The Mastelottos - A Romantic's Guide To King Crimson

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Track listing 1. Two Hands 2. Matte Kudasai 3. Heartbeat 4. Moonchild 5. Inner Garden 6. One Time (Eyes Wide Open) 7. Peace 8. Book Of Saturday 9. Exiles 10. Elephant Talk 11. People 12. Sleepless

“It’s always been a joke in the King Crimson camp that there’s never a line for the
women’s restrooms during intermissions,” said Deborah. “King Crimson plays loud and
it’s often intense and raucous. But it can also be haunting and melodic, with some of the
most beautiful lyrics ever. We wanted to help uncover that sweetness and introduce the
songs to a different type of audience with ‘A Romantic’s Guide to King Crimson.’”
“The album has amazing contributions from all the musicians involved, especially the
TOAPP (Three of a Perfect Pair Music Masters Camp) artists,” said Pat. “We
experimented together and since they were already lifelong Crim Heads, they were
totally into reconfiguring the classic performances or developing totally new parts. So,
get ready. You’ll hear some fantastic detail in their playing.”
The recording features material they chose and arranged together with lead vocals by
Deborah, a creative Tour de Force in her own right, and with Pat drumming and
producing.
“We compiled King Crimson songs and searched for the romanticism in them, then
rearranged them,” said Deborah. “The addition of a girl singer automatically changes the
feel of those songs and places them in a different genre. Our idea is to create a way for
people, especially women, to appreciate the beauty of King Crimson’s music without the
fear and sometimes resistance attached to the word ‘prog’ getting in the way. We slow
the songs way down and strip them back to their essential lyrics and melodies.”
“In the Crimson tradition, we approached every song as if it was brand new,” said Pat.
“At first, it involved tinkering with 20-plus songs in hotel rooms using iPhone apps to
choose what worked best for us. We first focused on the lyrics. The words had to
resonate and the arrangements had to develop a prog-meets-pop twist to meet my hopes.
We had no desire to duplicate the original arrangements. In fact, just the opposite. I was
trying to discover where else they could go to expose sweetness, sort of like the old days
of cassettes and giving a loved one a mixtape. It’s a gift to fans and a family of former
Crims.“
The Mastelottos started the recordings in 2019 by inviting the Texas TOAPP alumni,
including members of the Houston symphony, to record in Pat’s home studio in the
Texas Hill Country. After a quick trip to Nagoya for his one and only live gig of 2020,
which yielded the live Stick Men album “Owari,” Pat returned and spent months with
Deborah during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown finishing the project. The result is an
album full of lush nuance and ornamentation designed to put listeners in a meditative
and buoyant mood.
“The lockdown resulted in a year of cancelled shows, which gave us time to realize the
album,” said Pat. “This grand reboot of humanity made being a couple all the more
important, nurturing relationships with people we love, gardening and doing home
projects while creating this album together was a beautiful experience.”
“2020 has given us the longest period of consecutive days, weeks and months we’ve
ever spent together,” said Deborah. “Our close proximity enabled a continuous dialog
and working environment, so we never had to break the creative flow.”
“Working from home meant we could take the listening experience from the studio to
the car to the bedroom…to test drive…so to speak,” added Pat.
“Heat up the hot tub, fluff your pillows and head to the softer side of the bed for the
pinkest Crimson ever”