Colin Stetson

Background

Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and currently based in Montreal, Quebec, Stetson started taking lessons at age 15. He attended the University of Michigan School of Music with a full scholarship, where he joined Transmission Trio. He also played with the groups Boostamonte and the People's Bizarre.

Stetson has performed and recorded with dozens of artists, including Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, TV on the Radio, Feist, and Bon Iver.

His extended saxophone techniques cover advanced circular breathing, multiphonics, altissimo, microtones, (reed) vocalizations, percussive valve-work, clicking keys, and growling. The overall effect led The New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane to describe Stetson's score to the film Hereditary as having been seemingly "scored for violins, percussion, a humpback whale, and bats."

Solo career

His first solo album, New History Warfare Vol. 1, was released in 2008. His second and third albums, New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges and New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light, were released by Constellation Records in early 2011. On June 16, the album was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize, and shortlisted on July 6.

Stetson was chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he curated in December 2011 in Minehead, England. The final album of the trilogy, New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light, was released by Constellation Records in April 2013, and was a longlist nominee for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize.

April 2015 saw the release of Never Were the Way She Was, the first recording of Stetson's duo project with his then wife and long-time collaborator Sarah Neufeld. Stetson's album All This I Do for Glory was released on April 28, 2017. In 2022 he released the drone-inspired album Chimæra I. It was followed a year later by the minimalist When We Were That What Wept for the Sea. In September 2024, Stetson released The Love It Took to Leave You.

Discography

Solo albums/As leader

• Tiny Beast (2003) with Transmission Trio
• Slow Descent (2003)
• New History Warfare Vol. 1 (2007)
• The Righteous Wrath of an Honorable Man 7" (2010)
• New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges (2011)
• Those Who Didn't Run EP (2011)
• New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light (2013)
• Sorrow: A Reimagining of Gorecki's 3rd Symphony (2016)
• All This I Do for Glory (2017)
• Chimæra I (2022)
• When We Were That What Wept for the Sea (2023)
• The Love It Took to Leave You (2024)

Soundtrack albums

• Blue Caprice (2013)
• La Peur (2015)
• Outlaws and Angels (2016)
• Hereditary (2018)
• The First (2018)
• Color Out of Space (2020)
• Barkskins (2020)
• Deliver Us (2020)
• The War Show (2020)
• Mayday (2021)
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
• Among the Stars (2022)
• The Menu (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2022)
• Uzumaki (2024)
• Martha (2024)

Collaborations with other artists

• Gringo Blaster (2002) with Michael Kowalski
• Stones (2012) with Mats Gustafsson
• Never Were the Way She Was (2015) with Sarah Neufeld
• Ex Eye (2017) with Ex Eye (Greg Fox, Shahzad Ismaily, Toby Summerfield)
• Radiate (2015) with The Chemical Brothers
• Confessions Pt II (2016) with BadBadNotGood
• The Long Road North (2022) with Cult of Luna
• Void Patrol (2022) with Void Patrol (Elliott Sharp, Billy Martin, Payton MacDonald)
• No Highs (2023) with Tim Hecker
• Carry Them with Us (2023) with Brìghde Chaimbeul

As sideman

With Tom Waits

• Blood Money (2002)
• Alice (2002)
• Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (2006)

With Arcade Fire

• Neon Bible (2007)
• The Suburbs (2010)
• Reflektor (2013)

With TV on the Radio

• Dear Science (2008)

With Jolie Holland

• The Living and the Dead (2008)

With Feist

• Metals (2011)

With Esmerine

• La Lechuza (2011) With Timber Timbre
• Creep on Creepin' On (2011)
• Hot Dreams (2014)

With Bon Iver

• Bon Iver, Bon Iver (2011)
• 22, A Million (2016)

With David Gilmour

• Rattle That Lock (2015)

With BadBadNotGood

• IV (2016)

With Animal Collective

• Painting With (2016)

With Sarah Neufeld

• The Ridge (2016)

With Marcus Hamblett

• Detritus (2019)

Filmography

Film

Documentary film

Television

Video game

References

References

1. "BIO".
2. "Colin Stetson biography".
3. Andrews, Jeff. (May 5, 2017). "Colin Stetson Makes You Forget Everything You Knew About the Saxophone".
4. Everett-Green, Robert. (2011-09-16). "Is Colin Stetson's music Canadian enough for the Polaris?". The Globe and Mail.
5. (April 18, 2016). "Colin Stetson Reimagined a 1976 Polish Symphony as an Electronic Black Metal Opus with Saxophones".
6. Huey, Steve. "Transmission Biography". [[Rovi Corporation]].
7. (24 March 2011). "Bon Iver announces details of second album". The Guardian.
8. (February 6, 2012). "Colin Stetson - The History of Warfare Volume 2 - Judges".
9. Lane, Anthony. (June 8, 2018). ""Hereditary" Delivers a New Kind of Horror".
10. "2011 Polaris Music Prize Long List announced".
11. Robb, John. (2011-08-30). "All Tomorrows Parties December line up announced".
12. [http://exclaim.ca/News/polaris_music_prize_unveils_2013_long_list "Polaris Music Prize Unveils 2013 Long List"] {{Webarchive. link. (June 18, 2013 . ''[[Exclaim!]]'', June 13, 2012.)
13. Mondalski, Mateusz. (August 27, 2016). "Colin Stetson".
14. Mejia, Paula. (April 20, 2017). "Review: Colin Stetson, 'All This I Do for Glory'". [[NPR]].
15. Blackwell, Matthew. "Colin Stetson: Chimæra I".
16. Quietus, The. (2023-05-11). "Colin Stetson — When We Were That What Wept For The Sea".
17. Cook, Paul. (2024-09-14). "Colin Stetson – The love it took to leave you - Joyzine".
18. (19 June 2018). "Hereditary review: The singularly most terrifying horror film in years".
19. (17 January 2013). "Colin Stetson/Mats Gustafsson: Stones – review". The Guardian.
20. (7 April 2023). "Tim Hecker: No Highs review – ambient music that reflects our polluted world". The Guardian.
21. "CST080 ESMERINE: La Lechuza {{!}} Constellation Records".
22. (14 February 2016). "Animal Collective: Painting With review – dada pop to pogo to". The Observer.
23. Mateo, Alex. (July 26, 2024). "Uzumaki Anime's Trailer Reveals September 28 Premiere on Toonami".
24. (25 October 2018). "All the artists set to appear on the Red Dead Redemption 2 soundtrack".