This Mortal Coil | |
---|---|
Origin | United Kingdom |
Genres | |
Years active | 1983–1991 |
Labels | 4AD |
Spinoffs | The Hope Blister |
Past members | Ivo Watts-Russell John Fryer |
This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. [5] Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom were otherwise associated with 4AD, including members of Cocteau Twins, Pixies and Dead Can Dance. [6] The project became known for its gothic, dream pop sound, and released three full albums, beginning in 1984 with It'll End in Tears . [7]
Watts-Russell had founded 4AD in 1980, and the label established itself as one of the key labels in the British post-punk movement.[ citation needed ] Following several releases, Watts-Russell developed the idea of collaborating under the name This Mortal Coil. [8] The name is taken from lyrics to the song Dream Within A Dream by Spirit ("...Stepping off this mortal coil will be my pleasure..."), [9] which in turn is a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet ("... what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil...").
The 4AD website said:
This Mortal Coil was not a band, but a unique collaboration of musicians recording in various permutations, the brainchild of 4AD kingpin Ivo Watts-Russell. The idea was to allow artists the creative freedom to record material outside of the realm of what was expected of them; it also created the opportunity for innovative cover versions of songs personal to Ivo.
One of the label's earliest signings was Modern English. In 1983, Watts-Russell suggested that the band re-record two of its earliest songs, "Sixteen Days" and "Gathering Dust", as a medley. At the time, the band was closing its set with this medley, and Watts-Russell felt it was strong enough to warrant a re-recording. When the band rebuffed the idea, Watts-Russell decided to assemble a group of musicians to record the medley: Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins; Gordon Sharp of Cindytalk (later known as Cindy Sharp or Cinder); and a few members of Modern English. [8] An EP, Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust , resulted from these sessions. A cover of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren", performed by Fraser and Guthrie alone, was recorded as a B-side for the EP. Pleased with the results, Watts-Russell decided to make this the A-side of the 7" single version of the EP, and the song quickly became an underground hit, leading Watts-Russell to pursue the recording of a full album under the This Mortal Coil moniker, 1984's It'll End in Tears . [8]
In June 1998, Watts-Russell began releasing albums in a similar vein to his TMC projects, under the name The Hope Blister. [10]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [11] | UK Indie [12] | NL [13] | NZ [14] | ||
It'll End in Tears | 38 | 1 | — | 42 | |
Filigree & Shadow |
| 53 | 2 | — | — |
Blood |
| 28 | — | 58 | — |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Dust & Guitars |
|
Title | Album details |
---|---|
1983–1991 |
|
This Mortal Coil |
|
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
UK [11] | ||
Sixteen Days / Gathering Dust |
| 100 |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [11] | UK Indie [12] | BE (FL) [15] | NL [16] | NZ [17] | |||
"Song to the Siren" | 1983 | 66 | 3 | — | 39 | 8 | It'll End in Tears |
"Kangaroo" | 1984 | 92 | 2 | — | — | — | |
"Come Here My Love"/"Drugs" (limited release) | 1986 | 90 | 2 | — | — | — | Filigree & Shadow |
"You and Your Sister" (Benelux and France-only release) | 1991 | — | — | 42 | 13 | — | Blood |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as reverb, echo, tremolo, and chorus. It often overlaps with the related genre of shoegaze, and the two genre terms have at times been used interchangeably.
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. They signed with the record label 4AD in 1982 and released their debut album Garlands. In 1983, Heggie was replaced with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde. The group earned critical praise for their ethereal, effects-laden sound and the soprano vocals of Fraser, whose lyrics often eschew any recognisable language. They pioneered the 1980s alternative subgenre of dream pop and helped define what would become shoegaze.
Heaven or Las Vegas is the sixth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. It was released on 17 September 1990 by 4AD. It is the band's second major-label release, following Blue Bell Knoll in 1988.
4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of the label's first four singles. Later that year, Watts-Russell and Kent purchased the label from Beggars Banquet to become an independent record label, and Kent sold his share to Watts-Russell a year later.
Elizabeth Davidson Fraser is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins who achieved success in the UK primarily during the fifteen years from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Their studio albums Victorialand (1986) and Heaven or Las Vegas (1990) both reached the top ten of the UK Album Charts, as well as other albums including Blue Bell Knoll (1988), Four-Calendar Café (1993) and Milk & Kisses (1996) charting on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States as well as the top 20 in the UK. She also performed as part of the 4AD group This Mortal Coil, including the successful 1983 single "Song to the Siren", and as a guest with Massive Attack on their 1998 hit single "Teardrop".
