Nebula Becomes STEVE COEN for Future Releases and Bookings.

What’s in a name?

For 15 years I’ve used the name “nebula” as a performing and recording artist.

Now I have the opportunity to release some recorded music, and I must face the reality that my stage name doesn’t suit me any more. In 1996 I started calling myself “nebula” when I was producing an ill-fated hip hop act. Then in 1997, I was half of a live electronic duo called “infindebula”. Ironically, the other half of the duo had named us that without even knowing I had been calling myself “nebula”. It seemed like fate. I became “nebula from infindebula”.

A few years later I joined Jason Prine in another live electronic duo. We decided to concatenate our names with a simple dot, and “PRiNE.nebula” was the result.

After all these projects ran their course, I found myself producing strange techno music and performing. I still used the name “nebula” on all promotional material.

More recently, I have found myself appearing on lineups with more accomplished artists, most of whom use their real name, or at least a human-sounding name. Considering that and the fact that there are other artists recording as “nebula”, it was time for a change. I may continue to use “nebula” for specific (or nostalgic) projects, but from this time forward, my bookings and recordings will bear the name…

STEVE COEN.

Friends and Idols: A SoundCloud Set

Continuing to experiment with the new SoundCloud. I created a set with a few of my tracks in it alongside some friends’ and acquantainces’ tracks (and a couple mixes). Suddenly my play counts have skyrocketed (by the count on the player) although the stats page doesn’t reflect it yet. Perhaps SoundCloud is recommending the set, or tracks within it, as being related to other tracks they may be listening to. In any case this probably gets more plays for everybody who’s included.

So far it includes tracks from Steve Cowan (i.e. me – “nebula”), Arthur Oskan, E.R.A., Hawkeye and Cosmosuave, plus sets from Mike Gibbs and Sarah Shaw-Cowan. A good cross-section of Friends and Idols.

[update 2012-12-20: added two tracks by Flim]

Here’s the set. I will likely continue to add to it.