Tag Archives: coil

Looking Backwards & Further

The last year was the year I finally gave in and accepted that I’m getting older. I listened as usual to a lot of music in all formats, but what excited me most with only a bunch exceptions where lost & found reissues actually with some current releases of old names thown in.

DVA

The year started quite promising with a Sign from Adi Newton as Clock DVA, together with his recent partner in crime TeZ and affiliates Rizosfera the first new DVA album since an eternity after various singles and remixes spread into the world since reactivation ca. 2014. ‘Neosis’ came in various formats, CD was my choice as it beared more content in form of 4 extra tracks. Marketing was on spot this time arround, various limited packages and appeareances accompanied this event and I had quite high expectations. In the long run I listened to it only a few times, musicwise it was exactly what one can expect from Clock DVA, the sonority of Adi’s vocal, semi Kraftwerkian coldness and dark hints between tech and occultism. Actually a solid but not surpsrising album I would have listened more often if it hadn’t gone lost due it’s unhandy A5 digipak folder ArmComm settled on as standard with it’s releases so they need to be stored somewhere other than in a current pile.
Besides he also released solo compositions and various collaboration, check adinewton.bandcamp.com , Spectral Unit (with Enrico Marani), Psychophysicst (without A. McKenzie) and The Anti Group with some more elusive stuff from the archives via a subsription option.
On a sidenote : BEF’s “Music For Stowaways” feat. Adi on one track was finally reissued with all tracks included that where on this and the “Music For Listening To” issues on CD/LP/DL via Cold Spring.
After years of silence a hell of activity, but at least some new material after VOD most likely published every single tape recording from the beginnings in three boxed LP sets starting from 2012-2019. Sorry Adi but this was too much for my bank account so I gave up in completing DVA/TAG.

Another band I gave upon collecting after years was COIL, there where just to much reissues, remasters, half-legal attempts and color variations with few new tracks I obviously had to have. As much as I welcome their music and legacy being widely available I felt amibigious about “Queens Of The Circular Library” being forced on Vinyl. This was always meant to be listened to as a whole as I understood it and not split in sections. To a lesser degree the same applies to ‘Tunnel Of Goats’ from “Constant Shallowness Leads To Evil” but imho this was best experienced live anyway. Coming in March via Dais is “Moon’s Milk (In Four Phases)”, the compilation of their 4 solstic EP’s published (of course in various variations) throughout 1998 together with the 2002 appendix of the bonus disk added to the Eskaton 2CD Reissue. This might be one of the last offerings as all releases when Drew McDowall and / or Thigpaulsandra (excluding the live ones) where involved are available now again. Danny Hyde seems to have published all his outtakes and mixes too so the big question is still open : Will their 80’s releases and early Albums up to “Love’s Secret Domain” ever be reissued ?
As of now VOD announced a John Balance 8LP Box Set in a woodcase with t-shirt and whatever determined to be a collectors item containing earliest recordings and collaborations and earliest Coil (solo & with Sleazy) in two editions, regular version 666 copies + 133 extra limited ones which can’t be purchased without the other. Most likely this is the last of his Vinyl endavours as the gobal postage and economical pressures took his toll. We’ll see, as next project he’s announced CD Box Sets already and if they’re made with the same care they can’t be bad.

Photo: VOD

At least David Kenaan’s English Hidden Reverse Book on Current 93 / Nurse With Wound and Coil got finally a repress via Strange Attractor with some expansions now and hopefully a little more Coil and less C93 content now but as far as I read it’s only already published material about artists who interesected with them originally as Furfur. But of course it’s not over with Memorabilia to be plundered, Timeless Editions published a facsmile collection of pages from John Balance’s notebooks. See for other items in various editions for your pleasure if interested.

Drew McDowall, who had left Coil and the UK after “Musick To Play In The Dark I”, published a 6CD Box Set including his 4 solo Albums with added Live and Outtake Recordings via Dais. Just after I completed getting his 4 Vinyl / digital only Albums. I was still tempted, especially after his strong Lamina LP from 2020 and finally seeing him live in 2020 (post Covid restrictions) with his Time Machines interpretation.

