Robin Guthrie

Biography

Robin Andrew Guthrie (born 4 January 1962) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, composer, record producer and audio engineer, best known as the co-founder of the dream pop band Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has performed guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and other musical instruments, in addition to programming, sampling and sound processing.

Early life

Guthrie grew up in Grangemouth, Scotland. There were musical instruments in his family's home, but he never had any proper musical training. With an interest in electronics and trained as an electrician, Guthrie started to experiment with fuzz boxes and guitar pedals to find an alternative sound for his guitar. Guthrie and his friend Will Heggie were members of a four-piece band called The Heat, who later released a single under the name The Liberators in 1980. The same year, Guthrie co-founded Cocteau Twins with Heggie and vocalist Elizabeth Fraser.

Career

Following the break-up of Cocteau Twins in 1998, Guthrie released his first solo record, Imperial, in 2003 on Bella Union Records. Guthrie's next release, which was co-written with Harold Budd, was the film score for Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin. The soundtrack was released in May 2005 by Commotion and consists of 15 complete songs based on the short pieces used in the film.
In 2006, Guthrie signed a four-album solo deal with Darla Records, the first product of which was the album Continental×Continental15 May 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Continental4:352Conquering the Romantic2:503Crescent3:374Monument3:455Amphora2:446The Day Star3:387Radiance4:458As I Breathe4:459Last Exit4:2110Pale6:49. In February 2007, American webzine Somewhere Cold voted Continental best album of 2006, on their 2006 Somewhere Cold Awards Hall of Fame, and ranked Guthrie Artist of the Year. He subsequently released two four-track EPs, Everlasting and Waiting for Dawn.
Two more collaborations with Harold Budd (who had previously announced his musical retirement) were released simultaneously in 2007. After the Night Falls and Before the Day Breaks were both co-composed, co-produced and played with Budd. Like the soundtrack to Mysterious Skin, both albums feature slow, drifting pieces primarily created with treated guitar and piano.
Guthrie has also collaborated with singer Siobhan de Maré (formerly of Mono) as the band Violet Indiana. Their first full-length album, Roulette, was released in 2001. A second album, Russian Doll, followed in 2004. In March 2006 Guthrie reported on his weblog that the group had started work again on new material.
In May 2009, Mirrorball, an album-length collaboration between Guthrie and John Foxx was released on Metamatic Records.
A new solo album, Carousel×Carousel1 September 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Some Sort of Paradise4:042Sparkle2:213Delight3:384Close My Eyes and Burn3:255Search Among the Flowers3:446Mission Dolores4:267Autochromes2:398The Girl With the Little Wings2:589Waiting by the Carousel4:1910Little Big Fish5:26, was released via Rocket Girl in Europe on 1 September 2009 and Darla Records on 15 September 2009. Additionally, Guthrie issued the Angel Falls EP in early 2009, and the Songs to Help My Children Sleep×Songs to Help My Children Sleep5 October 2009 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Laughter in the Dark3:132Fireflies5:413White Bear in Honolulu4:584Misty4:27 EP in October 2009. A further EP Sunflower Stories×Sunflower Stories15 March 2010 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Horse Heaven3:202Petals3:443Slightly Out of Focus4:274Sunflower Stories4:51 was released in March 2010
Guthrie's most recent releases are Emeralds (2011) and two collaboration albums with Harold Budd, Bordeaux and Winter Garden (with Eraldo Bernocchi) (both 2011).
He played guitar on the Telefon Tel Aviv track "The Sky Is Black", from The Birds EP (2012). Guthrie released Fortune, his newest full-length album on 26 November 2012.
In 2015, Guthrie and friend Mark Gardener of Ride wrote, performed and recorded the album Universal Road×Universal Road23 March 2015 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Universal Road3:392Dice4:293Amnesia3:394Old Friend3:415Yesterday's News3:136Cry for Survival3:577Sometime3:358Triumphant3:059Reason3:2110Blind3:53 together.
Guthrie currently tours live under the name "The Robin Guthrie Trio" consisting of himself, Steve Wheeler on bass and Antti Mäkinen on drums.
He has been living in France with his wife Florence since 2001.

Recording and production work

In 1985, Robin Guthrie produced Felt's fourth studio album, Ignite the Seven Cannons, and in 1987, he produced The Gun Club's fourth studio album, Mother Juno in Berlin. In 1990 he produced Lush's second EP Mad Love and a few other songs scattered on various compilation albums. He went on to produce their 1992 debut album Spooky and Black Spring EP (1991).
In 2005, Guthrie mixed Amber Smith's third studio album, RePRINT, which brought the band an international breakthrough.
Guthrie was also responsible for the production, mixing, and instrumentation on Annie Barker's 2007 debut album Mountains and Tumult. In 2011, Barker released her EP titled ...for a better place, which Guthrie produced and provided guitar for.

Musical style and influences

NME likened Guthrie's style to guitarist John McKay's in 1982. David Stubbs considered that up until 1983, Guthrie's "generous shards of guitar seemed to owe something to Siouxsie and the Banshees' ironwashed noise and the aluminium screech of Pil". Guthrie cited the "big guitar noise" of the Birthday Party on "The Friend Catcher" as music that inspired him. He mentioned Phil Spector's works on production as "an obvious influence", naming the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" for "the big sounds". "The noise" made by Mark Stewart of the Pop Group on "She's Beyond Good and Evil" was another influence, along with Roy Orbison's guitar playing on "In Dreams".