It'll End in Tears is the first album released by 4AD collective This Mortal Coil, a loose grouping of artists on the label brought together by label boss Ivo Watts-Russell. The album was released by 4AD on 8 October 1984, and reached #38 on the UK Albums Chart.
Ivo Watts-Russell is a British music producer and record label executive. He was joint-founder with Peter Kent of the independent record label 4AD. He has produced several records, although he prefers to use the term "musical director".
Treasure is the third studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 12 November 1984 by 4AD. With this album, the band settled on what would, from then on, be their primary lineup: vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, guitarist Robin Guthrie and bass guitarist Simon Raymonde. The album also reflected the group's embrace of the distinctive ethereal sound with which they became associated.
Vaughan Oliver was a British graphic designer based in Epsom, Surrey. Oliver was best known for his work with graphic design studios 23 Envelope and v23. Both studios maintained a close relationship with record label 4AD between 1982 and 1998 and gave distinct visual identities for the 4AD releases by many bands, including Mojave 3, Lush, Cocteau Twins, The Breeders, This Mortal Coil, Pale Saints, Pixies, and Throwing Muses. Oliver also designed record sleeves for such artists as David Sylvian, The Golden Palominos, and Bush.
Filigree & Shadow is the second album released by 4AD collective This Mortal Coil, an umbrella title for a loose grouping of guest musicians and vocalists brought together by label boss Ivo Watts-Russell. The supergroup consists primarily of artists attached to the 4AD label, of which Watts-Russell was the co-founder and the owner and director. The album was released in September 1986, and entered the UK Independent Music chart on 11 October 1986 and peaked at #2, spending 16 weeks on the chart in total.
Blue Bell Knoll is the fifth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 19 September 1988 by 4AD. This was the band's first album to receive major-label distribution in the United States, as it was originally licensed by Capitol Records from 4AD for North American release. After a period of being out of print while 4AD reclaimed the American distribution rights for their back catalogue, the album was remastered by guitarist Robin Guthrie and reissued in 2003. Vocalist Elizabeth Fraser named the album after a peak in southern Utah called Bluebell Knoll.
Blood is the third and final album released by 4AD collective This Mortal Coil, an umbrella title for a loose grouping of guest musicians and vocalists brought together by label co-founder Ivo Watts-Russell. The supergroup consists primarily of artists attached to the 4AD label, of which Watts-Russell was boss and president at the time. The double album was released in April 1991, and was the second release on 4AD to utilize the double album-identifier "DAD" prefix in its catalog number.
John Fryer is an English record producer. Best known for his production work, he has also performed as a musician, as one of the two constant members of This Mortal Coil, providing keyboards, strings and synthesizer sequencing for the band, and its offshoot, the Hope Blister.
The Hope Blister were an ambient band that were active from 1997 to 1999.
Ethereal wave, also called ethereal darkwave, ethereal goth or simply ethereal, is a subgenre of dark wave music that is variously described as "gothic", "romantic", and "otherworldly". Developed in the early 1980s in the UK as an outgrowth of gothic rock, ethereal wave was mainly represented by 4AD bands such as Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and early guitar-driven Dead Can Dance.
The Pink Opaque is a 1986 compilation album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, composed of tracks recorded between 1982 and 1985. A joint release by the UK-based 4AD and the American Relativity Records, it was their first official U.S. release.
Breathless are an English dream pop band formed in 1983 by Dominic Appleton, Gary Mundy (guitar), Ari Neufeld (bass) and Tristram Latimer Sayer (drums). Across nearly four decades, Breathless have released eight studio albums, one compilation album and 14 singles and EPs, all on their own label, Tenor Vossa Records.
"Song to the Siren" is a song written by Tim Buckley and Larry Beckett, first released by Buckley on his 1970 album Starsailor. It was also later released on Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology, the album featuring a performance of the song taken from the final episode of The Monkees.
Sixteen Days / Gathering Dust is an EP released in 1983 by This Mortal Coil, a supergroup assembled by Ivo Watts-Russell for his record label, 4AD.
This is a comprehensive discography listing of Scottish singer Elizabeth Fraser who first achieved success during the 1980s as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. The band have had several UK top 40 albums, with four of their studio albums also reaching the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States. Commercially, their most successful studio album, Heaven or Las Vegas was released in 1990 and reached number seven in the United Kingdom and number ninety-nine in the United States. Heaven or Las Vegas was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. It eventually sold 235,000 copies by 1996, according to Billboard. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and was voted number 218 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. In 2020, Rolling Stone listed it at No. 245 in its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The band have had four of their studio albums reach number one on the UK Indie Chart.