Coil (band)  

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Coil (1982 - 2005) were an English group working in the experimental music idiom. Initially envisioned as a solo project by musician John Balance (of the band Psychic TV), Coil evolved into a full-time project with the addition of his partner Peter Christopherson (formerly of pioneering industrial music group Throbbing Gristle). Balance and Christopherson were the only constant members; other contributors throughout the band's career included Stephen Thrower, Danny Hyde, Drew McDowall, William Breeze, Thighpaulsandra, and Ossian Brown. Coil's work explored themes related to alchemy, the occult, and sexuality, influencing genres such as goth rock, neofolk, and dark ambient. AllMusic called the group "one of the most beloved, mythologized groups to emerge from the British post-industrial scene."

After the release of their 1984 debut EP How to Destroy Angels, Coil joined Some Bizzare Records, through which they released two full-length albums, Scatology (1984) and Horse Rotorvator (1986). After departing from Some Bizzare, Coil had established their own record label, Threshold House, through which they produced and released Love's Secret Domain (1991). Financial difficulties slowed the group's work in the early 1990s before they returned to the project on releases such as Astral Disaster (1999), and the Musick to Play in the Dark series composed of Vol. 1 (1999) and Vol. 2 (2000), as well as releasing several projects under aliases such as Black Light District, ELpH, and Time Machines.

The group started several smaller independent record labels, including Eskaton and Chalice. In 1985, the group began working on a series of soundtracks, among them the rejected score for the first Hellraiser. The group's first live performance in 16 years occurred in 1999, and began a series of mini-tours that would last until 2004. Following the accidental death of John Balance on 13 November 2004, Christopherson announced via that Coil as an entity had ceased to exist, ending the Coil discography with The Ape of Naples (2005).

Roots

Although Coil expressed interest in many musical groups, they rarely, if ever, claimed to be influenced by them. Coil explicitly stated the influence of such non-musical sources as William Burroughs, Aleister Crowley, Bryon Gysin and Austin Spare. Furthermore, the group were friends with Burroughs and owned some of Spare's original artwork. John Balance encouraged fans to trade, discuss and discover new and different forms of music, stressing the importance of variety. Music that Coil expressed interest in is diverse and wide-ranging, from musique concrete to folk music to hardcore punk to classical. Among the musical artists Coil expressed interest in are the early electronic, experimental and minimalistic pioneers: Harry Partch, La Monte Young, Karlheinz Stockhausen (once referred to by Balance as "an honorary member of Coil"), Alvin Lucier, and Arvo Pärt. Coil also expressed interest in krautrock groups including Cluster, Amon Düül II, Can, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. Rock musicians and groups Coil have expressed interest in are: Angus Maclise, Captain Beefheart, Flipper, Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, Nico, Pere Ubu, The Birthday Party, The Velvet Underground and The Virgin Prunes. Coil expressed an interest in the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, and in 1986 used a sample of a piece of his music on the Horse Rotorvator song "The Anal Staircase". Furthermore, on the album Black Antlers Coil dedicated a song to Sun Ra and covered a song by Bam Bam.

Legacy

Coil's influence on electronic music has become more evident since the death of Balance with electronic musicians from all over the world collaborating on a series of tribute albums. Some notable artists who appeared on these albums are Alec Empire, Chris Connelly and K.K. Null (see ...It Just Is). Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor has also expressed his influence by the group. The album Scatology by rap group The Great White Hype was a freestyle rap parody of Scatology based around its samples. The track "At The Heart Of It All" (found on Scatology) later became the name of an Aphex Twin track on Nine Inch Nails remix album Further Down the Spiral. It is possible that Trent Reznor named the track as a reference to Coil, since Coil also provided remixes for Further Down the Spiral.

Discography

Coil's rapid musical output over two decades resulted in a large number of releases, side projects and remixes as well as collaborations.

Primary, full-length, Coil studio albums

• Scatology (1984)
• Horse Rotorvator (1986)
• Gold Is the Metal (With the Broadest Shoulders) (1987)
• Love's Secret Domain (1991)
• Stolen & Contaminated Songs (1992)
• Worship the Glitch (1995, as "ELpH vs. Coil")
• A Thousand Lights in a Darkened Room (1996, as "Black Light District")
• Time Machines (1998, as "Time Machines")
• Astral Disaster (1999)
• Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 1 (1999)
• Queens of the Circulating Library (2000)
• Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 2 (2000)
• Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil (2000)
• The Remote Viewer (2002)
• The Restitution of Decayed Intelligence (2003)
• Black Antlers (2004)
• The Ape of Naples (2005)
• The New Backwards (2008)