July, the day before the recording of Red began. Red was recorded in studio 2 of Olympic Studios in Barnes, London. The band reunited with recording engineer George Chkiantz, who had previously worked with them on Starless and Bible Black. Chkiantz remembered Fripp placing himself and his guitar amplifier in the drummer's booth, "sitting on a stool with the light off, quite possibly with the door pulled to, basically playing when the stuff was counted in." Once Bruford was no longer needed in the studio he cycled home, leaving Wetton and Chkiantz to record the vocals. With the backing tracks put down, the band brought back several contributors to past albums in Cross's stead: Robin Miller on oboe, Mark Charig on cornet, former King Crimson members Ian McDonald and Mel Collins on saxophones, as well as uncredited players on cello and double bass. Red sees King Crimson follow in the direction established by their previous two albums, Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973) and Starless and Bible Black (1974), but in contrast to those albums, Red features more layered production with multiple overdubs, as well as the return of the earlier instrumentation of the guest players. Reds heavier tone was largely due to the influence of the rhythm section of Wetton and Bruford, whom Fripp has referred to as "a flying brick wall". During the recording of the album Fripp, increasingly unsure of the group's direction, took a "backseat" when making large decisions, leaving Wetton and Bruford to call the shots over the final content. Wetton and Bruford believed Fripp was merely "pulling another moody", but in the week prior to recording Red Fripp had discovered the works of mystic John G. Bennett and decided to take "a year's sabbatical ... at Bennett's Institute". Fripp offered the idea of McDonald rejoining the band in his absence to EG. When this idea was met with lack of interest, Fripp abruptly disbanded King Crimson on 24 September 1974, and Red was released two weeks later. Writing Much of the material on Red has origins in improvisation. Motifs that would eventually be used for "Fallen Angel" were first played by Fripp in 1972 as part of improvs performed with the quintet line-up that recorded Larks' Tongues in Aspic. These improvisations are documented as "Fallen Angel" and "Fallen Angel Hullabaloo" on the Larks' Tongues in Aspic: The Complete Recordings box set, as well as standalone