Description
Robert Fripp – Let The Power Fall – 200 Gram Vinyl Record
An Album Of Frippertronics
The 1981 Robert Fripp classic
Newly cut from masters approved by Robert Fripp
200-gram super-heavyweight vinyl
Brand new, never played and still in the factory plastic
Robert Fripp’s Let The Power Fall (1981) is an experimental, ambient album that showcases his pioneering use of Frippertronics, a tape delay system developed with Brian Eno. As the guitarist and founder of the progressive rock band King Crimson, Robert Fripp had already established himself as one of the most innovative and influential guitarists in rock music by the time of this release. However, Let The Power Fall steps away from traditional rock structures and focuses entirely on the possibilities of sound looping, repetition, and minimalism, placing it in the realm of ambient and experimental music.
This album is part of Fripp’s “ambient” phase, wherein he sought to push the boundaries of the electric guitar as a compositional tool by using technology to create complex soundscapes. The album consists entirely of instrumental pieces created through Frippertronics, offering listeners a deep, meditative experience where slowly evolving textures and overlapping loops take center stage.
The album is a showcase of Frippertronics, Fripp’s tape delay system that allows loops of guitar sounds to build and layer over time. The technique creates dense, repetitive textures that evolve slowly, giving the music a hypnotic, meditative quality. Frippertronics involves two tape machines—one recording and one playing back the recorded audio in real time—allowing for the sound to loop and gradually layer.
Let The Power Fall is deeply minimalist in nature. The pieces on the album are not structured around traditional melodies or chord progressions; instead, they are built from slowly shifting layers of sound. The atmosphere is calm and meditative, with long stretches of sustained notes and subtle changes in texture and tone.
The album’s focus is on the exploration of sound itself, rather than on melody or harmony. The way sounds are layered and looped creates a sense of spatial depth, with some tones seeming to drift away into the distance while others remain more present. This exploration of sonic space gives the album a dreamlike, immersive quality.
Key Tracks
“1984”: One of the central pieces on the album, “1984” is a hypnotic, slowly unfolding track that exemplifies Fripp’s use of long, sustained notes and looping patterns. The textures gradually build as new layers of sound are introduced, creating a sense of forward movement without a defined structure. The piece is meditative, allowing the listener to lose themselves in the evolving sonic landscape.
“1985”: This track is slightly more dissonant and features a darker, more brooding tone. The sound loops create an unsettling atmosphere, as the layers of guitar harmonics build tension. There is an underlying sense of mystery in the track, making it one of the more emotionally intense pieces on the album.
“1986”: The closing track on the album, “1986” is one of the most peaceful and serene pieces. It features gentle, ringing tones and slowly decaying loops that create a sense of calm and resolution. The layering of sound is subtle, allowing the beauty of each note to shine through without becoming overwhelmed by the technology behind the composition.
The overall atmosphere of Let The Power Fall is one of meditation and contemplation. The long, sustained notes and slowly evolving textures invite the listener to enter a meditative state, focusing on the subtleties of sound. The lack of rhythmic or melodic development allows the listener to fully immerse themselves in the sonic world that Fripp creates.
One of the central themes of the album is the relationship between technology and art. Fripp uses technology not as a mere tool for enhancing traditional music but as a central part of the compositional process. The tape delay system that drives Frippertronics is both an instrument and a compositional tool, allowing for an exploration of the creative possibilities of sound manipulation.
Minimalism is a key theme of the album. By relying on looping patterns and repetition, Fripp strips away the complexity of traditional composition, focusing instead on the purity of sound and the effects of slight variations over time. This minimalist approach results in a sense of timelessness, as the music seems to exist outside of conventional notions of beginning, middle, and end.
The album is entirely composed of guitar sounds, but they are often so heavily processed through the Frippertronics system that they take on a completely different character. The sustained notes and loops often sound more like a synthesizer or an otherworldly string instrument than a traditional electric guitar. Fripp’s playing is restrained and minimal, focusing on tone and texture rather than on technical virtuosity. Fripp’s tape delay system is the key to the album’s sound. By allowing sounds to loop and layer in real time, Fripp creates dense, slowly shifting soundscapes that evolve organically. The system also introduces an element of chance, as the loops can interact in unexpected ways, giving the music a sense of spontaneity despite its highly controlled process.
Let The Power Fall is one of the most important documents of Frippertronics, a technique that influenced generations of musicians interested in ambient, experimental, and electronic music. Fripp’s pioneering work with tape loops laid the groundwork for later explorations in looping and sound manipulation by artists in genres ranging from ambient to electronic dance music.
Fripp’s work with Frippertronics helped to push the boundaries of what the electric guitar could do, and it had a profound influence on the development of ambient music. His collaborations with Brian Eno, especially on albums like No Pussyfooting (1973), were foundational to the ambient genre, and Let The Power Fall continues that legacy by exploring the meditative possibilities of minimalism and looping. By stepping away from the progressive rock structures of King Crimson and focusing on ambient soundscapes, Fripp helped to bridge the worlds of art rock and ambient music. Let The Power Fall serves as an important link between the experimental tendencies of 1970s art rock and the more minimalist, meditative explorations of ambient music in the 1980s and beyond.
Let The Power Fall by Robert Fripp is an avant-garde exploration of sound, space, and technology, using the innovative Frippertronics technique to create dense, meditative soundscapes. Stripping away traditional rock elements, Fripp instead focuses on the minimalist possibilities of looping and repetition, inviting listeners into a hypnotic, contemplative experience. As an essential document of Fripp’s ambient and experimental phase, Let The Power Fall has had a lasting impact on the worlds of ambient music, sound experimentation, and the use of technology in composition. It remains a landmark album for fans of avant-garde music, minimalism, and experimental guitar.
Track Listing
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
