Fred Frith discography

Fred Frith at a piano recording session at New, Improved Recording in Oakland, California, September 2006.

Fred Frith appears on over 400 recordings. This is a selection from bands he was/is a member of, collaborations with other bands and musicians, and his solo recordings. The year indicates when the album was first released. For a comprehensive discography, see the Discography of Fred Frith by Michel Ramond, Patrice Roussel and Stephane Vuilleumier.^[1]

Studio albums

• Guitar Solos (1974, LP, Caroline, UK)
• Gravity (1980, LP, Ralph, US)
• Speechless (1981, LP, Ralph, US)
• Cheap at Half the Price (1983, LP, Ralph, US)
• Quartets (1994, CD, RecRec, Switzerland)
• Clearing (2001, CD, Tzadik, US)
• Prints: Snapshots, Postcards, Messages and Miniatures, 1987–2001 (2002, CD, Fred, UK)
• Eleventh Hour (2005, 2xCD, Winter & Winter, Germany)
• To Sail, to Sail (2008, CD, Tzadik, US)
• Clearing Customs (2011, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

Music for Dance

• The Technology of Tears (And Other Music for Dance and Theatre) (1988, 2xLP, RecRec, Switzerland)
• Allies (Music for Dance Volume 2) (1996, CD, RecRec, Switzerland)
• The Previous Evening (Music for Dance Volume 4) (1997, CD, Recommended, UK)^[a]
• Accidental (Music for Dance Volume 3) (2002, CD, Fred, UK)
• The Happy End Problem (Music for Dance Volume 5) (2006, CD, Fred, UK)
• Nowhere, Sideshow, Thin Air (Music for Dance Volume 6) (2009, CD, Fred, UK)
• Field Days (The Amanda Loops) (2015, CD, Fred, UK)
• Propaganda (2015, CD, Fred, UK)

Music for Film

• The Top of His Head (1989, LP, Crammed, Belgium) – original soundtrack to the film The Top of His Head by Peter Mettler
• Step Across the Border (1990, 2xLP, RecRec, Switzerland) – original soundtrack to the film Step Across the Border by Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel
• Middle of the Moment (1995, CD, RecRec, Switzerland) – original soundtrack to the film Middle of the Moment by Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel
• Eye to Ear (1997, CD, Tzadik, US) – collection of film and theatre music
• Rivers and Tides (2003, CD, Winter & Winter, Germany) – original soundtrack to the film Rivers and Tides by Thomas Riedelsheimer
• Eye to Ear II (2004, CD, Tzadik, US) – music from Gambling, Gods and LSD by Peter Mettler, Returning Home by Andy Abrahams Wilson, Hirschen Mit Goldenen Hufen by Petra Mäussnest, and Sideshow by Kristin Varner
• Eye to Ear III (2010, CD, Tzadik, US) – music from Drei Gegen Troja by Hussi Kutulcan, and Thirst by Deborah Kauffman and Alan Snitow

Composer only

• Pacifica (1998, CD, Tzadik, US)
• Freedom in Fragments (2002, CD, Tzadik, US)
• Back to Life (2008, CD, Tzadik, US)

Live albums

• Live in Japan (1982, 2xLP, Recommended, Japan)
• Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire (Graphic Scores 1986–1996) (1999, CD, I Dischi di Angelica, Italy)
• Impur II (2009, CD, Fred, UK)
• Storytelling (2017, CD, Intuition, Germany)
• All Is Always Now – Live at The Stone (2019, 3xCD, Intakt, Switzerland)
• Woodwork (2019, CD, Klanggalerie, Austria)

Composer only

• Impur (2006, CD, Fred, UK)

Singles

• "Dancing in the Street" / "What a Dilemma" (1980, 7", Ralph, US) – from Gravity

