December 2005

New Liz Fraser Material

Happy Christmas!

Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack has posted on the Massive Attack forums online that on March 7, 2006, a Massive Attack "best of" CD will be released along with a bonus DVD/CD that includes a previously unreleased track from the Mezzanine era with Liz Fraser on vocals.

There is also a rumor that Liz is collaborating with Del Naja on the next Massive Attack LP, their follow-up to the 2003 album 100th Window. And don't forget that Liz is said to be collaborating with Scott Walker on his next LP, due out from 4AD in 2006 or 2007.

November 2005

New Box Set Now Available

Lullabies to Violaine

"Lullabies to Violaine" is available as of 21 November in the UK and EU. Pre-orders are now being taken at various online merchants for the North American release. CocteauTwins.com and Amnesty International have partnered with Amazon.com to donate a portion of every purchase of "Lullabies to Violaine" to Amnesty's global causes for human rights.

To pre-order your copy from Amazon and make a donation to Amnesty International, use the link below. Thank you!

September 2005

Upcoming Robin Guthrie Performances

Mezzanine, San Francisco, CA: 17th October

Robin Guthrie with Halou, featuring Zoe Keating (of Rasputina)
Monday, October 17th, 2005
Doors open at 8 p.m.
$10 LIMITED PRESALE, $12 Day of Show
Tickets available at ticketweb.com
Venue Web Site: www.mezzaninesf.com

Mezzanine welcomes one of their most eclectic and colorful sets to date. Monday, October 17th Robin Guthrie of the famed Cocteau Twins will be performing a solo set that will feature songs and melodies written specifically for this very night. Along with him will be San Francisco's very own Halou performing their only live performance of 2005.

After a 15-year stint with dreamy landscape pop band, Cocteau Twins, Robin Guthrie has continued to pursue music. In addition to his other band, Violet Indiana, and recent collaboration with Harol Budd, Robin is again surprising the masses with VERY rare and once-in-a-lifetime solo performances. Robin Guthrie, armed with his guitar, lap top, and visual projections, will be playing a never-before-seen and never-to-be-seen-again show at Mezzanine. He is set to wrap up the exciting year with a number of exclusive performances in London, Los Angles and San Francisco. Starting in San Francisco on Oct 17th at Mezzanine, Robin will be perform a selection of new songs from his upcoming album, Continental, as well as material to be release on exclusively on Itunes which will be recorded here in San Francisco. Building on the ground breaking video montage last with Lumiere, Robin will continue to take his vision to the next level with additional footage to be shown for the first time at the San Francisco show. With an abundance of new and exclusive material to showcase in the upcoming shows, new and old fans alike may find that the legacy and genius of the Cocteau Twins stems from a man now living in the pastoral landscape of France.

To solidify this line-up are another rare act. Playing their only live performance of 2005, San Francisco's very own Halou. Although it has been almost 2 years since the band's last EP release, Halou has hardly disappeared. Over the past 2 years the band has completed 2 forthcoming albums and have been highly visible as producer/remixers making records with such artists as DJ SHADOW, LYRICS BORN, FRANK SINATRA, ROD STEWART, LOW, plus the score for the highly anticipated film Quality of Life which hits theaters Oct 12 [www.qualityoflife-themovie.com]. While still embracing electronics as the core of their instrumentation, live cello, acoustic double bass, and drums further explore the juxtaposition of the organic and electronic sound that is Halou. Known best for their definitive electronic collages and emotionally rich vocals, the trio will be opening the show featuring cellist Zoe Keating of Rasputina.

Don't miss this rare performance!

Additional Shows This Fall

Wilshire Grand, Los Angeles, CA: 20th November

Robin Guthrie will perform Lumière, an hour-long animated film featuring original music, plus (possibly) music from his forthcoming LP, Continental. Tickets are on sale NOW.

National Film Theatre, London: 2nd December

Lumière, plus music from his forthcoming LP, Continental. Tickets are £14.50 and are on sale from 18th November at the NFT Box Office.

Peter Gabriel DVD Featuring Elizabeth Fraser

Peter Gabriel will be releasing a DVD compilation on 31 October entitled "Still Growing Up: Live and Unwrapped," which features a live television performance of "Downside Up" with Elizabeth Fraser. More details

4AD to Release Special Cocteau Twins Box Set November 21

4-disc Set Part of Label's 25th Anniversary Celebration

For the first time all the non-album tracks from across the Cocteau Twins' entire career have been compiled together and offer a unique view of their musical journey from the perspective of all their single / EP releases which incorporate most of their best known tracks.

