Photo: By Sean Coon from Greensboro, USA (robert fripp) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
With some much music to look at, we decided to just present music from Robert Fripp’s solo albums. When compared to his output with King Crimson and other collaborations, Robert Fripp released just a small amount of solo records. Below is a list of some of our favorite Robert Fripp songs.
# 10 – You Burn me Up I’m Cigarettes’
“You Burn Me Up I’m a Cigarette” is the second track on Robert Fripp’s debut solo album, Exposure, released in June 1979. The song was recorded between January 1978 and January 1979 at The Hit Factory in New York City. Fripp produced the album himself, with engineering by Ed Sprigg. The track features vocals and piano by Daryl Hall, drums by Jerry Marotta, and bass by Tony Levin. Notably, this song includes one of the few lyrics penned by Fripp himself. Exposure was conceived as part of a trilogy alongside Daryl Hall’s Sacred Songs and Peter Gabriel’s second solo album, both produced by Fripp. While Exposure did not chart in the UK, it reached No. 79 on the US Billboard 200 and No. 85 on the Australian Albums chart.
# 9 -The Zero Of The Signified
“The Zero of the Signified” appears as the final track on Robert Fripp’s God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manners album, released in 1980 by E.G. Records. The album was recorded between 1979 and early 1980 at The Hit Factory in New York City. Produced by Fripp himself, the album is split into two conceptual halves: God Save the Queen showcasing Frippertronics and Under Heavy Manners introducing his short-lived experiment with “Discotronics,” a rhythmic blend of Frippertronics and dance grooves. “The Zero of the Signified” falls on the Frippertronics side, representing the ambient and looping technique Fripp developed using dual tape recorders.
The album features contributions from Brian Eno on atmospheric treatments and Busta Jones on bass, with Phil Collins contributing drums on other tracks from the album. While the record did not chart, it served as a foundational exploration of the textural guitar work and looping concepts Fripp would continue developing throughout the 1980s.
# 8 – Sky
“Sky” is an ambient instrumental track featured on Live in Argentina 1995, a performance release by Robert Fripp issued in 1995 through Discipline Global Mobile. The album captures Fripp’s solo soundscape performances recorded live during his series of concerts in Argentina, which took place in June 1994. Utilizing his signature Frippertronics and Soundscapes techniques—extended looping, delay processing, and real-time manipulation of sustained guitar tones—Fripp performed without accompaniment, crafting immersive sonic environments that blurred the lines between composition and improvisation.
“Sky” exemplifies this approach, unfolding slowly in layers and textures unique to the moment it was performed. The Live in Argentina release includes several tracks performed during these intimate, experimental sets, but “Sky” stands out as a meditative centerpiece in Fripp’s mid-1990s exploration of ambient and electronic guitar composition. The recordings were issued on Fripp’s own Discipline Global Mobile label and are part of his broader effort during this period to reassert artistic independence and technological innovation within live performance.
# 7 – Pie Jesu
“Pie Jesu” is a solo ambient piece by Robert Fripp, released in 1997 on the compilation Pie Jesu, issued through his independent label Discipline Global Mobile. The track is part of Fripp’s continued exploration into Soundscapes, a digital evolution of his earlier Frippertronics tape-loop experiments. Recorded during a series of performances in the late 1990s, the piece showcases Fripp’s use of real-time looping and sustained tonal layering to create immersive, meditative environments rooted in minimalism and structured improvisation. “Pie Jesu” was not part of a standard studio album but was featured prominently in the Robert Fripp: Soundscapes – Live in the USA series and remains one of the more spiritually titled entries in his ambient catalog. The release exemplifies Fripp’s solo work of the era, marked by introspection, extended drones, and a focus on the emotional potential of sound without traditional rhythm or melody.
# 6 – I Advance Masked with Andy Summers
“I Advance Masked” is the title track and lead single from the collaborative debut album by Andy Summers and Robert Fripp, released in 1982 on A&M Records. The entirely instrumental track reflects the duo’s mutual interest in ambient, progressive, and textural guitar work. Recorded during sessions spanning 1981 to 1982, the track was self-produced by Summers and Fripp and showcased the use of Frippertronics and advanced looping techniques alongside layered guitar arrangements. The single, while not a commercial chart hit, served as a statement of artistic direction for the album—eschewing pop structures in favor of mood and sonic experimentation. The 1982 LP I Advance Masked was the first of two studio collaborations between the two guitarists, the second being Bewitched (1984). The single remains notable for uniting the stylistic identities of Fripp, known for his work with King Crimson, and Summers, then active with The Police, into a cohesive ambient composition rooted in experimentalism and minimalism.
