Episode 138: Ivan Pavlov (Soisong, CoH)

The electronic/industrial underground is one of the most intriguing, magickal and mysterious realms in modern music. The mythologies surrounding groups like Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV and Coil are rabbit holes easy to go tumbling down.The late Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson was (more or less) a founding member of all three bands mentioned above. He was also one half of experimental electronic group Soisong. Ivan Pavlov (best known for his enduring CoH project) was the other half of this musical union and on this day of 22.05.26 is releasing a book documenting the project’s history. The book is a fascinating dive into the world of Soisong, including email correspondences between Sleazy and Ivan, interviews, marketing strategies, press releases, photos and other artefacts that chart the life of this project. Complemented by two CDs, the book is being released as a one-time-only edition.Ivan Pavlov joins me to discuss the book and the story of Soisong, as well as sharing tales from his friendship and collaborations with Sleazy and John Balance (Geoff Rushton) from their Coil days. The world of Coil (and its neighbouring constellations) has been a huge source of fascination and inspiration for me since I first discovered the Musick to Play in the Dark albums over 25 years ago. A little while back I had to stop buying every fresh Coil reissue that comes out before it became necessary for me to start selling organs. It was a huge treat and honour to talk with Ivan and I will be poised to buy a copy of the book when it becomes available today. Soisong will be available in a hardcover edition of 222 numbered copies. If you are also keen to get yourself a copy get your trigger finger ready. The book release is scheduled for 22:05 CET tonight (that’s five past nine this evening for people in the UK) when the link to buy will go live. At that time (probably for about 3 minutes before they sell out) you’ll be able to buy a copy from the link here.You can also visit Soisong on bandcamp here and listen to Soisong Broadcast #13 (released on Wednesday to coincide with the release). Huge thanks to Ivan for his time and to Dan at Discipline PR for making this conversation possible. More links to Ivan Pavlov’s work:CoH websiteCoH on facebookCoH on bandcampSoisong on facebookFor more stories from the musical underground you can read my new column at New Noise Magazine: Mapping The UndergroundCheck out my latest album ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Real Silence on Drama Recorder⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠My music on AmpwallPodcast artwork and logo: Get A Real Job KidIntro music: “Detachment” by Tom Osman This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tomosman.substack.com