Spring is always a miserable time, and this year has been no exception. Although we feel like we have been very busy, there seems to be little to show for it. The pile of letters awaiting response gets larger and more intimidating all the time and we have fewer and fewer items to sell. However we have finally managed to find someone to help us in the mail-order department, and hopefully Vicki will be able to work wonders and will actually pull us back to the straight and narrow (where letters are concerned anyway!)

Conversing With Angels

As mentioned in our last newsletter, COIL contributed to the soundtrack of Derek Jarman's last film "Blue" (seen last year on Channel 4) and a brief snatch of our music can be found both on the video, and on the soundtrack CD released by Mute (Cat no CD STUMM 49). However, to commemorate the event, we pressed 1023 copies of a 7" single containing two versions of our track for the film (1000 in blue vinyl, and a special edition of 23 in canary yellow vinyl) (Cat no. LOCI S1). A handful of the blue version remain available by mail-order.
At long last we have produced the CD of the Soundtrack to Derek's 1984 film "The Angelic Conversation". Distributed via World Serpent (Cat no. LOCI CD6). Thered for Derek's funeral in Dungeoness in March. The event was very moving, and was beautifully and sensitively handled by his lover Keith Collins. Derek's body, dressed in a robe of gold was lying in state when we arrived at the little wooden house on the beach that had been his home for the last years of his life. He looked fabulous - like some kind of lovingly sculpted wax figure. The coffin was closed at 12.30pm prior to being taken to New Romney where a simple (and fortunately not too Christian) funeral service was held, attended by many well-known figures from his films including Tilda Swinton, Nigel Terry and Neil Tennant. He was buried privately in the graveyard of St Clement, Old Romney later that afternoon.
We feel privilegeged to have been his friends, and to have been able to work with Derek Jarman, as we did. We love him and will miss him very much.

Postcards From The Edge

COIL recently visited the Shifting Sands of Hollywood, spending most time in the tattoo emporium of LEO ZULUETA, called BLACK WAVE, where we both received beautiful and extensive work from the master's machine. We spent the rest of our visit chasing Roddy Bottom (of Faith No More), and being chased by Trent Reznor and Axl Rose.

A Bad Business and A Sad Business

Coil and Threshold House have severed all ties with Wax Trax! Records of Chicago, Illinois. The split was not amicable. Wax Trax! owed Coil a considerable amount of royalties for Love's Secret Domain, and refused to pay up unless we signed a new and draconian multiple album contract with TVT, the label that bought out Wax Trax! when they filed for bankruptcy. Needless to say, Coil found this attempt at manipulation despicable and have since left the label.

Stuff That's Out At The Moment

ESP Records include an edit of "The Snow" on their "Ambient Groove" CD Vol 3. (ESP9197-2). Our track was stupidly deemed "too scary" by NME.
Coil's Neither His Nor Yours track reappears on "CASH COWS - The Best of Giorno Poetry Systems" CD, alongside W. S. Burroughs, Cabaret Voltaire, Philip Glass and many others. This is a US only release through East Side Digital. (Cat no ESD80712.)
Last and definitely least, "Windowpane" appears on Vol 3 of "Electrocity" from Ausfahrt Recs (Cat no. EFA06312-26). Compiled by Ecki Stieg.

Chaos Expanded

The European label Sub Rosa has recently released "Chaos in Expansion" a compilation CD including one twelve minute instrumental piece by us called "Baby Food", recorded last summer and also work by Charles Hayward, Ligeti and Prigogine. This should be widely available in stores. (Cat no. Utopian Diaries SR50)

Something From Nothing

As you may have seen if you have been reading about Nine Inch Nails recently, we are currently completing negotiations with NIN's record label, nothing, released in the US through Interscope, to handle COIL in the US. Not only have they been very helpful with financing, and moral support, but we hope this liaison will help us to properly penetrate the youth of America, finally!
Some people may remember we remixed "Gave Up" from NIN's "Broken" mini-album. Our version appeared (with others by Foetus, Butch Vig etc.) on their "Fixed" CD. They recently asked us to do the same with a track from their new album "The Downward Spiral". With assistance from Danny Hyde (Coil's secret 3rd member) we remixed the track "Closer" - We describe our version as "Chinese Space Ambient" and that should be out as part of a single package soon.
You may see a resemblance between the artwork for "The Downward Spiral" and certain Coil albums. This is coincidental, apparently!

