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Ivo Watts-Russell (born 1954 in Northamptonshire, England) was joint-founder with Peter Kent of the indie record label 4AD.[1] He has also produced several records, although he prefers to use the term "musical director".

Early years[]

Watts-Russell was the youngest of eight children in a family that struggled financially. In 1977, he joined Beggars Banquet as they were starting their label.[2][3]

Career[]

One of his better-known productions is the Cocteau Twins' debut Garlands. (Presumably, he is the namesake of "Ivo", the lead track of Cocteau Twins' 1984 album, Treasure.)[4] He also led This Mortal Coil, writing and selecting songs; choosing the personnel for each song; and occasionally playing keyboards. A few years after the release of This Mortal Coil's final studio album, he founded and produced a band called The Hope Blister. which released two albums: ...smile's OK (1998) and Underarms (1999). Although 4AD first released Underarms as a limited edition CD, the label reissued it in 2005 as Underarms and Sideways, the second disc of which has seven remixes by Markus Guentner.[5]

Later years[]

He had a nervous breakdown in 1994 and sold his half of 4AD to Martin Mills in 1999. He moved to Santa Fe where he still lives today.[2]

References[]

  1. Murphy, Gareth (2014). Cowboys and Indies: The Epic History of the Record Industry. St. Martin's Press. p. 350. ISBN 9781250043375. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Ashton, Martin. "4AD: the 'pure' label behind Pixies and Cocteau Twins". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  3. Wallace, Wyndham. "Facing The Other Way: Ivo Watts-Russell & Vaughan Oliver On 4AD Records". The Quietus. The Quietus. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  4. Muggs, Joe. "4AD boss Simon Halliday on living with the label's past, and his vision for its future". Fact Magazine. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  5. Ediriwira, Amar. "Art-rock Adventurism: The complete 4AD story". The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 6 February 2017.

External links[]

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