“Honestly, I never really considered writing a book until, literally, five minutes before I started doing it,” says Simon Raymonde on a video call. For decades, Raymonde has been making and releasing music. He spent much of the 1980s and 1990s as a member of Cocteau Twins, contributing to now-classic albums like Treasure and Heaven or Las Vegas. For close to 30 years, he has run Bella Union, the record label that helped introduce the world to Fleet Foxes, Beach House and Father John Misty. Raymonde’s memoir, In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor and Me, is set for release in the U.S. on November 18 and he’ll appear at Book Soup in Los Angeles on Friday, November 14.
In One Ear traces Raymonde’s life in music, from his early bands in post-punk London to his tenure with Cocteau Twins to his work as a producer and label-head. Raymonde also delves into the work of his father, Ivor Raymonde, himself a musician, songwriter and producer who worked with the likes of Dusty Springfield, The Walker Brothers, Los Bravos and David Bowie. Throughout the memoir, Raymonde keeps the focus on the music.
“I’m aware the Cocteau Twins are an important band for an awful lot of people,” says Raymonde. “I would be an idiot not to be and I know that there’s sort of a mystique about the band that’s prevalent and has been since we started.”
If you’re expecting a salacious tell-all about the beloved band, though, you would be mistaken. “I’m not the kind of person that would want to write a sort of kiss-and-tell book about the drugs and the relationship issues because that’s so boring and it’s been done so many times before,” says Raymonde. “I’m just not that kind of person that finds that particularly interesting. I don’t even think it’s that big of a deal. Doesn’t every band have those issues? Doesn’t every person have those issues?”
And, to be honest, the more interesting details are in how the band worked. After all, Cocteau Twins is a band that went on to influence whole genres of music (shoegaze and ethereal, to name two) and the sound they cultivated was quite unusual for its time. Moreover, the way they made music remains unusual. “As detached now as I am from it, I can look back on it and go, that is quite weird that we made our music in that way. It’s not normal,” says Raymonde.
Cocteau Twins didn’t abide by the more typical songwriting practice of noodling around on a guitar to work out a melody, then fleshing out the song and the lyrics before going into the studio. “We were just the complete opposite of that. We didn’t write anything in advance,” Raymonde explains. “We just literally went into the studio and pressed record. That is very unusual, so I think debunking the myth of that a little bit was quite interesting.”
In One Ear is a fascinating read for music nerds, not just for Raymonde’s own story, but for his insight on several decades of music. One of my own favorite chapters is “1979,” which delves into the music of that year within the contexts of both Raymonde’s own life and what was happening in England at that time.
“I found it bewildering back in ’79 because the government was pretty right wing— nowhere near as right wing as it is these days, but there was a lot of racism in the country,” says Raymonde. “We had a pretty awful prime minister, but punk and post-punk, it felt like down on the street level, we all knew how to take care of each other and we knew the kind of world that we wanted to create for ourselves and for our friends and family.”
It was hard not to draw parallels to today while reading about 1979. “I suppose it’s naive because governments never really change and here we are 40 years later and really nothing has changed, we’re back to where we were In the ‘70s, and that’s awful,” says Raymonde. “It’s awful for me to see my granddaughter growing up in a world that’s really no different to one that I grew up in, where racism and bigotry and extremism was rife. I thought we were over that stuff. I thought we had grown up and moved on as a society, but clearly we haven’t.”
Raymonde continues, “I think that the music will reflect that of course. It’s hard to say because we’re right in the middle of it, whether it’s Bobby Vylan or Kneecap or whoever it is. There is plenty of music out there that is very, very good social commentary on what is going on in the world and, of course, it will be divisive and, of course… some people will absolutely hate it and some people will absolutely swarm towards it like bees to honey. That’s what music does to people.”
Post-Cocteau Twins, Raymonde has been best known for the record label Bella Union, which he has run for 27 years now. The label has had its share of hit artists over the years, but it’s equally well-regarded for releasing albums whose reputation increases with time, like The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads, the debut (and only) album from Lift to Experience, a band from Texas whose unique sound fell somewhere between shoegaze and post-hardcore. “I think people would always pick up on that record because it is incredible,” says Raymonde. “What a phenomenal band. I’ll never forget going to see them during South by Southwest, I guess it would be 2001 maybe. A phenomenal band and a record I’m really proud of putting out.”
It seems fitting that Raymonde would go on to release the cult favorites of the 21st century. After all, Cocteau Twins’ legacy has only swelled since the band split in the 1990s. “Certainly, it shows no sign of abating at the moment, which is obviously, incredibly lovely and makes us all very happy,” he says of his former band’s popularity. “It’s so long ago, it’s like another life. I do remember it, of course, but the band broke up 28 years ago”
With a chuckle, Raymonde adds, “It’s insane, so we haven’t made any music in almost thirty years, but the band is more popular than ever. That’s quite an incredible thing and we would never take that for granted. It’s so beautiful to see.”
Order In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor Raymonde and Me by Simon Raynonde
Simon Raymonde will appear at Book Soup on Friday, November 14. His book tour also stops in San Francisco on November 11 and New York on November 15 and 17.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Follow on Instagram or sign up for the weekly, Beatique newsletter for updates on new stories and gigs.
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