Prog-Watch 824
This week on Prog-Watch my special guest is Simon Collins, eldest son of Phil, singer and multi-instrumentalist, solo artist, and former member of Sound of Contact! Simon and I chat about his illustrious career, and along the way I will of course be spinning lots of great music!
Simon Philip Nando Collins (born 14 September 1976) is a British-Canadian drummer and former lead vocalist of the progressive rock band Sound of Contact. Collins is the son of English drummer and singer Phil Collins and Collins’s first wife, Andrea Bertorelli.
Collins was signed by Warner Music following a release of demo tapes he had recorded in 2000. It was at this time that Collins moved from Vancouver to Frankfurt, Germany, where his debut album All of Who You Are was released. In 2003, Collins left Warner Music and returned to Vancouver to start his own record label, Lightyears Music. On the Lightyears label two years later, Collins released his second album, Time for Truth. He played a variety of instruments on the album in addition to providing the majority of the vocals. In 2007, he recorded a cover of Genesis’ Abacab track “Keep It Dark,” as a tribute to Genesis, with keyboardist and co-producer Dave Kerzner. During production of “Keep it Dark”, Collins met Kevin Churko, who mixed and mastered the recording; Collins later had Churko work with him on the production of his third album, U-Catastrophe.
In late 2009, Collins approached Kerzner with the idea of forming a new band. After bringing the idea to musicians Matt Dorsey and Kelly Nordstrom, the four of them began working together at Greenhouse Studios in Vancouver. The band, known by December 2012 as Sound of Contact, included Collins on lead vocals and drums, Kerzner on keyboards, Dorsey on bass, and Nordstrom on guitar. The band’s debut album, Dimensionaut, was released in May 2013. Soon after the release of Dimensionaut, Nordstrom left the band; Kerzner left in January 2014.
Following the dissolution of Sound of Contact, Collins eventually recorded and released his fourth solo studio album Becoming Human. The album featured contributions from former SOC bandmate Kelly Nordstrom, and Collins and he are said to be working together on a new collaborative project.
Music with some meat to it!
Prog-Watch is a weekly podcast and internet radio program dedicated to bringing the listener contemporary Progressive Rock music from around the world. Your big, hairy host, the “Prog-Squatch” wanders the woods of the world, beats the bushes, and digs in the dirt to bring the best Prog back for YOU! Sometimes solo and sometimes with a guest host, the Prog-Squatch will bring you new and interesting artists in each episode, and give you some background info and a taste of their music.