bio 

Raised in an environment defined by the fine arts, Romain Collin developed an appreciation for painting long before he first touched the piano at age six- a legacy inherited from his grandfather, Edouard Collin, a recipient of the Grand Prix de Rome at the Beaux-Arts de Paris. Today, that lineage finds expression through his synesthesia, a neurological intersection where sound, color, and texture are inextricably linked. For the Grammy®-nominated pianist and composer, this foundation dictates a singular artistic path, a move beyond traditional performance toward a total, multi-sensory experience. 

A classically trained pianist, Collin later graduated from the Berklee College of Music ('04) before being awarded a full scholarship to the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz. It was there that he refined his musical language under the direct mentorship of Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Terence Blanchard. His 2009 debut, The Rise and Fall of Pipokuhn, was hailed by All About Jazz as an "astonishingly mature and ambitious" work that secured his place in the evolution of the grand piano trio tradition. Collin strengthened this reputation with The Calling (Palmetto) and Press Enter (ACT, 2015), being lauded as a "visionary composer" (NPR) and a "virtuoso pianist of the highest order" (JazzEd). These singular trio works were further hailed as "absolute masterpieces" (Jazz Journal, UK) and "worthy of being held onto for generations to come" (The Revivalist), with The New York Times praising his "winning" new sound. With Tiny Lights… (2019), Collin translated his synesthetic vision into a multidisciplinary work. This electric project integrated string arrangements by Kazuma Jinnouchi- performed by the Prague Philharmonic, with an experimental film created in collaboration with long-time creative partner Matthew Palmer. The film was later exhibited at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. 

The minimalist beauty of Collin’s latest solo piano trilogy, Dust/ Live/ Aura (2025/2026), is deeply informed by his long-standing practice of Transcendental Meditation. This exploration culminated in Chromesthesia: A Piano Triptych: a multimedia exhibition that translated his color-sound associations into a shared public space. Following a six-week run at The Fourth Wall Gallery (Oakland, CA), the installation is scheduled for a three-month exhibition at Crosstown Arts (Memphis, TN). Collin is currently commissioned to develop HYMN, an ambitious audio-visual work featuring a film scored by original music for piano and choir. Serving as both composer and co-director alongside Palmer, Collin continues to refine a multidisciplinary aesthetic that makes the invisible tangible. HYMN is scheduled to premiere at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn in February 2027.

Collin is a co-leader of several critically acclaimed projects, among them a group with harmonica virtuoso Gregoire Maret and guitarist Bill Frisell, which released Americana (ACT, 2019) and earned a Grammy® nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. His duo work with singer Sachal Vasandani has been praised by RadioFrance as "music that speaks with emotion and feeling.”  Collin’s upcoming project with Bergur Thorisson, Björk’s long-time musical director, continues his exploration of ambient textures.

In 2022, following a period of isolation in a remote Icelandic cabin, Collin founded FOSS- a project merging indie electro-pop with high-concept visual art. FOSS has since brought its immersive performances to vanguard spaces, including The Shed (NYC) for the Sonic Sphere, Grace Cathedral (San Francisco), and the Robot Heart stage at Burning Man. The project’s multidisciplinary reach is further defined by collaborations with digital artist Refik Anadol and architect Arthur Mamou-Mani for Catharsis. To complete the project, Collin directed the feature film FOSS: Shapeless (2023), which won Best Experimental Film at the Golden Lion International Film Festival and was featured in the official selection of the Future Contingents Film Festival. Whether in a gallery, a cathedral, or a concert hall, Collin’s work remains a singular pursuit: the translation of sound into a shared, fully immersive multi-sensory experience.