Compilations

• Fred and Ralph (1991, 3xCD, RecRec, Switzerland) – Fred Frith releases by Ralph Records
  • Gravity (1980, CD, Ralph)
  • Speechless (1981, CD, Ralph)
  • Cheap at Half the Price (1983, CD, Ralph)
• The Fred Records Story 2001–2020 Volume 1: Rocking the Boat (2021, 9xCD, Fred, UK)
  • Guitar Solos (2002, CD, Fred)
  • Gravity (2002, CD, Fred)
  • Cheap at Half the Price (2004, CD, Fred)
  • Killing Time (2005, CD, Fred)
  • Impur (2006, CD, Fred)
  • Middle of the Moment (2004, CD, Fred)
  • That House We Lived In (2003, 2xCD, Fred)
  • Dropera (1991, CD, RecRec) – bonus CD
• The Fred Records Story 2001–2020 Volume 2: Crossing Borders (2021, 9xCD, Fred, UK)
  • Live in Japan (2010, CD, Fred)
  • Speechless (2003, CD, Fred)
  • Prints (2002, CD, Fred)
  • Step Across the Border (2003, CD, Fred)
  • Impur II (2009, CD, Fred)
  • The Art of Memory II (2008, CD, Fred)
  • Learn to Talk / Country of Blinds (2005, 2xCD, Fred)
  • Helter Skelter (1992, CD, RecRec) – bonus CD (remastered)
• The Fred Records Story 2001–2020 Volume 3: Stepping Out (2021, 9xCD, Fred, UK)
  • The Technology of Tears (2008, CD, Fred)
  • Propaganda (2015, CD, Fred)
  • Allies (2004, CD, Fred)
  • Accidental (2002, CD, Fred)
  • The Previous Evening (1997, CD, Recommended)
  • The Happy End Problem (2006, CD, Fred)
  • Nowhere, Sideshow, Thin Air (2009, CD, Fred)
  • Field Days (The Amanda Loops) (2015, CD, Fred)
  • Inimitable (2020, CD, Fred) – bonus CD (previously unreleased)

Collaborations

With Bruce Ackley, Henry Kaiser and Aram Shelton

• Unexpected Twins (2019, CD, Relative Pitch Records, US)

With Noël Akchoté

• Réel (1996, 10" LP, Rectangle, France)

With Lotte Anker

• Edge of the Light (2014, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With ARTE Quartett

• Still Urban (2009, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)
• The Big Picture (2009, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With Derek Bailey and Antoine Berthiaume

• Soshin (2003, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques, Canada)

With Derek Bailey, Sonny Sharrock, John Zorn, Bill Laswell and Charles K. Noyes

• Improvised Music 1981 (1992, CD, MuWorks, US)

With Anne Bourne and John Oswald

• Dearness (2002, CD, Spool, Canada)

With Anthony Braxton

• Duo (Victoriaville) 2005 (2006, CD, Les Disques Victo, Canada)

With Chris Brown

• Cutter Heads (2007, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With John Butcher

• The Natural Order (2014, CD, Northern Spy, US)

With John Butcher and Theresa Wong

• Quintillions Green (2016, FLAC, Otoroku, UK)

With Lindsay Cooper, Lars Hollmer and Gianni Gebbia

• Angels on the Edge of Time (2015, CD, I Dischi di Angelica, Italy)

With Lol Coxhill

• French Gigs (1983, LP, AAA, France)

With Chris Cutler

• Live in Prague and Washington (1983, LP, Recommended, UK) – 1990 CD release retitled Live in Moscow, Prague & Washington
• Live in Trondheim, Berlin & Limoges, Vol. 2 (1994, CD, Recommended, UK)
• 2 Gentlemen in Verona (2000, CD, Recommended, UK)
• The Stone: Issue Two (2007, CD, Tzadik, US)

With Chris Cutler and Thomas Dimuzio

• Golden State (2010, LP, Recommended, UK)^[b]

With Lesli Dalaba, Eric Glick Rieman and Carla Kihlstedt

• Dalaba Frith Glick Rieman Kihlstedt (2003, CD, Accretions, US)

With Totsuzen Danball

• Live at Loft Shinjuku Tokyo Japan 23.July'81 (1982, CT, Floor, Japan)

With Evelyn Davis and Phillip Greenlief

• Lantskap Logic (2018, CD, Clean Feed, Portugal)

With Jean Derome, Pierre Tanguay and Myles Boisen

• All is Bright, But it is Not Day (2002, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques, Canada)

With Michel Doneda

• Fred Frith Michel Doneda (2014, CD, Vand'OEuvre, France)

With Mark Dresser and Ikue Mori

• Later... (2000, CD, Les Disques Victo, Canada)

With Jean-Pierre Drouet

• En Public aux Laboratoires d'Aubervilliers (1997, CD, Transes Europeennes, France)