CTBOX 2
This is an unusual de-luxe package containing all 4 CD's that will be available 21 November (Europe) and 22 November (USA) in a worldwide limited edition of 10,000. The discs are contained in a fold-out package made of a material that itself sounds like a Cocteau Twins title — 'Curious Soft Touch Milk.' It's all very tactile, minimal and v23.

DAD 2513CD and DAD 2514CD
These are the regular versions of the set which will be available early 2006. Each package is a digipak with 2 CD's. Volume One covers the 4AD era (1982 – 1990) and Volume Two the Mercury / Capitol years (1993 – 1996).

The 4AD material was previously available in a 10-CD box set which had a CD for each single, though this set features alternative mixes of "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drop" and "Aikea-Guinea." Volume Two has never been anthologised and has tracks that were limited as singles as well as the Christmas tracks "Frosty The Snowman" and "Winter Wonderland."

More details

August 2005

COCTEAUFEST 2005 DATE AND LOCATION!

The 2005 Cocteaufest will be held in Toronto, Canada on September 8, 2005! TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!

Advance ticket price: $15 CDN / $12 US
Door ticket price: $18 CDN / $15 US

For full details and to purchase your tickets, visit www.cocteaufest.com.

May 2005

Most Successful Scottish Band Ever?

Well...at least among the Festive Fifty.

Cocteau Twins come seventh in a list of the greatest ever "Festive Fifty" bands, as featured in the recently published book, The Festive Fifty, by Mark Whitby, now available via the independent Nevin Publishing. Treasure comes in at number 40 in a chart of the most productive albums in terms of Festive Fifty entries. While bands from Scotland have an impressive Festive Fifty heritage in general, the book confirms Cocteau Twins as the most successful of all Scottish bands in the chart's 28-year history.

The Festive Fifty can be ordered directly from the publishers at:

Nevin Publishing
PO Box 194
Widnes
Cheshire
WA8 7WU
United Kingdom

Or online via Amazon.co.uk.

People can also ask at bookshops (the ISBN is 0-9548317-0-5). At the moment, there's a limited print run due to the publisher being a small scale operation, but the ISBN should help the shop to track it down.

The book covers:

A complete history of the Festive Fifty, with commentary on each year and entries of particular interest
A complete alphabetical list of every band to appear, with details of personnel who took part
The top fifty bands to appear in the Festive Fifty, with biography
The top fifty albums in terms of tracks placed in the Festive Fifty
A comprehensive records and statistics section, with everything from bands with most entries down to most successful session tracks, cover versions, electronic/dance tracks, all-female tracks, long tracks, short tracks, continental European tracks, tracks from outside Europe and North America, record labels, etc.

Robin Guthrie Blogs

Our very own Robin Guthrie has joined the blog movement with his "Robin Guthrie Tells..." weblog that launched last week. You can keep up with him here.

Liz Fraser Guest Vocal Appearance

Liz has provided vocal accompaniment to the latest LP by French composer Yann Tiersen (best-known for his soundtrack and film score to Amélie). The new album is entitled Les Retrouvailles. Liz sings on the tracks "Mary" and "Kala," both quite lovely. You can see the video for "Kala," (Liz makes no appearance, however), at Labels (in French).

April 2005

Balm for the Burned?

For those of you who bought tickets to Coachella and are still feeling raw about the Cocteaux cancellation, here's some news: Robin Guthrie will be performing his own new music, entitled "19 Crescent," live at Club Violaine in Los Angeles on Friday April 29. Exact location and other details are forthcoming. Please visit the Club Violaine events page for the latest updates. So if you're in California or if you have already made plans to be in California that can't be undone, you won't leave entirely unfulfilled.

March 2005

COACHELLA REUNION PERFORMANCE CANCELLED

It is with deep regret that we confirm the news that Cocteau Twins, at the request of vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, have cancelled the planned reunion performance at this year's Coachella Festival on 30 April. No future plans for any reunion are currently being made. Our sincere thanks and apologies to all the fans and media who wrote to us expressing your enthusiasm and support.

February 2005

MORE LIVE PERFORMANCES

Cocteau Twins will be performing additional live concert dates following the reunion show at the Coachella Festival in April. The engagements will run from June and into the fall. Specific cities and dates are not available at this time, but will be posted here as soon as the information becomes available.

Elizabeth Fraser to Perform Live With Massive Attack

First reported on the Cocteau Twins Forums, Elizabeth will be performing live with Massive Attack in Bristol at Bristol Academy 19 February.

Also from Cocteau Twins Forums, Liz is reported to be collaborating with acclaimed French composer and musician Yann Tiersen (Amélie soundtrack) on his new album. More details will be provided as they become available.

