As a teenager, he lived with his parents in a fourteen-room Georgian guest-house, Wellington House, in Lydden near Canterbury. Here he was taught the drums by visiting American jazz drummer George Niedorf.
In 1962, Wyatt and Niedorf moved to Majorca where they stayed with the poet Robert Graves. The following year, Wyatt returned to England and joined the Daevid Allen Trio with Daevid Allen and Hugh Hopper. Allen subsequently left for France, and Wyatt and Hopper formed the Wilde Flowers with Richard Sinclair, Kevin Ayers and Brian Hopper. Wyatt was initially the drummer in the Wilde Flowers, but following the departure of Ayers, he became lead singer.
In 1966, the Wilde Flowers disintegrated, and Wyatt and Mike Ratledge formed the Soft Machine with Ayers and Allen. Here Wyatt both drummed and sang, an unusual combination for a stage rock band.
In 1970, after chaotic touring, three albums and increasing internal conflicts in Soft Machine, Wyatt released his first solo album, The End of an Ear, which combined his vocal and multi-instrumental talents with tape effects.
A year later, Wyatt left Soft Machine and formed his own band Matching Mole (a pun on "machine molle", the French for Soft Machine), a largely instrumental outfit. After two albums and a split, Matching Mole were about to embark on a third record when, on 1 June 1973, during a drunken party, Wyatt fell from a third floor window. He was subsequently paralysed from the waist down (paraplegia) and confined to a wheelchair.
The injury led Wyatt to abandon the Matching Mole project, and his drumming. He promptly embarked on a solo-career, and with a collective of session musicians (including Mike Oldfield, the poet Ivor Cutler and Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith), he released his acclaimed solo album Rock Bottom. Later that same year he put out a single, a cover version of "I'm a Believer", which hit number 29 in the UK chart. There were strong arguments with the producer of Top of the Pops surrounding his performance of "I'm a Believer," on the grounds that his wheelchair-bound appearance 'was not suitable for family viewing', the producer wanting Wyatt to appear on a normal chair. Wyatt won the day and 'lost his rag but not the wheel chair', but gave a performance that could be described as disgruntled.
Wyatt's next album, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard, was more jazz-led, with free jazz influences and nods to African music. These solo recordings were all produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.
Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Wyatt guested with various acts, working with the likes of Henry Cow (documented on their Henry Cow Concerts album), Hatfield and the North, Carla Bley and Michael Mantler. His solo work during the early 1980s was increasingly politicised, and Wyatt became an outspoken member and supporter of the British Communist Party. In 1983, his interpretation of Elvis Costello's anti-Falklands War song "Shipbuilding", the last in a series of political cover-versions (collected as Nothing Can Stop Us), reached number 35 in the UK singles chart. In the late 1980s, after collaborations with other ex-Canterbury acts such as News from Babel, he and his wife Alfreda Benge spent a sabbatical in Spain, before returning in 1991 with a comeback album Dondestan, considered by many to be his best work since Rock Bottom. His 1997 album Shleep was also highly acclaimed.
An uncredited Wyatt contributed the haunting "Masters of the Field", as well as "The Highest Gander", "La Forêt Rouge" and "Hors Champ" to the soundtrack of the acclaimed 2001 film Winged Migration. He can be seen in the DVD's Special Features section, and is praised by the film's composer Bruno Coulais as being a big influence in his younger days.
In 2001, Wyatt was curator of the Meltdown festival, and in 2003 he put out his album Cuckooland.
In 2004, Wyatt collaborated with Björk on the song "Submarine" which was released on her fifth album Medúlla.
In October 2007 he released Comicopera, a 16-track album, his first for the Domino label.
It was produced by Wyatt himself, and recorded at his home in Louth as well as Phil Manzanera's Gallery Studio.
Comicopera is divided into three acts - 'Lost in Noise', 'The Here and The Now', and 'Away with the Fairies'. Featured musicians include previous collaborators Brian Eno, Paul Weller and Phil Manzanera. Wyatt said he was keen to capture the sound of a group of musicians playing in the room together, but more importantly to have friends playing together.
"Music isn't just an abstract pleasure, it is a company, when you play a record. Why I like Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, the big bands - is because every character in the band is identifiable as that person - there's this group of humans in a room".
"He lives in Louth, Lincolnshire and he has equipment in his bedroom where he records himself and his albums. We brought a G4 and Pro Tools and recorded it in like one afternoon. He's such an extraordinary singer. Before he left, he insisted to give us a scale of his voice, where he sings all the tones – and he has the most amazing range, like 5 or 6 octaves. What's really interesting about his range is that each octave is of a totally different character. We actually ended up using that later for 'Oceania', we used what he calls the 'Wyattron'." — Björk, XFM 25 August 2004
Alifib
Robert Wyatt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nit nit folly bololey
Alifi my larder
Alifi my larder
I can't forsake you or
Forsqueak you
Alifi my larder
Alifi my larder
Late you you
Alifi my larder Alifi my larder
Not nit not nit no not
Nit nit folly bololy
Burlybunch, the water mole
Hellyplop and fingerhole
Not a wossit bundy, see ?
For jangle and bojangle
Trip trip
Pip pippy pippy pip pip landerim
Alifi my larder
Alifi my larder
At first glance, Robert Wyatt's song Alifib may seem nonsensical with its use of made-up words and phrases. However, upon closer inspection, the lyrics convey a deep sense of devotion towards an object or possibly a person, represented by "Alifi my larder." The repetition of the phrase reinforces the idea of this object being not just a mere possession but an essential part of Wyatt's life that he cannot forsake.