With Jean-Pierre Drouet and Louis Sclavis

• I Dream of You Jumping (2001, CD, Les Disques Victo, Canada)
• Contretemps etc... (2011, CD, In Situ, France)

With Ensemble Modern

• Traffic Continues (2000, CD, Winter & Winter, Germany)

With Anil Eraslan, Tom Malmendier and Clara Weil

• There or Here and That (2020, CD, Eux Saem, France)

With Janet Feder

• Ironic Universe (2006, CD+DVD, Recommended, US)

With Hardy Fox

• A Day Hanging Dead Between Heaven and Earth (2018, CD, Klanggalerie, Austria)

With Evelyn Glennie

• The Sugar Factory (2007, CD, Tzadik, US)

With Barry Guy

• Backscatter Bright Blue (2014, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With Tim Hodgkinson

• Live Improvisations (1992, CD, Woof, UK)

Cut Up the Border by Fred Frith, Nicolas Humbert and Marc Parisotto

With Percy Howard, Charles Hayward and Bill Laswell

• Meridiem (1998, CD, Materiali Sonori, Italy)

With Nicolas Humbert and Marc Parisotto

• Cut Up the Border (2020, CD, RogueArt, France)

With Darren Johnston

• Everybody's Somebody's Nobody (2016, CD, Clean Feed, Portugal)

With Darren Johnston Devin Hoff, Larry Ochs and Ches Smith

• Reasons for Moving (2007, CD, Not Two, US)

With Henry Kaiser

• With Friends Like These (1979, LP, Metalanguage, US)
• Who Needs Enemies? (1983, LP, Metalanguage, US)
• With Enemies Like These, Who Needs Friends? (1987, CD, SST, US)
• Friends & Enemies (1999, 2xCD, Cuneiform, US)

With Carla Kihlstedt and Stevie Wishart

• The Compass, Log and Lead (2006, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With Hans Koch

• You are Here (2017, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With Joëlle Léandre and Jonathan Segel

• Tempted to Smile (2003, CD, Spool, Canada)

With Annie Lewandowski

• Long as in Short, Walk as in Run (2011, CD, Ninth World)

With René Lussier

• Nous Autres (1987, LP, Les Disques Victo, Canada)

With Helen Mirra

• Kwangsi Quail (2015, LP, Shhpuma, Portugal)

With Ikue Mori

• A Mountain Doesn't Know It's Tall (2021, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With Mózg Injectors

• Sylvan Trail (2019, 12" LP and CD, Mózg, Poland)

With Bob Ostertag and Phil Minton

• Voice of America (1982, LP, Rift, US)

With Bob Ostertag and John Zorn

• Attention Span (1990, CD, RecRec, Switzerland)

With Evan Parker

• Hello, I Must Be Going (2015, CD, Les Disques Victo, Canada)

With Francois-Michel Pesenti

• Helter Skelter (1992, CD, RecRec, Switzerland)

With Marc Ribot

• Subsonic 1. Sounds of a Distant Episode (1994, CD, Sub Rosa/Subsonic, Belgium)

With Ferdinand Richard (as Fred & Ferd)

• Dropera (1991, LP, RecRec, Switzerland)

With Danielle Roger

• Pas de Deux (2008, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques, Canada)

With Rusconi

• Live In Europe (2016, CD, Qilin, Germany)

With Katrin Scholl, Daniel Erismann, Lucas N. Niggli, Hans Koch and Peter Kowald

• Nil (1995, CD, Unit Records, Switzerland)

With Sonargemeinschaft (Sonar Community)

• Drift (2008, CD, Poise, Germany)

With Sudhu Tewari and Cenk Ergün

• Lock Me Up, Lock Me Down (2020, Digital, Carrier Records, US)

With Toychestra

• What Leave Behind (2004, CD, S.K., France)

With Benjamin Vergara

• Fanfarrisimo (2019, LP, Tour De Bras, Canada)

With Katharina Weber and Fredy Studer

• It Rolls (2015, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With Michel Wintsch, Franziska Baumann and Bernard Trontin

• Whisperings (2002, CD, RecRec, Switzerland)

With John Zorn

• The Art of Memory (1994, CD, Incus, UK)
• 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 5 (2004, CD, Tzadik, US)
• The Art of Memory II (2008, CD, Fred, UK)
• Late Works (2010, CD, Tzadik, US)