REUNION UPDATE

The positive response to the reunion announcement has been incredible, and is much appreciated. (Maybe absence does make the heart grow fonder?)

However, due to the large flood of e-mail received following the announcement to play a live gig at the 2005 Coachella Festival, it's necessary to clarify a few things, at least as they stand now:

Cocteau Twins have agreed to play only one live performance—30 April at Coachella.
There are no plans for a live tour or album following this reunion show.

No one has said "never," but it's important to clarify that the band have only agreed to do this one performance and have not discussed the possibility of collaborating beyond that. The band met last week, in person, for the first time in eight years, so please understand there's no "big agenda" happening just yet. One step at a time, right?

Rehearsals for the Coachella show will probably begin in April. Some of you have asked if there will be "warm-up" concerts to prepare for the actual gig in California, and all we can say is, "possibly." That information would be premature, to say the least, as those types of things are often arranged last-minute, anyway. If it happens, we'll let you know.

Finally, the full on-stage lineup for the 30 April performance will be Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Simon Raymonde, Mitsuo Tate (guitar) and Damon Reece (drums).

January 2005

YES, YES — IT'S OFFICIAL NOW

Thanks for the flood of e-mail telling us about this. Did you think we wouldn't know? :-)

"Ah, the official announcement. Many apologies to all who tried to get confirmation from us about this...We weren't teasing, it's just that nothing could be announced before the damn thing was confirmed....So, who's going?"

— Robin Guthrie, 1/31/05

A REFORMED Cocteau Twins will be performing at the Coachella Valley Music Festival on Saturday April 30, 2005, along with a number of other artists, including former label-mates Bauhaus, plus Weezer, Chemical Brothers, Wilco, and more.

REUNION RUMOURS?

More than a few people have e-mailed about rumours of a possible Cocteau Twins reunion / new record / live performance(s). All we (the managers of this site) can say is, "We don't know." Robin, Simon and Liz have said absolutely nothing to anyone about this, and when asked about it they have not said 'yes' or 'no' or anything, really. They're busy people, after all. Rumours like this happen, and usually they aren't true. But you never know... To keep up with the latest news on this developing story, be sure to visit the Forums.

Happy New Year!

Not a lot of new news, but Imperial Records of Japan will be re-issuing the digitally-remastered 4AD-era LPs as mini-album CD replicas in the coming months. What this amounts to is CDs that look like 5-inch vinyl records in smaller versions of the original sleeves. Probably a must-have for the avid collector, but if you're outside of Japan, expect to pay dearly for them.

Record Label: Teichiku Entertainment
Package: Cardboard Sleeve
Release Date: 23 Feb 2005

Catalog Details:

Garlands / TECI-24270
Head Over Heels / TECI-24271
Treasure / TECI-24272
Victorialand / TECI-24273
Blue Bell Knoll / TECI-24274
Heaven or Las Vegas / TECI-24275

Links (Japanese):
http://www.cdjournal.com/main/news/news.php?nno=7988
http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos...1320482-4040357

For more information, visit the Imperial Records Web site (in Japanese and English, but mostly Japanese).

November 2004

"Ice-Pulse," a b-side from the Cocteaus' 1994 single Bluebeard, is featured in the new independent film "Tarnation," in theatres now.

October 2004

Left of the Dial

The 1984 Cocteau Twins indie hit "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops" is featured in this month's release of Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground, available from Rhino Records. More details

John Peel, 1939-2004

John Peel, the legendary BBC Radio 1 host who was instrumental in the early years of the Cocteau Twins' career—helping them secure their first recording contract with 4AD and precious radio exposure—has died of a sudden heart attack while on holiday in Peru. He leaves behind his wife Sheila and four children. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the Peel family. Full story

Robin Guthrie ON TOUR!

Current confirmed dates:

Oct 24 Glasgow, Scotland @ The Arches Benbecula Records Event (see below)
Nov 1 Arlington, VA (Washington, DC) @ Iota Club & Café
Nov 2 New York City @ Knitting Factory
Nov 3 Philadelphia @ Tin Angel
Nov 4 Brooklyn, NY @ Southpaw
Nov 6 Boston @ The Paradise
Nov 7 Chicago @ Black Orchid Showroom
Nov 8 Detroit @ Magic Bag
Nov 11 San Francisco @ Rx Gallery
Nov 13 Seattle @ EMP

New NME Originals Issue Features Cocteaus

While it's highly debatable whether Cocteau Twins ever considered themselves or their music part of the "Goth" movement (or any movement as defined by the music press), Goth culture has nonetheless embraced them as one of their own. NME, that venerable tabloid of the UK music scene, has just published its special NME Originals edition with a focus on "Goth," including a retrospective of Cocteau Twins features and photographs throughout the 1980s up to and including the 1990 release of Heaven or Las Vegas. (Now if only they could learn to spell "Fraser" properly, not to mention the dozens of song titles they got wrong.)

