Cocteau Twins’ Simon Raymonde Says He Didn’t Know About His Band’s Record Store Day Reissues

Among the many records available in the UK for this year’s Record Store Day are new reissues of Cocteau Twins’ final two LPs: 1993’s Four-Calendar Café and 1996’s Milk & Kisses. Both were originally released in the UK on the Fontana label; the reissues are out via UMC/Universal UK and feature extra tracks on a bonus disc. Following the Record Store Day announcement yesterday, the band’s Simon Raymonde wrote on his Facebook, “I was surprised to read today that two of my band (Cocteau Twins)’s albums… are to be released on vinyl on RSD 17?” He added, “Would be nice to have known about it, but I would like to at least receive copies of it.” On Twitter, he asked Universal UK for “a few copies.” The label responded, “I’m sure we can arrange something.”

In an email to Pitchfork, Raymonde says that he’s learned that Elizabeth Fraser also “had no idea” about the new Record Store Day reissues. He says that he hasn’t heard back from Robin Guthrie. “I was not seeking sympathy or an online spat,” Raymonde wrote of his initial post, “simply expressing surprise that such extravagant packages could be put together without some input from at least two of the protagonists.” He continued:

I have no idea if these pressings are from a digital master or from the original tapes but I can hazard an educated guess. They may indeed even be utterly gorgeous but it does feel odd, having been a significant part of a band that took such care over the sonics and the presentation, that these double album packages may have even been for sale in the shops without our knowledge, had I not stumbled across them when looking through my potential purchases for RSD. But hey, we signed the deal and we are not the first and won’t be the last whose work is exploited in a way that could only be described as callous and disrespectful. No pity required. Just another harsh lesson. If you want control of your masters and avoid such things happening to you then don’t sign stupid deals with majors.

Pitchfork has reached out to the label’s respective representatives for more information and comment.

@bellaunion I’m sure we can arrange something! Sending you a DM now

— Universal Music UK (@UMusicuk) March 22, 2017

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