Modular synthesizer enthusiast Drew McDowall is best known for his work with British industrial legends Coil during the ’90s, although his career actually stretches back to the late ’70s. The Scottish musician started post-punk band the Poems with his then-wife, Rose McDowall, in 1978. The group rarely gigged, as the Glasgow pub crowd wasn’t especially interested in their music, and there wasn’t anywhere else for the group to perform. McDowall subsequently moved to London and abandoned guitar-based music, becoming a part of the industrial community. He worked with Genesis P-Orridge and Psychic TV, and eventually joined Coil during the ’90s, contributing to their remixes of Nine Inch Nails as well as the classic Musick to Play in the Dark album. McDowall left Coil and moved to New York City in 2000, becoming a fixture of the city’s experimental music scene. He began a project called Captain Sons and Daughters with Kara Bohnenstiel, and later teamed up with Tres Warren of Psychic Ills to form Compound Eye. The group debuted in 2012 with the Origin of Silence LP on The Spring Press, which was followed by Journey from Anywhere, issued by Editions Mego. McDowall began performing solo at the urging of Long Distance Poison’s Nathan Cearley, who invited him to perform at one of the quarterly Modular Solstice concerts in 2012. McDowall then became very active as a solo performer, and in 2015 Dais Records issued his debut solo full-length, Collapse. Two years later, the label released McDowall’s second solo album, Unnatural Channel, which was mixed by Josh Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv, Second Woman). ~ Paul Simpson