Edensong

&nbsp &nbsp Edensong formed officially in the Fall of 2002, however the band's beginnings are rather nebulous, and much of its current music has older roots. The story began when guitarist/singer James Byron Schoen and drummer Matt Cozin, two students at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, first met coincidentally at a Dream Theater concert. The two discovered a similar interest in music and decided to jam together as a change of pace from Matts tenure in pop-punk band Closeminded and Jamess brief solo acoustic career. The duo was soon joined by Jamess lifelong friend and high school band-mate, guitarist Ben Wigler (currently of Arizona). The three started immediately to craft new songs and revive old material from James and Bens previous band Echoes of Eden. However, it wasnt long before the weekly commute to band practice from NY to CT (aided by one hefty speeding ticket) proved too much trouble for Ben, and the lineup quickly disintegrated.
&nbsp &nbsp James and Matt regrouped the following semester with a clear goal in mind: to create and perform a 3 hour surrealistic psuedo-rock-opera, a flashy and self-indulgent excuse to showcase the band's music. By this point, James's concept of the band had expanded to include a small group of orchestral players. After a brief search and auditioning process, the duo added fellow students: bassist Ian Carbone, flautist Aurora Maoz, and violinist/keyboardist Asa Sourdiffe. In April of 2003, the group, still under the earlier name Echoes of Eden, performed the show "Beyond Eden" with funding from the university. The massively ambitious interactive production, featuring the band (joined onstage by background vocalist Ben Doleac), a troupe of actors, a small choir, an African drumming ensemble, and a lawn of astroturf installed inside a historic frat-house, was on the whole under-rehearsed and performed in a less than ideal environment, but nevertheless gave the band some positive local notoriety and opened the door for the band to play some more traditional live shows. Not everyone in the lineup responded kindly to the intense rehearsal schedule and over-the-top antics that the "Beyond Eden" project demanded, so, at the beginning of the following academic year, the band replaced Aurora and Asa with current Edensong members Rachel Kiel on flute, and Mike Drucker on violin. This five-piece lineup continued to play throughout the following year. The band began work on their debut full length album "The Fruit Fallen" in summer 2004. With the addition of Arthur Sugden on piano and organ, and the unexpected trade of bassist Ian Carbone for the mysterious T.D. Towers, the current Edensong lineup was born. Recorded primarily in James's personal Den of Depression studios (with some offsite recording at Ben Wigler's Cottage of Calamity studios and overdubs at Wesleyan U.), the album features new material, completed songs from James, Ben, and Matt's original collaborations in Fall '02, and reworkings of James's primarily acoustic music. Given the luxury of time and full creative freedom, Edensong was able to pay careful attention to the fine details of the music and handcraft the album true to its original concept. Portions of "The Fruit Fallen," along with a live performance at the universitys most prestigious concert hall, earned James departmental honors at his May 2005 graduation. The band is currently putting some finishing touches on the album, which is due out in early 2007, and is anxiously awaiting the next step.