Fred Records
Fred Records is a British independent record label created in 2002 by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith to re-release his own back catalogue of recordings and previously unreleased material. It is an independent company working in co-operation with Chris Cutler and Recommended Records, utilising Recommended Records' distribution network.
Background
From the mid-1980s Fred Frith released much of his music on the Swiss independent record label RecRec Music. However, the label went bankrupt in 1997 after its founder, Daniel Waldner died in a mountain climbing accident in 1995. Under Swiss copyright law all the rights to Frith's music released by RecRec reverted to him, totalling 13 different titles. Having lost money in unpaid royalties, Frith wanted to re-release all the titles on a single label. In the early 2000s and with the help of Chris Cutler of Recommended Records, Frith set up his own label, Fred Records as an imprint of Recommended Records.The new label gave Frith an opportunity to re-issue material from his archives that would have been difficult to release elsewhere. Advances in technology also enabled Frith to remaster the original recordings and produce a sound much closer to what was originally intended. In addition, Frith has released previously unreleased material by himself and in collaboration with other musicians. To create a consistent image for the label as a whole, Frith has used the artist, Tomas Kurth to illustrate the CD covers, often incorporating elements of the original LP covers in the design.
Tributaries
Currently the Fred Records catalogue is divided into three tributaries:- FRO – re-releases of Frith's previously released original material;
- FRA – releases of previously unreleased material from Frith's archive;
- FRFC – releases of previously unreleased material from Frith's archive recorded in France.
Releases
These are all the titles currently released on the Fred Records label.| Year released | Catalogue No. | Artist | Title |
| 2002 | RēR/FRO 01 | Fred Frith | Gravity |
| 2002 | RēR/FRA 01 | Fred Frith | Accidental |
| 2002 | RēR/FRO 02 | Fred Frith | Guitar Solos |
| 2002 | RēR/FRA 02 | Fred Frith | Prints |
| 2003 | RēR/FRA 03 | Keep the Dog | That House We Lived In |
| 2003 | RēR/FRO 03 | Fred Frith | Step Across the Border |
| 2003 | RēR/FRO 04 | Fred Frith | Speechless |
| 2004 | RēR/FRO 05 | Fred Frith | Middle of the Moment |
| 2004 | RēR/FRO 06 | Fred Frith | Cheap at Half the Price |
| 2004 | RēR/FRO 07 | Fred Frith | Allies |
| 2005 | RēR/FRO 8/9 | Skeleton Crew | Learn to Talk / Country of Blinds |
| 2005 | RēR/FRO 10 | Massacre | Killing Time |
| 2006 | RēR/ | Fred Frith | Impur |
| 2006 | RēR/FRA 05 | Fred Frith | The Happy End Problem |
| 2008 | RēR/FRO 11 | Fred Frith | The Technology of Tears |
| 2008 | RēR/FRA 06 | Fred Frith & John Zorn | The Art of Memory II |
| 2009 | RēR/ | Fred Frith | Impur II |
| 2009 | RēR/FRA 07 | Fred Frith | Nowhere, Sideshow, Thin Air |
| 2010 | RēR/FRO 12 | Fred Frith | Live in Japan |
| 2015 | RēR/FRA 08 | Fred Frith | Field Days |
| 2015 | RēR/FRO 13 | Fred Frith | Propaganda |