Feature Photo: by Jeanne Aimon
As a member of the Cocteau Twins, Scottish-born guitarist, bassist, and producer Robin Guthrie helped reshape the sound of alternative rock in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Guthrie’s studio techniques, drum sampling, programming, and sound processing were nothing short of innovative, ushering in a wave of revolutionary music that defined a generation. But since 2005, Guthrie has been dropping solo offerings, the latest being 2024’s Atlas EP.
Sure, Guthrie is proud of his work with the Cocteau Twins—but he’s not defined by it. In the here and now, he’s focused on the task at hand: continued studio innovation and getting the sounds he hears in his head laid to tape.
In support of the Atlas EP, Robin Guthrie beamed in with ClassicRockHistory.com to talk tones, tracks, history, and what’s next.
What are the origins of your latest Atlas EP, and are you planning to release any other music in the near future?
I’ve been obliged to spend a lot of time recently looking after my back catalog. Many things are out of print, and others need a little restoration. Sometimes, it’s a question of finding the original artwork or trying to work around obsolete file formats.
And all these activities take time, time I’d rather be spending making new things. So, earlier this year, I finally got a bit of breathing space, and Atlas and its follow-up EP, Astoria, came to be. Life is full, and it can still feel like a reward to get some studio time, even though I have one all to myself.
The name of this release is intriguing. Can you tell me about that and the themes that presented themselves as you were developing this record?
I record and write music, often while traveling, and usually prefix the working title of my piece with a placename of where I was when the idea struck. After a while, my notes, with entries like Bolzano, Beirut, or Barra, reminded me of the index of an Atlas.
Often, my jottings and recordings contain impressions, not just from where I was geographically but also from whatever book I was reading at the time. For me, it’s a bit like cooking. Do you cook?
Does the physical media revival factor in? Has that also been a factor for your recent reissues with Cocteau Twins and Harold Budd?
Generally, it’s the record companies that instigate the reissues and such. I can’t complain if it helps get our music to a new audience, but the records themselves have become a bit like merch, you know, T-shirts and souvenirs. People want a physical memento in a world where all the “music” you could ever need can be heard with an internet connection.
I mean, that’s just an observation. Some people prefer paper manuals to PDFs when buying a gadget, but without question, it’s the information contained inside that is important, not the medium. Clearly, the CD is quantifiably a better medium than vinyl, but I guess the younger fans need the novelty and the older ones the nostalgia.
But at a certain point, they seem to forget about the actual music and become partisan about the media. I find that a little exasperating, but I do my utmost to provide the masters tailored for vinyl, CD, and streaming.
Tell me about the guitars and gear you use in creating and performing your music. What is the secret to your tone and overall sound?
Tones and sounds are so very subjective, and how to get them seems to be of great interest to, um, I guess, guitar players. I don’t really have ‘must-have’ gear that I feel dependant on, which isn’t to say that I’m not choosy; it’s just that I’ve always been fairly pragmatic and have enjoyed great results with the most unlikely off-brand pedals and effects, which I think I like doing just to upset the established way of things.
I’m interested in the sounds that I make and do enjoy the process of making them but there isn’t really a ‘secret sauce’, a special pedal/amp/guitar/processor combination. I’ve come to realize that it has as much to do with my touch as the particular guitar or pedal.
I mean, a bit of distortion, a bit of chorus, a bit of delay, that’s mostly it. All done with care and with my taste. There are infinite possibilities with all the gear out there. Like I said, it’s subjective. Like cooking, right?
To what extent would you say that the sound you created with Cocteau Twins influences your sound or engineering approach when making music now?
I’d say, well, it’s all part of my journey. I couldn’t honestly say that I do anything differently from the way I’ve always done it. My process is my process. Tech has changed. I’ve been lucky to span the years of a tech wave unlike anything experienced by artists and engineers of previous generations.
Between the time when the equipment was huge, the recording engineer wore a white coat and spent their day moving microphones around to change the sound. I learned from books written in the ‘50s that I experienced making records on these huge machines; everything was analog.
Then, discovering home-made effects, early digital effects, early computers, early drum machines, early sequencers, MIDI, 8bit sampling, 12bit sampling, hardware digital tape, HDD recording, the dominance of the DAW, the plug-in, digital modelling and now AI.
Nowadays, it would appear, you can have all the secrets of a couple of generations of industry craftsmen and professional engineers available, on sale now, this week only, as a plug-in for $29.99. Hmm, I’m not so sure about that… but I do miss the white coats.
Do you feel that the pressure of the Cocteau Twins’ fanbase weighs on you at all for this or other projects you are involved in?
Firstly, I am very grateful that they are all there, and I find the people I meet lovely. It can be a little overwhelming when I hear their stories about the effect that our music has had on their lives, and I often find myself lost for words.
However, there is also a type of fan, mostly on the internet, for sure, who veers towards ownership of the band, its legacy, and the three of us as private individuals and are quick to rant delusionally, but with seeming authority to anyone who dares to cross their perception of our story. Oh, wait… I’m just describing the internet in general.
There seems to be a time when the fanbase of any artist, no matter how dedicated a fan they like to think they are, ceases to be that accepting of the current creativity of the artist. It could be because this music the fans have come to love has been infused into their whole life experience and becomes part of their psyche.
The nostalgia element is strong—it happens to us all—about many things as we move through life. However, it could be considered a little crushing for someone who sees life as moving forward.
For me, re-creation isn’t nearly as appealing as creating something new. That “real fans” would rather have ersatz versions of past work rather than allow the freedom and support to create new things is beyond my understanding.
What does the near future hold for you, Robin? Are you currently involved in any other projects?
I have an EP, Astoria, out in November, the sort of conclusion of my EP Atlas. As I mentioned earlier that, without wanting to become a slave to my catalog, there are a few more reissues in the pipeline, but they’ll happen when I get a bit of time.
I am currently producing a new album for Heligoland, have an unexpected release with Jay Jay Johanson in early 2025, and all things being well in the world, will finish up a new album when I get back from my current adventure.
An Interview with Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024
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