Later this week former Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie will make a rare appearance at the Tanned Tin Festival in Castellón, Spain. Also appearing at the festival is former Arab Strapper Aidan Moffat with The Best Ofs. Aidan will also play a gig in Paris on Friday night. Full details below:

The Tanned Tin Festival takes place in Castellón, Spain later this week. Aidan Moffat & The Best-Ofs are scheduled to play on Thursday night/Friday morning at 1.50am. Robin Guthrie is scheduled to play on Friday night at 11.50pm. More information can be found at www.tannedtin.com

Robin Guthrie

Robin spoke to Wired magazine last year about embracing modern technology and a Cocteau Twins reunion:

The sonic dream states he concocts these days involve more soulful exploration than can be had by the mere twiddling of knobs.

“I’m 47 years old and was born into the analog age,” he said. “I remember the term ‘digital’ when it existed only notionally. I lost the early adopter attitude when I ceased to have loads of disposable income, and now a sort of inverted snobbery has crept into my being where I pride myself on using the humblest of things to make my music. I’ve come a long way from being the young gear slut who was precious about so many pieces of equipment. I’ve become more confident in my own ability to use what is at hand to express myself.”

That currently does not include the social networking tools that have helped lesser bands build bigger followings. While the easiest place to get hold of Guthrie is his official website, that and a MySpace page are about as far as he will go to keep his loyalists happy.

“While I embrace the idea of social networking in some sense, I don’t really need to let folks know when I’m buying a pair of shoes, nor am I really interested when my phone bleeps and I’m made aware that some acquaintance is having lunch,” he complained. “It is lunchtime — of course they’re having fucking lunch.”

One thing that’s probably not in the cards, though: a Cocteau Twins reunion.

“I don’t feel very motivated in that direction,” Guthrie said. “Perhaps I would, if I felt that it wasn’t a backward move. But I’m put off by seeing old bands churning out the one half-decent album they made all those years ago to a public unwilling to move with the times and accept that some artists actually carry on long after it has lost interest.”

Robin Guthrie was speaking to Scott Thill, Wired, October 12, 2009. Full interview here.

Robin Guthrie – Close My Eyes And Burn, 2009

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtfMAwX3n1A

Cocteau Twins – Musette and Drums, 1983

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SRpJst3Tyw

www.robinguthrie.com

Aidan Moffat & The Best-Ofs

Aidan Moffat is scheduled to play Tanned Tin late on Thursday night and Paris on Friday night. Chemikal Underground also look set to reissue Arab Strap’s first two albums along with a box set featuring a “new” song that Aidan and Malcolm recorded together in 2009.

From the Chemikal Underground site:

“This year sees the reissue of Arab Strap’s first two (classic) albums: The Week Never Starts Round Here & Philophobia. Both albums will be reissued as double CDs, augmented by BBC material in the form of Peel Sessions and live recordings and will be preceded by an uber-multiple-dunting box set of unparalleled desirability.

The Box Set (entitled Scenes Of A Sexual Nature) will feature both albums on vinyl (with new liner notes by Aidan and Malcolm); a double album of bonus material (including a previously unreleased and unfinished track that was especially completed in 2009 for this box set called Daughters Of Darkness); a BBC Live CD; Another Bonus CD including rarities an early EP tracks and more surprises besides which we’ll announce when it come up our humpf. Scheduled for early February more details will be released / leaked / launched / thrown at you in the fullness of time.”

www.chemikal.co.uk/

Aidan Moffat – The Last Kiss, Live in Japan 2009

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPQCcrzHnig

www.aidanmoffat.co.uk

Photo Credit: misscaro