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    2 views3 pages

    coil-1995-the_lizard

    Uploaded by

    anthonyblokdijk

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 3
    rly Gnesi idely unknown’ despite a twelve- year career, COIL's time may well be coming. The enigmatic group are now regularly cited as an influence by the likes of Autechre. JOHN EVERALL talks John Balance and Peter Christopherson through a diverse and fascinating career in mystique-making. All artwork by Coil. ‘6 A tendency to be nermetic may confer certain benefits upon ‘ert, but aso has its drawbacks. Colare acutely aware of tis ‘lemma. Fora dozen yeas they have pursued a singular path, embracing the esoteric, the erotic, and the ecstatic nthe process ‘eating a musi which pefigues recent Gevelopments in electronica, However, Col’ immense contribution to sonic Inovation has to large extent been overooked. As their long-tme aly Monte Cazazza would say "They are wisely unknown Yet, erhaps itis the subte, unseen inuences that deter ‘ine the ever-shiting morphology of the sonic land scape. t's my contention that Col (alongwith Throbbing Grste, more of whom later have been 2 fluent n shaping raical musa content at hip names to crop suchas Can, no, Kraftwerk, Lee Perry or Stockhausen. A sizeable cut follow Ing seems seant reward for the cretors of some ‘ofthe most chalenging music ofthe past two decades, yet John Balance seems unperturbed, ‘most nonchalant about ths: " don't understand ‘wy people want popular acim. Our intention has always been to be true to ourselves, 0 remain pure, uncontaminated bythe mainstream Balance sone thi of Cll (the other members being exTS ‘conspirator Peter Christopherson aka Sleazy and recent action Drew McDowall) and has strong views on ti subject. “The people we respect do tend to workin oation in order to remain pure. The (Occult artist Austin Osman Spare isa good example. Spare cnt ‘accept monetary rewerds or pay the At gare. He's not widely known, yet to me he's a towering igure. Beyond Willan Blake, even.” These are the people Coll connect with history shadowy presences “and hidden cataysts: Spare, Tesla, the sodo-Sumealtic Lutreamont. -Musilons respected by Col again conform to ths idea ofthe ih idiosyncratic vsionary figure: Beetheat LaMont Young along wih ose ales Nurse With Wound and occasional collaborator, Boyd Rice. Given Cols wilful perversity, ther outsider stance, perhaps tis surprising that they are now being cy a8 @ major intuence by the likes of Autechre. So how do they connect with recent develop ‘ments in music? “Recent developments in music", Balance ponders. “Ithinktheyve connected with us, actual For instance, sleazy wes Using a series of ear cassette machines inked to a keyboard, actualy ‘rggerng samples. This was back nthe late seventies with TG, he created a proto-samping device. think Czukey aid something ‘vaguely smi with Can and of course there ar other unacknow edged people who uttsedsamping techniques prior to the deve- ‘pment ofthe sampler as a speci commercial stument” (ver the past decace, the sampler has assumed the same sot of Iconic significance as that once restored forthe elecvc gute. ee iz E the snecdoche of the curent musical era. Yet mest its unimaginative Ivemployed as the isrument of postmocerst musical pick mi This lamentabe, sven ts potental as fecitate of magckal possibi- ties, lets abity to cut up and mutate sections of realty a Walon Burroughs. Col are the only artists can think of who've employed the semper in tis way. Balance concurs “Cou does take sections of realy and ts tem rounc. This process we term Sdereal Sound I homage to Spare. Around the mic-extes atthe time of Seatology, we were conscious of ths process. We ublsed an alchemy of sound, ak new sound and transmuting I Now this has become an intatve process ‘ith us. But obvious Burroushs ideas about cutups have aways been {an nfuence. Weve known him for ong tine, and he contributes to @ {eack on our album Backoarcs which wll ome out on Trent Reznor’ "Nothing label We gave Willem certain key phrases to rece, realy tis 8 ‘magickal incantation, i has @ power shamanicespect tit" Coll have always chosen ther collaborators wisely; the lt s impressive: elongsde Burroughs, people theyve worked with nthe pest inctude Jim Tiel, Gavin Friday, Annie Arwiety, Baye Rice (on the Sickness OF sakes project) and Marc Almond. like people ‘ho push themselves to the iit, who are prepare to take rks whether it be their mental or physical health or the postblty of Commercial flue. Mare Almond has been one of our sou: ‘ates through fe. He pushes himself he's not afar to make mstakes, end he's a super sensvalst Realy, these are the srt of people Im attracted to, Also somebody ke Daman Galas, who Im sure we ‘work with at some point Again, @ person who has {tremendous shamanic quality within her work: ‘More poignantly, Coil and Diamanda Galas have both been forced to deal with the tragedy of AiDS-elated deaths nthe work, No other atts have confronted this ssue wth such unfinching, honesty. Cols ugubrous version of Tainted Love’ ave that song a new and chillin meaning, Horse Rotonator, released in 1986, further explored the theme of AIDS-related deaths and a the sulcises of lose frends: "We hada sudden spate of suicides around us and aso AIDS-related deaths. Tainted Love’ wat a product of our inclanation and anger atthe way AIDS victims were being Weated, We had attend who was an artis, the person who did the cover art for Tainted Love, called Ecce Cama. At the te he died there was {2 total ADS pan. Realy, twas insane. think was Hammersmith Council who deat with Ede’ boay ater his death. They sent men in bloody Dalek suts, wrapped the body n numerous sheets of plas: ti and cicr® know how to deal withthe body. This was the sort of atttude which realy aroused my anger. With Horse Rotorator we hha gotten over ou original anger and we were tying to explore ‘ath In postive way, as something which everyoody must con front So as well as deaing withthe deaths of people close tous, we ‘were also dealing with thing like the wolent death of Pasolini Sex and death, the twin sods thanatos ana Eros, re ‘omnipresent in Cols Workin the Batis. However, te emphasis has now shifted, and Col are pursuing music which hes @ healing function, addresses ecological sues, and explores arcane pre: Christan nature worship. At peesent they are composing @sound- track to Derek Jarmen’s Jourey To Avebury, compiled from footage he shot in the late seventies atthe me of making In The Shadow Of The Sun. "“Joumey To Avebury was important to us, t0 be able to

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