NME ORIGINALS: GOTH

"The children of the night, what sweet music they make," — Count Dracula

Following recent acclaimed issues dedicated to Glam (Def Leppard's Joe Elliott bought five copies!) and Gods Of Rock, join us now as we sharpen a stake and wreath ourselves in garlic for a journey into the dark velvet world of the '80s Goth movement. Charting the careers of The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Joy Division, The Sisters Of Mercy, The Mission, Bauhaus, Southern Death Cult, Nick Cave and their brooding ilk, NME Originals: Goth reprints for the first time since their original publication, interviews with Robert Smith, Ian Curtis, Siouxsie Sioux, Peter Murphy and Carl from the Nephilim. NME Originals: Goth also offers a dark orgy of rare photos from the Batcave, eyewitness reviews of all the greatest Goth gatherings and '80s writer reactions to such Halloween classics as "Bela Lugosi's Dead," "Release The Bats" and "Dawnrazor."

NME Originals: Goth is on sale now. Black is back. Dig it.

Elizabeth Fraser Guest Performances?

Rumours to the effect that Liz would be lending her vocal talents to the Massive Attack soundtrack for the new Luc Besson film "Danny the Dog" were apparently unfounded. The album was released October 19, with nary a peep from Liz among its many tracks.

However, 4AD reports that its 2005 releases will feature a new solo album from the legendary Scott Walker. The album will feature several guest artists, including Fraser. More details as they are available.

September 2004

Benbecula Records present
2004 MUSIC AND FILM SHOWCASE
ROBIN GUTHRIE
+ Christ., Reverbaphon & Prhizzm
SUN 24 OCT
6.45pm, tickets in adv £12/£10

Benbecula Records showcase artists to promote recent and forthcoming releases, with special guest appearance from Robin Guthrie, former member of the Cocteau Twins and co-founder of the Bella Union label. Christ. and Reverbaphon will debut new recordings and are joined by new signing Prhizzm who flies direct form Toronto, Canada. Full visual backdrop for all acts. Robin Guthrie performs his solo music-to-film montage "Lumière" for the first time in Scotland. Fans of his past or present work cannot miss this rare multimedia show. Check www.benbecula.com for details.

CocteauFest 2004 Redux

The second annual CocteauFest was held Saturday September 25 in Los Angeles. Over 150 fans showed up for BBQ, music, videos and three amazing live performances by Bethany Curve, Lisa Dewey & The Lotus Life (new Bella Union signing!) and Red Lily. The three bands performed some truly amazing Cocteau Twins covers, including "Aikea Guinea," "Ivo," "The Hollow Men," "Blue Bell Knoll," "From the Flagstones," "Ribbed and Veined" and others. If you weren't there, you should have been!

Sincere thanks to everyone at Basswerks/Club Violaine and all our volunteers who helped make this year's event a smashing success!

To see over 350 photographs of the festivities, click here.

Look for details about next year's CocteauFest—in London—at www.cocteaufest.com.

Mysterious Skin, featuring soundtrack by Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd, debuts in Venice and Toronto

The latest film by director Gregg Araki, Mysterious Skin, has debuted to enthusiastic reviews at both the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. The movie, based on the groundbreaking 1995 novel of the same name by Scott Heim, is the story of two boys from the same small town in Kansas who have a shared experience as children that shapes each of them in different ways. The film's instrumental soundtrack was scored by Robin Guthrie and Harold Budd, with other contributions from Slowdive, Ride, Curve, Sigur Rós and, naturally, Cocteau Twins, whose 1987 song "Crushed" is featured in the film. No news yet on when or if the soundtrack and score will be released commercially, but keep your fingers crossed!

Robin attended the film's screening at the Venice Film Festival and gives Mysterious Skin a serious "thumbs-up".

August 2004

Cocteau Twins Exhibit in Japan

The Taka Ishii Gallery in Tokyo opened their Cocteau Twins-themed exhibition "Sugar Hiccup" on 13 August. The exhibition features artwork created by other artists—painters, writers, photographers and musicians—that is influenced by or otherwise representative of Cocteau Twins music.

The exhibit runs until 4 September.

