Elizabeth Fraser

[hag]

Elizabeth Davidson Fraser, member of the Cocteau Twins. Also known as Liz Fraser.

Fraser has a soprano vocal range. She is as well known for her perfectionism and reclusive nature as she is for her voice. She was described by critic Jason Ankeny as "an utterly unique performer whose swooping, operatic vocals relied less on any recognizable language than on the subjective sounds and textures of verbalized emotions". Fraser's distinctive singing has earned her much critical praise; she was once described as "the voice of God." Her lyrics range from straightforward English to semi-comprehensible sentences (glossolalia) and abstract mouth music. For some recordings, Fraser has said that she used foreign words without knowing what they meant – the words acquired meaning for her only as she sang them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Fraser

Fraser sees making music as inseparable from her emotions. She has always struggled to write lyrics, she says, but suddenly something will click and she "goes with the sound and the joy" – that's why she sings sounds and words that have no meaning, of which she can only make sense later. As she puts it, "I can't act. I can't lie."

The inability to pretend is evident even now. She is so nervous before the interview begins, she's actually shaking,

"I live in here," she explains, exasperatedly, pointing at her head. "And it's difficult. I drift with every sensation. At times I'm OK, and at other times I'm such a rubout. My mind just whirrs or stops. There's no middle ground." When she was still performing, she would suffer stagefright. Now she talks of her anxiety spreading to the studio.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...aser-interview

Elizabeth Fraser showed herself to be a very private person, especially in areas of her personal life. She seems genuinely surprised that people were interested in her.

https://hubpages.com/entertainment/Elizabeth-Fraser

[Delilah]

I do really like the Cocteau Twins but i'd not considered type-wise before; Will have to agree with introverted and maybe more type suggestions will roll out

Heaven or Las Vegas is pretty sweet.

[Delilah]

IMO EII for her, it suits her lyrics at least

I really like this:
"And should I be hugged and tugged down through this tiger's masque
And should I be sung and unbroken by not saying
You mind not saying
He'll have the hardest black and dullest ignite
Still being cried and laughed at from behind me, from gains
We hanged your pass and star being as you in ecstasy
Still being cried and laughed at from behind me, from gains
Should I be sung and unbroken by not saying
Still being cried and laughed at from behind me, from gains
Hugged and tugged down through this tiger's masque for key"

(From Cherry Coloured Funk)

[Delilah]

My computer keeps freezing when I play the interview. Which one is Simon of the two. I still think EII for her btw Delilah / felafel

[vesstheastralsilky]

Could likely be SEI. I think Cocteau Twins are Alpha music. It resonates perfectly with me.

I love her music except oddly a couple of their worst songs were their most promoted...

[thegreenfaerie]

I've been listening to nothing but Cocteau Twins for weeks. Initial impression was ExI for Fraser, but I really can't tell anymore after watching her interviews. I started to get a sense of IEI... not really sure I see SEI. I just found this:

Taken from https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...aser-interview:

"As Fraser tells it, that abortive reunion was not a career move, not a chance to gain the financial reward the Cocteau Twins' reputation merited: it was an attempt at healing. Their childhood friend-turned roadie-turned-manager wanted them back together "so that everyone could be friends".

However, Fraser almost immediately had reservations. "There's still a sense of being committed," she explains of her relationship with Guthrie. "But we're not committed. We're that different from each other now." She describes those differences in a sentence: "You take each other's breath away by doing something or saying something they never saw coming." She now can't even think about her bandmates, never mind see them. "They were my life. And when you're in something that deeply, you have to remove yourself completely."
It's not just her former bandmates she has left behind. For the last 12 years, she has barely engaged with music. She sang on Massive Attack's 1998 album Mezzanine and exquisite hit Teardrop (and toured with them in 2006), but that's it. She's been offered sums "beyond your wildest dreams" to collaborate with other artists – "the weirdest one was Linkin Park" – but all have been turned down.

Fraser sees making music as inseparable from her emotions. She has always struggled to write lyrics, she says, but suddenly something will click and she "goes with the sound and the joy" – that's why she sings sounds and words that have no meaning, of which she can only make sense later. As she puts it, "I can't act. I can't lie."
The inability to pretend is evident even now. She is so nervous before the interview begins, she's actually shaking,
"I live in here," she explains, exasperatedly, pointing at her head. "And it's difficult. I drift with every sensation. At times I'm OK, and at other times I'm such a rubout. My mind just whirrs or stops. There's no middle ground." When she was still performing, she would suffer stagefright. Now she talks of her anxiety spreading to the studio. Her single was recorded some time ago with Damon Reece – Massive Attack's drummer, and her partner of more than a decade – and a close friend, Jake Drake-Brockman. It wouldn't be coming out at all were it not for a tragedy: Drake-Brockman died in September, and Moses is being released as a tribute. "