Prurient

Who is Prurient?

Prurient is the performing name of Ian Dominick Fernow. He has released material on numerous independent record labels, such as American Tapes, Hanson Records, RRRecords, Load Records, Troubleman Unlimited, Chrondritic Sound, Kitty Play Records, and his own label Hospital Productions. Since the 2000s, Prurient has become one of the most well-known and influential names in noise music, and has been covered in outlets such as The New Yorker, Pitchfork Media and The Village Voice.

Fernow works primarily with a microphone and amplifier, and sometimes drums. On some releases he has been joined by Ben Barnett, Richard Dunn, John Wiese, Jeff Plummer, Kris Lapke, Sickness, Wolf Eyes, Macronympha, Philip Best, Sutcliffe Jugend, The Hototogisu, Carlos Giffoni, Wilt, Grunt, Nicole 12, and Emily Salvatierra. Fernow grew up in Wisconsin but now lives in Manhattan and runs the Hospital Productions record label and retail record store. Fernow was also the guitarist of bands Football Rabbit, Vegas Martyrs, Taylor Bow, and Ash Pool. More recently, Fernow has started marketing to the black metal audience with his label and creative works and is currently the primary live synthesizer player for Cold Cave. Fernow also releases industrial techno under the moniker, Vatican Shadow.