Robin Andrew Guthrie (born 4 January 1962) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, composer,

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

, best known as the co-founder of the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...

. During his career Guthrie has performed guitar, bass guitar,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s, drums and other musical instruments, in addition to programming, sampling and

sound processing Audio signal processing is a subfield of signal processing that is concerned with the electronic manipulation of audio signals. Audio signals are electronic representations of sound waves—longitudinal waves which travel through air, consisti ...

Career

Following the break-up of Cocteau Twins in 1998, Guthrie released his first solo record, ''Imperial'', in 2003 on

Bella Union Records Bella Union is a British independent record label founded in 1997 by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It is now run solely by Raymonde. History After releasing records with 4AD for a large part of their career, Cocteau Twins ...

. Guthrie's next release, which was co-written with

Harold Budd Harold Montgomory Budd (May 24, 1936December 8, 2020) was an American composer and poet. Born in Los Angeles and raised in the Mojave Desert, he became a respected composer in the minimalist and avant-garde scene of Southern California in the l ...

, was the

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

score for

Gregg Araki Gregg Araki (born December 17, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is noted for his heavy involvement with the New Queer Cinema movement. His film ''Kaboom (film), Kaboom'' (2010) was the first winner of the Cannes Film Festival Queer Palm. Ear ...

's ''

Mysterious Skin ''Mysterious Skin'' is a 2004 coming-of-age film written and directed by Gregg Araki, adapted from Scott Heim's 1995 novel of the same name. The film tells the story of two pre-adolescent boys who both experienced sexual abuse as children, and h ...

''. 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 Darla Records is an independent record label founded by James Agren in October 1993 while he was in New York. Darla's first release was a 7-inch by Grifters, an indie rock/lo-fi band from Memphis. Background The music of the artists on the ...

, the first product of which was the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''Continental''. In February 2007, American

webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...

Somewhere Cold Somewherecold Records (formerly Somewhere Cold Records) is an American independent record label established in late 2004 by Jason T. Lamoreaux. The record company was founded in Lexington, Kentucky, but is currently headquartered in Shelbyvill ...

'' 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 are slow, drifting pieces primarily utilising treated guitar and piano. Guthrie has also collaborated with singer Siobhan de Maré (formerly of

Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

) 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 John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh; 26 September 1948) is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the new wave band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a ...

was released on

Metamatic Records John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh; 26 September 1948) is an English singer, musician, artist, photographer, graphic designer, writer, teacher and lecturer. He was the original lead singer of the new wave band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a ...

. A new solo album, ''Carousel'', was released via

Rocket Girl Rocket Girl is a London-based independent record label. It has released records by Robin Guthrie, Pieter Nooten, God Is an Astronaut, Ulrich Schnauss, A Place to Bury Strangers, Bell Gardens (band), Bell Gardens among others, including many a ...

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 EP'' in October 2009. A further EP ''Sunflower Stories'' 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 Telefon Tel Aviv is a New Orleans–derived, Chicago-based American electronic music act, formerly comprising Charles Cooper and Joshua Eustis. Since Cooper's accidental death in 2009, Telefon Tel Aviv has continued with Eustis as the sole official ...

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 an album ''Universal Road'' together. Guthrie currently tours live under the name "The Robin Guthrie Trio" consisting of himself, Steve Wheeler (on bass) & Antti Mäkinen (on drums). He works and lives in France with his wife Florence.

Recording and production work

In 1986, Robin Guthrie produced

Felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

's fourth studio album, ''

Ignite the Seven Cannons ''Ignite the Seven Cannons'' is the fourth album by English alternative rock band Felt, released in 1985. The album is sometimes referred to as "Ignite the Seven Cannons and Set Sail for the Sun", a phrase which was printed in one place on the o ...

'', and the following year, he produced

The Gun Club The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. History Early days (1979–1980) The Gun Club w ...

's fourth studio album, ''

Mother Juno ''Mother Juno'' is an album by the Gun Club, released in 1987. It was produced by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins. "Yellow Eyes" was originally entitled "Funky Junkie"; "Nobody's City" was originally "Sleepy Times Blues." The original recordi ...

'' 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 Spooky or Spookey may refer to: something that will cause creepiness or uncanniness. Arts and entertainment Music Musicians * Spooky (house music duo) * Spookey (UK band), a 1970s soul band based in Manchester *DJ Spooky, musician and producer * ...

'' and '' Black Spring EP'' (1991). In 2005 Guthrie mixed

Amber Smith Amber Smith is an American actress and former model. Early life Amber Smith is the daughter of Carol Smith. During her 2008 and 2009 appearances on the reality television programs in which she sought treatment by Dr. Drew Pinsky for addiction, s ...

's third studio album entitled ''

RePRINT A reprint is a re-publication of material that has already been previously published. The term ''reprint'' is used with slightly different meanings in several fields. Academic publishing In academic publishing, offprints, sometimes also known a ...

'' which brought the band an international breakthrough.

Discography

;Studio albums (mainly solo) *''Imperial'' (2003) *''Continental'' (2006) *''3:19 - Bande Originale Du Film'' (2008) *''Carousel'' (2009) *''Emeralds'' (2011) *''Fortune'' (2012) *''Pearldiving'' (2021)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guthrie, Robin 1962 births 20th-century Scottish male musicians 21st-century Scottish male musicians 4AD artists Alternative rock bass guitarists Alternative rock drummers Alternative rock guitarists Alternative rock keyboardists Ambient musicians British film score composers British male film score composers Cocteau Twins members Fontana Records artists Gothic rock musicians Living people People from Grangemouth British post-punk musicians Scottish audio engineers Scottish bass guitarists Scottish drummers British male drummers Scottish keyboardists Scottish multi-instrumentalists Scottish record producers Scottish rock guitarists Male bass guitarists Scottish songwriters Rocket Girl artists Darla Records artists