# Dominick Fernow

Ian Dominick Fernow 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. His first releases date back to 1998, the same year in which he founded the record label Hospital Productions.

## Life

Fernow hails from Wisconsin and his mother is the poet and former Wisconsin Public Radio host Jean Feraca. He recounts his entrance into public school and his exposure to death metal and tape trading as early sources of musical interest. 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."
Fernow has resided in Providence, New York City, Los Angeles, and Berlin, and runs the labels Hospital Productions and Bed of Nails.

## Career

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).
Fernow has also performed in various bands, such as Football Rabbit, Vegas Martyrs, Taylor Bow, Ash Pool, and formerly as part of Cold Cave. 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, The Village Voice , Resident Advisor, and The Quietus.

## Partial discography
### As Prurient

| Year | Title | Label | Format | Notes |
| 1998 | A Simple Mark | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 1998 | Blades Steam Red Sweat, Inside The Things I Dread | Hospital Productions | CD-R |
| 1998 | Persistence | Beeshu Records | Cassette | split with Potassium Cyanide Dogbane Sentiment |
| 1999 | A Call For Help | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 1999 | Entrepreneur | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 1999 | Model | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 1999 | Prurient / Jon Borges | Hospital Productions | Cassette | split with Jon Borges |
| 1999 | O.C.D. | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 1999 | Observer | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 2000 | Collaboration | Let It Rot | CD | with Richard Ramirez & Flatline Construct |
| 2000 | Mundane | Ninth Circle Music | CD-R | split with Sickness |
| 2000 | Noise Split Tape Vol. 1 | Brainchaos | Cassette | split with Echo System |
| 2000 | Ornamentation | Zaftig Research | CD-R | collaboration with Goose |
| 2000 | Point And Void | Hospital Productions | 2xCassette | |
| 2001 | Arbitrary Witness | Deadline Recordings | 2xCassette |
| 2001 | Body Language | Peel Back the Sky | LP |
| 2001 | Collaboration | Hospital Productions | CD | with Diagram A and Furisubi |
| 2001 | Guide to Grooming | Monorail Trespassing | Cassette |
| 2001 | Hunt in Couples | Hospital Productions, Anti-Everything | 7" | split with ASD |
| 2001 | Magnified Healing | Hospital Productions, T.E.F. | CD | split with T.E.F. & Richard Ramirez |
| 2001 | Mater Dolorosa | Hospital Productions | CD |
| 2001 | Mummification and Prayer | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 2001 | White Plains Leather: Black River Falls | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 2001 | Valve Testing | Electronic Musik | | Compilation: 1 track:Pastune as Well |
| 2002 | Live Prayer | Electronic Musik | 3", CD-R |
| 2002 | Something Terrible Has Happened and I Need Your Help | Monorail Trespassing | Cassette |
| 2002 | The History of Aids | Hospital Productions/Armageddon | CD |
| 2003 | Recycled Music | RRRecords | Cassette |
| 2003 | Troubled Sleep | Truculent Recordings | CD |
| 2003 | We Set off in High Spirits | Gods of Tundra | Cassette |
| 2004 | 60 Minutes of Silence | American Tapes | Cassette |
| 2004 | Fossil | Truculent Recordings | CD |
| 2004 | Red Head | RRRecords | Cassette | with Pedestrial Deposit |
| 2004 | Shipwreckers Diary | Ground Fault | CD |
| 2004 | Starvation | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 2004 | Sexual Magic | Hospital Productions | 2xCassette |
| 2004 | The Hidden Family/+White+ | Load Records | 12"/CD | with Kites |
| 2004 | White Magic | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 2005 | African Division | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 2005 | Akitsa / Prurient | Hospital Productions | Cassette | split with Akitsa |
| 2005 | Black Vase | Load Records | CD/LP |
| 2005 | Church of Ammunition | Troubleman Unlimited Records | 7" |
| 2005 | Devil In Broad Daylight | Chondritic Sound | 2xCassette |
| 2005 | Disappearance Of The Maya | Hospital Productions | 4xCassette | split with Aaron Dilloway |
| 2005 | In The Slaughterhouse | Hospital Productions | 7" |
| 2005 | Love and Romance | Hospital Productions | LP | split with Nicole 12 |
