Robin Guthrie

Emeralds is the new album by guitarist/songwriter, producer and sound architect Robin Guthrie. Another uncompromising step along the path that is his vision, enveloping the listener with the aesthetic enchantment which has become his trademark. From the opening notes of ‘Digging for Gold’ to the last echoes of ‘The Little Light Fades’, Emeralds takes us on a voyage which moves our emotions, stimulates our senses and leaves us feeling that the world must be a better place seen through the eyes of Robin Guthrie. The album provokes a whole range of emotions from joy to melancholy and back again, never once failing to arouse the imagination of those who become captured by it. With the joyously uplifting ‘Wishing’ and the evocatively haunting melody of ‘Torch’ Guthrie quietly coaxes beauty out of layers of echoes and seemingly invites the listener inside the music to become an integral part of the whole creation.

Inspired by events, literature and travel while possessing an uncanny ability to translate his pure emotions into melody, Guthrie is one of very few rare talents who can create instrumental music which the listener feels part of. His recent instrumental offerings, Sunflower Stories, Songs to Help My Children Sleep, Carousel and Angel Falls, among countless others, illustrate his flair for creating music which seems to touch at the very core of those who consume it.

Emeralds follows the release of Bordeaux, an album recorded last summer when minimalist legend Harold Budd joined Guthrie in France for some concerts and recordings. Bordeaux, available on Darla Records, featuring the two absolute masters of sonic beauty and modern ambient, is quickly becoming acknowledged as a landmark work.

Guthrie has been a massive influence on everyone from My Bloody Valentine to M83 and School of Seven Bells however it's not surprising that as a guitarist and producer, though many people are aware of him as Cocteau Twins principal sound designer, his defining role in the, once again, fashionable shoegazing scene with his productions for the likes of Lush and Chapterhouse shouldn't be overlooked. His recent studio credits include Telefon Tel Aviv, Ulrich Schnauss and Heligoland.

As a composer of soundtracks he has recently scored his third feature film: Gregg Araki's Kaboom; following Araki’s Mysterious Skin and Dany Saadia’s 3:19, both of which were released as soundtrack albums; he has performed live extensively with Lumière, and its successor Galerie, both short animated films that he created as backdrops for his atmospheric, hypnotic guitar-based instrumental concerts.

Robin Guthrie will be appearing live in the US in May and June, co-headlining concerts with former 4AD label-mate Brendan Perry. (label)