Robin Guthrie

Known most for the intoxicating assortment of sounds he has created with his guitars, effects, and treatments, Robin Guthrie has continued moving forward decades after he left an indelible impression on underground music. The Scottish musician's 1982-1996 recordings with Cocteau Twins have inspired a multitude of artists across genres and styles as varied as dream pop, shoegaze, ambient, post-rock, and even R&B. Between two early-2000s albums as one-half of Violet Indiana, Guthrie released his first solo LP, Imperial (2003), richly atmospheric instrumentals that set the tone for his subsequent solitary work. It includes Continental (2006), Carousel (2009), and Emeralds (2011), and extends to Fortune (2012) and Pearldiving (2022). Side gigs and outside productions during the Cocteaus era -- involvement with This Mortal Coil, sessions with bands such as Felt, A.R. Kane, the Gun Club, and Lush -- primed Guthrie to remain prolific as a collaborator all along. He recorded extensively with one-time Cocteaus associate Harold Budd (renewing their studio partnership with the original score for Mysterious Skin), and has also teamed with the disparate likes of John Foxx (Mirrorball) and Mark Gardener (Universal Road). ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi