Both responded favourably, despite the fact the painfully shy Fraser was buried in the mix, and it was only when 4AD put them in a studio to make a single that label skipper Ivo Watts-Russell discovered her true voice, a startling instrument (I won’t wield the Thesaurus quite yet) which exponentially grew in confidence and expression over the course of eight albums and ten EPs, while, lyrically, she retreated into a private language that only served to deepen the mystery and beauty. The trio (nicking their name a Simple Minds song) sent their first demo to two parties – BBC DJ John Peel, and 4AD Records (because of their love for The Birthday Party). “I was trying to make my guitar sound like I could play it, so I was influenced by guitarists who made beautiful noise, like The Pop Group, or Rowland S. “The aim was to make music with punk’s energy but more finesse and beauty, and that shiny, dense Phil Spector sound,” he explained. Guthrie had begun work as an apprentice for BP Oil, with a talent for electronics, which he put to good use by building effects pedals for his guitar. Guthrie had been at school with Heggie – Fraser was two years below them. Since 1997, there has been no reunion given the current troubled relationships between different bandmates, and the way a mooted reunion in 2005 petered out acrimoniously during preliminary discussions, chances are it won’t ever happen.Ĭocteau Twins hailed from Grangemouth (equidistant between Glasgow and Edinburgh, on the banks of the Firth of Forth), which the band’s tour manager once described as, “a village around an oil rig.” Contrary to the grim landscape, beauty sprang forth. Driven by one-time couple Fraser and Robin Guthrie (guitar), with two bassists in their lifetime (Will Heggie in 1982, Simon Raymonde from 1983 onwards), they channelled the spirit of post-punk adventure, and helped birth dream-pop and shoegaze, inhabiting a sound that had writers reaching for their Thesaurus. And still nobody sounds like them, even if several have tried. 20 years since the trio split, fans still worship them artists still cite their influence. Though Fraser did try and respond to Grant’s questions, she also sidestepped specifics – which is the best way with a band such as the Cocteaus, whose mercurial sound and vision remains unparalleled. Having given just the one interview this century (in 2009), the former Cocteau Twins singer wasn’t used to the topic, or the activity, and even when she did, back in the band’s lifetime – 1982 to 1997 – she made it clear how uncomfortable it made her, to explain her methodology, or the band’s. For fundraising purposes, Elizabeth Fraser recently discussed the band’s 1988 album Blue Bell Knoll with uber-fan John Grant.
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