Cardiacs

The ORGAN (http://www.organart.demon.co.uk/) fanzine produced a Cardiacs anthology of interviews and reviews in 1993. On March 16th, however, the reunion was cancelled, with Fraser pulling out for "personal reasons.". No official Cardiacs histories or biographies have been published. On January 31 2005 Cocteau Twins announced that they would be reforming to perform at the Coachella Festival on April 30, 2005, and later indicated that additional tour dates through the fall would be added. Other and related releases. Elizabeth Fraser provided vocals for two songs on Massive Attack's Mezzanine in 1998, the soundtrack to the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (and the second installment: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), as well as for other, less known projects and groups, and is rumoured to be working on a solo album. Videos. Raymonde has released the solo album Blame Someone Else. Guthrie released his first solo effort Imperial and continues to create music with his band Violet Indiana.

Albums. Guthrie and Raymonde formed the record label Bella Union, and have produced releases from new bands signed to that label. Singles and EPs. The former members of Cocteau Twins have remained active musically in the years since the band's demise. Influences the band have cited include Gong, early Genesis, and Frank Zappa. Finally, in 2003, 4AD followed Stars and Topsoil with re-releases of digitally remastered versions of the first six Cocteau Twins LPs. Musical prejudice is the worst thing in the world.". In 2000, 4AD released Stars and Topsoil, a compilation of selected songs--hand-picked by the band members--released during their years with 4AD, all digitally remastered by Robin Guthrie.

Whatever they play. The collection is a complete record of the band's appearances on UK radio programs from 1983 to 1996, with some rare and/or unreleased material included. "There's nothing wrong with any kind of band in the world. In 1999, Bella Union released a double-CD compilation entitled BBC Sessions. It's chaos, but it's ordered chaos - everything is really. Look out of the window.". Fans of the group weren't however, left entirely empty-handed. "Everything we play is written, right down to the last drumbeat. While a number of songs were partially recorded and possibly completed, the band has stated that it will likely never be finished or released in any form.

In 1995 much of the Cardiacs back catalogue was re-released on CD. In 1997, while recording what was to have been their ninth and final LP, the trio suddenly disbanded over irreconcilable differences (mostly related to the break-up of Guthrie and Fraser). By the end of 1990, the band had slimmed down to a four piece, using a backing tape for live shows. There were two singles for it, Tishbite and Violaine (both exist in two versions, with different b-sides included on each). The band, augmented by an extra guitarist and a drummer, toured extensively to support the album--their last with Mercury--and in live performances seemed to have found a cohesive freshness and power that had been lacking on their previous outing in 1993/94. A new song, "Touch Upon Touch," which debuted during the live shows and was recorded later in 1996, was the last Cocteau Twins song ever released. The release of Is This The Life in 1988 saw brief chart success and the attention of a wider audience, as the single reached the Indie top ten in the UK. The record, which some hailed as a "return to form," with heavily layered guitars and voice (Fraser began once again to obscure her lyrics, though not entirely), was released in 1996 to somewhat mixed reviews. anything goes - even INCEST." Much of the misunderstanding was perpetuated by Tim himself. As it turned out, some of the tracks on both Twinlights and Otherness were versions of songs from the band's eighth album, Milk and Kisses.

In March 1987 the British tabloid newspaper the Sunday Sport ran a story 'exposing' the supposedly incestuous relationship between Tim and Sarah, mistaking the couple for brother and sister,"In their bizarre world of music. Both EPs were labeled 'experimental' by the press, since they were very different from the EPs the band released in the past. While the tour gave Cardiacs some overdue publicity, Marillion's fanbase took an aversion to them resulting in the band being bottled on stage. The former consisted of four gentle acoustic songs, recorded with only piano, acoustic guitar and voice; Otherness, by contrast, was a collaboration with Seefeel's Mark Clifford, and featured four electronic remixes of Cocteau Twins' songs. In 1984, Cardiacs supported Marillion at the personal request of Marillion’s lead singer Fish. 1995 saw the release of two new EPs: Twinlights and Otherness. Tim and Sarah got married in July 1983. The band themselves explained that Four-Calendar Café was simply a response to the turmoil that had engulfed them in the intervening years, with Guthrie entering rehab and quitting alcohol and drugs, and Fraser herself undergoing therapy (the two had been in a long-term relationship, and by this time had a young daughter, Lucy-Belle, born in 1989).

The band's line-up was whittled down throughout 1983 from eight to six (Tim, Jim, Sarah, Bill, Dom, and Tim) the line-up that would remain for the rest of the 1980s. This, along with audibly comprehensible lyrics--something previously elusive, as Fraser tended to sing in a style that masked or otherwise obscured her lyrics--led to mixed reviews: some critics would accuse the group of selling out and producing an 'accessible album,' while others would praise the new direction as a worthy successor to Heaven or Las Vegas. Early releases followed the punk DIY ethic, and included limited runs of the cassette albums The Obvious Identity, Toy World, and The Seaside. It was a departure from the heavily-processed, complex and layered sounds of Blue Bell Knoll and Heaven or Las Vegas, featuring crystal-clear, minimalistic arrangements. Starting off as The Filth or Philip Pilf and the Filth, the band underwent a series of name changes, becoming Cardiac Arrest, then The Obvious Identity, and Alphabet before settling on Cardiacs by the end of 1980. The band's seventh LP, Four-Calendar Café, was released in the fall of 1993. Since then the band line-up has remained fluid, undergoing numerous line-up changes, with Tim's brother Jim Smith being the only other surviving original member, and many previous members appearing now and again for live performances, or helping out backstage (and vice vera). 4AD and Capitol released a Box Set in 1991 that compiled the band's EPs from 1982 to 1987, including a bonus disc of rare and/or previously unreleased material.