With John Zorn, Onnyk and Toyozumi Yoshisaburo

• Ars Longa Dens Brevis (2000, CD, Allelopathy, Japan)

Bands

Henry Cow

• Legend (1973, LP, Virgin, UK)
• Unrest (1974, LP, Virgin, UK)
• Concerts (1976, 2xLP, Caroline, UK)
• Western Culture (1979, LP, Broadcast, UK)
• The Virgin Years – Souvenir Box (1991, 3xCD, East Side Digital, US)
• Henry Cow Box (2006, 7xCD, Recommended, UK)
• Stockholm & Göteborg (2008, CD, Recommended, UK)
• The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set (2009, 9xCD+DVD, Recommended, UK)
• The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow (2019, 17xCD+DVD, Recommended, UK)

Henry Cow / Slapp Happy

• Desperate Straights (1975, LP, Virgin, UK)
• In Praise of Learning (1975, LP, Virgin, UK)

Art Bears

• Hopes and Fears (1978, LP, Recommended, UK)
• Winter Songs (1979, LP, Recommended, UK)
• The World as It Is Today (1981, LP, Recommended, UK)
• The Art Box (2004, 6xCD, Recommended, UK)

Aksak Maboul

• Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits (1980, LP, Crammed, Belgium)

Material

• Memory Serves (1981, LP, Celluloid, France)
• One Down (1982, LP, Celluloid, France)
• Live from Soundscape (1994, CD, DIW, Japan)

Massacre

• Killing Time (1981, LP, Celluloid, France)
• Funny Valentine (1998, CD, Tzadik, US)
• Meltdown (2001, CD, Tzadik, US)
• Lonely Heart (2007, CD, Tzadik, US)
• Love Me Tender (2013, CD, Tzadik, US)

Skeleton Crew

• Learn to Talk (1984, LP, Rift, US / Recommended, Europe)
• The Country of Blinds (1986, LP, Rift, US / Recommended, Europe)
• Learn to Talk / Country of Blinds (1990, CD, RecRec, Switzerland)
• Etymology (1997, CD-ROM, Rarefaction, US)

Duck and Cover

• Rē Records Quarterly, Vol. 1 No. 2 (1985, LP, Recommended, UK)

French Frith Kaiser Thompson

• Live, Love, Larf & Loaf (1987, LP, Rhino, US)
• Invisible Means (1990, LP, Demon, UK, Windham Hill, US)

Naked City

• Naked City (1990, LP, Elektra/Nonesuch, US)
• Torture Garden (1990, LP, Elektra/Nonesuch, US)
• Heretic, Jeux des Dames Cruelles (1992, CD, Avant, Japan)
• Grand Guignol (1992, CD, Avant, Japan)
• Leng Tch'e (1992, CD, Toy's Factory, Japan)
• Radio (1993, CD, Avant, Japan)
• Absinthe (1993, CD, Avant, Japan)
• Naked City Live, Vol. 1: The Knitting Factory 1989 (2002, CD, Tzadik, US)

Death Ambient

• Death Ambient (1995, CD, Tzadik, US)
• Synaesthesia (1999, CD, Tzadik, US)
• Drunken Forest (2007, CD, Tzadik, US)

Fred Frith Guitar Quartet

• Ayaya Moses (1997, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques, Canada)
• Upbeat (1999, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques, Canada)

Maybe Monday

• Saturn's Finger (1999, CD, Buzz, Netherlands)
• Digital Wildlife (2002, CD, Winter & Winter, Germany)
• Unsquare (2008, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

Keep the Dog

• That House We Lived In (2003, 2xCD, Fred, UK)

The Orckestra

• "Unreleased Orckestra Extract" (3" CD single, 2006, Recommended, UK)

Oakland/Lisboa by MMM Quartet

Cosa Brava

• Ragged Atlas (2010, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)
• The Letter (2012, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

MMM Quartet^[c]

• Live at the Metz' Arsenal (2012, CD, Leo, UK)
• Oakland/Lisboa (2015, CD, RogueArt, France)

Fred Frith Trio

• Another Day in Fucking Paradise (2016, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)
• Closer to the Ground (2018, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

Footnotes

References

External links

• Fred Frith at Discogs