| 2005 | Macronympha + Prurient / Okha | Dada Drumming | 12" | split with Macronympha and Okha |
| 2005 | The Baron's Chamber | Nihilist Records | CD |
| 2005 | The Warriors | Hospital Productions/Gods of Tundra | CD/LP | split with Wolf Eyes |
| 2005 | Vegas Martyrs - Choking Doberman | Kitty Play Records | 7" |
| 2006 | Cloven Spike | Hospital Productions | 7" | with John Wiese |
| 2006 | Grunt / Prurient | Freak Animal Records | Cassette | split with Grunt |
| 2006 | Heavy Rain Returns | iDEAL Recordings | CD | with Carlos Giffoni |
| 2006 | Memory Repeating | AA Records | 7" |
| 2006 | Pleasure Ground | Load Records | CD |
| 2006 | Point and Void | Ninth Circle Music | CD |
| 2006 | Snail on a Razor | Hospital Productions | CD |
| 2007 | All Are Guests in the House of the Lord | Hospital Productions | Cassette/CD | with Kevin Drumm |
| 2007 | Caribbean Overdose | Hospital Productions | Cassette | edition of 200 |
| 2007 | Cave Depression | No Fun Productions | 3x7" |
| 2007 | Cocaine Death | Hospital Productions | Cassette | edition of 46 |
| 2007 | Colonialist Nature And Misanthropy | Hospital Productions | 2xCassette |
| 2007 | Golden Swastika | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 2007 | Prurient | Hanson Records | LP |
| 2007 | Split | Important Records | | with Mindflayer |
| 2007 | Taylor Bow - Hate Fuck | Hospital Productions | 7" |
| 2007 | Terminal Cases | aRCHIVE recordings | 2x3" CD | split with Death Unit |
| 2007 | The Golden Chamber | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 2008 | And Still, Wanting | No Fun Productions | CD + Shield 5" |
| 2008 | Arrowhead | Mego | CD |
| 2008 | End Of Autumn | Troubleman Unlimited | 2xLP | split with Sutcliffe Jügend |
| 2008 | Ghosts Of Niagara | Hospital Productions | 10xCass | split with Burning Star Core |
| 2008 | Tylenol Murders | Hospital Productions | Cassette | edition of 20 |
| 2008 | Cocaine Death | Hospital Productions | CD |
| 2008 | Time Began in a Garden | Hospital Productions | 2xCassette, C10 + Box | edition of 100 |
| 2008 | The Black Post Society | Cold Spring Records | CD |
| 2009 | Blood of the Lamb | BloodLust! | LP | split with Wilt ( edition of 100) |
| 2009 | Palm Tree Corpse | Hospital Productions | 3xCassette/LP |
| 2009 | Roman | Harbinger Sound | LP |
| 2009 | Rose Pillar | Heartworm Press | 11" | with book (edition of 500) |
| 2009 | Stars Explode | Hospital Productions | Cassette/LP | with Cold Cave |
| 2009 | The Complete Kingdom Recordings | The Institute For Organic Conversations | 4xCassette | split with Wilt |
| 2010 | Jesus | Hospital Productions | 2xCassette | split with Nico Vascellari |
| 2011 | Annihilationist | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 2011 | Many Jewels Surround the Crown | Hydra Head | 7" |
| 2011 | Bermuda Drain | Hydra Head | CD/LP/Cassette |
| 2011 | Time's Arrow | Hydra Head | EP |
| 2011 | Stun Gun | Quasi Pop Records | 7" |
| 2011 | Despiritualized | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 2012 | Of The Memories Of Friends | Hospital Productions | 2xCassette |
| 2012 | Oxidation | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 2012 | Tiger Smells A Corpse | Hospital Productions | 3xCassette |
| 2012 | Wrapped in the Flame of Illusion, Masked in the Clay of Behavior | Dais Records | 2x7" |
| 2012 | Worship is the Cleansing of the Imagination | Hydra Head | 12" | split with JK Flesh |
| 2013 | Through the Window | Blackest Ever Black | Cassette, Vinyl, CD |
| 2014 | Washed Against The Rocks | Handmade Birds | 7" |
| 2015 | Frozen Niagara Falls | Profound Lore | 2CD/3xLP |
| 2015 | Cocaine Daughter | Hospital Productions | Cassette |
| 2016 | Unknown Rains | Hospital Productions | 2xLP |
| 2017 | Rainbow Mirror | Profound Lore | 4CD/7xLP |
| 2019 | Garden of the Mutilated Paratroopers | Profound Lore | 2CD/Cassette |
| 2020 | Casablanca Flamethrower | Tesco Organization | 2xLP/Album |
| 2020 | Chain Reaction at Dusk | Hospital Productions | | Split with Kelly Moran |
| 2021 | Black Crows Cyborg | Hospital Productions | LP |
| 2022 | Creationist | Hospital Productions | 6CD Cassette/7" |
| 2022 | Annihilationism | Hospital Productions | Vinyl, CD | Split with Masonna |
| 2023 | Cain And Abel S/M | Hospital Productions | LP |
| 2023 | I Used to Sell Flowers by the Roadside | Doom Electronics | 6CD Cassette |

