While Statik had played trumpet for a few years during school, most of his musical training came from spending many months experimenting with samplers and computers. He also attended a music/engineering school in Los Angeles that helped him land his first studio job. Statik's first solo project was called Statik: Machines.

Once Statik and kaRIN met, they knew they were on the same musical path. kaRIN had sung spontaneously and consistently since a child, and the lyrics she created for Collide express unconscious, flowing emotions. They self-released their first cassette demo, The Crimson Trial, in 1995, and followed this with their first full-length album, Beneath the Skin, a German import, in 1996. The Re-Constriction label released the remix album Distort one year later, including the favorites "Pandora's Box" and "Violet's Dance." Compilations and singles became a strong means of expression for the duo, who sang or worked on dozens of them and remained a studio band. After five years without a new album, the Next Level label released Chasing the Ghost in June 2001 with a few additions to the lineup: Tim Pierce (guitar), Fritz Heede (sitar), Kevin Kipnis (guitar), and Monica Richards (vocals), plus Statik still in charge of the production, engineering and mixing.