The Angelic Conversation

While not formally released by Coil until 1994, the year of filmmaker Derek Jarman’s death, The Angelic Conversation was recorded by the John Balance/Peter Christopherson/Stephen Thrower incarnation of the group in 1985 for Jarman’s film of the same title, a meditation on homosexual desire and mysterious imagery. Whether in its original soundtrack form including Shakespeare sonnet recitations by Judi Dench or in a separate instrumental-only variation released in later years, it’s a remarkable example of how Coil, seemingly at that moment in time focused on clattering stomps and ecstatic invocations on albums like Scatology and Horse Rotorvator, could also easily concentrate on subtler but no less involving sonic moods. Sound samples from the film mixed with drone snippets, varied echoed percussion and ringing bells, and a general air of floating mystery, accentuated by further orchestral and choral elements. Song titles such as “Angelic Stations” and “Enochian Calling” demonstrate Balance’s imaginative lodestones in effect alongside Jarman’s own imaginative, powerfully erotic visions.