Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as reverb, echo, tremolo, and chorus. It often overlaps with the related genre of shoegaze, and the two genre terms have at times been used interchangeably.
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde in 1983. The group earned critical praise for their ethereal, effects-laden sound and the soprano vocals of Fraser, whose lyrics often eschew any recognisable language. They pioneered the 1980s alternative subgenre of dream pop and helped define what would become shoegaze.
Head over Heels is the second studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. The album was released on 24 October 1983 through the label 4AD. It featured the band's signature sound of "Guthrie's lush guitars under Fraser's mostly wordless vocals" and is considered an archetype of early ethereal wave music.
Heaven or Las Vegas is the sixth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 17 September 1990 by 4AD. Despite 4AD president Ivo Watts-Russell proclaiming it one of the best-ever releases on his label, he released the group from their contract at the end of 1990 because his relationship with the band had soured.
4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of the label's first four singles. Later that year, Watts-Russell and Kent purchased the label from Beggars Banquet to become an independent record label, and Kent sold his share to Watts-Russell a year later.
Colourbox were an English electronic musical group on the 4AD label, releasing a number of records between 1982 and 1987. The band was formed by brothers Martyn and Steve Young, Ian Robbins, and vocalist Debbion Currie. Currie and Robbins left the band in 1983, and Lorita Grahame joined as singer.
Elizabeth Davidson Fraser is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins who achieved international success primarily during the fifteen years from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Their studio albums Victorialand (1986) and Heaven or Las Vegas (1990) both reached the top ten of the UK Album Charts, as well as other albums including Blue Bell Knoll (1988), Four-Calendar Café (1993) and Milk & Kisses (1996) charting on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States as well as the top 20 in the UK. She also performed as part of the 4AD group This Mortal Coil, including the successful 1983 single "Song to the Siren", and as a guest with Massive Attack on their 1998 single "Teardrop".
This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom were otherwise associated with 4AD, including members of Cocteau Twins, Pixies and Dead Can Dance. The project became known for its gothic, dream pop sound, and released three full albums, beginning in 1984 with It'll End in Tears.
Garlands is the debut album by the Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. It was released on 10 July 1982 by the record label 4AD. It peaked in the top 5 of the UK Independent Albums Chart, and received support from BBC Radio 1 radio host John Peel.
Treasure is the third studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 12 November 1984 by 4AD. With this album, the band settled on what would, from then on, be their primary lineup: vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, guitarist Robin Guthrie and bass guitarist Simon Raymonde. The album also reflected the group's embrace of the distinctive ethereal sound they became associated with.
Vaughan Oliver was a British graphic designer based in Epsom, Surrey. Oliver was best known for his work with graphic design studios 23 Envelope and v23. Both studios maintained a close relationship with record label 4AD between 1982 and 1998 and gave distinct visual identities for the 4AD releases by many bands, including Mojave 3, Lush, Cocteau Twins, The Breeders, This Mortal Coil, Pale Saints, Pixies, and Throwing Muses. Oliver also designed record sleeves for such artists as David Sylvian, The Golden Palominos, and Bush.
Victorialand is the fourth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released by 4AD in 1986. Working without bassist Simon Raymonde, vocalist Elizabeth Fraser and guitarist/producer Robin Guthrie opted for a subtler sound on the album.
Filigree & Shadow is the second album released by 4AD collective This Mortal Coil, an umbrella title for a loose grouping of guest musicians and vocalists brought together by label boss Ivo Watts-Russell. The supergroup consists primarily of artists attached to the 4AD label, of which Watts-Russell was the co-founder and the owner and director. The album was released in September 1986, and entered the UK Independent Music chart on 11 October 1986 and peaked at #2, spending 16 weeks on the chart in total.
Ethereal wave, also called ethereal darkwave, ethereal goth or simply ethereal, is a subgenre of dark wave music that is variously described as "gothic", "romantic", and "otherworldly". Developed in the early 1980s in the UK as an outgrowth of gothic rock, ethereal wave was mainly represented by 4AD bands such as Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and early guitar-driven Dead Can Dance.
Breathless are an English dream pop band formed in 1983 by Dominic Appleton, Gary Mundy (guitar), Ari Neufeld (bass) and Tristram Latimer Sayer (drums). Across nearly four decades, Breathless have released eight studio albums, one compilation album and 14 singles and EPs, all on their own label, Tenor Vossa Records.
"Song to the Siren" is a song written by Tim Buckley to a poem by his writing partner Larry Beckett, released by Buckley on his 1970 album Starsailor. It was also later released on Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology, the album featuring a performance of the song taken from the final episode of The Monkees TV show which aired on March 25, 1968.
Sixteen Days / Gathering Dust is an EP released in 1983 by This Mortal Coil, a supergroup assembled by Ivo Watts-Russell for his record label, 4AD.
1983–1991 is a four-CD box set of material by supergroup This Mortal Coil, released on March 30, 1993 on the 4AD label. The box set was released only in the United States, and was distributed by Warner Bros. Records, with whom 4AD maintained a distribution deal at the time. This marked the first domestic American release for most of the band's output, as only the debut album, It'll End in Tears, had been released in the United States previously.
Sleeps with the Fishes is the lone collaborative album from Clan of Xymox founding member Pieter Nooten and Canadian guitarist/producer Michael Brook, released by 4AD on 12 October 1987. Intended as Nooten's debut solo album after a brief split from Clan of Xymox, the record turned into a collaboration with Brook after a suggestion from 4AD label founder and boss Ivo Watts-Russell. Though not a huge commercial success, Sleeps with the Fishes was described by AllMusic as "essential listening for fans of 4AD, ambient music, minimalism, experimental electronic music, and morose themes alike... an overlooked masterpiece."
"Carolyn's Fingers" is a single by Scottish alternative rock and dreampop band the Cocteau Twins, released in 1988 from their album Blue Bell Knoll. The song was released through the 4AD record label and credits all three members of the group – Fraser, Guthrie and Raymonde as songwriters and well as producers.
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