Robin Guthrie - Astoria
Following up his luminous 'Atlas' EP, released this summer, legendary Scottish songsmith Robin Guthrie is back to kiss off 2024 with his new 'Astoria' EP, released via his Soleil Après Minuit imprint. Delivering another four powerful and captivating instrumentals recorded earlier this year, 'Astoria' takes further inspiration from his post-pandemic travels and produced in his studio in Bretagne.
A rich crucible of sound packed into four tracks, Guthrie takes the listener on a peaceful and contemplative journey of dreamy and atmospheric instrumentals. Like a Part 1 and Part 2 of his 2024 output, 'Astoria' and 'Atlas' represent Guthrie's first output since 2021, a prolific year that marked the end of a nine-year hiatus with the release of his 'Pearldiving' album and three EP's - 'Mockingbird Love', 'Riviera' and 'Springtime'.
“My EP 'Astoria' picks up where my release 'Atlas' had set off towards - a conclusion of a journey, like an arrival at a far-off destination. I enjoy the continuity, and the EP format allows me to express these ideas in an episodic form," says Robin Guthrie.
Nearly 45 years since founding legendary dreampop / ethereal wave band Cocteau Twins, Robin Guthrie has certainly been its most prolific member, offering a steady and stellar stream of material over the years with a production style and signature guitar sounds that have shaped multiple genres and generations.
Guthrie's approach to music is akin to that of a painter or a photographer. The adept use of light and shade, melody and counter melody, the carefully and precisely arranged instrumentation, musical textures and colorings gives his music a depth and level of detail which marks a master craftsman.
In his time, Guthrie's output includes film soundtracks and collaborated with many outstanding people, the latest impactful release happening with 2021's 'Another Flower' with Harold Budd, released just a few days before Budd's untimely passing. They had also jointly composed the film scores for Gregg Araki's ‘Mysterious Skin’ and ‘White Bird in a Blizzard’. Other notable collaborators include John Foxx, Mark Gardener, Telefon Tel-Aviv, Eraldo Bernocchi and Jay Jay Johanson.
He has produced and remixed countless artists, including Lush, The Veldt, A.R.Kane, Dif Juz, Chapterhouse, Felt, Mahogany and Violet Indiana, which he'd formed with Siobhan de Maré in 1999. More recently, Guthrie worked with Heligoland, Jack Colwell, Resplandor, Fawns of Love, Ummagma, Hatchie and Tamaryn.
The 'Astoria' EP is out now, available on CD and also digitally from fine platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp, where Guthrie's rich back catalogue can also be found. Released via Soleil Après Minuit, the EP is distributed in North America via The Orchard and in Europe by Cargo.