Taka Ishii Gallery / Contact : Jeffrey Ian Rosen / Tomoko Fujibayashi
1-31-6 1F Shinkawa Chuo-ku Tokyo #104-0033 Japan
Tel: 81-3-5542-3615 Fax: 81-3-3552-3363
e-mail: tig@takaishiigallery.com

July 2004

The videos section of the site has been updated, with "Cico Buff" finally available. Other videos have been converted to more user-friendly QuickTime formats, plus there's a new live performance video of "Blue Bell Knoll" from the 1996 Milk & Kisses Tour.

June 2004

CocteauFest 2004 Details

The date, time, and location of COCTEAUfest 2004 has been confirmed:

Date: Saturday, September 25, 2004
Location: The Basswerks
5411 W. Adams Blvd.
Los Angeles, California
Time: 6:00 PM - 2:00 AM

The event will include the following:

Live Cocteau Twins cover bands
Live DJ's spinning Cocteau Twins music
Auctions & giveaways
Merchandise sale table
A Cocteau Twins goodie bag for everyone who attends

...and much, much more!

Useful links:

May 2004

Elizabeth Fraser at the V&A

Liz has contributed to a new exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, entitled "Shhh..." Several musicians & artists have composed music or audio-visual installations as part of an "invisible exhibition," taking you on a sonic journey through the V&A. Other contributors include Cornelius, David Byrne, Faultline, Gillian Wearing, and more.

To learn more about Elizabeth's contribution to this unique project (including audio samples!), follow this link. (Macromedia Flash required)

In a rare interview with London's The Independent, Liz offered some perspective on her experience with the project:

"Her track, "Expectant Mood", is a two minutes and 42 seconds audio response to the Raphael gallery. The music is triggered by an infra-red light as I enter the cathedral-like space.

Why "Expectant Mood"? "Because it is such a state of openness," she says. "I needed to be open to allow whatever was meant to come through me happen. It is easy to close down and become rigid. To remain open, I had to clear the tension from my body and my throat. But it does carry itself along," she says of her vocals that have always been largely unintelligible, but deeply beautiful. You may ask yourself: why Elizabeth Fraser all of a sudden? Shhh... began life with a simple brief: to invite 10 very different fine artists and musicians to record a sound piece in response to a space in the V&A. It offered a wide range of possibilities: to reflect the context of the objects in a gallery, to focus on the architectural and acoustic qualities of different spaces or to question the "personal" nature of headphones.

"We also wanted to open the visitors' eyes to the museum's collections and spaces in a new way," explains Lauren Parker, the curator of contemporary programmes at the V&A, who is pointing at Raphael's The Healing of the Lame Man while "The voice of god"—as Elizabeth Fraser was once described—fills the space with her soaring vocals.

Fraser is very shy. She did not do many interviews even before she quit the band in 1998. Since then she has collaborated with Massive Attack, and sung "Isengard Unleashed" for the soundtrack to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. But, having just finished a painting course, she tells me this new project for the V&A has come at the right time. "This project for the V&A has really changed me. It was a chance for me to do something on my own, rather than a collaboration. Often the other projects I do are started off for me by other people and are half finished—like my new solo album."

The curators were very keen Fraser took the space. In most cases they invited the musicians and fine artists to pick their own spaces. "It was hard to take the room home with me," recalls Fraser who, at the time, was trying to capture the atmosphere of the room and the acoustics of the space before recording her piece in Bristol, in the basement of her house. "It is so much more than just the paintings, you see. I went back a handful of times and tried to sit still in the room." She adds: "It took a long time for the song to develop."

— from The Independent, 11 May 2004. Read the full article

Yes, she did say "my new solo album."

April 2004

Leading sources report: Cocteau Twins STILL Broken Up

In case anyone doesn't know yet—as widespread as this information is—Cocteau Twins broke up several years ago while recording the follow-up LP to the 1996 album Milk & Kisses. They no longer live near one another, and do not make music together as a band anymore. They are each pursuing separate careers at this point. As of this writing, there are no plans for a reunion, nor are there any plans for the unfinished album to ever be released.

To keep track of what the individual former band members are doing, bookmark this page and/or visit www.cocteautwinsforums.com.

February 2004

Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd Collaborating

Robin Guthrie and former-collaborator Harold Budd (The Moon and The Melodies) are currently working together scoring the soundtrack to the next Gregg Araki film "Mysterious Skin," based on the bestselling 1995 novel by Scott Heim. More details as they become available.

