Colin Stetson

Biography

Colin Stetson (born March 3, 1975) is an American saxophonist, multireedist, and composer based in Montreal. He is best known as a regular collaborator of the indie rock acts Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Bell Orchestre, and Ex Eye. In addition to saxophone, he plays clarinet, bass clarinet, French horn, flute, and cornet.
Stetson has released various solo releases, including his debut and subsequent albums New History Warfare Vol. 1, 2, & 3, a collaborative studio album with violinist Sarah Neufeld entitled Never Were the Way She Was×Never Were the Way She Was27 April 2015 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1The Sun Roars Into View7:372Won't Be a Thing to Become3:243In the Vespers6:024And Still They Move2:575With the Dark Hug of Time6:346The Rest of Us6:317Never Were the Way She Was8:138Flight1:38 (2015), Sorrow: A Reimagining of Henryk Górecki's 3rd Symphony (2016), and All This I Do for Glory (2017). Since 2013, Stetson has contributed the scores to several films and television series.

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×All This I Do for Glory28 April 2017 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1All This I Do for Glory7:202Like Wolves on the Fold7:363Between Water and Wind6:244Spindrift6:285In the Clinches2:486The Lure of the Mine13:00 was released on April 28, 2017. In 2022 he released the drone-inspired album Chimæra I×Chimæra I11 November 2022 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Orthrus20:352Orthrus (reduction)8:143Cerberus21:104Cerberus (reduction)8:22. 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.

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
Nethering (2026) with Greg Fox and Trevor Dunn
All the light in the world (2026) with Brìghde Chaimbeul