Music performed and composed by Theo Travis and Robert Fripp

The collaboration between Theo Travis and Robert Fripp has become something of a familiar musical pairing in recent years. Working in an area of music – improvised duets – normally associated with “difficult” or “austere” music, Travis & Fripp have neatly side-stepped such strictures to produce a body of work that is wholly approachable, frequently tuneful and always surprising in the depth and range of material that can be produced by two instrumentalists.

“Follow” takes the duo improv concept several stages further in a number of respects. The album was largely conceived for surround sound with its multiple layers of woodwind and quadraphonic guitar, carefully placed around the larger sonic space. It also works perfectly in stereo. The wide range of wind instruments, guitar sounds and electronics available to the players have enabled them to perform in a number of settings from cathedrals to small churches to rock clubs. Elements taken from live performances and studio recordings happily co-mingle. A multi-tracked solo Travis piece (‘Hear Our Voices’) flows into an overdubbed Frippertronics piece (‘1979’ named after the year in which the guitars were performed and recorded), while the album closes with what can only be described as a guitar/saxophone call and response stomp featuring some of the most ferocious guitar soloing Fripp has recorded in a decade.

The challenge of drawing the material from such disparate sources into a fully formed cohesive album was presented, unsurprisingly, to Steven Wilson. Grammy nominated on three separate occasions for his Surround Sound mixes and much in demand as a producer, Steven is also very familiar with the work of both musicians. Theo Travis featured on Steven Wilson’s most recent studio album “Grace for Drowning” (2011) and is a m.......
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