The Letter is a studio album by Fred Frith's United States experimental rock group Cosa Brava. It was recorded in France in June 2010 and Oakland, California in August 2011, and was released by Intakt Records in Switzerland on March 21, 2012.
Reception
Writing at All About Jazz, John Eyles described The Letter as "transcend[ing] genre", and Frith's songs as "melodic ... provid[ing] the group with plenty of scope for embellishment". He said the album "hangs together well", adding that Kihlstedt's violin has "inflections carrying great emotional weight", and Frith's guitar as "fluid [and] interwoven with wordless vocals, to stunning effect" on "Common Sense".
Track listing
Source: Intakt Records, Discogs
Personnel
Fred Frith – guitar, bass guitar, voice
Carla Kihlstedt – violin, bass harmonica, voice
Zeena Parkins – accordion, keyboards, foley objects, voice
Shahzad Ismaily – bass guitar, voice
Matthias Bossi – drums, percussion, mayhem, vocals
The Norman Conquest – sound manipulation
Guests
Michael Elrod – tambura (track 4) William Winant – concert bass drum (track 10), crotales (track 2)
Recording and production
Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12 recorded at Chàteau de Faverolles, France, June 1–4, 2010 The Norman Conquest – engineer Tracks 3, 7, 9, 10 recorded at New Improved Recording, Oakland, California, August 9–11, 2011 The Norman Conquest – engineer Mixed at Jankowski Soundfabrik, Esslingen, Germany, April 9–11, 2011, July 4–5, 2011, January 31, 2012, February 3, 2012 Peter Hardt – engineer Mastered at Headless Buddha, Oakland, California, February 10, 2012 Myles Boisen – engineer Artwork Heike Liss – cover image Jonas Schoder – graphic design Production Fred Frith – producer Intakt Records – producer Source: Intakt Records, Discogs