"Matte Kudasai" () literally "Wait, Please" in Japanese, is a ballad by the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

. Featuring vocals by

Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual approach to the instrument, his ...

, it was released as the first single from the album ''

Discipline Discipline is the self-control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed, and the ability to keep working at something that is difficult. Disciplinarians believe that such self-control is of the utmost importance and enforce a ...

'' (1981). In the UK, the single just missed the chart. "Matte Kudasai" evolved out of a guitar riff played by

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is an English musician, composer, 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 mu ...

during 1980 tour rehearsals for Fripp's short-lived new wave band

The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a British surreal comedy horror series that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives ...

. That riff, in turn, had similarities to Fripp's song "North Star", which had appeared on his 1979 album '' Exposure'' (with vocals, and lyrics, by

Daryl Hall Daryl Franklin Hohl (born October 11, 1946), known professionally as Daryl Hall, is an American rock, R&B, and soul singer. He is best known as the co-founder and principal lead vocalist of Hall & Oates, with guitarist and songwriter John Oa ...

). The League of Gentlemen practiced playing along with Fripp; the rehearsal recording was later posted online by

Discipline Global Mobile Discipline Global Mobile (DGM, or Discipline GM) is an independent record label founded in 1992 by Robert Fripp (best known as guitarist and main composer for the band King Crimson) and producer/online content developer David Singleton. ...

archivist Alex R. "Stormy" Mundy, who dubbed the resulting song "Northa Kudasai" to reflect its intermediate state. While Belew was crafting material for ''Discipline'', Fripp presented him with the chord progression to "Matte Kudasai" on guitar. Belew described this as "a breakthrough" moment, as he had previously struggled to craft suitable material for the band. He subsequently created a slide guitar part and some lyrics to accompany the composition. For the 1989 Definitive Edition remaster of ''Discipline'', the song was remixed to remove the

Frippertronics Frippertronics is a tape looping technique used by English guitarist Robert Fripp.Fricke, David"Electronic Music and Synthesizers", ''Synapse Magazine'', Vol. 3 No. 2, Summer 1979. It marked the first real-time tape looping device, evolving from a ...

parts that dotted the original 1981 version. The 30th and 35th anniversary editions, meanwhile, contain both mixes of the song: the 1989 version is kept as track three, while the 1981 version (billed as an "Alternative Version") is featured at the end of the album as a bonus track.

Personnel

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

– Roland G-303 guitar synthesizer controller, Roland GR-300

guitar synthesizer A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities. Overview Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partnership) such as ...

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (19 ...

– Music Man Stingray 4 bass *

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and tou ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Covers

The short-lived jazz group

Crimson Jazz Trio The Crimson Jazz Trio was a jazz trio led by drummer Ian Wallace, formerly of King Crimson, which re-interpreted King Crimson's music. History The trio was conceived by Wallace, who recruited Tim Landers (bass) and Jody Nardone (piano) in 2004 ...

, founded by former King Crimson drummer Ian Wallace to play instrumental jazz versions of King Crimson songs, included "Matte Kudasai" on their first album, ''The King Crimson Songbook, Volume One'' (2005).

Kurt Elling Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. He sang in cho ...

covered the song as the opening track of his 2011 album '' The Gate''. On 20 April 2011,

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang (stylised in all lowercase), is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical pe ...

and her band the Siss Boom Bang covered the song as part of her concert at the BBC Radio Theater. The audio and video of that performance were broadcast on 21 April 2011 on BBC Radio 2. Lang noted in her introduction to the song that it was influential on the sound of her fifth album, '' Ingenue.'' The Levin Brothers (keyboardist/arranger

Pete Levin Pete Levin (born December 20, 1942) is an American jazz keyboardist, composer, and record producer. Career Pete Levin grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts. His first instrument as a teenager was the French horn. He studied at Boston University a ...

and King Crimson bassist

) included an instrumental version of "Matte Kudasai" on their 2014 album ''Levin Brothers.''

References

External links

* {{authority control King Crimson songs 1981 songs 1981 singles 1980s ballads Songs written by Adrian Belew Songs written by Robert Fripp Songs written by Bill Bruford Songs written by Tony Levin Warner Records singles Rock ballads