Ian Dominick Fernow^[1] is an American experimental musician, poet and multimedia artist. He is best known for extreme music released under the stage name Prurient, as well as numerous other aliases including Vatican Shadow, Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement and Christian Cosmos.^[2] His first releases date back to 1998, the same year in which he founded the record label Hospital Productions.

Fernow hails from Wisconsin^[3][4] and his mother is the poet and former Wisconsin Public Radio host Jean Feraca.^[5] He recounts his entrance into public school and his exposure to death metal and tape trading as early sources of musical interest.^[6] In particular, Fernow cites the death metal band Deicide's album Once upon the Cross as, "frightening ... A huge record for me, still to this day."^[6]

Fernow has resided in Providence, New York City, Los Angeles,^[7] and Berlin,^[8] and runs the labels Hospital Productions and Bed of Nails.^[9]

In his early work as Prurient, Fernow worked primarily with a microphone and amplifier, and sometimes drums. He eventually began utilizing more electronics, and currently works primarily with laptop and synthesizers. In the past, he collaborated with artists like John Wiese, Jeff Plummer (of Immaculate:Grotesque and Shallow Waters), Kris Lapke (of Alberich and MCMS), Wolf Eyes, Macronympha, and Philip Best (of Whitehouse and Consumer Electronics).^[10]

Fernow has also performed in various bands, such as Football Rabbit, Vegas Martyrs, Taylor Bow, Ash Pool, and formerly as part of Cold Cave.^[11] Prurient has released material on numerous independent record labels, such as Hanson Records, RRRecords, Load Records, Troubleman Unlimited, Chrondritic Sound, Kitty Play Records, American Tapes, and his own label Hospital Productions. Fernow has also recorded music under a variety of aliases, including Vatican Shadow, Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement, Exploring Jezebel, River Magic, Winter Soldier, Window Cleaning By Ian, December Magic, and Tortured Hooker.

Prurient has been covered in outlets such as The New Yorker, Pitchfork Media,^[12] The Village Voice,^[13] and Resident Advisor.^[8]