Coil spent the next period of its existence exploring visual media. In late 1984 they recorded a rendition of Tainted Love (originally recorded by Gloria Jones, but made popular by Soft Cell in the 80s), producing a widely banned, hallucinogenic video clip featuring Marc Almond as the Angel of Death; despite considerable controversy at home, the video ultimately found its way to the archives of the Museum of Modern Art. After spending several years working with filmmaker Derek Jarman on the feature The Angelic Conversation, Coil issued a remixed edition of their soundtrack. Following 1986’s Nightmare Culture, a collaboration with Boyd Rice produced as split release with Current 93, Christopherson and Balance invited Stephen Thrower to join the group in a full-time capacity. As a trio, they recorded 1986’s LP Horse Rotorvator, introducing orchestral, jazz, and middle Eastern textures into the mix; this album included The Anal Staircase.
In 1987, Coil issued The Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser, a collection of atmospheric gothic instrumentals commissioned for but ultimately cut from the Clive Barker horror film, followed by compilation album Gold Is the Metal (With the Broadest Shoulders), a remixed history of the group’s first several years of work. Unnatural History, another career overview, effectively ended the first phase of the band’s career in 1990; when Coil resurfaced a year later with Love’s Secret Domain, their music reflected the strong influence of the acid house culture. Another long layoff brought on by financial difficulties ended in 1995, when the group - now consisting of Sleazy, Balance, and Drew McDowell - signed to Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records to release Backwards, an album which was never officially released, although it is available in a number of bootleg versions. Additionally, they recorded the LP Worship the Glitch, issued under the name ELpH, and in 1996 cut A Thousand Lights in a Darkened Room as Black Light District.
1998 marked a significant stylistic shift for Coil, as the group moved away from the industrial dance sound they pioneered in the first half of their career towards what Balance referred to as "Moon Musick". This began with the release of four seasonal EPs throughout that year, coinciding with the equinoxes and solstices; this marked the group making further forays into ambient and neoclassical styles. Lyrically, there was a push towards naturalistic, pagan imagery, and an emphasis on free form, improvisatory chants. All four of these releases were later collected and released as Moons Milk (in Four Phases) in 2002. Coil also put out a purely drone based project, Time Machines, under that alias the same year.
In 1999 Coil started to work with Thighpaulsandra, and with him released the chilling Musick to Play in the Dark, a dark, meditative work featuring mostly intoned vocals from Balance, and exploring deeper electronic textures and pitches. A second volume followed in 2000. After years of refusal to do so, Coil started to perform live again in 1999. They released a number of albums containing the various shows they did in the period 2000 - 2004. Coil have released a lot of material in very limited editions, and have distributed certain records only at concerts. In 2003 they started a project to re-issue these tracks. Amidst their sporadic touring, and growing internal tensions within the group, Black Antlers was released in 2004, consisting of many of the songs played in concert at the time. This would prove to be the last studio recording put out in Balance's lifetime.
Jhonn Balance’s long-time struggle with alcoholism led to his death on 13th November, 2004. He fell from the second floor window at his home, while drunk, and died a short time after. Coil’s last live performance took place at Dublin’s City Hall on 23 October 2004 and is expected to appear on the forthcoming DVD box set “Colour Sound Oblivion”. A number of songs that were (as good as) ready were released in autumn 2005 as a last farewell to Jhonn.
Peter Christopherson passed away peacefully in his sleep on November 25, 2010. Instead of sending flowers in memory of Peter Christopherson, people were asked to donate money to help children affected by AIDS in Thailand, the country he loved and died in.
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An Apology
Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you can't wait, then we could do one anyway, and you could release it on a single with us or something. Why don't we do a split single or something? Er... well, that's a good idea anyway, but... we would like to be on, but we don't wanna mess your plans up... er... so, you have these choices.
The lyrics of Coil's song An Apology appear to be a voice message left by Geff to Vicky. Geff is apologizing for not being able to complete a remix that they had promised to Vicky. Peter, who was halfway through the remix, had to go away for four weeks due to some unknown reasons. Geff is suggesting two options to Vicky: either go ahead and do the remix without Coil's help, or wait for Peter to return, and they could complete it by the end of the coming week. If Vicky decides to go ahead with the remix without their help, Coil could still contribute by releasing it on a single with Vicky or doing a split single.
The song's lyrics are cryptic and open to interpretation. One possible interpretation is that it could be reflecting on the fragility of promises and the human tendency to disappoint one another. Another interpretation could be that it is an inner reflection of the band members, expressing their regret for missing out on an opportunity due to their inability to follow through on promises. Whatever the interpretation may be, the lyrics provide a sense of sincerity and penitence.
Line by Line Meaning
Vicky, hi, it's, er, Geff calling.
Geff is calling Vicky and introducing himself.
It's Tuesday; it's one o'clock; I've got a horrible cold.
Geff is specifying the date and time of his call and stating that he is feeling unwell.
Er... regarding your remix... we haven't done it!
Geff informs Vicky that the remix has not been done yet.
Peter had to go away: he's been away for four weeks. He was halfway through it when he left.
Geff explains that Peter, who was working on the remix, had to leave and has been gone for four weeks. He left the remix unfinished when he left.
So the options are, go ahead and do it without us, or you could wait: he's back on this coming Monday, and we could do it by the end of that week, if... if possible...
Geff presents two options to Vicky: to proceed without them or to wait for Peter's return on Monday to finish the remix, should it be possible to do so by the end of the week.
'cause I know we - you know, we really wanna do it.
Geff indicates that he and Peter are interested in completing the remix but need to evaluate their availability before committing.
If you can't wait, then we could do one anyway, and you could release it on a single with us or something.
Geff suggests that if Vicky cannot wait for them to complete the remix, they could do their own version and possibly release it together with Coil on a split single.
Why don't we do a split single or something? Er... well, that's a good idea anyway, but...
Geff revisits the idea of a split single but expresses reluctance, implying that it may not be realistic to produce one for this project given their time constraints and other commitments.
we would like to be on, but we don't wanna mess your plans up... er... so, you have these choices.
Geff emphasizes that they want to be involved but do not wish to interfere with Vicky's plans, and leaves the decision to her.
Contributed by Emma J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Wolfgang
Where does this come from? It's not on discogs.
ᗩᗰᑭᕼᎥ丅ᕼᗴƏ丅ᖇᗴ ♭
sounds like a remix of 'princess margaret' from new backwards. no idea where it came from though, lmk if you find out :)