The perpetual motion of COIN

Since their arrival in 2016 with the debut single “Talk Too Much,” alt-pop outfit COIN have continued to turned out sublimely catchy tunes, robust in effervescent hooks and understated complexity. The past four years have also seen a lot of changes for the band – parting ways with their original label Columbia Records and going from a quartet to a three-piece. However, as with all changes, there’s a silver lining, and COIN has certainly found it. In 2019 the Nashville-based trio started their own label imprint, The Committee For Sound And Mind, and regaining ownership over their music and opening a new creative path for the band.

2020 has seen COIN release their third studio album “Dreamland” as well as an EP “Indigo Violet.” The EP is the first release of a 3-part project called “Rainbow MixTape,” with each EP conceptualizing the mood represented by the colors in the title. Indigo-Violet is a four-song collection of dynamic alternative rock-pop tracks showcasing the band’s versatility. 

Lead vocalist Chase Lawrence said about the release, “We released a 15-track album this year. And only two shows in, our album tour was cancelled. We came home, somewhat aimless. But quickly, we re-centered and found a new love of music & songwriting.  We looked back on how & why we got ‘here.’

Sometimes, consuming music on the internet is like seeing a 2D version of an artist. We wanted to give our audience a full picture of who we are & where we are. Rainbow Mixtape is a collection of EPs organized by theme & color. Each color EP is from a different corner of our brains, sonically & lyrically. From early 2000s rock to 60s love songs to modern hip hop. From what it means to be human to love to heartbreak. Rainbow Mixtape is a holographic image of COIN.”

We chatted with the band about their new record as well as their journey and how important it is to keep dreaming.

Hey COIN! Congrats on the release of your new EP “Indigo Violet,” and also the release of your third album “Dreamland.” It’s been a busy year! How did you manage to write both an album and an EP in 2020? 

Thank you! “Dreamland” came about while on tour from 2018-2019. We used to think we had to be in the studio to record and would often over glamorize the production process. We made “Dreamland” in unassuming places because when you’re on tour so much of the year, you simply have to find a new way to create. In that way, “Dreamland” is our journal. “Indigo Violet” came out of necessity and is sort of our interpretation of the world’s journal? We’re always learning and trying to find a way to better communicate. We needed to make something this year to time stamp today’s hardships while also encouraging unity and oneness for those of us who are willing to open ourselves to it, despite all of the lines in the sand. 

What would you say differentiates “Dreamland” from “Indigo Violet” as far as vibe, themes, etc go?

“Dreamland” was a very cohesive album from front to back. We spent a lot of time writing purely as a band again and trying to find our way back to our routes. It was a pure form of expression, nothing held back. It was our journal from over the two or so years we had written it. “Indigo Violet” and the collection of the Rainbow Mixtapes that will be released over the next year or so is almost an extension of that but with more intricacies. After redefining our foundation (“Dreamland”), we started to build the house on top of it. We realized that we all love to write different types of songs and are inspired by literally every type of music. The collection of “Rainbow Mixtapes” (“Indigo Violet” being the first EP) will definitely allow people to understand our personalities more. It will add color to how people define us. “Dreamland” was the first few dates and “Indigo Violet”/”Rainbow Mixtapes” is the full-blown relationship. 

Where have y’all been spending these past eight months quarantining and what have you been doing to occupy your time? 

Mainly Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia. Cooking, hiking, cycling, day trading, drawing and painting, hugging family who we never get to see, reading, writing, making like, 3 new albums, asking the big questions, embracing the unknown??????

I first became acquainted with COIN with your debut 2015 single “Run.” How would you say y’all have grown as a group and how your sound has changed over the last five years? 

Wow, that feels like a lifetime ago! We went from being fearless, to afraid, back to fearless. We learned how to use each other’s strengths and weaknesses to make music that felt like the music we made the week we met each other. We learned to trust ourselves again and have also loved having Chase as our executive producer because we see things from start to finish under one roof. 

Over the past few years, y’all have experienced some big changes – labels, management, and losing a band member. What are the factors that have brought you to where you are now?

Sometimes things you set out for become bigger than yourself, which is an incredible thing. Of course you experience roadblocks and change along the way, but it is all apart of the process. When you recognize that what you have created has its own life/energy through the people that support it, none of those little roadblocks or changes should slow you down. I think that you should become selfless to what you have created and realize that sometimes you have absolutely no power or control over what happens. We have chosen to fully believe this and continue to create, because that is what we were created to do. :) 

What do you feel like your fans love most about COIN?

I’m not quite sure I can fully answer that for them, I’m sure it’s different for everyone. Our fans have their own voices, most of the time louder than ours, literally. We all truly enjoy the community we have created and believe our fans enjoy the same. I feel like we should ask them. I’m curious to hear what they would say!! 

What is your fault?

Oh god, I don’t know….. EVERYTHING?!?!