The English duo Coil has set the tone in the English underground for more than two decades. By 1983, Peter Christopherson had already had a prominent career, co-founder of both
Throbbing Gristle and
Psychic TV. The younger John Balance was a fan of these groups, and when Christopherson left Psychic TV, he went on alone with Balance, both as a partner and in Coil. Coil started with a dark, 'industrial'
… sound in the first half of the eighties. After a brief flirtation with electro and dance music in the transition to the nineties, they ended up in esoteric minimal atmospheres. However, the urge to experiment remained constant, as did the dark themes. Highlights in their extensive oeuvre are Scatology, Horse Rotorvator, Love's Secret Domain and the Musick to Play in the Dark CDs. With the unexpected death of Balance in 2004, Coil came to an end; six years later, Peter Christopherson also died. (TC)more