Lou Cohen has composed music since age 12. He studied mathematics at MIT, and has studied music privately. Composition teachers include John Cage, Ernst Levy and Alan Kemler. He studied harpsichord and early music performance practice with John Gibbons. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

His most recent compositions are algorithmic and therefore computer-based. He is an active improvisor of electro-acoustic music, using a laptop computer powered by Csound. His collaborations with video artist Bebe Beard, and his own computer animations have been shown in many galleries throughout the United States, and in film festivals around the world.

He is co-director of Opensound, a Greater Boston concert series featuring electro-acoustic improvisation.