Cocteau Twins and Harold Budd's The Moon And The Melodies to be reissued on vinyl in August

Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins (Image credit: Getty)

The Moon And The Melodies, the 1986 collaboration between Cocteau Twins members Elizabeth Fraser, Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie and ambient musician Harold Budd, is to be reissued through 4AD Records on August 23.

The album has been remastered from the original tapes by Robin Guthrie and the reissue will be the first time the album has been available on vinyl since its 1986 release.

"It captured a moment in time between friends that are enjoying making music together. Really, that’s the essence of it," says Guthrie.

The album was released the same year as the Cocteau's largely acoustic Victorialand, on which Raymonde did not play, although he was part of the sessions for the mostly instrumental and ambient album on which each participant was listed, not as Cocteau Twins: Harold Budd, Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Simon Raymonde.

As well as vinyl, The Moon And The Melodies will also be available on CD and as a digital release. You can see the artwork and tracklisting below.

Pre-order The Moon And The Melodies.

In other Cocteau Twins news the band have shared, for the first time, a full HD library of their music videos, upgraded using original masters found in both 4AD and Universal Music’s vaults. You can find the YouTube channel here.

The band have also launched their official webstore, the first time the band has sold any official merch since 1997.

Elizabeth Fraser is currently on tour with Massive Attack while Robin Guthrie is set to return with a four-track EP of newly recorded instrumentals, Atlas, while Simon Raymonde recently announced his new memoir, In One Ear – Cocteau Twins, Ivor and Me, will be released in September. 

Cocteau Twins

(Image credit: 4AD)

Harold Budd, Elizabeth Fraser, Robin Guthrie, Simon Raymonde: The Moon And The Melodies
A1. Sea, Swallow Me 
A2. Memory Gongs 
A3. Why Do You Love Me? 
A4. Eyes are Mosaics 
B1. She Will Destroy You 
B2. The Ghost Has No Home 
B3. Bloody and Blunt 
B4. Ooze Out and Away, Onehow

Jerry Ewing

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.