Fred Frith discography



Fred Frith appears on over 400 recordings. This is a selection from bands he was/is a member of, collaborations with other bands and musicians, and his solo recordings. The year indicates when the album was first released. For a comprehensive discography, see the Discography of Fred Frith by Michel Ramond, Patrice Roussel and Stephane Vuilleumier.

Studio albums

 * Guitar Solos (1974, LP, Caroline, UK)
 * Gravity (1980, LP, Ralph, US)
 * Speechless (1981, LP, Ralph, US)
 * Cheap at Half the Price (1983, LP, Ralph, US)
 * Quartets (1994, CD, RecRec, Switzerland)
 * Clearing (2001, CD, Tzadik, US)
 * Prints: Snapshots, Postcards, Messages and Miniatures, 1987–2001 (2002, CD, Fred, UK)
 * Eleventh Hour (2005, 2xCD, Winter & Winter, Germany)
 * To Sail, to Sail (2008, CD, Tzadik, US)
 * Clearing Customs (2011, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)
 * Guitar Solos / Fifty (2024, 2xLP, Week-End Records, Germany)

Music for Dance

 * The Technology of Tears (And Other Music for Dance and Theatre) (1988, 2xLP, RecRec, Switzerland)
 * Allies (Music for Dance Volume 2) (1996, CD, RecRec, Switzerland)
 * The Previous Evening (Music for Dance Volume 4) (1997, CD, Recommended, UK)
 * Accidental (Music for Dance Volume 3) (2002, CD, Fred, UK)
 * The Happy End Problem (Music for Dance Volume 5) (2006, CD, Fred, UK)
 * Nowhere, Sideshow, Thin Air (Music for Dance Volume 6) (2009, CD, Fred, UK)
 * Field Days (The Amanda Loops) (2015, CD, Fred, UK)
 * Propaganda (2015, CD, Fred, UK)

Music for Film

 * The Top of His Head (1989, LP, Crammed, Belgium) – original soundtrack to the film The Top of His Head by Peter Mettler
 * Step Across the Border (1990, 2xLP, RecRec, Switzerland) – original soundtrack to the film Step Across the Border by Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel
 * Middle of the Moment (1995, CD, RecRec, Switzerland) – original soundtrack to the film Middle of the Moment by Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel
 * Eye to Ear (1997, CD, Tzadik, US) – collection of film and theatre music
 * Rivers and Tides (2003, CD, Winter & Winter, Germany) – original soundtrack to the film Rivers and Tides by Thomas Riedelsheimer
 * Eye to Ear II (2004, CD, Tzadik, US) – music from Gambling, Gods and LSD by Peter Mettler, Returning Home by Andy Abrahams Wilson, Hirschen Mit Goldenen Hufen by Petra Mäussnest, and Sideshow by Kristin Varner
 * Eye to Ear III (2010, CD, Tzadik, US) – music from Drei Gegen Troja by Hussi Kutulcan, and Thirst by Deborah Kauffman and Alan Snitow

Composer only

 * Pacifica (1998, CD, Tzadik, US)
 * Freedom in Fragments (2002, CD, Tzadik, US)
 * Back to Life (2008, CD, Tzadik, US)

Live albums

 * Live in Japan (1982, 2xLP, Recommended, Japan)
 * Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire (Graphic Scores 1986–1996) (1999, CD, I Dischi di Angelica, Italy)
 * Impur II (2009, CD, Fred, UK)
 * Storytelling (2017, CD, Intuition, Germany)
 * All Is Always Now – Live at The Stone (2019, 3xCD, Intakt, Switzerland)
 * Woodwork (2019, CD, Klanggalerie, Austria)

Composer only

 * Impur (2006, CD, Fred, UK)

Singles

 * "Dancing in the Street" / "What a Dilemma" (1980, 7", Ralph, US) – from Gravity

