BIO
The (sort of) Abbreviated Story of Collin & Cohen
Collin & Cohen formed officially in Spring of 2020, when longtime brothers Marc and Bryan Collin once again (more on that later!) began collaborating with vocalist Jared Cohen on a series of new recordings. Over a number of years prior the brothers had produced a volume of instrumental material written with vocals in mind, but no suitable singer seemed to be available to complete the picture. That is until an unexpected phone call from Jared, on which he expressed an urgent need to put down on record a fresh batch of songs he had composed, started the chain of events that would eventually lead to the formation of Collin & Cohen.
Having completed the Recording Arts program at the Hartford Conservatory, Bryan was on the lookout for artists in need of a producer to bolster his growing portfolio. In Winter of 2020 he reached out to Jared about doing some production work on the songs mentioned in the phone call. What followed was a series of late night after hours mobile recording sessions in the bar of Jared's restaurant Republic, in the old Brownstone neighborhood of downtown Hartford. The venue was an amazing atmosphere with great acoustics, although the freezers had to be briefly turned off during each vocal take.
It was during one of these sessions that Bryan had the realization that Jared's vocals would be potentially amazing on a recent instrumental track that the brothers were in the final stages of demoing. Jared readily agreed to explore the possibilities and a new song called "Don't Sleep To Dream" would result.
All parties being quite pleased with the experiment, Jared was presented with a second song from the brothers, this one much heavier and more progressive. As the after hours recording sessions continued into the Spring, a 9 minute piece that would eventually come to be known as "Transcend The End" took shape, and everyone agreed that the results were very exciting and exhibited great further potential. It was then that the three made the decision to become one, and join creative forces to become Collin & Cohen.
The Collin brothers have been a musical team for more than 40 years. While still in high school they founded the moderately successful progressive metal band October Dawn. The band made some significant headway in the fledgeling Northeast progressive scene in its early days, releasing 2 LP's and headlining local shows. During their formative years the brothers were steeped in the early efforts of pioneers of the genre. They were privileged to witness in real time the early efforts of bands such as Fates Warning, Queensryche, and Watchtower. These first influences can still be heard in the brother's music today, and both Marc and Bryan feel extremely lucky to have been immersed in the birth of a new musical genre of the time and in the place that it was happening.
After the breakup of October Dawn in 1992, Bryan moved to New Orleans in the hopes that he might find a pathway to a career in music. While there was indeed music everywhere in the city, he struggled to find anything one could call "progressive". Much of what was there was preservationist, but still it was a wonderfully eye opening immersive experience, and he came to love all things New Orleans and it's rich musical forms. Eventually Bryan found some semblance of what he was looking for in the city's underground industrial and electronica scene, opening local shows for Nine Inch Nails and Frontline Assembly.
In the Fall of 2002, with a new wife and new baby boy, Bryan would return to his Connecticut home with the hopes of creating new music with his brother Marc. Now with a household of his own, Marc was for the first time in his life without a drum set. Bryan suggested that Marc should pick up a cheap 5 piece kit so that the two could jam and work on new material. With a newfound exuberance, Marc started shopping for a kit.
Bryan resumed his side hustle waiting tables at this time, and through a common workplace had the great fortune of meeting one Mr. Jared Cohen in 2004. The two hit it off immediately and conversation quickly turned to music.
Jared at the time had been active in music for nearly 30 years. During his adolescence he was an avid writer, focusing youthful angst into poetic composition. With a strong passion for music and a giant stack of notebooks filled with original compositions in hand, Jared founded The Human Abstract in 1996. His writings would lay the conceptual foundations for the group's expansive sound, where his vocals were well suited for both soft acoustic ballads and aggressive rock stunners. The Human Abstract would perform many shows in the local circuit before amicably disbanding in 1998 to pursue other creative endeavors.
With the brothers in search of a vocalist, lyricist, and frontman, and Jared being a perfect fit, a rehearsal space was secured and a date was set to share ideas and begin to collaborate. It was at this point that Marc made a choice that would forever alter the trajectory of the band forever, and (eventually) so much for the better. Upon arrival at the first jam session, it became clear that Marc had indeed acquired a drum set. However instead of the pawn shop 5 piece set Bryan had envisioned, Marc arrived with a massive state of the art electronic kit, complete with a brand new Macintosh outfitted with a new (at the time) audio production suite called Ableton Live. Nothing would ever be the same.
Everyone enthusiastically embraced the new technology and very quickly realized the boundlessness of its potential. Just as rapidly it became evident that a massive learning curve loomed in the immediate future. Nevertheless the project pressed on, and a short lived group called In The Flesh was formed. A handfuls of songs were composed during this period, but after 2 years of trial and error, mostly error, the band succumbed to the frustration and retreated to separate corners.
Out of the desperate desire to fulfill the creative and technological potential that lay on the table Bryan would enroll at the Hartford Conservatory Of Music, where over the course of the next 5 years he would complete courses in Digital Audio Production, Audio Engineering, Jazz Guitar, Songwriting, Performance, And Business. During this time Marc would take a deep dive into Ableton Live and the world of MIDI drum production. Jared would continue to write songs and would launch several highly successful business ventures.
Over the next few succeeding years, Bryan would record several album's worth of demo material while refining his newly acquired production chops. Once again the brothers would start to collaborate on recording projects, and after a period Jared would re emerge with a brand new batch of song of his own. Not long after, the late night Republic recording sessions would take place, and the rest as they say, is history.
Everyone contributed all of their creative energies to the pot and fully engaged their newfound and ever growing skillsets to launch what is today, Collin & Cohen. Ableton Live is an indispensable component of the band's recording technique as well as their live performance setup, and the program has become like an additional member over the last 20 years. Despite the growing pains Bryan and Jared are extremely grateful to Marc for plunging the band into the digital age, way back when it all began. Much of the aforementioned saga is expressed in Collin & Cohen"s first single entitled "Now Or Never (Again)", which tells the story of the group's growing pains and sometimes agonizing pathway to creative manifestation. With perseverance and dedication, all obstacles can be overcome. Perderabo!
