About King Crimson
King Crimson are an English progressive rock group formed in London in 1968 by guitarist Robert Fripp, who has remained the sole constant member through the band's many incarnations. Drawing on classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, electronic, and experimental influences, King Crimson have consistently defied genre convention across more than five decades. Their 1969 debut, In the Court of the Crimson King, remains their most commercially successful and influential record, but the band's restless creative evolution has produced landmark work in virtually every decade since.
The "double duo" lineup, Fripp alongside guitarist and vocalist Adrian Belew, bassist Trey Gunn on Warr Guitar, and drummer Pat Mastelotto, came together in 1999 for a leaner, more industrial-influenced sound. This configuration recorded two studio albums: The ConstruKction of Light (2000) and The Power to Believe (2003).
About The Reconstrukction of Light
When the original master recordings for The ConstruKction of Light were revisited, parts were found to be irretrievably lost. Rather than abandon the project, the band commissioned a substantial reworking: Pat Mastelotto re-recorded all of his drum parts on a predominantly acoustic kit, replacing the original exclusively electronic percussion. The result, released in 2019 as The Reconstrukction of Light, offers a meaningfully different experience from the 2000 original. The acoustic drumming opens up the sound and softens the album's harder industrial edges, revealing new dimensions in the compositions.
The material itself remains among King Crimson's most characteristically demanding: dense, angular guitar work from Fripp and Belew, intricate polyrhythms, and a set of compositions that includes the fourth instalment of the long-running "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" suite. Several track titles carry the band's trademark internal capitalisation, such as ProzaKc Blues and FraKctured, a stylistic signature of this period.
This 2019 edition is pressed as a double LP on 200g super-heavyweight vinyl, with the fourth side given over to additional live material drawn from the band's Live ConstruKction sessions. Cut from masters approved by Robert Fripp.
Track Listing
- ProzaKc Blues
- The ConstruKction of Light (instrumental)
- The ConstruKction of Light (song)
- Into the Frying Pan
- FraKctured (instrumental)
- The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum
- Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV (i)
- Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV (ii)
- Larks' Tongues in Aspic – Part IV (iii)
- Coda: I Have a Dream
- Heaven and Earth (instrumental)
- Side D: bonus live tracks from Live ConstruKction