The use of made-up words like "folly bololey" and "forsqueak" adds to the dreamlike and surreal tone of the song. They may symbolize the elusiveness of the object of Wyatt's devotion, making it difficult to describe in ordinary terms. The stanza "Burlybunch, the water mole, Hellyplop, and fingerhole" is also a reference to characters from Lewis Carroll's poem The Hunting of the Snark, further emphasizing the surreal and fantastical elements of the song.
Overall, Alifib is an expression of Wyatt's unwavering commitment to something that is integral to his life, even if it may seem strange or unexplainable to others.
Line by Line Meaning
Not nit not nit no not
I am not saying no to you
Nit nit folly bololey
I am agreeing with you
Alifi my larder
You are my everything
Alifi my larder
You are my everything
I can't forsake you or
I can never leave you
Forsqueak you
I can never deceive you
Alifi my larder
You are my everything
Alifi my larder
You are my everything
Confiscate or make you
I can never take you away
Late you you
I cannot delay your presence
Alifi my larder Alifi my larder
You are my everything
Not nit not nit no not
I am not saying no to you
Nit nit folly bololy
I am agreeing with you
Burlybunch, the water mole
There is somebody else aside from us
Hellyplop and fingerhole
Others have their own identities too
Not a wossit bundy, see ?
But I don't know what they mean
For jangle and bojangle
They might dance or they might not
Trip trip
Who knows what they will do
Pip pippy pippy pip pip landerim
They might be doing something or nothing at all
Alifi my larder
You are my everything
Alifi my larder
You are my everything
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: WYATT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Conrad Mason
Not, nit, not, nit, no, not
Nit, nit, folly, bololey
Alifi my larder
Alifi my larder
I can't forsake you
Or for squeak you
Alifi my larder
Alifi my larder
Confiscate or make you
Late you, you
Alifi my larder
Alifi my larder
Not, nit, not, nit, no, not
Nit, nit, folly, bololy
Burly bunch, the water mole
Hellyplop and fingerhole
Not a wossit bundy, see?
For jangle and bojangle, trip, trip
Pip, pippy, pippy, pip, pip, landerim
Alifi my larder, Alifi my larder
I'm not your larder jammy jars and mustard
I'm not your dinner, you soppy old custard
And what's a bololey, when it's a folly?
I'm not your larder, I'm your dear little dolly
But when plops get too helly, I'll fill up your belly
I'm not your larder, I'm Alife your guarder
Lennart H
I don't know why but this touches me so deeply. I must say it's one of the most beautiful and emotional songs I've ever heard, it makes me cry... Thank you Robert Wyatt!
MinamuTV
I'm quite thankful for critics like Piero Scaruffi. I understand that music is more than just a science and that just because a song is a little formulaic doesn't mean it sucks, but he really has introduced me to a variety of artists that I probably wouldn't have known much about without him. The best art critics are usually the ones who can make you approach an art in a partly different way than before; he has done that with me.
FuturoPasado
True to all, I discover this masterpiece album and some othersm that doesn't mean though we should copy their criteria rating albums, I think Scaruffi only respects avant-gardish albums, he almost ignores the rest of music. The beauty of opinions is that, you can discover many great new music with this critics but at the same time don't agree with many picks they have! :)
524
Actually Scaruffi is quite level headed, if you ask me. Yes, he may seem pretentious to a lot of people but if you actually look at what he has to say about most albums, it's hard to disagree, he's usually fairly objective with the scores he gives. What most people would have as 7-8 to him is a 6, and he considers most of the albums he gives and 8+ to masterpieces. I actually like that idea, it makes the albums with a 8.5 or 9 actually seem special compared to the other ones. He has helped me discover lots of amazing artists that I would've have thought of checking out otherwise, and he really makes you want to go out there and understand music on a larger scale. And sure, I don't agree with him on a lot of things (Bowie, Radiohead, Ween's latter catalogue) but that doesn't ever take away from my own enjoyment of it. It's fine to like both The Beatles and Robert Wyatt, at least I feel that way.
Art Obzor
Hello , can you write here the most beautiful tracks, albums, artists you have discovered this way with a help of this critic...
Your favorites,. And can you give a couple of links where to look for that reviews and ratings
From the Soviet time there was a habbit to collect the most rare things...music,books
Avantgarde...
So the musical reviews and some radio programs reviewing some newest albums of the time, or digging inside the history of different type of rare music.. were as a gold . And even now I relisten some of that educational programs to find this music again on torrent trackers and so on
A Banana 2
No one has ever done it better since, fantastic musicians and minds, this work is important
M. A.G.
Some years ago I didn't get this song, I was very "addicted" to Sea Song instead, but... wow, this shit is amazing. It's like listening to a symphony inside the heart of an angel.
Ruben Frankin
This song is so amazing. It's not only jazz and avant guard, it ambient, before brian eno was even doing his minimal stuff. This shit is sick
jasonpp1973
What beautiful bass playing by the late Hugh Hopper, some of his best work IMO. He's actually playing two different bass lines, ah the art of overdubbling!
Sublime Music Channel
It isn't clear to me how anyone but the artist themselves could possibly know whether their "private persona" had ever been put down on record, but this IS my favorite of his recordings and it DOES feel like his most personal statement, for whatever that's worth. Thank you for posting!