January 2004

Happy New Year! New Music from Violet Indiana and Live Guthrie Performance

Bella Union has announced the forthcoming release from Violet Indiana! Russian Doll will contain 10 tracks, and is slated for a late winter/early spring release. Visit www.bellaunion.com and click on "Gallery/Audio" to download an MP3 of the excellent track "New Girl." (Cocteau Twins and Twin Peaks fans will love it!)

Robin will be appearing at L'Île Électrique N° 6 on February 6 at the Chapelle Saint-Jacques in Vendôme, France, performing a live instrumental soundtrack to his film Lumière.

November, 2003

A trailer for the recently released remake of the movie "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (wasn't once enough?) features a NEW version of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" (which was itself covered by Elizabeth and Robin for 4AD's This Mortal Coil project in 1983). The version of "Song to the Siren" that is in the movie trailer is NOT the same version as that recorded by Liz and Robin in 1983; it is a new version, with new instrumentation and a different singer. Neither Elizabeth nor Robin nor 4AD (to our knowledge) had anything to do with the recording that is being used to promote "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." (Since the song was not originally written or recorded by them, it isn't up to them anyway.)

It is, however (maybe), worth noting that the version being used in the movie trailer is a very close remake (a mimicry, even) of Liz and Robin's version of Buckley's original recording. The late Tim Buckley (father of the late Jeff Buckley) originally wrote and recorded "Song to the Siren" for his 1970 LP Star Sailor. Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of 4AD, asked Liz and Robin to record their own interpretation of the song for the 1983 This Mortal Coil EP entitled Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust. The song was later included on the This Mortal Coil LP It'll End In Tears, released in 1984.

October, 2003

It seems Amazon.com has added an interesting new feature to their Book search, allowing one to find a keyword or words even in the text of books. Want to know which books out there contain the words "Cocteau Twins"? Click here to find out. There are over 60 database hits. One of the books mistakenly refers to the Cocteaus as Irish! (Not that there's anything wrong with that, but there is quite a difference, after all.)

The first annual CocteauFest was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who helped organize the event and, of course, to those who bought tickets. Visit the official CocteauFest site for more information (and details about the 2004 event in Los Angeles, CA). To hear about what you might have missed, and to see photos from the event, visit our Community page, or the Cocteau Twins Forums.

This site has been moved to a new server, and we have made a number of improvements! The biggest change is that the Forum/bulletin board has been discontinued. The online community has now merged with the online community at CocteauTwins.org, and the new site is CocteauTwinsForums.com.

Other changes include:

All the videos are back, plus one or two extras. (Still no "Cico Buff," however.)
Audio tracks are now in MP3 format, and several new songs are available for download.
Broken links throughout the site have been repaired. Please report any new ones that you find.

In Cocteau Twins news (or shall we say "ex-Cocteau Twins"?), Liz Fraser just released a new song under her own name. The track, a cover version of the Robert Wyatt song "At Last I Am Free," is featured on a new Rough Trade compilation entitled Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before....

July, 2003

The big news right now is the upcoming Cocteaufest—happening in Boston, MA on Saturday September 20th! Tickets are on sale NOW, and only 100 will be sold, so get yours TODAY! Visit the official Cocteaufest Web Site for the full details and a link to purchase your tickets online.

Digital remasters of the first four LPs have been released by 4AD, with remasters of Blue Bell Knoll and Heaven or Las Vegas to follow soon.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the Forums over at CocteauTwins.org are the place to be for Cocteau Twins fans. Check it out and get involved. (Simon and Robin are regulars!)

March, 2003

Robin Guthrie's first proper solo record, Imperial, is released this month on Bella Union. Get the full details.

January, 2003

Happy New Year once again! Well, it has been nearly a year since our last update. So, what's happening?

...Robin has moved to France (and celebrated a birthday this month! Happy birthday Robin!) and he has a solo record coming out in March on Bella Union entitled Imperial. Look for it!

...Simon has been making the media rounds in his ongoing efforts to bring exceptional music to the ears of more people

...Liz did NOT appear on the new Massive Attack record, as rumoured, although she has made a brief appearance on the soundtrack to The Two Towers, the latest installment of The Lord of the Rings. The track, entitled "Isengard Unleashed," can be heard as a sort of prelude to the climactic battle sequence.

...September Sound is no more—it just cost too much to maintain that gorgeous space in such prime real estate.

...Plans for an official Cocteau Twins DVD or VHS compilation video have been, at this point, scrapped. Why do record companies insist on locking away "intellectual property" that they care nothing about, denying hundreds or thousands of fans the satisfaction of having something so wonderful? We can't figure it out.

...On the other hand, Bella Union continues to thrive! Keep buying those records and supporting independent music!