### As Vatican Shadow
#### Studio albums

| Year | Title | Label | Format | Notes |
| 2011 | Kneel Before Religious Icons | Hospital Productions, Type Records | Cassette, Vinyl LP | |
| 2011 | Pakistan Military Academy | Hospital Productions | Cassette | |
| 2012 | Atta's Apartment Slated for Demolition | Hospital Productions | Cassette, Digital | |
| 2012 | Ghosts of Chechnya | Hospital Productions | Cassette, Digital, Vinyl LP (2023 Remaster) | |
| 2012 | Ornamented Walls | Modern Love Records | Vinyl LP | |
| 2013 | Remember Your Black Day | Hospital Productions | CD, Vinyl LP | |
| 2014 | Games Have Rules | Hospital Productions | CD, Vinyl LP | with Function |
| 2016 | Media in the Service of Terror | Hospital Productions | Digital, Cassette | |
| 2019 | American Flesh for Violence | Hospital Productions | Digital, Cassette | Previously unreleased tracks and remixes by Alessandro Cortini, JK Flesh, Ancient Methods, CUB |
| 2020 | Persian Pillars Of The Gasoline Era | 20 Buck Spin | Digital, Vinyl LP, CD, Cassette | Mastered by Justin Broadrick |
| 2021 | SR-71 Blackbird Survivors | Hospital Productions | Digital, 4x Cassette | |
| 2022 | Coast Guard Gulf of Blood | Hospital Productions | Digital, 4x Cassette | |
| 2023 | Destroy Chemical Weapons | Hospital Productions | Digital |

