Colin Stetson

Colin Stetson was born and raised in Michigan, spent a decade in San Francisco and Brooklyn honing his formidable talents as a horn player, and eventually settled in Montreal. Over the years he has worked extensively live and in studio with a wide range of artists including Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, TV On The Radio, Feist, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Bill Laswell, Evan Parker, The Chemical Brothers, Animal Collective, Hamid Drake, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Angelique Kidjo, Fink, and David Gilmore. He has developed a unique voice as a soloist, principally on saxophones and clarinets, while his technical prowess is matched by his exhilarating and emotionally gripping skills as a songwriter. Stetson’s astounding physical engagement with the bass and alto saxophones produces emotionally rich and polyphonic compositions that transcend expectations of solo horn playing. Stetson pushes the boundaries of his instruments through the avant jazz traditions of circular breathing, embouchure, etc., and is also at home at the nexus of noise/drone/minimalist music that encompasse dark metal, post-rock and contemporary electronic genres. A recent departure from his cultivated solo aesthetic, SORROW: a reimagining of Gorecki’s 3rd Symphony is Stetson’s first major release as a band leader and the flagship album out on his record label, 52Hz (with the UK's Kartel Music Group). 2017 also saw the release of a self-titled debut from post-metal quartet EX EYE, on Relapse Records.