King Crimson Manager Warns of ‘Premature’ Excitement Amid New LP Talk

As rumors swirl regarding a new album from prog-rock icons King Crimson, the band’s manager has urged fans not to get too excited about the prospect.

News of a fresh record from the English outfit first came to light last week when guitarist Jakko Jakszyk spoke to Goldmine Magazine about his recent solo album, and his joining King Crimson back in 2013.

“It was an amazing thing to have done, and in a way, part of it’s still happening. As we speak, we’re doing a King Crimson studio album,” Jakszyk admitted.

“When that will come out and what format or how—that’s beyond my brief. But yeah, we’ve been doing it piecemeal, and then a couple of months ago, the management said, ‘Can we?’ So, yeah. I’ve been recording that with a view to it coming out in some format at some point. But who knows when?”

Word of a potential new album from the veteran group undoubtedly came as a surprise to many, especially given that King Crimson was viewed as having effectively come to an end following the completion of their 2021 tour dates.

In the wake of mounting speculation, manager David Singleton took to social media to respond to the claims that King Crimson have been in the studio. 

“Addressing this very question before he died, Bill Rieflin posed the excellent question ‘why make a studio album? There are excellent live recordings of all the songs out there already,’” Singleton wrote.

“One possible answer would be an album the very sound of which no-one has ever heard before. A sound driven by the three drummers. And it is true that those drummers have now recorded studio versions of their parts – separately, so that there is perfect separation.

“So there is indeed the seed of a new recording,” he continued. “Whether it is an album, whether it sees the light of day, whether it is something else is unknown. As is the outcome of any creative process.

“So yes, recordings have taken place. We are building a new studio, and when it is complete I am looking forward to seeing what may, or may not, exist. Getting excited about the possibility of a new album, as has been happening in some quarters, is however somewhat premature. Carts before horses.”

King Crimson was initially formed in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Ian McDonald, Greg Lake, Michael Giles, and Peter Sinfiel, with the band releasing their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King the following year.

Initially disbanding in 1974 after seven albums, further reunions would take place throughout the ’80s and ’90s, with the group’s most recent record, The Power to Believe, arriving in 2003. 

At the time of their last dissolution, in December 2021, Fripp remained the only continuous member from the original lineup, telling Rolling Stone the following year that future tours from the band would only take place “If I knew for certainty that King Crimson touring was the only way to prevent World War III.”