With sales of Faye Wong albums running to well over a million in her native China, it is no wonder the profile of British indie band the Cocteau Twins - who recently collaborated with the singer - is growing. 'Faye recorded two songs from [the band's album] Four-Calendar Cafe which were astonishingly good,' said Cocteau Twins' bassist Simon Raymonde. 'She then asked us to write some new songs for her.' Raymonde said the pieces written for Wong were in keeping with their reputation for having an unorthodox writing style and recording method. 'We didn't think of Faye's style at all,' he laughed. 'We rarely give any rational thought to anything we do. The language was no problem for us either. '[Singer] Liz [Fraser] writes in a particularly unusual style and Faye either copies or makes up something of her own. 'We write in an unusual way, which keeps our music fresh. We don't practise, we don't rehearse, we don't demo, so consequently our music 'evolves' like we do, slowly, interestingly.' The Cocteau Twins began their career in 1982 with what their publicity blurb calls 'an introspective, discordant post-punk squeal', owing a technical debt to Gothic rockers Siouxsie and the Banshees. Nine albums, four EPs and many singles later they still, as one journalist put it, 'invade the senses, evoking light, heat, tenderness, sorrow, joy, stillness, floating and forgetting'. In 1984 Raymonde, Fraser and guitarist Robin Guthrie released the album Treasure, which spawned the hit single Pearly Dewdrop's Drops. The year culminated with Fraser being heralded as Best Female Vocalist in many of the British music press polls, while Treasure climbed the British charts to become album of the year. After the release of 1988's album Blue Bell Knoll by the Cocteau Twins, one reviewer remarked: 'When you die, and then open your eyes, if there isn't music something like this playing in the distance, you're probably on your way to the wrong place.' In another recent interview, Guthrie said the Cocteau Twins' singer tended to place her own, spontaneous stamp on their songs. 'Liz shows very little regard for any sort of arrangements that me and Simon do,' he said. 'She'll come in and completely sing in what we would consider all the wrong places . . . and she'll make it so much better.' Since 1994's Four-Calendar Cafe album, the Cocteau Twins have been writing and recording tracks, not only for their new album, but also for television advertisements in Britain. They also contributed the track Need Fire to the Judge Dredd film soundtrack. Raymonde said: 'Rightly or wrongly we never plan anything, therefore future projects are a surprise.' The band are among the growing number of musicians to an interest in the Internet. Their first on-line gig was on May 22, live from their own September Sound Studios in Twickenham on the banks of the River Thames. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of the system, most Net watchers would have witnessed around four frames per second of black and white video, with rather poor sound. 'It was great to play a gig at the studio,' said Raymonde. 'But technically it had limitations with the visual side of things. We may do something again one day.' As for unfulfilled ambitions, Raymonde would like to write the score for a major film. 'There are many directors out there whose lives would be enriched by working with us,' he joked. The Cocteau Twins have not visited Hong Kong, but their reputation is growing. Raymonde, however, is - in character - evasive about a possible gig in the territory. Perhaps one day their collaboration with Faye Wong may stretch further than vinyl. The Entertainment pages are edited by Winnie Chung.
