Originally, there were no plans to reposition Fripps Prog dinosaurs at all. Demos were created under the logo Projekct 7, joint plans were discussed and more musicians were added to the band core. But when Fripp told the rest of the participants in 2014 that he wanted to go on tour as a septet under the name King Crimson, the language was lost. "That was a shock for all of us," says singer and guitarist Jakko Jakszyk. "In 2012 he had announced his withdrawal from music. But even more surprising was the concept with the three drummers."
Indeed, because bands with three drummers are the big exception in rock. Only the Allman Brothers Band was on the road with three drummers for a long time. In this constellation the group resembles an orchestra, as Jakszyk confirms. "Especially when you look at the stage, it really looks like an orchestra. It's just the music of the band, not the people involved. All members have equal rights, and in contrast to the last incarnations of the band, where Robert was always somewhere in the dark, even he is visible this time. With this line-up we can play any song from the whole history of King Crimson. Of course there will be new things, but there will also be songs that haven't been heard for 30 years. With this repertoire, we are not only an orchestra in terms of band strength."
"Drummer with twelve limbs"
Jakszyk is described by the drummers as a percussionist with twelve limbs. He compares it with a puzzle in which no two pieces are the same, but in the end all the pieces mesh together. Saxophonist Mel Collins, an early-stage crimsoner, makes the special nature of this setting clear. "They will sit at the edge of the stage on their instruments, while Robert, Jakko, Tony and I form their backbone. So the exact opposite of the usual stage line-up! That's Robert's concept. I must admit that, like other comrades-in-arms, I was suspicious at first. But it works."
