CoH

by François Couture
 
COH is the performing name of Ivan Pavlov. The word is Russian, means sleep and should be pronounced like the english word son (incidentally, it is not necessarily spelled with capital letters, it just happens that these three Russian letters dont change shape between their upper and lower case form). Active since the late ?90s, COH ranks among the most interesting laptop artists of the experimental electronica underground. His music — often made of digital glitches and clicks — leaves room for a sense of humor and a certain lyricism. He has released albums on Raster-Noton, Mego and SouRce Research Recordings.
 
There is little known about Pavlov, a man who remains very discreet. He was born in Russia, lives in Sweden and works as an acoustic engineer. He made his first appearances on the experimental electronica scene through a series of releases on Carsten Nicolais label Rastermusic and performance showcases with Noto, Ryoji Ikeda and the rest of the labels roaster. In 1997 he recorded his first album Mask of Birth (released only three years later). Resolutely post-techno, it referenced both the disco culture and the ?80s underground dance music. Enter Tinnitus, his proper debut, came out on Raster-Noton in 1999, followed by his contribution to the labels turn-of-the millennium series 20 to 2000, which featured appearances by members of Coil. The relationship carried on to 2001s Love Uncut, a tribute of sorts to the alternative ?80s and COHs danciest material since Mask of Birth. Between these two EPs he released Iron, a whimsical album dedicated to heavy metal fans. 2002 brought Netmörk, his most serious work to date.