Swiss drummer/percussionist Fredy Studer and Dublin-born and Lucerne, Switzerland-raised electric guitarist Christy Doran have collaborated on a variety of jazz-inspired projects. Initially working together in Om, a jazz fusion group they formed in 1972, they went on to play with Red Twist Tuned Arrow, a group they shared with electric guitar, synthesizer, and sequencer player Stephan Wittwer, in 1986 and 1987. They continued to play together in the late-'80s with Doran/Studer/Burn/Magnenat (later renamed Doran/Studer/Gerber/Magnenat), and formed a group, Doran, Studer, Minton, Bates, Ali, to perform the music of Jimi Hendrix, in 1993. The following year, Django Bates was replaced by cellist Tom Cora. They formed a quartet with vocalist/trumpet player Phil Minton and double bassist Amin Ali in 1995.

Studer and Doran's collaborations represent only a small slice of both musicians' careers. A self-taught drummer/percussionist, Studer's resumé includes stints with the Franco Ambrosetti Quartet and the France AM/George Gruntz Quartet, featuring Joe Henderson, Miroslav Vitous, Jack DeJohnette, and Dave Holland, the Charlie Mariano & Jasper van't Hof Group, and the 1980s trio Bruninghaus, Stockhausen Studen. He participated in international drum-led bands Percussion Profiles, featuring DeJohnette, Gruntz, Pierre Favre, Dom Um Romao, and David Friedman, and Perc Ens Singing Drums, featuring Favre, Paul Motian, and Nana Vasconcelos.

The brother of drummer/percussionist Dave Doran and saxophonist Brigeen Doran, Doran worked with his siblings in the Doran Band, which they shared in the early '90s with drummer/percussionist Fredy Miller.

Studer/Doran's first album as a duo, Half a Lifetime, released in 1994, featured guest appearances by guitarist Sonny Sharrock, trombone player Ray Anderson, percussionist/vocalist Trilok Gurtu, and electric bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi