with conventional tastes who are just so confused. Nothing odd about this, people, just music. Enjoy.

[@thebacklogwithelliotswain]

Well it is odd there’s no doubting that lol. And we love him and it for that, he’s one of the avant garde (and pop/rock)’s great oddballs

[@ThoBrian]

Art is not technique. It is expression, it is passion.

[@iamdamosuzuki_]

The thing that makes Frith extra cool Is he has the expression, passion, AND the technique!

[@Thelaofkazi]

I randomly clicked on the link to this video, then opened up a new tab, just listening and not viewing. At first, I thought it was some guitar with alot of effects and editting added in with a computer. I was curious and open this video tab back up, only to see him making all of these sounds himself. Amazing. I think I just found one of my new favorite musicians.

[@MetaBuddha]

this is fucking brilliant

[@petemarr824]

Gremby The perfect review! Cannot put it better into words Gremby :)

[@reloadvlogs8143]

I hope you are being sarcastic

[@sirmustapha]

It's a shame people are so concerned on whether this is "music" or not, because it's just such FUN to hear the unexpected and interesting sounds he's making. If people had more FUN with music, maybe these stupid arguments would, you know, stop? Before this video, my only contact with Frith was Henry Cow. I'm now very interested on his solo work.

[@MrKadidle51]

I dont get the appeal. Im not gonna say its shit or anything bc all art has its place and value. But I cant get down like this.

[@windowspeak1669]

At least you see it's value even if you don't enjoy it. I do this stuff all the time and catch uneccesary flak for it.

[@dzre2087]

how can you NOT enjoy it? do you not hear his messy little melodies and "riffs" like with the drumstick?? it's not like this is sheets of noise or skronk.

[@trangofast9692]

id say this is closer to brilliant than to miserable junk..

[@MrAndrum11]

Top 5 concerts I have ever been to. With him in Iceland. More than half of the people left. They just didn’t get it.

[@AlanAuti]

That's so hilarious and tragic at the same time

[@iiyoutube2182]

ギター鳴らすのにルールはないけど FRED FRITHの哲学とかギター、楽器に対する考え方 これは尊重すべきもの。 もはやこれこそが、ミュージシャンにとって、 "ルール"の心理なのではないでしょうか。

[@badmuddy]

well, that's not entirely true; i know. having done this, as well as actually playin' with the guy, it's partially an amazing set of ears & intuition, & knowing when things sound/feel right, that the piece is working. he has the mechanics down to a science, but it's the openness to letting things happen that creates the real magic. that explains why there are people, like arto, who can't play a lick to save his life, is capable of creating lasting art. fred just happens to ALSO be a real player.

[@jeffdawson2786]

If he could get the guitar to play the drumstick, that would be amazing .

[@jeffsparks8635]

That was in a previous video which somehow got taken down by Ginger Baker..................so I'm told.

[@yoserbmon6827]

For all fans of this crap, I will be throwing a little intimate concert tomorrow at 6:00pm when I replace my old guitar's rusted strings white still plugged to the amp at full volume... and maybe, just maybe, I will proceed to sand them down with a chainsaw just to sound more "experimental" (However, this will depend on my mood and level of creativity at the time, since as a true artist I can't predict what my feelings and state of mind will be tomorrow) ...The one thing I can promise though, is that I will remain serious and distant to add solemnity to the show.

[@archibaldgregory1348]

I am a fan of this crap and I look forward to your performance.

[@jzf128]

GENIUS. I love this so much.

[@warvandal3443]

1:21 - Thread Frith

[@iamdamosuzuki_]

This comment is underrated

[@firecoalman]

People... this is not a million miles away from Mr.Hendrix playing guitar with his teeth... or even 'more alternatively' : burning the fuckin' thing on stage... as part of his 'performance'. This man can quite evidently 'play' the guitar... it's just that he's decided to approach it from a different way. Memory serves me correct... that's what a certain Mr. Pablo Picasso did... he could 'paint alright: but eventually laughed his stripey t shirt all the way to the bank ! Ahem !

[@asmilefromatiger]

pangtjoff, the device near the headstock is an additional pickup mounted above the strings. Frith uses the pickup for fingertapping arppegio parts in other pieces, hes been using the same guitar for years.

[@navespacial]

Now that's a REALLY CONSERVATIVE way of seeing art... of course you wouldn't understand a pollock's painting either. Now, beyond theory, lies something known as concept, which is something -i'm guessing- you may not have heard of. Obviously there's beauty and worth in a structured and more "palpable" work, something that, for example, can be transcribed to a partiture. But there's also enjoyment of art in other levels, which is what Frith tries to do. It's not about if you can do it or not.

[@jdhf983y4uhu]

i have a feeling if he was suffering a mental illness the diagnoses would have been made by now from someone a little more qualified than you lol.

[@contactkeithstack]

well that was amazing, like autechre on the fly, on a guitar.

[@hifijohn]

and silly me I've been using my drums stick on my drums.

[@Cranio76]

@MokshaIS An additional pickup, so he can pick up noises and "notes" from both sides of a fretted string.

[@DougZbikowski]

LOL- it's like they said "Our normal guitarist is sick! Can anyone play guitar?!" Then some drunk guy raised his hand in the audience and said "Yeah! I kin do that! How hard kin it beeee?"

[@t.least.he.is.honest]

they told me my uncle was crazy

[@capografik]

I dont think its a joke, mr. Frith is very serious about it. But I never bought his live-albums with prepared guitar - you might feel a little silly listening to this for 60 minutes. I do much better like his stuff with Henry Cow, and the more melodic material he has made. Where you can hear what a brilliant guitar-player he is....

[@ZlejChleba]

no právě jako v tý Pátý taky moc melodií přece neni,zrovna jako v tomhle. Mimochodem, omezit hudbu jen na rytmus,melodii a harmonii je dost konzervativní. U gregoriánskýho chorálu nebyly harmonická ani rytmická složka a přesto se to považuje za hudbu.

[@disciple456]

He uses a custom guitar. The "device" behind the nut is actually an extra pick-up, an extraneous one held in an aluminum harness bolted onto the nut, that picks up notes and pitches that sound behind and on the nut. In many pieces of his, you can hear what sounds like a scale going up as another scale goes down, both sounding at the same time. This is because the pick-up on the headstock actually picks up a "reverse" scale of notes that sound behind the frets. It's a very interesting technique.

[@brucekeddyarmstrong]

A lot of impovised music with treated guitar is pretty hard work. I find this piece very musical, beautiful and entertaining. I would love to hear more.

[@iamdamosuzuki_]

Listen to Henry Cow's 'Greasy Truckers' set from 1973. Fred does this stuff but in more of a group setting. The improvisational interplay is otherworldly!

[@wadew3623]

Anyone have tabs for this?

[@whoiscuriousgeorge]

IS HE KILLING THAT GUITAR DADDY? Yes, son. Yes he is. Seriously though, if you can keep an open mind this is actually a very creative way to approach the instrument and makes for some interesting music. I'd listen to hours of this before I listened to five minutes of Lady Shergar or whatever her damn name is.

[@fuphanwang9134]

jackson pollock of electric guitar

[@adalaku]

I KNOW so. You can find videos of him explaining his techniques and sounds. He definately knows what he's doing.

[@Fanchus]

I actually enjoyed this What is wrong with me

[@behelitholder]

yo dawg, just here to say: nice profile picture. Amazing Album. Makes me feel..

[@AlexLococo]

E.g. repetitive time structure to no structure, repetitive melody to no melody, the creation of an instrument to be played as a plucked instrument transformed to a percusion instrument, and so on.

[@YanekChe]

I first saw this video 10 years ago , its still good

[@rockypope]

What, no alligator clips?!?

[@Kohntarkosz]

Thanks for posting this! One doesn't get many opportunities to SEE this kind of guitar playing in action.

[@tyreesemj1]

holy shit! i didn't know someone could do that with a guitar.

[@Case86]

@adalaku Well i'm pretty sure this fall under the catagory of free improvisation. I do think he knows what he's doing, but the effects are not clear to him before he's performing. Still nice to watch though. Like a painter, painting a still life or something. Pretty cool

[@Bram25]

You get there when you have played every single note. Every single song you wanted to play and you want to go into that Twilight Zone of playing the guitar!

[@danielec392]

How is it possible that I've come back to this video multiple times already? I'm enthralled.

[@AlexLococo]

Doing something out of conentional though is thinking outside of the box, but when that thinking is forced to be the exact opposite is not originality, but simply acting as a mirror, therefore, even if you're not doing what everyone else, you still depend on the action of the others to make your equal, exact opposite reaction.

[@victorsantiago5470]

"art is not a mirror, it's a hammer"

[@SlavaBass]

Wow! Just realized that you don't have to be a musician or have a technique to perform and make money! This man is genius!

[@Yahootie]

The perfect song to drive your neighbor nuts with

[@ganensknogle777]

pure magic

[@joeyr88]

i play like that when im bored and dont want to use my brain.

