“Best Reissue Of The Week: Harold Budd, Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Simon Raymonde - The Moon and the Melodies”
- By Thomas Woodward-Massey
- Norman Records
- 22-Aug 2024
An ongoing stretch of Cocteau Twins reissues which kickstarted six or so years ago continues with a newly remastered version of their 1986 collaboration with ambient pioneer and minimalist musician Harold Budd. Credited to Budd and each member of the Cocteaus, The Moon and the Melodies gets its first ever reissue, landing on vinyl for the first time in close to forty years. The release also coincides with a launch of a new YouTube channel, initiated to update their music videos with high quality audio using the original 4AD masters.
The Moon and the Melodies hears the Cocteau Twins at their most ambient, and Budd at his most dream pop-leaning. Initially, the idea for a collaborative release came about after Simon Raymonde got in touch with Harold asking if he cover ‘Not Yet Remembered’ from Brian Eno and Budd’s Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror, a record which alongside the first in the Ambient series—Music for Airports—helped in pushing ambient music into public consciousness.
Despite Budd being completely unfamiliar with the Cocteau Twins before Raymonde gave him a bell, the chemistry between the two parties is evident, seamless almost. The Moon and the Melodies is a singular record in both artist’s catalogues, a collection equal parts instrumental ambient and the Cocteau’s typical ethereal wave. We hear glacial instrumentals played under Budd’s improvisations, which are occasionally punctuated by the gorgeous, inimitable vocals of Elizabeth Fraser. We’re in Cocteau Twins territory here, so needless to say it’s an atmosphere-steeped record, one which will cue vivid pictures or personal memories from each of its listeners with its blissful, evocative sound.
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