Compilations

 * Fred and Ralph (1991, 3xCD, RecRec, Switzerland) – Fred Frith releases by Ralph Records
 * Gravity (1980, CD, Ralph)
 * Speechless (1981, CD, Ralph)
 * Cheap at Half the Price (1983, CD, Ralph)
 * The Fred Records Story 2001–2020 Volume 1: Rocking the Boat (2021, 9xCD, Fred, UK)
 * Guitar Solos (2002, CD, Fred)
 * Gravity (2002, CD, Fred)
 * Cheap at Half the Price (2004, CD, Fred)
 * Killing Time (2005, CD, Fred)
 * Impur (2006, CD, Fred)
 * Middle of the Moment (2004, CD, Fred)
 * That House We Lived In (2003, 2xCD, Fred)
 * Dropera (1991, CD, RecRec) – bonus CD
 * The Fred Records Story 2001–2020 Volume 2: Crossing Borders (2021, 9xCD, Fred, UK)
 * Live in Japan (2010, CD, Fred)
 * Speechless (2003, CD, Fred)
 * Prints (2002, CD, Fred)
 * Step Across the Border (2003, CD, Fred)
 * Impur II (2009, CD, Fred)
 * The Art of Memory II (2008, CD, Fred)
 * Learn to Talk / Country of Blinds (2005, 2xCD, Fred)
 * Helter Skelter (1992, CD, RecRec) – bonus CD (remastered)
 * The Fred Records Story 2001–2020 Volume 3: Stepping Out (2021, 10xCD, Fred, UK)
 * The Technology of Tears (2008, CD, Fred)
 * Propaganda (2015, CD, Fred)
 * Allies (2004, CD, Fred)
 * Accidental (2002, CD, Fred)
 * The Previous Evening (1997, CD, Recommended)
 * The Happy End Problem (2006, CD, Fred)
 * Nowhere, Sideshow, Thin Air (2009, CD, Fred)
 * Field Days (The Amanda Loops) (2015, CD, Fred)
 * Inimitable – Debates for Ganden [with Amanda Miller] (2020, CD, Fred) – bonus CD (previously unreleased)
 * Live in Tel Aviv and Aubervilliers [with Tom Cora and Chris Cutler] (2020, CD, Fred) – bonus CD (previously unreleased)

Collaborations
With Bruce Ackley, Henry Kaiser and Aram Shelton
 * Unexpected Twins (2019, CD, Relative Pitch Records, US)

With Noël Akchoté With Núria Andorrà
 * Réel (1996, 10" LP, Rectangle, France)
 * Dancing Like Dust (2023, CD, Klanggalerie, Austria)

With Lotte Anker
 * Edge of the Light (2014, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With ARTE Quartett
 * Still Urban (2009, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)
 * The Big Picture (2009, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With Derek Bailey and Antoine Berthiaume
 * Soshin (2003, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques, Canada)

With Derek Bailey, Sonny Sharrock, John Zorn, Bill Laswell and Charles K. Noyes
 * Improvised Music 1981 (1992, CD, MuWorks, US)

With Anne Bourne and John Oswald
 * Dearness (2002, CD, Spool, Canada)

With Anthony Braxton
 * Duo (Victoriaville) 2005 (2006, CD, Les Disques Victo, Canada)

With Chris Brown
 * Cutter Heads (2007, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With John Butcher
 * The Natural Order (2014, CD, Northern Spy, US)

With John Butcher and Theresa Wong
 * Quintillions Green (2016, FLAC, Otoroku, UK)

With Lindsay Cooper, Lars Hollmer and Gianni Gebbia
 * Angels on the Edge of Time (2015, CD, I Dischi di Angelica, Italy)

With Lol Coxhill
 * French Gigs (1983, LP, AAA, France)

With Chris Cutler
 * Live in Prague and Washington (1983, LP, Recommended, UK) – 1990 CD release retitled Live in Moscow, Prague & Washington
 * Live in Trondheim, Berlin & Limoges, Vol. 2 (1994, CD, Recommended, UK)
 * 2 Gentlemen in Verona (2000, CD, Recommended, UK)
 * The Stone: Issue Two (2007, CD, Tzadik, US)

With Chris Cutler and Tom Cora
 * Live in Tel Aviv and Aubervilliers (2021, CD, Fred, UK)

With Chris Cutler and Thomas Dimuzio
 * Golden State (2010, LP, Recommended, UK)

With Lesli Dalaba, Eric Glick Rieman and Carla Kihlstedt
 * Dalaba Frith Glick Rieman Kihlstedt (2003, CD, Accretions, US)

With Totsuzen Danball
 * Live at Loft Shinjuku Tokyo Japan 23.July'81 (1982, CT, Floor, Japan)

With Jean Derome, Pierre Tanguay and Myles Boisen
 * All is Bright, But it is Not Day (2002, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques, Canada)

With Michel Doneda
 * Fred Frith Michel Doneda (2014, CD, Vand'OEuvre, France)

With Mark Dresser and Ikue Mori
 * Later... (2000, CD, Les Disques Victo, Canada)

With Jean-Pierre Drouet
 * En Public aux Laboratoires d'Aubervilliers (1997, CD, Transes Europeennes, France)

With Jean-Pierre Drouet and Louis Sclavis
 * I Dream of You Jumping (2001, CD, Les Disques Victo, Canada)
 * Contretemps etc... (2011, CD, In Situ, France)

With Ensemble Modern
 * Traffic Continues (2000, CD, Winter & Winter, Germany)

With Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles
 * Something About This Landscape for Ensemble (2023, LP, Sub Rosa, Belgium)

With Anil Eraslan, Tom Malmendier and Clara Weil
 * There or Here and That (2020, CD, Eux Sæm, France)

With Janet Feder
 * Ironic Universe (2006, CD+DVD, Recommended, US)

With Hardy Fox
 * A Day Hanging Dead Between Heaven and Earth (2018, CD, Klanggalerie, Austria)

With Evelyn Glennie
 * The Sugar Factory (2007, CD, Tzadik, US)

With Barry Guy
 * Backscatter Bright Blue (2014, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With Tim Hodgkinson
 * Live Improvisations (1992, CD, Woof, UK)



With Percy Howard, Charles Hayward and Bill Laswell
 * Meridiem (1998, CD, Materiali Sonori, Italy)

With Nicolas Humbert and Marc Parisotto
 * Cut Up the Border (2020, CD, RogueArt, France)

With Darren Johnston
 * Everybody's Somebody's Nobody (2016, CD, Clean Feed, Portugal)

With Darren Johnston Devin Hoff, Larry Ochs and Ches Smith
 * Reasons for Moving (2007, CD, Not Two, US)

With Henry Kaiser
 * With Friends Like These (1979, LP, Metalanguage, US)
 * Who Needs Enemies? (1983, LP, Metalanguage, US)
 * With Enemies Like These, Who Needs Friends? (1987, CD, SST, US)
 * Friends & Enemies (1999, 2xCD, Cuneiform, US)

With Carla Kihlstedt and Stevie Wishart
 * The Compass, Log and Lead (2006, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With Hans Koch
 * You are Here (2017, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With Joëlle Léandre and Jonathan Segel
 * Tempted to Smile (2003, CD, Spool, Canada)

With Annie Lewandowski
 * Long as in Short, Walk as in Run (2011, CD, Ninth World)

With René Lussier
 * Nous Autres (1987, LP, Les Disques Victo, Canada)

With Amanda Miller
 * Inimitable – Debates for Ganden (2021, CD, Fred, UK)

With Helen Mirra
 * Kwangsi Quail (2015, LP, Shhpuma, Portugal)

With Macio Moretti
 * Works for Me Should Be the Title (2023, LP, Don't Sit On My Vinyl! / Muzyka z Mózgu, Poland)

With Ikue Mori
 * A Mountain Doesn't Know It's Tall (2021, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With Mózg Injectors
 * Sylvan Trail (2019, 12" LP and CD, Mózg, Poland)

With Bob Ostertag and Phil Minton
 * Voice of America (1982, LP, Rift, US)

With Bob Ostertag and John Zorn
 * Attention Span (1990, CD, RecRec, Switzerland)

With Evan Parker
 * Hello, I Must Be Going (2015, CD, Les Disques Victo, Canada)

With Francois-Michel Pesenti
 * Helter Skelter (1992, CD, RecRec, Switzerland)

With Marc Ribot
 * Subsonic 1. Sounds of a Distant Episode (1994, CD, Sub Rosa/Subsonic, Belgium)

With Ferdinand Richard (as Fred & Ferd)
 * Dropera (1991, LP, RecRec, Switzerland)

With Danielle Roger
 * Pas de Deux (2008, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques, Canada)



With Rusconi
 * Live In Europe (2016, CD, Qilin, Germany)

With Susana Santos Silva
 * Laying Demons to Rest (2023, CD, RogueArt, France)

With Katrin Scholl, Daniel Erismann, Lucas N. Niggli, Hans Koch and Peter Kowald
 * Nil (1995, CD, Unit Records, Switzerland)

With Sonargemeinschaft (Sonar Community)
 * Drift (2008, CD, Poise, Germany)

With Studio Dan
 * Rocket Science #1 #5 #8 (2021, CD, ROS, Germany)

With Sudhu Tewari and Cenk Ergün
 * Lock Me Up, Lock Me Down (2020, Digital, Carrier Records, US)

With Toychestra
 * What Leave Behind (2004, CD, S.K., France)

With Benjamin Vergara
 * Fanfarrisimo (2019, LP, Tour De Bras, Canada)

With Katharina Weber and Fredy Studer
 * It Rolls (2015, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

With Michel Wintsch, Franziska Baumann and Bernard Trontin
 * Whisperings (2002, CD, RecRec, Switzerland)

With John Zorn
 * The Art of Memory (1994, CD, Incus, UK)
 * 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 5 (2004, CD, Tzadik, US)
 * The Art of Memory II (2008, CD, Fred, UK)
 * Late Works (2010, CD, Tzadik, US)

