Biography
Canadian artist Ian William Craig constructs haunting, otherworldly pieces that fuse operatic vocals and neo-classical melodies with the lo-fi methods typical of underground noise and experimental scenes. Working from analog synthesizer drones, piano improvisations, and his own striking voice, he builds decaying loops on damaged reel-to-reel tape decks, yielding emotionally charged music that summons faded memories along with sensations of loss and heartbreak. After several self-released digital works, Craig earned widespread critical acclaim for the 2014 full-length A Turn of Breath. He broadened his already expansive palette on the more accessible and song-oriented Centres, which appeared in 2016. Beyond solo output, he joined vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Missy Donaldson in the duo Minor Pieces, whose debut The Heavy Steps of Dreaming came out in 2019; he also partnered with composer Daniel Lentz on the 2020 album In a Word.
Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Craig received classical vocal training. He first gained recognition as a printmaker and held a position in the fine-arts department at the University of British Columbia. Beginning to perform in 2010, he initiated digital self-releases in 2012. His earliest recordings centered on piano improvisations and instruments he constructed or altered himself, though he steadily integrated more of his voice over time.
Recital—the imprint operated by experimental composer and engineer Sean McCann, who had mastered Craig’s prior recordings—issued A Turn of Breath in 2014, drawing extensive praise and placement on year-end lists from Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and Mojo. The follow-up Cradle for the Wanting appeared on the same label in 2015 and likewise drew favorable notice. Early in 2016, Patient Sounds Intl. released the limited cassette Zugzwang for Fostex, after which Craig signed with Fat Cat Records’ experimental division 130701. Centres, his first album for the imprint, spanned seventy-two minutes, incorporated instruments tracked across multiple Vancouver sites, and showcased his most approachable writing to date. Aguirre Records simultaneously reissued his 2012 recording Meaning Turns to Whispers on vinyl.
In 2017 Craig shared a split single with labelmate Olivier Alary, each remixing the other’s material; 130701 then issued the EP Slow Vessels, featuring pared-down reworkings of selections from Centres. Recital later released Durbē, documenting Craig’s 2016 performance at the Durbē Lutheran Church in Latvia. Following a 2018 expanded double-LP edition of A Turn of Breath, he issued Thresholder, an album of previously unreleased material. Craig and music therapist Missy Donaldson subsequently formed the experimental indie-folk duo Minor Pieces, whose debut The Heavy Steps of Dreaming surfaced in 2019. The more stripped-down solo album Red Sun Through Smoke, emphasizing piano, vocals, and tape loops, arrived in early 2020. Later that year Craig collaborated with post-minimalist composer Daniel Lentz on In a Word, issued as volume sixteen in RVNG Intl.’s FRKWYS series.
Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Craig received classical vocal training. He first gained recognition as a printmaker and held a position in the fine-arts department at the University of British Columbia. Beginning to perform in 2010, he initiated digital self-releases in 2012. His earliest recordings centered on piano improvisations and instruments he constructed or altered himself, though he steadily integrated more of his voice over time.
Recital—the imprint operated by experimental composer and engineer Sean McCann, who had mastered Craig’s prior recordings—issued A Turn of Breath in 2014, drawing extensive praise and placement on year-end lists from Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and Mojo. The follow-up Cradle for the Wanting appeared on the same label in 2015 and likewise drew favorable notice. Early in 2016, Patient Sounds Intl. released the limited cassette Zugzwang for Fostex, after which Craig signed with Fat Cat Records’ experimental division 130701. Centres, his first album for the imprint, spanned seventy-two minutes, incorporated instruments tracked across multiple Vancouver sites, and showcased his most approachable writing to date. Aguirre Records simultaneously reissued his 2012 recording Meaning Turns to Whispers on vinyl.
In 2017 Craig shared a split single with labelmate Olivier Alary, each remixing the other’s material; 130701 then issued the EP Slow Vessels, featuring pared-down reworkings of selections from Centres. Recital later released Durbē, documenting Craig’s 2016 performance at the Durbē Lutheran Church in Latvia. Following a 2018 expanded double-LP edition of A Turn of Breath, he issued Thresholder, an album of previously unreleased material. Craig and music therapist Missy Donaldson subsequently formed the experimental indie-folk duo Minor Pieces, whose debut The Heavy Steps of Dreaming surfaced in 2019. The more stripped-down solo album Red Sun Through Smoke, emphasizing piano, vocals, and tape loops, arrived in early 2020. Later that year Craig collaborated with post-minimalist composer Daniel Lentz on In a Word, issued as volume sixteen in RVNG Intl.’s FRKWYS series.
Albums
Music For Magnesium_173
2022
FRKWYS Vol. 16: In a Word
2020
Red Sun Through Smoke
2020
Thresholder
2018
A Turn of Breath - Extended
2018
Centres
2016
Cradle for the Wanting
2015
A Turn of Breath
2014
Singles
