Foil was formed by
Andrew Coates and Steve Law in May 1990. Neil Boyack and Chris
Grierson joined about a month later, and the line-up in early 1994,
which is when Steve Law left the band, was as follows: Andrew Coates:
vocals Steve Law: electronics, programming Neil Boyack: guitar Chris
Grierson: bass
In their early period,
Foil were uncompromising and chaotic, drawing influences from the
industrial experimentation of people like Throbbing Gristle and
Cabaret Voltaire, and became known for their intense and
unpredictable live performances in various venues around Melbourne.
Steve would mix the entire band on-stage (including the vocals and
guitars), heavily treating all the sounds being generated, somewhat
similar to the technique of On-U-Sound's Adrian Sherwood. By 1992
however, songs were beginning to form out of the chaos, and Foil
gradually began to adopt more conventional recording and performing
techniques. The desire of the rest of the band to move more in this
direction, along with the increasing success of Zen paradox, were the
main reasons for Steve Law's departure from the band in 1994. Further
information on Foil (including the period after Steve Law's
departure) can be found here.
DISCOGRAPHY:
Tracks on Compilations:
- Crash (instrumental) (from
3PBS radio benefit cassette, 1991)
- London (demo version) (from
3PBS radio benefit cassette, 1991)
- Holy state (live) (from
Screaming at the mirror 3 CD, 1992, Giggle records Giggle 021)
- Drug swamp (from The
Yammouni Files cassette, 1992)
- Rocket U.S.A. (death pattern
mix) (from Trash Trance CD, 1994, PBS Recordings PBS-001)
