''I Advance Masked'' is a 1982 album by English guitarists

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band The Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated w ...

and

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...

. It is the pair's first of two album collaborations and it consists of 13 instrumental tracks.

Background

Summers and Fripp had met in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

in the early 1960s. Summers grew up in the town and was at the time the guitarist of the

Zoot Money George Bruno Money (born 17 July 1942) is an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He is best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, he was drawn ...

Big Roll Band. Fripp was attending the

Bournemouth and Poole College The Bournemouth and Poole College (BPC) is a well established educational provider which delivers further education, higher education and community based courses in Bournemouth and in Poole on the south coast of England. It is one of the la ...

, where he had enrolled to study economics, economic history and political history. When Fripp and his band the Majestic Dance Orchestra secured their first regular gig at the Bournemouth Majestic Hotel, they replaced Zoot Money and Andy Summers who had just moved to London. Fripp and Summers remained friends over the years, and as soon as they had a break in the touring and recording schedules of their respective bands,

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

and

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Poli ...

, they met for some jams that eventually led to an album. Fripp and Summers recorded at the Arny's Shack studio in

Parkstone Parkstone is an area of Poole, Dorset. It is divided into 'Lower' and 'Upper' Parkstone. Upper Parkstone - "Up-on-'ill" as it used to be known in local parlance - is so-called because it is largely on higher ground slightly to the north of th ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

. According to Summers, the album was "a synthesis of two guys who grew up playing guitar, heard the Beatles, listened to jazz, have been influenced by Oriental music and

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, ...

, but still happen to be playing in a rock context. Every track started the same way, just two guitars. On some of them I played a little bass or put on a bit of percussion or string synthesizer. There are no drums but you don't miss them. Some of it is very accessible and some is very avant-garde". The cover painting is by American pop artist

James Rizzi James Rizzi (October 5, 1950 – December 26, 2011) was an American pop artist who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Biography Rizzi graduated from University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Al ...

. The title track was released as a single with "Hardy Country" on the flip side.

Bewitched

Fripp and Summers would go on to record a second album, ''Bewitched'', in 1984. In contrast with ''I Advance Masked'', ''Bewitched'' resulted in more of a pop-sounding record. According to Summers, this time the album was about two highly skilled and educated guitarists “meeting on a different mountain and learning how to work together. So much of guitar playing in this sort of situation is human psychology. How do I get the very best out of Robert Fripp in the studio? And we did it. It’s a balanced record.” The only single from the album, "Parade", was supported by a music video but it failed to chart.

Track listing

Personnel

* Robert Fripp – electric guitars, Moog and Roland synthesizers, Roland guitar synthesizer, Fender bass, percussion * Andy Summers – electric guitars, Moog and Roland synthesizers, piano, Roland guitar synthesizer, Fender bass, percussion Technical personnel *Tim Summerhayes, Tony Arnold – engineer *Andy Summers, Michael Ross – design *

– cover *

Jill Furmanovsky Jill Furmanovsky (born 1953) is a British photographer who has specialised in documenting rock musicians. Life and work Born in Southern Rhodesia, Furmanovsky emigrated with her parents and brother Michael to London in 1965. She studied t ...

– photography

References

{{Authority control 1982 albums A&M Records albums Robert Fripp albums Albums produced by Robert Fripp Andy Summers albums Instrumental duet albums Collaborative albums