While looking after the whereabouts of ex-Coil members there was also a remarkable release by Stephen Thrower with David Knight in the ongoing Modulism Series as digital only release in the guise of UnicaZürn. As all parts of the series linked to an extensive interview and additional photos. If you dig deeper you’ll find Thighpaulsandra there too with another exclusive release.

2020 Shortlist : Chronological

Due to the global pandemic slowdown 2020 was musicwize a great year for unexpected archive releases and supporting artists with no other income via digital purchases.
Concerts I’ve missed where I already had tickets for (Heaven 17 and Drew McDowall). Other tours and events, like the James Bond Movie f.e. and the cabaret shows I had in mind just disappeared
but at least no one I live along was seriously ill and suffered which allows me to keep some hope left for the better.

Like so many I’ve spent unexpectedly much time at home which brought the bonus of listening to more longform pieces and much more music in general. One of the artists I discovered and listened a lot to was OhmikRon, a Musician and DJ from Hungary with many mixes online at soundcloud and a batch of releases spread over various platforms and labels. I already featured one of his extraordinary dubtech tracks here month ago but as the according album was issued in early February I won’t miss the chance to include it here.

Another early bird of 2020 when we still thought Donald Trump and his likeminded fans where one of the greatest global Problems was the 2nd Album from the US Ska / Pop act Heavensbee. Different line-up and new singers but lyrically and musically a great pleasure to listen to, especially when it get’s a little more sunny outside. I kept this one always on my phone;

In March thing looked more grim already and an emotional snapshot of mixed feelings, effects of isolation, unforeseeable future developments, danger through social habits reached me via Marco Milanesio’s new label hum_an. Italy was by then more haunted than Germany as I recall and it was hard to believe the news.
A collaboration of DsorDNE with Onda Lunga, the resulting 20+ Minutes left an lasting impression on me.

May brought a new 10″ single by an artist I’ve been following through the years, since I discovered the first Bourbonese Qualk album in a 2nd Hand store and discovered a pretty unique approach
leading to many styles and releases I enjoyed a lot. Since the end of BoQu he released two brilliant albums as solo artist, the second more electronically based and more easily to obtain appeared in 2018 and this was the first new release I found issued in dubplate form on a small french label with a version on the flip. Digitally not fully available online but really worth tracking down.

Also in May ŽEN from Croatia issued this free / pay what you want Remix Album to celebrate their 10th Anniversary I stumbled upon while looking up whatever happened to Borghesia, a pretty underrated ex-yugoslavian band I’ve been listening a lot to somewhen in the last century. While their regular Albums are recommended on their own too this more electronically / experimental approach collected here works surprisingly well and I’m sure their lyrics are full of passion and sense too.

June brought the next fruits of the Cousin Silas / Glove Of Bones colloboration, actually the 4th already and this one connects even more wildly than it’s predecessor Afrodubism with a fictious Africa, Voodoo and Experimental Dub. It can be reminiscent of African Head Charge at their heights while adding the spiritual freedom of The Grateful Dead and after repeated listening it get’s addictive. Great Stuff, you’re warned. And it was releases on Cassette too. Who could have believed we’ll return to buying tapes casually in 2020?

Always a pleasure is a new release by Little Annie Anxiety, while never sure if it will be more Torch, Experimental or Blues orientated her lyrics and incredible smokey voice classified her years ago as the diva of our generation. Her history is as interesting as her whole ouvre – working with Crass, On-U Sound, Coil, painting, writing and during the last years being involved with Italian group Larsen a lot she returned with a new album which bears one of the very best suitable titles for 2020 imho; ‘A Bar Too Far’. Contrary to her last one this leans more into the blue hours, recorded with Paul Wallfisch on the Piano once more after a break of 10 years and also featuring Kid Congo Powers on several tracks. Since July only available digital with full cd graphics enclosed on a ‘pay what you want/can’ base, all proceeds are donated to a good cause in her local community at Miami, Florida.

