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Simon Raymonde's New Memoir Details Meeting the Cocteau Twins.
The arrival of Simon Raymonde’s memoir, *In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor And Me*, stateside this Tuesday isn't just another book release; it’s a deep cut for those of us who still believe in the sanctity of the album as an art form, who find magic in the hiss of a vinyl groove and the ethereal soundscapes that defined an era. For Raymonde, the bassist and keyboardist whose melodic intuition helped shape the Cocteau Twins' otherworldly aesthetic from 1983 onwards, this book is less a straightforward autobiography and more a curated mixtape of memories, tracing his journey from a starry-eyed fan to a pivotal member of one of the most sonically innovative bands ever to emerge from the post-punk ether.The memoir promises to detail that fateful first encounter with the band—a meeting that must have felt like stepping into one of their own songs, all shimmering guitar textures from Robin Guthrie and Elizabeth Fraser's glossolalic vocals that seemed to bypass the brain and speak directly to the soul. It’s a story that resonates deeply within the music community, echoing the kind of fandom-turned-collaboration narrative that feels almost mythical, like a young Bob Dylan meeting Woody Guthrie, but filtered through the hazy, dream-pop lens of 4AD's iconic roster.Raymonde, of course, didn't just rest on his Cocteau laurels; his founding of the Bella Union label in the late '90s was a natural extension of that curatorial spirit, a platform that has since championed a new generation of atmospheric and introspective artists, from Fleet Foxes and Beach House to John Grant, effectively carrying the torch for the kind of artist-first, sonically adventurous music the Cocteaus pioneered. This transatlantic publication feels like a long-overdue acknowledgment of his dual legacy—both as an architect of a foundational dream-pop sound and as a modern-day A&R savant.Reading advance excerpts, one gets the sense that the book will delve beyond the studio sessions and tour anecdotes, exploring his complex relationship with his father, Ivor Raymonde, the legendary arranger and producer for artists like Dusty Springfield, adding a layer of familial musical destiny to an already rich tapestry. It’s this interweaving of personal history with seismic shifts in independent music that gives the memoir its weight, offering not just a backstage pass but a critical lens on an era where sound was limitless and genre was a cage to be broken.For collectors and fans, the stateside release is a event, a chance to finally get the full, unvarnished story from a key player who witnessed the creation of records like *Heaven or Las Vegas* from the inside, a record that still sounds as vital and untethered from time today as it did upon its 1990 release. In an age of algorithmic playlists and fleeting musical trends, Raymonde’s reflections serve as a potent reminder of the raw, human connection that fuels great art, a connection that began, for him, with simply hearing something that changed everything.
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#Cocteau Twins
#Simon Raymonde
#memoir
#Bella Union
#music biography
#dream-pop
