Publisher's Synopsis
"What I like is stuff that I can't do. That I would never do. Like the Cocteau Twins, I would never do that." - Prince
Scottish group the Cocteau Twins were a phenomenon. Formed in 1981, against the neon backdrop of Grangemouth's oil refinery, they released eight albums across a seventeen-year career that won them fans including Prince, Bjork and Madonna. Their celestial rock music quietly upturned the musical landscape - influencing countless acts like Sigur Ros, Chvrches, The Weeknd and Mogwai, and defining a seminal independent record label (4AD) in the process.
Stars and Topsoil retraces the Cocteau Twins' early days in Grangemouth, where they rehearsed in the local Communist party office and used a phone box as their business headquarters. It charts their colorful history, which - as with their music - is grounded in the relationship between Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie. And it navigates their global pop ascent, as the band revolutionized alternative music, alongside the Smiths and New Order, including big audiences in the US.
With contributions from Bjork, Mogwai, Craig Armstrong, Sigur Ros, Chvrches, Peter Gabriel, Goldfrapp, Massive Attack, the Cure and more, Stars and Topsoil features in-depth interviews with collaborators, friends, artists and fans, to create an extensive, exploratory love letter to a dream-pop band who were famously reticent to discuss the magic of their songs.