...The early LPs—Garlands, Head Over Heels, Treasure, and Victorialand—have indeed been remastered (by Robin) and will be reissued by 4AD sometime this year. They reportedly have "new" artwork and package designs, although we aren't sure what that means.

Oh, right! And we have gone through the site and cleaned up a few bad links and updated our information here and there to keep things current. Check out Shop and Community for new links. The History section has FINALLY been completed! New chapters, chronicling the Cocteau Twins from 1995-2003 are now available for your reading pleasure. Thanks for your patience! In the Media area, we regret we can no longer offer links to videos that were released after Heaven or Las Vegas, since Yahoo! Launch—the site that offered them—decided to remove all Cocteau Twins videos from their archive. But we're not bitter...

February, 2002

The new Violet Indiana CD, Casino, is in stores now. Buy it!

It looks like the Cocteau Twins e-mail mailing list is back online, after a brief period of radio silence.

The long-awaited Cocteau Twins tribute CD from Dewdrops Records is finally here—almost! The CD and its artwork are in production, and...we have previews of TWO of the tracks—"Crushed," by Translucia and "Sugar Hiccup," by Sugar Hiccup. Many thanks to Stratton Davis and the guys at Dewdrops for putting this together!

"It all started as an idea on the fan-based online discussion list. Wouldn't it be fun to record and gather cover versions of Cocteau Twins originals and pass them around to other fans? It was a challenge as well as a salute to the end of a dearly beloved band. That was back during the waning days of 1997 and early 1998. Within a year the project took on a whole new direction. After hearing a couple of exceptional covers I was compelled to contact Brant Nelson and Pat Mannion at Dewdrops Records. If word-of-mouth on the mailing list could generate these tracks what could industry contacts do? They both agreed it was worth investigation and thus began our journey. Three years and thirty submissions later we are finally near the end. We chose twelve diverse tracks which reflect the influence and impact this very unique band had on people across the world. They are as follows:

Trance to The Sun - When Mama Was Moth
Translucia - Crushed
An April March - Pink Orange Red
Numeralia - Oomingmak
Sugar Hiccup - Sugar Hiccup
Bethany Curve - Ivo
Siddal - Watchlar
Subdew - Great Spangled Fritillary
Neil Impelluso - Ribbed and Veined
Halou - Half-Gifts
The Von Trapps - Need Fire
Pumalin - Cherry Coloured Funk

"In anticipation of the release we want to offer the online fans the opportunity to hear some of this first. To listen to excerpts from Half-Gifts: A Tribute to the Cocteau Twins, visit the Dewdrops Records Web site."

"Until then, enjoy..."

(Stratton Davis - February 2002)

December, 2001

Since the last update, we all know what has happened to the world. Let's be thankful that music is out there to keep us together and remind us of our common humanity.

A few pages of the site have been updated to reflect various goings on—nothing new to report, though. The videos from Launch.com are back, now that Launch.com has sorted out its merger into Yahoo!

Cheers to Jack, who has started his own business, Orange Photography!

As many of us are aware, Liz has recorded some vocals that appear on the soundtrack to the motion picture "The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring," currently available at most retail shops and online. The track is "Lothlorien," and the consensus appears to be that we wish she had more of a "starring role" in the song. It's lovely, but just too short and a bit too faint. She is apparently singing in "Elvish," one of Tolkien's invented languages of Middle Earth. It can't be too far from what she's accustomed to, anyway, right?

From BellaUnion.com: Violet Indiana are planning a US only release for their album Casino by Instinct Records on January 22, 2002. Casino, a companion disc to this years Roulette, features tracks from Choke, Killer Eyes and Special as well as three all new, previously unreleased tracks, "Bang Bang," "Heaven" and a cover of Jaques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas."

Happy holidays, and a happy new year to everyone. May it be more peaceful than this one turned out to be.

August, 2001

Surprise! The Web site has finally undergone a long-overdue redesign and reorganization—hopefully for the better. You'll notice a lot of new material here, as well as old stuff that's been improved. There's much more to come.

Check out the newest Cocteau Twins fan site, this one dedicated to Liz: ElizabethFraser.uni.cc. This one is maintained by Erin McIlvaine, who has also brought us www.cocteautwins.co.uk.

July, 2001

There are quite a few exciting developments underway in the world of the Cocteau Twins. While Liz, Robin and Simon continue to work on their own projects, an "official" promotional video compilation is being negotiated, as well as a documentary and multimedia DVD. No release dates on the horizon, but they are in development. Keep your eyes and ears open for further news... Liz is slated to appear on the next Massive Attack LP, but no solid release date has been announced.

April 11, 2000

Latest news...4AD will be releasing a Best of Cocteau Twins over the summer months...it will be approx 14 tracks culled from all LPs on 4AD, nothing exclusive, nothing new, except a new 23 Envelope sleeve... The Czars, this week's Single Of The Week in NME (check nme.com), have recorded an extraordinary version of Song To The Siren for Manifesto Records. It somehow manages to stand alone, and not warrant comparison with TMC version—beautifully understated, gorgeous voice—you'll adore it...seek it out...I will try and suggest Bella Union do a limited edition 7" collectors version for immediate release...Also check out Leesa Beales's interview with Simon from March.

Feb 11, 2000

Hopefully most of you will, by now, realise that in 1997 Cocteau Twins split up, with Liz deciding to leave the band for solo pursuits! Since that time, there has been much speculation about unreleased songs, sessions, live albums, compilations, videos etc. All these things are discussed, though as is often the case with a disbanded unit, decisions and agreements are that much harder to achieve. 4AD will release a compliation this year—approximately in June—though it won't have anything new or unusual on it, it will be tracks chosen as if it were a "Greatest Hits." I have no more news on this at the moment. As for unreleased songs—this is something that is unquantifiable, and will either happen when the moment is right or not at all. Since the BBC sessions, the demand for MORE stuff is growing, but Cocteau Twins, alive or dead, would be doing a disservice to the fans if we just chucked stuff out without care and attention to design and quality.

Whatever personal opinions are on the artistic merits of the BBC sessions, there is no question that it was lovingly put together. I believe there will be more stuff in the future, but as yet there are no plans. There is a video compilation planned, and a company is putting together a proposal for 4AD, Capitol and Mercury to peruse.

Feb 4, 2000

2000 looks like it's going to be a busy year for Cocteau Twins' Simon Raymonde & Robin Guthrie. Fresh from his production work on the forthcoming Autumns record In The Russet Gold Of This Vain Hour, Simon and partner Robin launch a fresh assault on the USA with work from their label Bella Union, recently prominent with the Ryko release of the Cocteau Twins BBC sessions.

First up, (street date 2/25/00) licensed to New York's Shadow Records, is SNEAKSTER, a trippy, dub-bass-heavy-techno duo and their acclaimed album Pseudo Nouveau, (extra tracks for the US release includes Guthrie's remixes only previously heard on the UK EP fifty-fifty). Then shortly after this, New York's Instinct Records release the gloriously-titled Pearl & Umbra from RUSSELL MILLS/UNDARK, (OUT NOW in USA) -- another dark slab of confectionary, made all the sweeter by performances from the likes of Peter Gabriel, Trent Reznor, David Sylvian , Michael Brook, Brian Eno, Bill Laswell, Harold Budd, etc.

As if this weren't enough, the Bella Union stable presents a special night of its music at SXSW 2000 in Austin, Texas. ON WEDNESDAY MARCH 15th at Maggie Mae's East. That night will see the debut of Robin Guthrie's new band, VIOLET INDIANA, and his first public performance since the Cocteau Twins' split. They will headline a show that will include THE AUTUMNS plus Simon Raymonde & THE CZARS, whose appearance at the Ritz Lounge for SXSW '99 made such an impact, and they will include material from the forthcoming album Before...but longer (European release date 5/2/00).

Next month's Virtually Alternative features the band who hail from Denver, and the CD includes the wondrous song "Dave's Dream," (familiar to those who recently received the BU purple sampler) as Bella Union look to license THE CZARS for the States. SNEAKSTER fly from London to make their SXSW debut on these shores with teen singer Sophie Hinkley and warp DJ Mark Clifford keen to see how the US audience takes to their unique sound.

And finally, troubadour TIM KEEGAN & DEPARTURE LOUNGE, recently seen across the States opening for Robyn Hitchcock, is back for more. Simon has been remixing tracks from the band's new album for a single called "New You" due out on Bella Union in May.

All-in-all, a frantic few months ahead for Bella Union, but it won't end there... THE WAVE ROOM, classic pop-tinged slices of ambient and trancey song-smithery from singer Hamish Mackintosh, with guest appearances from Jah Wobble (P.I.L. & Invaders of the Heart) on this great debut Love Medicine (BELLACD20) Street date 6/10/00.

A new instrumental series is due in July featuring new CDs from MICK TURNER (Dirty Three), HAROLD BUDD, JAH WOBBLE, new music from RAYMONDE & GUTHRIE (their first work together since CT split) and hitherto unknown dub-space-rock from Cambridge band GWEI-LO and the three bass players who make up the wonderfully strange ROTHKO.