Fred Frith

Fred Frith (Feb. 17, 1949) is an English avant-rock/improv guitarist and composer from Heathfield who gained international cult renown as a member of Henry Cow, recording five studio albums with the band between 1973 and 1978. Over the following three-year period, he issued of trio of albums with Cow-spinoff The Art Bears.

As a solo artist, he released three albums on Ralph Records between 1980 and 1983 with input from members of Zamla Mammas Manna, Etron Fou LeLoublan, and The Muffins. In 1981, he cut an album with Bill Laswell’s New York jazz-punk trio Massacre and also appeared on recordings by the producer’s main project Material. During the mid-1980s, Frith paired with N.Y. cellist Tom Cora for two albums as The Skeleton Crew. Frith resumed his solo career with the 1988 double-album The Technology of Tears . In 1991, he collaborated with ex-Etron bassist Ferdinand Richard on the disc Dropera.

Discography:

• Guitar Solos (1974)
• Gravity (1980)
• Speechless (1981)
• Cheap at Half the Price (1983)
• The Technology of Tears (2LP, 1988)
• The Top of His Head (OST, 1989)
• Step Across the Border (OST, 1990)
• Dropera (1991 • Fred & Ferd)
• Quartets (1994)