mmmender
Apr-28-04, 12:50 AM
found this online and thought i'd reprint it here, it's an interesting read......
http://www.anti.matter.com/images/cocteau1.gif
Interview by Peter Suciu, October 1993
Few bands have recorded as much as- the English three piece, The Cocteau Twins. Fewer bands have been so obscure, while receiving countless praise and cult status, as to remain a mystery to legends of fans. Formed in 1981, the twelve years have passed if not quietly, then in a fuzz of layers of sonic guitars, for this three piece who have recently chosen to come and let their words be heard by the press.
The lack of press over the years has left this group in a state of having no image, they simply were The Cocteau Twins. "I'm suppose we're realizing it now," admits Simon Raymonde.
Raymonde and bandmates agree that the lack of information on the album selves kept the band is the shadows. "We didn't put very much information. It's not that we want to be obscure. We just felt that it wasn't necessary. It didn't work from a design point. It looks nicer, and has a cleaner sense. It didn't matter what we look like, but I understand now that people want to know about us. We didn't want to hide. So we decided to do press this time around too. But really it was about art work."
It is that cover art work that kept the band in a type of shadow but also made them standout. From their beginnings in a flash filled new wave era of the early '80's to now, with post industrial album covers, The Cocteau Twins records have always stood out. "Yes, it's quite important. Because it's always been important in the past. So our current cover is important to us. Being on 4AD for so long it was important. It created an image, an image that was out of our hands. Our selves have been vague. We want to be more clear. A lot of the information coming our about us has been very inaccurate. This time we had more control over our cover and we choose a New York photographer to help us. We then use a computer to layer it and design it our way."
From the beginning Raymonde admits they've pretty much done things their way. In a cosmic sense Raymonde is a new comer to band. He joined after 1983's HEAD OVER HEALS. The Cocteau Twins originally formed in 1981 with Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie who were joined by vocalist Elizabeth Fraser. Heggie quit a year later, with Raymonde becoming a full fledged member the following year. Since that time the band has remained stable, which Raymonde credits to the bands every expanded world. Fraser and Guthrie took some time away from music after their daughter Lucy Belle was born. Raymonde has one child with another one on the way.
"I would say that it's inspiring the way Liz writes her lyrics. It's enlightening, having a child. It brings back memories. Some bad. Having a child didn't inspire too much of my music, but it is interesting to see how a child sees the world."
The Cocteau Twins admit they have a world of their own. "I'm sure there is a secret to our longevity. I think for a long time we existed without too much interest and we became wrapped up in ourselves as a group. Living in our own world. We woke up and it saved us. If we didn't we wouldn't have continued. It's like a marriage. We forgot to communicate. We became useless at communicating for a long time. Thank god it's not like that anymore."
The gaps in length between albums for this Scottish three piece is due in part because the group chose to build their own studio rather than use outside facilities. This choice has lead to the group taking time to refit and up date as necessary. "It's mainly easier of course with our own studio. Ability to go in whenever we want. Our deadlines we make ourselves. No looking at a clock. It frees us of a lot of pressure that can be intense. However, actually that can challenge yourself. I could give a good discipline. Still we wouldn't want it any other way."
Even with their own studio, the song writing has remained the same. "It's not changed. Song writing has always been the same. Setting up a pattern of drums and playing along with it and adding to it. With better equipment it has become more complex. But it isn't too dissimilar now. With more technology we have a slightly more refined sound."
"With our own studio, but we never write ahead of what we are doing. We just go in and start and try to finish the song. I work on chords, get a sound that I like and Robin will play a little along with me. This goes on until we have twenty songs. Then poor old Liz comes in and does her bit." The songs tend to come together in the studio, explains Raymonde, not needing to write before since, again, they aren't running up any studio time bills. "We write at the time we are recording the new album. Sometimes, it's like 'what the fuck do we do now?' but it's our way of doing it. Our albums are hits now, not in a commercial way of course." Creating their music in their own studio may save on costing recording sessions, but Raymonde suggests that much of the-bands profits go into the studio. "We do buy a lot of equipment. We always know what it is before we buy. I'm in between (the guy who buys every new piece of gear and a traditional minimalist), but I think a piano and a tape deck and an effect box can make a tune."
For the most part, Raymonde feels the studio is equipped to make Cocteau Twins records and that's the bottom line. "We don't have an over equipped studio. We have a few samplers and lot's of effect units and pedals. It was built for our use with us in mind. We do rent it out a bit, people like it."
Raymonde admits that The Cocteau Twins have a bit of a fascination for effects and a processed sound. He finds it curious that the band is believed to be a 'synth band'. "The idea is that we are a synth band. We have none. Our only keyboard is a piano, treated. People reviewed our shows and talked about the sequenced layers of synths. We were called a keyboard band? What synths?"
Still, Raymonde agrees that the music doesn't exactly have a rock guitar sound. "If you plug a guitar into an amp, it sounds boring unless you're John Lee Hooker or something. It sounds like the history of rock and roll. I use effects to create a new sound that's the way you go. I'm an expert with sounds. I like to fiddle with effect processors. Not just using presets, I like to get in there and create my own sounds. Using decays, pitch changing and delays."
To create this sound live the band try's to stay clear of tapes, instead creating a live version of their music. A version somewhat different from their studio recordings. "I don't use that many effects on stage. It would be a mistake to take the studio apart and around the world. We work out in rehearsal the important bits. Our previous records have a sound of layers. It is hard to bring this out."
For the new album, FOUR CALENDAR CAFE, Raymonde suggests he brought down the layered effects going for a more minimal sound. "This new album shows we can write songs in a traditional way. That is how this record got it's sound."
"I don't want a total recreation of it on our tour," explains Raymonde of the new album. "I'm helping the guitarist who will come out with live to layer the parts. It's making me remember all of our songs."
Raymonde laughs and suggests only one song slipped his mind. "There was a song from TREASURE that I forgot about and I said 'wow that's great.' Sometimes I have to think who played what!"
Already, with a tour in the works, Raymonde is looking forward. Something this band has done a lot, and hopefully will continue. "I image we'll do a lot of songs that need to be made and come out. At the moment I'm writing music for our next EP for next year." Other future plans? "I'd love to do a soundtrack. I love composers, film is such a great expression and I'd love to be a part of that."
In another direction, Raymonde doesn't think he'd ever want to do any type of dance music. He admits he didn't know about the techno group Messiah sampling Liz's vocals from THIS MORTAL COILS' cover of Tim Buckley's "Song To The Siren" for the dance hit "Temple of Dreams." While he would never do that type of music, Raymonde isn't against it at all. "I'm all up for that kind of thing. Prince also sampled us. I'm in for that kind of thing. I think it's good. I suppose some people ask for money, but we find out too late."
The band's playful attitude extends with Liz choosing album and song titles. "Liz really loves playing with words. She's very clever with that. Covering feelings and emotions. The titles are like that because Liz loves literature and she's very playful about that."
For Raymonde his expression in his music, which he's done for so long, in The Cocteau Twins or The Drowning Craze years before. Music is his expression and he does it so well. "It all goes in and it has to come out. I don't write or paint. So it's music for me."
http://www.anti.matter.com/images/cocteau1.gif
Interview by Peter Suciu, October 1993
Few bands have recorded as much as- the English three piece, The Cocteau Twins. Fewer bands have been so obscure, while receiving countless praise and cult status, as to remain a mystery to legends of fans. Formed in 1981, the twelve years have passed if not quietly, then in a fuzz of layers of sonic guitars, for this three piece who have recently chosen to come and let their words be heard by the press.
The lack of press over the years has left this group in a state of having no image, they simply were The Cocteau Twins. "I'm suppose we're realizing it now," admits Simon Raymonde.
Raymonde and bandmates agree that the lack of information on the album selves kept the band is the shadows. "We didn't put very much information. It's not that we want to be obscure. We just felt that it wasn't necessary. It didn't work from a design point. It looks nicer, and has a cleaner sense. It didn't matter what we look like, but I understand now that people want to know about us. We didn't want to hide. So we decided to do press this time around too. But really it was about art work."
It is that cover art work that kept the band in a type of shadow but also made them standout. From their beginnings in a flash filled new wave era of the early '80's to now, with post industrial album covers, The Cocteau Twins records have always stood out. "Yes, it's quite important. Because it's always been important in the past. So our current cover is important to us. Being on 4AD for so long it was important. It created an image, an image that was out of our hands. Our selves have been vague. We want to be more clear. A lot of the information coming our about us has been very inaccurate. This time we had more control over our cover and we choose a New York photographer to help us. We then use a computer to layer it and design it our way."
From the beginning Raymonde admits they've pretty much done things their way. In a cosmic sense Raymonde is a new comer to band. He joined after 1983's HEAD OVER HEALS. The Cocteau Twins originally formed in 1981 with Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie who were joined by vocalist Elizabeth Fraser. Heggie quit a year later, with Raymonde becoming a full fledged member the following year. Since that time the band has remained stable, which Raymonde credits to the bands every expanded world. Fraser and Guthrie took some time away from music after their daughter Lucy Belle was born. Raymonde has one child with another one on the way.
"I would say that it's inspiring the way Liz writes her lyrics. It's enlightening, having a child. It brings back memories. Some bad. Having a child didn't inspire too much of my music, but it is interesting to see how a child sees the world."
