“Fred Frith was a classically-trained violinist who turned to playing blues guitar while still at school. In 1967 he went to Cambridge University where he and fellow student, Tim Hodgkinson formed Henry Cow. While at University, Frith read John Cage’s Silence: Lectures and Writings, which changed his attitude to music completely. He realised that “sound, in and of itself, can be as important as […] melody and harmony and rhythm.” This changed his approach to the guitar, “just to see what I could get out of it” and initiated a long period of experimentation that continued throughout Frith’s musical career.”