''Step Across the Border'' is a soundtrack

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

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 A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

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 ...

, of the 1990 avant-garde documentary film on Frith, ''

Step Across the Border ''Step Across the Border'' is a 1990 avant-garde documentary film on English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith. It was written and directed by Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel and released in Germany and Switzerland. The film was ...

''. The album features music from the film performed by Frith and other musicians, and covers ten years of Frith's musical career from 1979 to 1989.

Music

''Step Across the Border'' is more than a just a soundtrack. It includes additional tracks, for example, "Drum Factory" and "Candy Machine", that were written for the album by Frith from ambient sounds in the film. Discussing the album, Frith said: The album also includes live music as performed in the film, for example "Houston St"; tracks from other albums that accompany scenes in the film, for example "Too Much Too Little"; and tracks from other albums that replace live covers of those tracks performed in the film, for example "Legs".

Reception

In a review for AllMusic, Rick Anderson described ''Step Across the Border'' as an "excellent overview" of Frith's work. He said the music on the album ranges from "tuneful and charming to stark and forbidding", and was particularly pleased with the material from Massacre's (then out-of-print) first album. Anderson rated ''Step Across the Border'' "highly recommended". Reviewing the album in ''

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...

'', Stefaan Van Ryssen noted that ''Step Across the Border'' is more than a soundtrack: Frith "creates a narrative structure that parallels and complements the ilm. Van Ryssen said this narrative structure is the album's strength, but also its weakness. He described the tracks as "nice but anecdotal patches" that "lack scope and meaning in hemselves until they are "stitched together by an invisible ... thread" to build a story. But the listener is not given the means to easily recreate the story, which Van Ryssen felt, may make it difficult to fully appreciate the music.

Track listing

All tracks composed by

except where stated.

Personnel

The numbers below indicate the tracks on which the musicians played. *

(1–3, 5–22, 24–26) – guitar, violin, bass guitar, DX7, Casio, percussion, bottles, home-made instruments, voice * Tom Cora (1, 7, 10) – cello, drum, voice * Zeena Parkins (1, 10) – keyboards, drum, voice *

Bob Ostertag Robert "Bob" Ostertag (born April 19, 1957) is a musician, writer, and political activist based in San Francisco. He has published seven books, one feature film, a DVD, twenty-six albums, and collaborated with numerous musicians. Musically, he ...

(2a, 11, 24) – Serge synthesizer, tapes, samples * Bill Laswell (2b, 17a) – bass guitar * Fred Maher (2b, 17a) – drums *

Haco Haco is a Japanese singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist, known for her work with After Dinner and Hoahio, among others. Following formal studies in acoustics, electronic music and recording technology in 1980, Haco came to in ...

(4) – piano, voice *

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

(5) – alto saxophone * Jean Derome (11) – alto saxophone * René Lussier (11) – bass guitar *

Kevin Norton Kevin Norton (born January 21, 1956) is an American percussionist and composer active in the New York City jazz and contemporary music scenes. He has performed and recorded with a diverse group of musicians, including Anthony Braxton, Paul Dunmal ...

(11) – drums * Eino Haapala (13) – guitar *

Lars Hollmer Lars Gustav Gabriel Hollmer (21 July 1948 – 25 December 2008) was a Swedish accordionist, keyboardist and composer, whose work drew on music ranging from Nordic folk tunes to progressive rock. He has been a member and/or founder of over half a ...

(13) – keyboards * Hans Bruniusson (13, 21) – drums * Tim Hodgkinson (14) – bass clarinet *

Iva Bittová Iva Bittová (born 22 July 1958) is a Czech avant-garde violinist, singer, and composer. She began her career as an actor in the mid-1970s, appearing in several Czech feature films, but switched to playing violin and singing in the early 1980s. ...

(19, 23) – violin, voice * Pavel Fajt (19, 23) – beer cans, guitar, voice * Eitetsu Hayashi (20) – taiko * Tina Curran (25) – bass guitar

Recording details

*Tracks 1, 10 – recorded by Tim Hodgkinson at Sunrise, Kirchberg,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, December 1985 *Tracks 2a, 24 – recorded live at PASS, New York City, January 1981 *Track 2b – recorded by Martin Bisi at OAO Studio, New York, June 1981 *Tracks 3a, 4 – recorded by Yasushi Utsunomiyaat at MUE Studio, Osaka,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, February 1988 *Tracks 2a, 3b, 6, 8, 12, 15, 16, 17b, 18, 22, 24, 26 – recorded by Rainer Carben at Bavaria TV Studios in Munich, Germany, December 1989 *Tracks 5, 7 – recorded live at The Kitchen, New York City, February 1989 *Tracks 9, 12 – recorded live at the Romanisches Café, Tokyo, Japan, February 1988 *Track 11 – recorded live in rehearsal at Roulette, New York City, February 1988 *Track 13 – recorded at Chickenhouse, Uppsala,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and Sunrise, Kirchberg, Switzerland, July 1979 *Tracks 14, 20, 22 – recorded live at ROX, Tokyo, Japan, February 1988 *Track 14 – recorded at Hodgkinson's home in Yorkshire and

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

, England, December 1988 *Tracks 17a, 21, 25 – recorded in Frith's apartment in New York City, August 1983 *Track 19 – recorded by Rudolf Oleschko in Provence, France and Paosostraße, Munich, Germany, July 1989 *Tracks 23 – recorded at a hotel room,

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, Switzerland March 1989

Tracks from other albums

*Track 1 – from Skeleton Crew's contribution to the ''Island of Sanity'' compilation (1986) *Tracks 2a, 24 – from

and Phil Minton's LP '' Voice of America'' (1982) *Track 2b – from Massacre's LP '' Killing Time'' (1981) *Track 10 – from Skeleton Crew's LP '' The Country of Blinds'' (1986) *Track 13 – from Fred Frith's LP '' Gravity'' (1980) *Tracks 17a, 21, 25 – from Fred Frith's LP ''

Cheap at Half the Price ''Cheap at Half the Price'' is a 1983 solo album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith. It was Frith's fifth solo album, and was originally released in the United States on LP record on the Residents' Ralph record label. ...

'' (1983)

CD reissues

*In 1991 East Side Digital Records and

RecRec Music RecRec Music was a Swiss independent record label created in 1983 by Daniel Waldner. The label was modeled on, and affiliated to, the British independent record label Recommended Records, but remained financially independent. The label went ba ...

re-issued ''Step Across the Border'' on CD. *In 2003 Fred Records released a

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed version of ''Step Across the Border'' on CD.

References

External links

Improvised Music from Japan
''Step across the Border'' {{Authority control Albums produced by Fred Frith Fred Frith soundtracks 1990 soundtrack albums Fred Records soundtracks RecRec Music soundtracks Documentary film soundtracks