Cardiacs were formed by Tim Smith in suburban Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, sometime around 1977. While on their international tour supporting Heaven or Las Vegas, the group signed a new recording contract with Fontana in the UK and elsewhere, while retaining their ongoing US relationship with Capitol. Combining the excitement and energy of punk rock with the intricacies and technical cleverness of early British progressive rock, a combination sometimes referred to as pronk, their sound is unique and varied. They parted ways with 4AD following Heaven or Las Vegas, partially because of conflicts with its founder Ivo Watts-Russell, and were close to breaking up over internal problems, due in large part to Guthrie's addiction to drugs including alcohol. Cardiacs are a British band formed in 1977. However, despite the success of the record and the tours, not everything was well with the band. Cardiacs and Affectionate Friends (2001) ORG228. The most commercially successful of their many recordings, the album rose to the top of the charts immediately after its release.

Tim Smith's OceanLandWorld (1995) ALPH 020. The style the group began exploring with Head Over Heels reached its peak on Heaven or Las Vegas, released in late 1990. The Sea Nymphs Cassette (1992). While remaining a 4AD band internationally, Cocteau Twins finally signed a major-label contract with Capitol Records in 1988 for distribution in the US, and released their fifth proper LP, Blue Bell Knoll, in October of that year. Mr and Mrs Smith and Mr Drake Cassette ALPH 003. To commemorate the event, the compilation The Pink Opaque (1985) was released as a way of introducing the new, broader audience to the band's back-catalog. Maresnest, live at Salisbury Arts Centre 30 June 1990. In 1985, with a major-label release still years away, 4AD signed an agreement with Relativity Records for distribution of Cocteau Twins in the US and elsewhere.

Seaside Treats (1985). He returned to the group for The Moon and The Melodies (1986), which was a collaboration with Harold Budd, and was not released under the Cocteau Twins name. Surbiton Assembly Rooms 1985. Raymonde, who was collaborating on the second This Mortal Coil LP, did not participate in the recording of the fourth Cocteau Twins LP, Victorialand (1986), a predominantly acoustic record which featured only Guthrie and Fraser. Greatest Hits ALPH 029. These included The Spangle Maker (1984), Treasure (1984), Aikea-Guinea (1985), Tiny Dynamine and Echoes in a Shallow Bay (1985) and Love's Easy Tears (1986). Guns (1999) ALPH 027. With Simon, the band released a series of critically acclaimed albums and EPs, exploring their new style.

Sing to God (1995) ALP 022, 023, 024 This LP was released in two parts. In 1983, the band participated in 4AD's This Mortal Coil project (this spawned a cover-version of Tim Buckley's Song to the Siren performed by Guthrie and Fraser, which became a major hit), and during their work for that, they got to know Simon Raymonde (formerly a member of Drowning Craze), who joined the group later that year as a bass player. Sampler (1995) ALPH 019. Despite being very different from its predecessor, Head Over Heels was well-received by both press and fans. All that Glitters is a Mares Nest ALPH 018. This led to establishing the Cocteau Twins' signature sound: heavily effected guitars combined with Fraser's ethereal voice. Heaven Born and Ever Bright (1992)ALPH 017. Since the band's sound on its first three recordings relied heavily on Heggie's rhythmic basslines, Guthrie's minimalistic guitar and Fraser's voice, Cocteau Twins' next full-length LP, Head Over Heels, had to rely solely on the latter two.

Songs for Ships and Irons (1991) ALPH 014. Will Heggie left the group after the tour that followed the 1983 release of the band's second EP, Peppermint Pig. The Seaside reissue ALPH 013. Their debut recording, Garlands, was released by 4AD in 1982, and was an instant success, as was the subsequent Lullabies EP. On Land and in the Sea (1989) ALPH 012. The name Cocteau Twins itself comes from an early (unreleased) song by Simple Minds. Cardiacs Live recorded live at The Paradiso, Amsterdam (1988) ALPH 010. The band's influences at the time included The Birthday Party, Sex Pistols and Siouxsie & the Banshees.

A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window (1988) ALPH 007. At a local hotel disco club, Nash, they met Elizabeth Fraser, who eventually provided (vocals). Rude Bootleg (1987) recorded live at the Reading Festival 1986 ALPH 005. The band was formed in 1980 by Robin Guthrie (guitar) and Will Heggie (bass), both from Grangemouth, Scotland. Big Ship Mini Album (1987) ALPH 004. Their trademark sound of layered, ethereal guitar and indecipherable vocals inspired the 1990s shoegazing genre, which included numerous bands such as Lush, Slowdive, Pale Saints, and My Bloody Valentine. The Seaside Cassette (1983) ALPH 001. Cocteau Twins were an influential and prolific British band formed in 1980, their music becoming nearly synonymous with their record label 4AD.

Archive Cardiacs Cassette (1983) ALPH 000. Stars and Topsoil (2002). Toy World Cassette (1981). BBC Sessions (2000). The Obvious Identity Cassette (1980). Box Set (1991). Signs (1999) ALPH 028. The Moon and The Melodies (1986) with Harold Budd.

Odd Even ALPH 026. The Pink Opaque (1985). Bellyeye (1995) ORGAN011. Other: