This Mortal Coil is a project of Ivo Watts-Russell, president of the British 4AD record label, which began in 1983. This Mortal Coil (TMC) is an example of a supergroup, and performers include members from bands on 4AD’s roster, such as Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Colourbox, The Wolfgang Press, Dif Juz, X Mal Deutschland and Modern English. The records consist mostly of dark and moody interpretative cover versions of a wide variety of artists ranging from Big Star and Talking Heads to The Apartments and Tim Buckley. The group recorded three albums; It’ll End in Tears, Filigree & Shadow and Blood.
The group takes its name from Shakespeare. In particular Hamlet’s soliloquy To be, or not to be, where it refers to dying; “coil” is used in its archaic sense of “disturbance, trouble”:
”What dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause.”|Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1, line 67.
Discography
* Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust EP (AD 310/1983)| * Kangaroo/It’ll end in tears EP (AD 410/1984)| * It’ll End in Tears (CAD 411/1984)| * Filigree & Shadow (DAD 609/1986)| * Come here my love/Drugs ltd. 10” (BAD 608/1986)| * Blood (1991)| * 1983-1991 (1993)| |