Shriekback where one of the artists who took their chances to empty their archives this year in full. Nearly no month without a release passed by and I still did not manage to catch up with it. Besides rare live and session material, collaborations and solo stuff now nearly their complete catalouge is now available digitally too but only via their homepage.
No other way supports the artist more directly, so check it out, also a wealth of free downloads can be found there to wet your tastes. Stic Basin was an project started by Barry Andrews years ago and besides my chance to get the first release finally he also found time to get this 30 Minute something Album out in October, even physically as limited DIY CD in hand stamped and personalized digipak too. The only fault I could find was – it is too short.

stic basin - 2 cover

Coincidentally another 17 years came to fruition for Denise Sherwood, the eldest of Adrian (ON-U Sound) Sherwood’s daughters. ‘This Road’ as she frankly admits in interviews was devoloped, rethought, re-recorded in parts nearly endlessly. Still it sounds like a ‘Fairy Tale’ and fulfils all the promises her contribution to 2019’s excellent ‘Pay It All Back, Vol. 7’ compilation ‘Ghost Heart’ made. This is charming, groovy and – dare I say – soulful at once.
Of course it helps if you have Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Skip McDonald, Doug Wimbish, George Oban, Keith LeBlanc, Carlton Oglive, Mark Stewart and equally talented guests at hand and a great producer and engineer as father. I just wished she could have gotten her mother – Kishi – to do one of the classy ON-U sleeves for this, while I understand that the japanese styled aquarell of flowers in a broken vase in mellow colors might be for her the perfect fitting artwork. Available in all formats, a real gem.

Released in late Autumn, End of October came Drew McDowall’s 4th solo album, his closest to Ritual Music and to his time with Coil yet. A differentiated and very delictate but minimimal and ambient work. Coupled with utterly bizarre artwork by NY artist Caroline Schub who sees her work as public record of chronic illness and published by Dais Records in a variety of formats including limited beautiful grey smoke Vinyl, green transparent and unlimited black Vinyl. Digital it comes along with it and two extra tracks. I did not expect too much from this to be honest but working on Coil reissues he was involved in and the Time Machines live project it seems he found his way now more focused again. ‘Agalma’ is a sublime pleasure, where musicanship, vision and well crafted mastering and production meet.

Beginning of December a 19 track fundraiser compilation supported and initated by local artists with all donations going to Our Kitchen on The Isle Of Thanet (1hr away from London on the coast of Kent) was published via bandcamp digital only. While for me the unknown and exclusive tracks of artists I knew – Adrian Sherwood Mixes, Mark Stewart Vs. NoHumanEye, Youth and one of the last mixes done by Andrew Weatherall for Meatraffle – did not let me think very long about the 5 P.St. asked for it. Especially after using the chance listening to it as a whole I was impressed with many of the tracks by artists I’ve hardly ever heard of. This is an outstanding compilation and worth every Penny.

Of course this listing can only be a glimpse, there have been several more outstanding and remarkable releases throughout the year and most likely even more I simply missed and find about in years to come.

London’s Lost Recordings – COIL Unearthed

January 2018

April 2018

Both the above are curated collections of material recently unearthed or in circulation before but not in the sound quality it deserved by the 2017 founded Coil Live Archive. While the main focus of Kiefer Gorena and Phil Barrington obviously concentrates on documenting and researching the Coil performance recordings any serious attempt to improve the incredible legacy is more then welcome.

In 2016 Phil Barrington already went through the remarkable process of re-creating the announced but never finished Coil Project and presented a possible version with ultimate care in sound and design also for free via archive.org.

It’s still questionable if Coil’s main body of work will ever be republished and made available for civil prices due to the many parties involved now in the estates of Peter and Jon (read an well-penned artile by PB here) and more than often only bootlegers seem to make profit out of their legacy since years.

A few exceptions of this where the Brainwashed related Treshhold Archive series which sadly came to an halt, Danny Hyde licensing ‘Backwards’ in it’s original form to Cold Spring, Drew McDowell re-issuing Time Machines or labels with an valid contract opted to reissue the albums, tracks and bits that where licensed to them (Important, Prescription, Sub Rosa, Optimo).