The Letter

"Cosa Brava is about storytelling. I don't think about it too much. It just turned out that way. Some of the stories have words and some don't, but they share a sense of scenes glimpsed in passing. Torn photos, fragments of movies, distant shouts. One of my earliest memories is of a long drive north, as our family moved away from London to start a new life in the Yorkshire dales. I remember the smell of the car, and passing our broken down removals lorry in the middle of night. I was four years old, and sometimes it feels like I've been on the road ever since. I need to travel, and now my life depends on it, so there's never a shortage of stories. The musicians of Cosa Brava are fellow nomads and experienced collaborators, and some of the best storytellers around, so my stories also become their stories. It's been an exhilarating journey, and I still have no idea where we're going. In the end it doesn't seem very important."- Fred Frith, from the liner notes. All songs composed by Fred Firth and arranged by Cosa Brava. Recorded by the Norman Conquest at Chateau de Faverolles, France. Fred Frith guitar, bass, voice, Carla Kihlstedt violin, bass harmonica, voice, Zeena Parkins accordion, keyboards, foley objects, voice, Shahzad Ismaily bass, voice, Matthias Bossi drums, percussion, mayhem, voice, The Norman Conquest sound manipulation, Special guests: Michael Elrod tambura, William Winant concert bass drum, crotales.