Robert Fripp, Jeffrey Fayman - 2000 "Temple In The Clouds"

From 2000: A stunning album of looped Frippertronics and electronics, in the vein of the classic Fripp & Eno No Pussyfooting collaboration.

Recorded live from a past life. Awash in the hypnotic looping structures of Robert Fripp’s guitar soundscapes, Jeffrey Fayman adds an opulent cinematic brilliance to the proceedings, creating an intense and dramatic vision of a future rich in the heritage of Fripp’s past.

A Temple In The Clouds is a unique collaboration between one of rock’s most important and influential guitarists and a contemporary cinematic composer. Fripp’s contribution of two hours worth of treated guitar work (his trademark “Frippertronics”) formed the basis for Fayman’s layering of interwoven electronic soundscapes. Focusing on the subtleties and slight shifts in overtones and harmonics, Fayman & Fripp have created a dynamic musical kaleidoscope, ever changing and intrinsically radiant in each sonic fractal.

AmbientVisions: "A Temple in the Clouds is a spiritual and euphoric soundscape by Jeffrey Fayman and Robert Fripp(!). A glorious album of Frippertronics and contemplative sound sculptures. The sheer spirituality of their experiences shines in this ethereal ambience and insightful minimalism. The joy and beauty of the soul is touched. Piercing rays of bright and unfettered emotion overshadow the dark undertones. This disc is a spiritual journey."

Robert Fripp is like a box of chocolates. One minute he's the evil scientist pumping out some of the most intense and disturbing metal ever recorded with the boys in King Crimson, and the next minute he's a new age disciple using his guitar to create incredibly soothing and "healing" textures. A Temple in the Clouds - a collaboration with keyboardist Jeffrey Fayman - would fall in the latter camp as it is a collection of Fripp's patented "Soundscapes" mixed in with Fayman's keyboards stylings and some ambient outdoor sounds. If the goal of the music (actually, calling it music is a stretch - "ambient backgrounds" would be more appropriate) is to put the listener in almost a meditative trance-like state, A Temple in the Clouds succeeds on every level. After listening to this CD multiple times, I literally felt as if every muscle in my body had called out sick and gone to Tahiti.

According to the liner notes, in 1992 Fripp and Fayman took a pilgrimage to the Greek temple of Anapraxis (along with three tons of recording equipment) with the idea of hopefully capturing some of the mystique of ancient Greece on tape. The sounds captured there - along with some samples from Fripp's Let the Power Fall, - comprise the four tracks on A Temple in the Clouds. Musically speaking, the tracks are mostly exercises in patience and subtlety - the slow chord changes take you from Point A to Point B without really allowing you to remember how you got there. Fripp's guitar acts as the foundation for the CD, while Fayman colors in the spaces with sweeping synthesizers that lend an almost ominous tone to the tracks. The prime example of this eeriness is the 30-minute title track - by the time I was 10 minutes into the track I was definitely completely relaxed, but there was also a residual feeling of something not quite being right.

So if your interest lies in Fripp's guitar chops and "traditional" song structure, you won't be happy here. But, if you're looking for ambient sounds that patch directly into the very essence of what you are, then look no further than A Temple in the Clouds. I guarantee that no matter how stressed and anxious you may feel from the mundane day-to-day existence on planet Earth, spending an hour Fripp and Fayman will put your mind and body at ease - and in these hectic and fast-paced times an experience like A Temple in the Clouds is priceless.

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Tracks Listing:

1. The Pillars Of Hercules (15:23)
2. The Sky Below (4:32)
3. A Temple In The Clouds (30:59)
4. The Stars Below (3:30)

Total Time 50:28

Personnel:

- Robert Fripp / soundscapes
AND
- Jeffrey Fayman / tranceportation


Note: The actual instrumentation could not be fully confirmed at this moment