With John Zorn, Onnyk and Toyozumi Yoshisaburo
 * Ars Longa Dens Brevis (2000, CD, Allelopathy, Japan)

Bands
Henry Cow
 * Legend (1973, LP, Virgin, UK)
 * Unrest (1974, LP, Virgin, UK)
 * Concerts (1976, 2xLP, Caroline, UK)
 * Western Culture (1979, LP, Broadcast, UK)
 * The Virgin Years – Souvenir Box (1991, 3xCD, East Side Digital, US)
 * Henry Cow Box (2006, 7xCD, Recommended, UK)
 * Stockholm & Göteborg (2008, CD, Recommended, UK)
 * The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set (2009, 9xCD+DVD, Recommended, UK)
 * The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow (2019, 17xCD+DVD, Recommended, UK)

Henry Cow / Slapp Happy
 * Desperate Straights (1975, LP, Virgin, UK)
 * In Praise of Learning (1975, LP, Virgin, UK)

Art Bears
 * Hopes and Fears (1978, LP, Recommended, UK)
 * Winter Songs (1979, LP, Recommended, UK)
 * The World as It Is Today (1981, LP, Recommended, UK)
 * The Art Box (2004, 6xCD, Recommended, UK)

Aksak Maboul
 * Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits (1980, LP, Crammed, Belgium)

Material
 * Memory Serves (1981, LP, Celluloid, France)
 * One Down (1982, LP, Celluloid, France)
 * Live from Soundscape (1994, CD, DIW, Japan)

Massacre
 * Killing Time (1981, LP, Celluloid, France)
 * Funny Valentine (1998, CD, Tzadik, US)
 * Meltdown (2001, CD, Tzadik, US)
 * Lonely Heart (2007, CD, Tzadik, US)
 * Love Me Tender (2013, CD, Tzadik, US)

Skeleton Crew
 * Learn to Talk (1984, LP, Rift, US / Recommended, Europe)
 * The Country of Blinds (1986, LP, Rift, US / Recommended, Europe)
 * Learn to Talk / Country of Blinds (1990, CD, RecRec, Switzerland)
 * Etymology (1997, CD-ROM, Rarefaction, US)
 * Free Dirt (Live) (2021, 2xCD, Klanggalerie, Austria)

Duck and Cover
 * Rē Records Quarterly, Vol. 1 No. 2 (1985, LP, Recommended, UK)

French Frith Kaiser Thompson
 * Live, Love, Larf & Loaf (1987, LP, Rhino, US)
 * Invisible Means (1990, LP, Demon, UK, Windham Hill, US)

Naked City
 * Naked City (1990, LP, Elektra/Nonesuch, US)
 * Torture Garden (1990, LP, Elektra/Nonesuch, US)
 * Heretic, Jeux des Dames Cruelles (1992, CD, Avant, Japan)
 * Grand Guignol (1992, CD, Avant, Japan)
 * Leng Tch'e (1992, CD, Toy's Factory, Japan)
 * Radio (1993, CD, Avant, Japan)
 * Absinthe (1993, CD, Avant, Japan)
 * Naked City Live, Vol. 1: The Knitting Factory 1989 (2002, CD, Tzadik, US)

Death Ambient
 * Death Ambient (1995, CD, Tzadik, US)
 * Synaesthesia (1999, CD, Tzadik, US)
 * Drunken Forest (2007, CD, Tzadik, US)

Fred Frith Guitar Quartet
 * Ayaya Moses (1997, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques, Canada)
 * Upbeat (1999, CD, Ambiances Magnétiques, Canada)

Maybe Monday
 * Saturn's Finger (1999, CD, Buzz, Netherlands)
 * Digital Wildlife (2002, CD, Winter & Winter, Germany)
 * Unsquare (2008, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

Keep the Dog
 * That House We Lived In (2003, 2xCD, Fred, UK)

The Orckestra
 * "Unreleased Orckestra Extract" (3" CD single, 2006, Recommended, UK)



Cosa Brava
 * Ragged Atlas (2010, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)
 * The Letter (2012, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)

MMM Quartet
 * Live at the Metz' Arsenal (2012, CD, Leo, UK)
 * Oakland/Lisboa (2015, CD, RogueArt, France)

Fred Frith Trio
 * Another Day in Fucking Paradise (2016, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)
 * Closer to the Ground (2018, CD, Intakt, Switzerland)
 * Road (2021, 2xCD, Intakt Records, Switzerland)

Lantskap Logic
 * Lantskap Logic (2018, CD, Clean Feed, Portugal)
 * Hidden Danger Lets Me In (2023, CD, Clean Feed, Portugal)