Coil - The Angelic Conversation
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Music CD Cover
Artist: CoilEdition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 1999-06-22
Music Label: Import [Generic]
Soundtracks:
- Ascension
- Enochian Calling
- Angelic Stations
- Finite Bees
- Cave of Roses
- Sun Ascension
- Madriiax
- Escalation
- Never
- Enochian Calling II
- Montecute
Free Music Notes for The Angelic Conversation
Free Music Review: A unique, organic trip
Hit: 5 Stars
"The Angelic Conversation" has been one of my favorite Coil albums for a long time now. The negative reviewers seem to be misunderstanding this album, saying there's too little going on, that they can't hear it in the car, criticizing the insertion of Shakespeare (which, out of all the complaints, is probably the most understandable). Make no mistake, this is a peaceful, slow moving, extremely quiet album that's meant for meditation and contemplation. There are many moments here that are nearly silent, or are occupied by Judi Dench's soothing voice alone.
Like all of Coil's best work, "The Angelic Conversation" is a sound environment, but to me feels nothing like anything else they've done. In contrast to their moon music of the late 90's (Musick to Play in the Dark 2), "The Angelic Conversation" is full of the sounds of both day and night, and forsakes any semblance or rhythm or melody for a purely ambient sound. Bees and birds are audible alongside the sounds of the inanimate natural forces... softly blowing winds, splashing water and light rain. Gongs and other Eastern sounding percussion sometimes enter the mix, as do beautiful, lamenting violins. I've always said no artist ever did so well as Coil at using sound to simulate feeling of nature or remote locations (which makes it all the more impressive and ironic that their sound palette has nearly always been purely electronic), but that statement has never been more true than here.
This entire album is like trekking across some misty, ancient mountain inhabited by some ancient civilization untouched by the advances of the last few hundred years. It's full of a strange, inexplicable magic. It has a mysterious, distinctly pagan quality, and yet it is never threatening. This is a world of enchanted pools and whistling tundra that the evocative track titles ("Cave of Roses") only help to more clearly illustrate. If this sort of atmosphere sounds appealing to you, I would advise you to track down this album as quickly as you can.
The Shakespeare readings enhance the experience for me, as they seem to perfectly compliment the contemplative mood the record has. The writings chosen are philosophical musings on love, the same sort of thoughts one would often have during deep thought/meditation. Also, since I am a big fan of Shakespeare, I'm glad at the chance to ponder his deeply poetic words with this sort of aural backdrop.
The album, being one of Coil's older works, lacks the magnificent production quality of the later albums, and this is my only complaint with it. I find, because of its less sophisticated panning and spacial effects, it's actually better on speakers than headphones, unlike their later work. Since this is really a result of the band being limited by budget and the time period in which the album was recorded, I won't decrease my 5 star rating.
In conclusion, "The Angelic Conversation" is a masterful ambient triumph that is one of the most relaxing albums I own and also one of the most visually evocative experiences one can find in music. I've never seen the movie it was originally created to accompany, but this album is a complete experience on its own. Highly recommended.
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