The ProjeKcts are a succession of spin-off projects associated with the band King Crimson.
Devoted to instrumental and heavily improvised music, the ProjeKcts were most active from 1997 to 1999, but have performed intermittently since. Guitarist Robert Fripp has described their purpose as being "research and development" for King Crimson.[1]
While Fripp stated he was happy for a ProjeKct to be formed without him, he has been the only consistent member of all the ProjeKcts to date.
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(Robert Fripp - Guitar, Trey Gunn - Warr Guitar, Tony Levin - Bass, Bill Bruford - Drums)
ProjeKct One began as a suggestion by Bruford to Robert Fripp that they do some improvisational shows together. Fripp suggested adding Gunn, while Bruford suggested adding Tony Levin — four of the six members of King Crimson were now involved.
Fripp then developed the idea of "fraKctals": multiple different subsets of the band working separately as a way of developing new material for King Crimson, the band having been at something of a compositional impasse.
ProjeKct One performed four consecutive shows at the Jazz Cafe from December 1 through December 4, 1997. All four concerts have been made available for download through DGMLive[2].
(Fripp, Gunn, Adrian Belew - V-Drums)
While ProjeKct One was the first of the sub-groups planned, ProjeKct Two actually convened and recorded first. It featured Fripp, Gunn and Adrian Belew on drums rather than guitar (his usual instrument with King Crimson). This configuration was unplanned, but when the group gathered at Belew's home studio to record, he had recently taken possession of the V-drums and Fripp was keen to experiment with their use. The group enjoyed the results enough that it was decided to keep this configuration for the whole course of the project.
They released the studio album Space Groove in 1998. Additionally, they performed thirty-five concerts between February and July 1998. As of May 2, 2011, twenty-six of these shows have been made available for download through DGMLive[3].
(Fripp, Gunn, Pat Mastelotto - drums).
ProjeKct Three (P3) performed five shows from March 21 through March 25, 1999 in Texas. As of April 26, 2011, three of these five shows have been made available for download from DGMLive[4].
On March 3, 2003, P3 performed instead of King Crimson at the Birchmere in the Washington, DC, area, as Adrian Belew was taken ill that night. Following their impromptu performance, the three band members interacted with the audience in the form of a question and answer session. This is the only other full concert appearance of P3 other than the tour of Texas in March 1999. The complete Q&A is available at the DGMLive web site [5].
(Fripp, Gunn, Levin, Mastelotto)
ProjeKct Four performed a seven-show tour of the United States from October 23 to November 2, 1998. These shows consisted of improvised material, as well as expanded upon material developed by earlier ProjeKcts.
All seven of these shows have been made available for download through DGMLive[6].
ProjeKct X was not a group as such, but a CD based on material recorded during The ConstruKction of Light sessions and remixed and re-assembled by the band, particularly Mastelotto and Gunn. The resulting album, Heaven and Earth, was released in 2000 alongside The ConstruKction of Light. Additionally, when the 2001-03 group performed improvised pieces during their live shows, they would use the name ProjeKct X to differentiate themselves from the regular King Crimson, thus freeing up their talents to stray beyond the usual repertoire.
The ProjeKcts were then dormant until 2006, when Fripp on guitar and Belew on drums played live under the name ProjeKct Six. There has been no ProjeKct Five, but in 2006, Fripp mentioned plans for a ProjeKct Five distinct from the then current King Crimson line-up (Fripp, Belew, Levin, Mastelotto).
A project including Jakko Jakszyk along with Crimson alumni Fripp and Mel Collins (returning after 40 years),[7] this was ultimately dubbed "A King Crimson ProjeKct," and has been referred to by Fripp as "ProjeKct 7"[8]. The album A Scarcity of Miracles features this line-up, along with other Crimson alumni Tony Levin and Gavin Harrison.