Simon Raymonde has done it all – from seminal dream-pop group the Cocteau Twins to co-founding revered independent label Bella Union. For CLASH, he imparts some wisdom for the next-gen.

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STAY HUNGRY

I have this desire to keep proving to myself that I’m capable of doing this, that I do have good taste. There’s definitely something lacking in my make-up, and it makes me feel I have a need to keep going. I’m 62 now, I should probably start taking it easy soon. I keep thinking that might happen, but it hasn’t yet! You’re living it 24/7. You can’t really do a label and just be part-time with it. 

AVOID THE OFFICE

One of my golden rules is that I never go into the office. If I went into an office everyday, I would start to resent it. I like the freedom of getting on my bike, going for a cycle, meeting someone for coffee somewhere, talking about music… and being able to leave! I look at my job as a hobby, purely so I won’t ever think about it as a job. You can’t compare too much in life to being in the Cocteau Twins. That certainly wasn’t a job. It wasn’t really a career, as such, either. But it was a fascinating experience, and something I would never ever change for a minute.

LISTEN TO AS MUCH AS YOU CAN

I don’t want to be one of those grumpy old men who just moans about their life. I think music keeps me excited. I’m always listening, and I always want to try and listen to something new.

NEVER GIVE UP

The key to it all is just being thoroughly bloody-minded. Persevere and don’t give up. No matter what anybody tells you, if you want to do it that badly, then you’ll do it. You’ve got to have thick skin; you’ve got to be able to go out on tour, and play to three people in the middle of nowhere. We’ve all been through that. Just approach it with humour. Of course, we all want a million people to turn up. But the trick is, no matter how many knocks you get, are you still going to get up in the morning and write a song?

You’ve got to keep going. You will get better the more you do anything. It’s like being an athlete; the more you practise, the more your muscles will get tighter and your body becomes more resilient. You’ll make it, if you get a bit of luck. Now, luck shouldn’t play a massive part in the music business – way more than it should – but it does, and that’s a fact.

BE HUMBLE

Stick around, talk to people, and be humble. My parents taught me to have humility, and I think that’s really important. You have to be humble, or you’re never going to get anywhere.

STREAMING IS NOT YOUR ENEMY

TikTok has given Cocteau Twins the longevity we never thought we’d have. It’s totally changed the average age and make-up of our audience – it’s so much younger than it used to be. It’s the most beautiful thing ever, because it means a whole new generation has grown up listening to this music in large doses, and that’s something we could never, ever have predicted.

EMBRACE CHOICE

I mean, 40 years ago, you could go out in the street and all you’d get was fish ‘n’ chips and probably a curry somewhere. Now you walk out onto the street and you can literally get anything you want at any time of day – any kind of cuisine from anywhere in the world. With music, it’s become a bit like that. There’s so many different ways to do things.

RELISH FRIENDSHIP

The best thing for me, really, is the friendships that I’ve got from music. It’s the friendships that you forge throughout this journey that stay with you forever. John Grant, I’ve worked with since 1998. Beach House, from day one. Father John Misty, from day one. It’s not just one bit of the story but being able to be involved in entire careers, rather than just fleeting moments.

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