Robin Guthrie - Atlas
Celebrated Scottish songsmith Robin Guthrie returns with the 'Atlas' EP, released via his Soleil Après Minuit imprint. This four-track offering immerses the listener in a series of newly-recorded instrumentals, gracing the listener with his ever present signature sound and atmosphere.
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.
This is Guthrie's first significant release since 2021's 'Pearldiving', marking the end of a nine-year hiatus and signaling his long-awaited return. In what was an intensive year for Guthrie releases, he also put out three EP's: 'Mockingbird Love', 'Riviera' and 'Springtime'.
"I got travelling again after the pandemic and that’s always a source of inspiration for me. I absorb a lot and get most creative when I have travelled." says Robin Guthrie.
"As for the title 'Atlas', I found an old radio and was struck with how many of the places on the dial no longer existed. I was attracted to the romantic notion that these places were very far away, not only in distance but now in time as well. The world seems a smaller and more familiar place nowadays".
Guthrie's approach to music seems 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.
Guthrie shares, "It’s been a relief to finish the Cocteau Twins re-issues that I have been working on lately, as focusing on the past can somewhat crush the present. It is, therefore, with great pleasure that I’m releasing some new music. 'Atlas', in many ways, is the intro to my next EP, which will be out later this year ... It's a slow gentle re-introduction to my world. The next one picks up where this one finishes off."
'Atlas' is now available on CD, as well as digitally on all major platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp, where Guthrie's rich back catalogue can also be found. Released via Soleil Après Minuit, it is distributed in North America via The Orchard and in Europe by Cargo. Guthrie is expected to release another EP later this year.