The Cocteau Twins admit they have a world of their own. "I'm sure there is a secret to our longevity. I think for a long time we existed without too much interest and we became wrapped up in ourselves as a group. Living in our own world. We woke up and it saved us. If we didn't we wouldn't have continued. It's like a marriage. We forgot to communicate. We became useless at communicating for a long time. Thank god it's not like that anymore."
The gaps in length between albums for this Scottish three piece is due in part because the group chose to build their own studio rather than use outside facilities. This choice has lead to the group taking time to refit and up date as necessary. "It's mainly easier of course with our own studio. Ability to go in whenever we want. Our deadlines we make ourselves. No looking at a clock. It frees us of a lot of pressure that can be intense. However, actually that can challenge yourself. I could give a good discipline. Still we wouldn't want it any other way."
Even with their own studio, the song writing has remained the same. "It's not changed. Song writing has always been the same. Setting up a pattern of drums and playing along with it and adding to it. With better equipment it has become more complex. But it isn't too dissimilar now. With more technology we have a slightly more refined sound."
"With our own studio, but we never write ahead of what we are doing. We just go in and start and try to finish the song. I work on chords, get a sound that I like and Robin will play a little along with me. This goes on until we have twenty songs. Then poor old Liz comes in and does her bit." The songs tend to come together in the studio, explains Raymonde, not needing to write before since, again, they aren't running up any studio time bills. "We write at the time we are recording the new album. Sometimes, it's like 'what the fuck do we do now?' but it's our way of doing it. Our albums are hits now, not in a commercial way of course." Creating their music in their own studio may save on costing recording sessions, but Raymonde suggests that much of the-bands profits go into the studio. "We do buy a lot of equipment. We always know what it is before we buy. I'm in between (the guy who buys every new piece of gear and a traditional minimalist), but I think a piano and a tape deck and an effect box can make a tune."
For the most part, Raymonde feels the studio is equipped to make Cocteau Twins records and that's the bottom line. "We don't have an over equipped studio. We have a few samplers and lot's of effect units and pedals. It was built for our use with us in mind. We do rent it out a bit, people like it."
Raymonde admits that The Cocteau Twins have a bit of a fascination for effects and a processed sound. He finds it curious that the band is believed to be a 'synth band'. "The idea is that we are a synth band. We have none. Our only keyboard is a piano, treated. People reviewed our shows and talked about the sequenced layers of synths. We were called a keyboard band? What synths?"
Still, Raymonde agrees that the music doesn't exactly have a rock guitar sound. "If you plug a guitar into an amp, it sounds boring unless you're John Lee Hooker or something. It sounds like the history of rock and roll. I use effects to create a new sound that's the way you go. I'm an expert with sounds. I like to fiddle with effect processors. Not just using presets, I like to get in there and create my own sounds. Using decays, pitch changing and delays."
To create this sound live the band try's to stay clear of tapes, instead creating a live version of their music. A version somewhat different from their studio recordings. "I don't use that many effects on stage. It would be a mistake to take the studio apart and around the world. We work out in rehearsal the important bits. Our previous records have a sound of layers. It is hard to bring this out."
For the new album, FOUR CALENDAR CAFE, Raymonde suggests he brought down the layered effects going for a more minimal sound. "This new album shows we can write songs in a traditional way. That is how this record got it's sound."
"I don't want a total recreation of it on our tour," explains Raymonde of the new album. "I'm helping the guitarist who will come out with live to layer the parts. It's making me remember all of our songs."
Raymonde laughs and suggests only one song slipped his mind. "There was a song from TREASURE that I forgot about and I said 'wow that's great.' Sometimes I have to think who played what!"
Already, with a tour in the works, Raymonde is looking forward. Something this band has done a lot, and hopefully will continue. "I image we'll do a lot of songs that need to be made and come out. At the moment I'm writing music for our next EP for next year." Other future plans? "I'd love to do a soundtrack. I love composers, film is such a great expression and I'd love to be a part of that."
In another direction, Raymonde doesn't think he'd ever want to do any type of dance music. He admits he didn't know about the techno group Messiah sampling Liz's vocals from THIS MORTAL COILS' cover of Tim Buckley's "Song To The Siren" for the dance hit "Temple of Dreams." While he would never do that type of music, Raymonde isn't against it at all. "I'm all up for that kind of thing. Prince also sampled us. I'm in for that kind of thing. I think it's good. I suppose some people ask for money, but we find out too late."
The band's playful attitude extends with Liz choosing album and song titles. "Liz really loves playing with words. She's very clever with that. Covering feelings and emotions. The titles are like that because Liz loves literature and she's very playful about that."
For Raymonde his expression in his music, which he's done for so long, in The Cocteau Twins or The Drowning Craze years before. Music is his expression and he does it so well. "It all goes in and it has to come out. I don't write or paint. So it's music for me."