[@Black_Swan777]

I guess one either get's it or they don't... Sure are a lot of haters here who were probably jocks in high school and made fun of anyone or anything that was 'different'. They're also, each and every one of them, not a world renowned guitarist and innovator. But this much I will say, I'd be willing to bet that if you asked Steve Vai or Joe Satriani (not to mention Buckethead) what they thought about Fred Frith they'd speak of him reverently and have nothing but good things to say about him.

[@kidtronic]

I have always admired the intense concentration on the moment in Fred's work.

[@SirXander]

@BirsaGomorraBeach I indeed worship malmsteen, vai, petrucci and all the other shredders. But I worship frith too. let's not generalize, please. those who hate this marvellous act of pushing the boundaries of music simply are people who fail in understanding that art can sometimes be pure and sole texture.

[@xxxGRENADESxxx]

That's cool. But my strings would snap if I ever tried to do that. lol

[@jakelee7639]

While I couldn’t listen to this for hours I will easily admit that he has endless creative ideas, not just the sounds or noises but also how quick he is from one technique to another, as well as his timing or phrasing varies constantly....most guitarists trying this would quickly become repetitive and out of ideas....

[@Punkcast]

Great clip! Beautifully captured!

[@adalaku]

Hate to frighten anyone who is stuck inside a "conventional box" but this man knows exactly what he is doing at all times, right down to the very micro-tone.

[@Berrado]

Some things in life are simple, like, say, you don't like this, you don't know shit. IF I WUZ LIEK, DEAF< I'D MAKE THIS GUITAR NOIUSE, HUHUHUHU fukk this PETRUCCI RULZ

[@satorukikuchi1724]

subarasi! arigato!

[@DrBallings]

I couldn't agree more. Let's compare this to a marble statue versus a few tomatoes thrown at a canvas and named untitled. At least with the marble statue you can appreciate the work that went into it even if you are not a fan of the style or statues in general. Now you could argue that the tomato artist pondered forever as to where to throw the tomatoes, but if you can't tell the work that went into it then what does it matter?

[@cassianowogel]

bem bonito este ali

[@wbgoaf]

I used to play like this, then I took an arrow to the - SHUT THE FUCKKKKK ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.....

[@goutatou]

Fred Frith,le musicien qui fait tous les efforts possibles pour ne SURTOUT PAS se retrouver au Top 50 ..bien sûr le mieux c"est même d'IGNORER qu'un truc comme le Top 50 puisse exister..mais faut quand-même pas trop en demander...très très bel effort en tout cas..

[@AndrewGorny]

you know, for being complete nonsense, he's being pretty musical!!!

[@downloader1970]

could be... i find it hard to imagine with the things he does (like rubbing a ribbon up and down yr fretboard), that he ALWAYS KNOWS exactly what sound its going to make... once again i just discovered his music, as far as i know you ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT dont get me wrong i think its fantastic what he is doing and i will read about it first before i make remarks.. thanks for making me notice from one musiclover to another :-))

[@MatthewHarryEvans]

Hey I can express an opinion, that's what this forum's for. Sorry if it come across that way

[@guyclegg]

I no longer feel crazy for doing this with spoons

[@MatthewHarryEvans]

Actually, legitimately sorry to offend you. Could have worded that in a friendlier manner.

[@Nfernu]

Wasting a "x-thousand €" Gibson 335... He can do the same thing with a 300€ Epiphone...

[@JICM25]

That´s some crazy fetish

[@capjoartist1200]

GENIUS ,YES THIS IS MUSIC ,everybody can't listen to JAMES LAST(johan capiau,google my name)

[@ZlejChleba]

no vidíš a to jsou jen dva tóny, zatímco u Fritha nahoře se sice jedná o improvizaci,ale melodická linka je tam taky,stačí otevřít uši.

[@NAETEMUSIC]

*Bjork enters from stage left*

[@MatthewHarryEvans]

Technique has a lot to do with it. Ever sat down with an instrument you have no idea how to play, It might be art that comes out, but it's still bullshit. Anyway, there's clearly a lot of skill, forethought, and technique that goes into Fred Frith's projects. Thankfully he holds back on expression and passion, which anyone can do anyway.

[@cdakskid]

Not that I even agree with the premise of your comment but how does it make sense that trying to be different makes you a bunch of sheep? Is this opposite day? Sheep try to be the SAME.....maybe?

[@Mickey68217]

Тем, кто считает что им это нравится, подходит фраза - "А король то голый". Это не музыка это бред сумасшедшего

[@archibaldgregory1348]

how would you define madness? Randomness? Randomness can be quite orderly and logical where applicable for instance a passcode generator. I look forward to your response thank you for reading.