It Is In The Trees - It's Coming...!

May sees us in the studio, with the intention of completing our first album proper including Black Light District, The Eskaton, Wormsine, 2012, Lifestyle, and others... We will keep you posted, if our work emerges into the public domain in an unfamiliar shape or form.

Sleazy's Videos

Peter has recently been working on loads of videos recently. Amongst others: Nine Inch Nails "March of the Pigs", Jah Wobble "Becoming More Like God", Senser "Age of Panic", Sepultura "Refuse/ Resist", and Rage Against the Machine "Freedom".

The Twitching of Internet Curtains

For those of you who are Wired we now have an Internet address. It is JOHN@LOCI.DEMON.CO.UK Please don't expect us to be able to reply any quicker than by the old ways...

Star F*****s...

Tracks by Coil have appeared in a number of new movies recently including "Totally Fucked Up" by Gregg Araki, a low budget nihilist post-punk LA movie. We are due to be working on his new one, an ultra- violent multi-sexual love story, called "The Doom Generation" which completed principle photography in February.

Future Issue

We are working on assembling new releases from World Serpent, including "Unnatural History II", and "The Sound of Music" which will feature many so-far unreleased pieces recorded for films and videos, included the now infamous "Gay Man's Guide to Safer Sex".

Of Ruine Or Some Blazing Starre...

John Balance has recently been working with David Tibet's Current 93 group, including backing vocals on the recently released "Lucifer over London" mini-album (Cat no. DURTROHOHO 019). Tibet & Balance's joint album prn The Nodding God Unveiled" contains a CD with musical contributions from COIL, Nurse with Wound, Tibet etc. Again it's through World Serpent.

Despite mentioning them in a previous pricelist and newsletter, we are slightly ashamed to admit that we have still not completed either the lyric book or the Black Sun book. As usual with COIL, the constantly accelerating passage of time and the folds in it (which seem to be getting more intense and more convoluted as the Millennium approaches) have distracted us. We promise to get it together soon (Hope springs eternal!).

Under Shivering Stars...

The always excellent and worthwhile Teitan Press Inc., West Barry Avenue, Suite 16B, Chicago, Ill 60657, USA. Tel (312) 929 7892, are working on an edition of Aleister Crowley's magnificent translation of Baudelaire's "Little Poems in Prose" for later this year. We highly recommend every publication from this valuable and high quality publishing house.

Fist Magazine No. 5

...contains a long and slightly interesting interview with Coil, alongside similar ones from Death In June, ClockDVA and the Swans - It cost A33 inc p&p from 85 St Agnes Place, Kennington, London SE11 4BB. (Cheques payable to FIST).

A Feast For The Super-Sensualists?

John Balance would be interested to hear from anyone with anything for sale relating to the occult artist Austin Osman Spare (AOS) - original books by or illustrated by him, original artworks, paintings, magazines etc. Anything and everything considered. Also "Poems and Masks" by Vera Wainright, published by the Toucan Press in 1968 and Charles Grindrod's "The Shadow of Raggedstone", published in 1908. Also anything at all to do with Aleister Crowley esp. his drawings and paintings, original and rare books. Also any rare and unusual items by William S Burroughs, Brion Gysin, the cat artist Louis Wain, the artist Charles Sims and any Clarke Ashton Smith stuff esp. original artworks.

Both Tibet and Balance are searching for vinyl and CD bootlegs of Captain Beefheart, And finally, on a note of dim whimsey, can anyone locate for us a copy of the bootleg Kate Bush CD called "Alone at My Piano". If you can help with any of these please contact us via Threshold House on 081-742 7347. All sensible calls gratefully received and appreciated.

Knob Twiddler's Corner...

We are also in the market for old synthesizers and other equipment, particularly the following items:

          Yamaha CS80 analog synth 
          Yamaha DX7 (mk 1) plus analog style programmer 
          OSCar (Version 6 or 7 - midi) synth 
          Korg Poly Six synth 
          Delta lab's Effectron 
          ...anything old and weird considered.