Sunday, September 22, 2013

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Cocteau Twins

Artist:Cocteau Twins
Song:Aikea-Guinea
Album:Lullabies To Violaine Vol. 1




The Scottish 80s band Cocteau Twins distinguished themselves from their contemporaries through the soaring lead vocals of Elizabeth Fraser. They were successful in England and had a cult following in North America. The band was formed in Grangemouth, Scotland in 1979. Guitarist Robin Guthrie and bassist Will Heggie met lead singer Elizabeth Fraser at a local club. They named themselves Cocteau Twins after a song by another band. They signed with 4AD Records and released a couple of EPs. Heggie left after a tour and Guthrie and Fraser recorded the 1983 album as a duo. While working on 4AD's This Mortal Coil supergroup project, they met former Drowning Craze bassist Simon Raymonde. He joined Cocteau Twins for a series of EPs including the 1985 EP Aikea-Guinea. They started getting significant radio airplay in England. 4AD signed a deal with Relativity Records to release Cocteau Twins in the US. The 1985 album The Pink Opaque was a collection of EPs including Aikea-Guinea. In 1988 they signed with Capitol Records. Though the 1990 album Heaven Or Las Vegas did well, Guthrie's drug addiction was causing problems within the band and with 4AD. They left 4AD for Fontana Records. By their 1993 CD Four Calendar Cafe, Guthrie was recovered from his drug addiction and he and Fraser had a daughter. They split up and Cocteau Twins disbanded in 1997. 4AD released a 4CD Cocteau Twins box set in 2006 and they split them up in 2CD sets. Volume one has mostly 80s recordings. Cocteau Twins reunited once in 2005. But the three members continue to work on individual projects. Elizabeth Fraser contributed vocals to Lord of the Rings films. Robin Guthrie leads The Robin Guthrie Trio and his latest CD was released in 2012. Simon Raymonde runs Bella Union Records and is a record producer. Here's the video for Aikea-Guinea by Cocteau Twins.

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