''Accidental (Music for Dance Volume 3)'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by English

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

, composer and

improvisor Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

. It is the third of a series of Music for Dance albums Frith made, and was recorded between December 1995 and January 1996 at Studio Jankowski in

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, Germany. The album was released on CD in March 2002 on Fred Records and was the first release in Frith's archival release program on the record label.

Background

''Accidental'' was commissioned in 1995 by the British choreographer

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for the dance piece "Rogue Tool", with funding provided by the

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through the British/Israeli cultural initiative, BI Arts. "Rogue Tool" was premiered by the Batsheva Dance Company in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in February 1996. Frith constructed the music on ''Accidental'' using a principle he called "block-melodies" and he incorporated random events, or "accidents", into the compositions, including " found sounds" and field recordings, to trigger new patterns. Frith explained the background to the making of the album:

Reception

Bill Tilland of the BBC wrote in a review of this album: In a review for

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, François Couture commented: "''Accidental'' may not be as ambitious, challenging, or cutting-edge as the man's other output from the 1990s, but it sure sounds sweet to fans of his avant rock work from the previous two decades. Recommended." Chris Brook, writing for the '' Rough Guide to Rock'', stated that the album title "suggest exactly the principles behind the compositions," and noted that the recording "took elements as diverse as improvised mandolin and random radio tunings and assembled them into a mesmerizing whole." Jesse Jarnow of

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remarked: "When I listen to ''Accidental''... I don't think in terms of narrative... I imagine something moving. That's not to say that I visualize anything, either. It just moves. It's a feeling I don't get from... other proper dance/groove music. Groove music makes one move, but there is often little movement within it." He concluded that ''Accidental'' "invert that idea, but keep it just as compelling, and a lot more challenging."

Track listing

All tracks composed by

Personnel

– guitars, violin, keyboards, percussion, samplers, voice

Sound

*Extraneous material taken from recordings of demonstrations in

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and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and random radio tunings *Engineered by

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*Edited and mastered by

and

, July 2000 *Design and artwork by

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2002 albums Fred Frith albums Fred Records albums Albums produced by Fred Frith