Sam Cohen

Samuel Benjamin Cohen (born September 28, 1979) is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, artist, and producer based in Brooklyn, New York.

Cohen was born on September 28, 1979, in Houston, Texas, where he was also raised.

He left Texas for Boston to attend college, meeting one of his future bandmates in 1997, where they were attending a Berklee College of Music summer performance program.

While at Berklee, Cohen began focusing on audio engineering and record production.

A founding member of the psychedelic rock and pop band Apollo Sunshine, he released several albums with the group in the early 2000s.

He formed the psychedelic rock group Apollo Sunshine with Jesse Gallagher and Jeremy Black in 2001.

The band released their first album, Katonah, in October 2003 on spinART Records.

The album was recorded in Katonah, New York, in a barn which the band converted into a studio.

It was well-received, earning 4/5 stars from Allmusic and 7.2/10 from Pitchfork Media.

About their sound on the album The New York Times wrote that "bouncy 60's-style melodies crack wide open, breaking into outbursts of pummeling and feedback before jumping back into the tune. It's all neatly and cleverly plotted, but with a looming chaos that's anything but nostalgic."

While also touring with the band, Cohen continued to collaborate in studio with other artists.

In 2005 Apollo Sunshine released the EP titled The Other Side of the World. The band released their second full-length album Apollo Sunshine on spinART Records in September 2005.

In November 2005, it was named to the Amazon.com Best of 2005: Editors' Picks in Rock list at number 5, and the band was featured in Rolling Stone as an "Artist to Watch".

The album received mixed to positive reviews, with Paste Magazine giving it 4/5, Pitchfork Media giving it 7.8/10, and PopMatters giving it 6/10.

The record was recorded during the summer of 2007 in the Catskill Mountains, in a "house inhabited by spirits" and located next door to the home of the original Uncle Sam.

The album includes Edan, and White Flight as guests.

For the album the band received their highest score yet from Pitchfork Media, with 8.0/10.

Allmusic gave it 3.5/5.

The opening track, "Breeze", was featured near the end of the film Whip It, and appears on the movie soundtrack.

Since 2008 Cohen has produced or contributed as a songwriter or musician to albums by Norah Jones, Shakira, Kevin Morby, Pavo Pavo, Dawn Landes, The Bandana Splits, Joseph Arthur, Trixie Whitley, and Walter Martin.

Shall Noise Upon is the 2008 album by Apollo Sunshine.

It was released on vinyl and digital download on August 5, 2008.

In 2009 he formed the solo project Yellowbirds, releasing the debut album The Color in 2011.

The band Yellowbirds was first formed in 2009 by Cohen as a solo project, shortly after the dissolution of Apollo Sunshine.

Cohen began recording new music in his own bedroom studio.

With the assistance of friends on several tracks, he released several singles in 2010.

In February 2011 he released his debut album The Color as Yellowbirds, on Brooklyn indie label Royal Potato Family.

It was well received by the majority of critics, with Ultimate Guitar calling the guitar work "magnificent."

Early members included George Lewis Jr on bass (leader of Twin Shadow), Wynne Bennett on keys (also Twin Shadow), Max Koepke on rhythm guitar and autoharp (Self Righteous Brothers) and Brian Geltner on drums.

In 2012, he was guitarist for The Bridge Session, a collaboration between The National and Grateful Dead's Bob Weir.

From 2012 through 2014, he was the Musical Director for the concert The Complete Last Waltz, which featured artists such as Nels Cline, Cass McCombs, and members of Dr. Dog, among others.

The song "We Are Born When We Die", appeared on the TV show Breaking Bad, during the 12th episode of the fourth season.

In 2012 Cohen began writing songs for the band's sophomore album Songs from the Vanished Frontier, primarily writing on acoustic guitar.

This release was followed by Songs from the Vanished Frontier in 2013.

Released on May 5, 2013, it was also well received by critics, with Allmusic giving it 4/5 stars.

Eric Danton of Rolling Stone gave it a positive review, writing that "the new songs have a hazy summertime feel on arrangements that surround Cohen's reverb-soaked vocals with jangling guitars, propulsive basslines and lush string charts."

Later on, Cohen, drummer Brian Kantor, multi-instrumentalist Josh Kaufman, and bassist Annie Nero made up a new lineup which remained consistent until disbanding in 2014.

The first Sam Cohen record, Cool It, was released on April 28, 2015, on Easy Sound Records, and primary featured Cohen playing all of the instruments.

It was then re-released on Danger Mouse's imprint of Columbia Records, 30th Century Records, on June 3, 2016.

Cohen is also known for his original collages on the Yellowbirds album covers, and his collage animation videos.