[@drzazgi666]

robiłem tak kiedyś po heroinie skulony w kącie na sali prób

[@martinmoore6168]

i want one of those youtube guitar teachers to explain this yeah

[@ParlonsMMO]

Oh my god ! This is a complete genius ! Change change my life forever ! Love U !

[@Shivasavasana]

I really hated this at first, but I gave it second chance without actually watching him play, and I think it's pretty cool. The visual element is often too distracting from the music, for me.

[@drumjunkie10]

PLESE disable comments from this video. Theres no need for them.

[@nuynobi]

What is that strange black thing near the nut? Anyone know?

[@fabrigasan2150]

Mia nipote … se vuole… e se trova la mia chitarra sul divano … sa far di peggio!

[@yootesa1515]

who needs all that scale, mode harmony arppegio theory nonsence

[@regaltip8A]

Give me a break. About as interesting as Yoko Ono. Rubbish!

[@DrBallings]

Anyone can look at the tomato piece and say "i could do that", the same definately does not go for the statue. I'm sure many people heard this and said to themselves "i could do this" and perhaps thats what the artist is going for, however the beauty in music lies in the ability for virtuosos to blow us away with their limitless prowess of the instruments they wield.

[@SeafloorReunion]

In a darkened room you wouldn't know what you were listeniing to. Seeing him do this piece is everything.

[@lynandlei]

J’aimerais comprendre s’il vous plait? Je ne sais vraiment pas quoi en penser, c’est de l’improvisation libre, ok pas de problème, mais ça veux dire quoi au final ? Il n'y a pas vraiment de message en fait ? Après quelques recherches sur ce « musicien », visiblement il est loin d’être un naze, il sait même jouer de plusieurs instruments, mais bordel qu’est ce qu’il c’est passer après ? Brisé les codes conventionnel, ok, mais pourquoi ? J’aimerais comprendre le message ? Je n’arrive pas à voir plus loin…. Pour moi c’est juste un gars qui fais « oh aller au pif, j’appui là et on verra bien ! Voila j’ai brisé les codes » Enfin je suis d’accord faire du bordel sur ça guitare c’est rigolo quelques secondes ^^ héhé ^^, mais en faire toute ça carrière ?! C’est un choix que j’aimerais comprendre ? Quelle approche a-t-il de la musique, ou des techniques pour faire ça ?

[@julesthevenot9585]

un "message" ? Pourquoi faire ? A la limite, on pourrait dire que l'absence de message vaut message. Ou alors, si, tiens, dire que Fred Frith questionne le rapport à la musique, voyons, euh, interroge la place du son dans la construction musicale... bouscule la relation à l'écoute... provoque la nécessité d'une immédiateté de l'écoute, débarrassée pour l'occasion de la recherche d'une ligne mélodique à siffloter en sortant... Ceci dit, 5 mn d'improvisation ne suffisent pas, encore moins en vidéo, c'est une musique qui pour moi s'écoute (mais oui) davantage dans l'instant, sur place, dans la durée. Surtout ne pas chercher à se faire une idée avec cette vidéo-là.

[@lynandlei]

@@julesthevenot9585 D'accord merci beaucoup pour cette réponse ^^, même si ça faisait très longtemps que je l'avais posé et que je n'étais pas revenu. En fait c'est pas que je n'aimais pas mais je ne comprenais pas. Cela dit, ça reste malgré tout trés intéressant comme approche, puisse qu'en se debarassant des règles il trouve de nouveaux moyens de s'exprimer en changeant ça et là les techniques de jeu, du timbre et du son de son instrument. Parfois je me dit que quelque part on a besoin de gens comme lui qui bouscule un peu tout ça, qu'on aime ou pas et qu'on comprenne ou pas c'est aussi comme ça qu'on crée et qu'on invente. C'est de l'art après tout il est libre, comme son improvisation.

[@victorsantiago5470]

Henry Cow, Art Bears, Massacre, . . Frith hasn't played a conventional chord since "Ruins".

[@Syfoll]

Art Bears' The Hermit sounds traditionally gorgeous

[@growskull]

ruins is one of his most experimental tracks though haha 55/8

[@sidlulz]

i wish i could get famous for sounding like shit...

[@rmsolympic1]

Steve Vai should take some lessons from this guy.

[@monariver66]

Je l’ai vu fin des années 1980s à Colmar

[@temporoboto]

FF!

[@AbelTana]

no puedo encontrarle un sentido a esto...

[@snorrevonflake]

Why is it not art when i do the same ?

[@ZlejChleba]

jo,byl tak konzervativní,až mu spílali za to,že si troufnul před bohoslužbama hrát kontrapunkty a fugy a "neočekávané harmonie" :)