# 5 -The New World 1986
“The New World” is a live instrumental track performed by Robert Fripp & The League of Crafty Guitarists, released in 1986 on the album Robert Fripp & The League of Crafty Guitarists – Live!. The album captures performances by a collective of guitarists trained under Fripp’s Guitar Craft program, which he launched in 1985 to teach his unique techniques, including alternate tunings, cross-picking, and disciplined group playing. Recorded during live performances in the United States earlier that year, Live! was issued on the Discipline Global Mobile label and features a series of tightly structured, acoustic ensemble pieces.
“The New World” is among the standout compositions, showcasing interlocking rhythmic patterns and the ensemble’s precise execution of Fripp’s compositional vision. The lineup on the album includes Fripp alongside a rotating cast of Guitar Craft students, with pieces composed by Fripp and performed collectively. The recording represents a key phase in Fripp’s post-King Crimson output, focused on pedagogy, discipline, and the communal possibilities of guitar ensemble work.
# 4 – Disengage
“Disengage” is the fourth track on Robert Fripp’s 1979 solo debut album Exposure, released by Polydor Records. Recorded between July 1977 and January 1979 primarily at The Hit Factory in New York City, the song features lead vocals by Peter Hammill of Van der Graaf Generator. The track was produced by Fripp, with engineering by Ed Sprigg. Musicians contributing to this piece include Fripp on guitar, Hammill on vocals, Tony Levin on bass, and Phil Collins on drums.
Like the rest of the Exposure album, “Disengage” reflects Fripp’s intent to blend experimental rock with New York’s then-burgeoning punk and new wave scenes. The album was conceived as part of a trilogy alongside Daryl Hall’s Sacred Songs and Peter Gabriel’s second solo record, both also produced by Fripp. Though Exposure reached only No. 79 on the Billboard 200, it has since been recognized as a significant work in Fripp’s catalog and a bold post-King Crimson statement.
# 3 – Under Heavy Manners
“Under Heavy Manners” is the title track from the second side of Robert Fripp’s 1980 album God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manners, released by E.G. Records. The song features lead vocals by David Byrne of Talking Heads, who is credited under the pseudonym “Absalm el Habib” due to contractual constraints. Recorded between July 1979 and January 1980 at The Hit Factory in New York City, the track was produced by Fripp and engineered by Ed Sprigg. It showcases Fripp’s short-lived “Discotronics” approach—a fusion of his tape-loop-based Frippertronics with structured rhythmic backing.
Musicians on the track include Busta Jones on bass and Paul Duskin on drums, supporting Byrne’s spoken-word vocal delivery layered over Fripp’s looping guitar lines. As part of the album’s conceptual divide—Side A being ambient Frippertronics and Side B representing Discotronics—”Under Heavy Manners” remains a rare and notable collaboration between two major figures of art rock and experimental music.
# 2 – The Heavenly Music Corporation I
“The Heavenly Music Corporation I” is the opening track on (No Pussyfooting), the landmark 1973 collaborative debut by Robert Fripp and Brian Eno, released by Island Records in the UK and by Editions EG in later reissues. The piece was recorded on September 8, 1972, at Eno’s home studio in London using a tape-delay system that would become known as Frippertronics. This looping technique involved two reel-to-reel tape recorders, allowing guitar lines played by Fripp to echo, repeat, and layer in real time, with Eno manipulating the results via treatments and synthesizers.
Clocking in at over 21 minutes, “The Heavenly Music Corporation I” occupies the entire first side of the LP and is considered one of the first major ambient guitar compositions ever released. It marked a pivotal moment in the development of ambient music and experimental soundscapes, preceding Eno’s own Ambient series and Fripp’s later solo Soundscapes work. The track was entirely instrumental and recorded in one live take with no overdubs, demonstrating the spontaneous synergy between Fripp’s guitar work and Eno’s sonic manipulation. Though not a commercial chart success, No Pussyfooting became highly influential, cited as a foundational release in both ambient and experimental rock circles.
# 1 – Here Comes The Flood
Our favorite Peter Gabriel song is also our favorite Robert Fripp song. The version on Robert Fripp’s album is dramatically different from the version on Peter Gabriel’s album. “Here Comes the Flood” appears as the closing track on Robert Fripp’s 1979 debut solo album Exposure, released by Polydor Records. Originally written by Peter Gabriel and first released on his self-titled debut solo album in 1977, the version Fripp includes on Exposure is a stripped-down reinterpretation featuring only Gabriel’s vocals and Fripp’s minimalistic piano accompaniment.
The recording took place at The Hit Factory in New York City during sessions spanning from July 1977 to January 1979. Fripp, who produced the album, had long believed that the production on Gabriel’s original version was too grandiose and worked with Gabriel to present the song in its raw, unadorned form. The track exemplifies the personal and emotional tone of Exposure, which also featured contributions from Daryl Hall, Peter Hammill, and Terre Roche. Although Exposure peaked at No. 79 on the Billboard 200, it has since become a cult classic, and this version of “Here Comes the Flood” is frequently cited by fans as its most poignant moment.
