"the hall by the wall". Describing how the location of the studio affected the creative process, Visconti recalled: "Every afternoon I'd sit down at [a] desk and see three Russian Red Guards looking at us with binoculars, with their Sten guns over their shoulders, and the barbed wire, and I knew that there were mines buried in that wall, and that atmosphere was so provocative and so stimulating and so frightening that the band played with so much energy". Guitarist Carlos Alomar told biographer David Buckley: "These things [Germans, Nazis, the Wall, oppression] are hanging in the air, and when things get darker physically, you kind of think of darker themes too. Berlin was a rather dark, industrial place to work." Despite the dark atmosphere, Visconti particularly had an exciting time creating the album, saying, "It was one of my last great adventures in making albums." Most of the album was recorded with the same personnel as its predecessor Low, with Alomar, George Murray and Dennis Davis as the core band. Bowie played piano, having gotten significantly more experience playing the instrument during his time with Pop. An addition to the lineup was guitarist Robert Fripp, formerly of the band King Crimson, who was recruited at Eno's suggestion. The guitarist recalled: "I got a phone call [from Brian Eno] when I was living in New York in July 1977. He said that he and David were recording in Berlin and passed me over. David said, 'Would you be interested in playing some hairy rock 'n' roll guitar?' I said, 'Well, I haven't really played for three years – but, if you're prepared to take a risk, so will I.' Shortly afterward, a first-class ticket on Lufthansa arrived." Upon his arrival to the studio, Fripp sat down and recorded lead guitar parts for tracks he had never heard before. He also received little guidance from Bowie, who had yet to write lyrics or melodies. Fripp completed all his guitar parts in three days. Fripp's playing received significant praise from Visconti and Eno, who were impressed with Fripp's ability to play for songs he had never heard before with such "virtuosity". According to biographer Nicholas Pegg, Fripp was not Bowie's first choice. Michael Rother of the German band Neu! had originally been approached to contribute, but shortly before the sessions began, he was contacted by an unknown person and informed that Bowie