#### EPs and singles

| Year | Title | Label | Format | Notes |
| 2010 | Byzantine Private CIA | Hospital Productions | Cassette | 4-tracks EP |
| 2011 | Washington Buries Al Qaeda Leader at Sea - Deck 1 | Hospital Productions | Cassette | 2-tracks single |
| 2011 | Washington Buries Al Qaeda Leader at Sea - Deck 2 | Hospital Productions | Cassette | 2-tracks single |
| 2011 | Washington Buries Al Qaeda Leader at Sea - Deck 3 | Hospital Productions | Cassette | 2-tracks single |
| 2011 | The Serpent Carries Him Back Into Paradise | Hospital Productions | Cassette | 4-track split EP with Contrepoison (2 tracks each) |
| 2011 | Mural of Saddam | Hospital Productions | Cassette | 3-tracks EP |
| 2011 | Yemeni Commandos | Hospital Productions | Cassette | 2-tracks EP |
| 2012 | Kuwaiti Airforce | Hospital Productions | Cassette, Vinyl 12" Remaster (2019) | 2-tracks EP |
| 2012 | Operation Neptune Spear | Hospital Productions | Cassette, Digital | 3-tracks EP |
| 2012 | Iraqi Praetorian Guard | Hospital Productions | Vinyl 12" | 3-tracks EP |
| 2012 | September Cell | Hospital Productions | Vinyl 12" | 4-tracks EP |
| 2012 | Jordanian Descent | Hospital Productions | Cassette | 2-tracks single |
| 2013 | When You Are Crawling | Hospital Productions | Digital, CD, Vinyl 12" | 4-tracks EP |
| 2014 | April Silencer | Hospital Productions | Digital | 2-tracks EP |
| 2014 | Easing of Our Task | Hospital Productions | Digital | 4-tracks EP |
| 2014 | Elohim City | Hospital Productions | Digital | 3-tracks EP |
| 2014 | Enduring Mysteries | Hospital Productions | Digital | 3-tracks EP |
| 2014 | Fireball | Hospital Productions | Digital | 3-tracks EP |
| 2014 | Oklahoma Military Academy | Hospital Productions | Digital | 4-tracks EP |
| 2017 | Luxor Necropolitics | Hospital Productions | Digital, Vinyl 2x10", Vinyl 12" (2023 Remaster) | 5-tracks EP |
| 2017 | Vatican Shadow / Ancient Methods - Bunkerterror | Hospital Productions | Digital, Vinyl 2x10" | 2-tracks split with Ancient Methods |
| 2017 | Rubbish of the Floodwaters | Ostgut Ton | Digital, Vinyl 12" | 3-tracks EP |
| 2018 | Volta Forte Remixes | Hospital Productions | Digital | 2-tracks EP |
| 2019 | Opium Crop Airstrikes | Hospital Productions | Digital, Cassette, Vinyl 12" | 3-track EP |
| 2020 | Temple Gas Mask | Hospital Productions | Digital | 5-track split EP with Salford Electronics |

#### Compilations

| Year | Title | Label | Format | Notes |
| 2011 | Washington Buries Al Qaeda Leader at Sea: Decks 1-3 | Hospital Productions | Lossless Digital | |
| 2012 | It Stands to Conceal | Hospital Productions | Vinyl 12", Digital | Compilation of Jordanian Descent, Ghosts of Chechnya and Atta's Apartment Slated for Demolition |
| 2014 | Death Is Unity With God | Hospital Productions, Modern Love Records | Cassette, Vinyl LP, CD | Compilation of Fireball, Enduring Mysteries, Easing of Our Task, Oklahoma Military Academy, Elohim City and April Silencer |

### As Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement
#### Studio albums

* Papua Land Where Spirits Still Rule (2012)
* Folklore Venom (2013)
* Green Graves (2016)
* Ambient Black Magic (2017)
* Red Ants Genesis (2018)
* Simulated Thunderstorm (2019)
* Flying Fish Ambience (2021)
* Gray Eucalyptus Tranquility (2023)
* Killer Whale Atmospheres (2023)

#### EPs

* The Plant with Many Faces (2013)
* Black Magic Cannot Cross Water (2013)
* Water Rose Above the Head (2013)
* Venus Flytrap Exotica (2019)
* Panama Canal Left-Hand Path (2019)
* Jellyfish Reproduce Black Magic (2021)
* Saga Of Capsizing Dolphins (2022)

#### Compilations

* Water Witches (2017)
* Seashell Altars (2021)

### As Christian Cosmos
#### Studio albums

* Enthronement by God as the First-Born of the Dead (2012)

#### EPs

* Cadence upon the Threshold of Judgement (2012)
* The Sharp Lines That Delineate His Robes (2012)
* Which Echo Again and Again (2012)

### As Exploring Jezebel
#### Studio albums

* On a Business Trip to London (2015)

### As a Contributor/Guest Artist

| Year | Artist | Title | Credits |
| 2011 | Cold Cave | Cherish the Light Years | Electronics on "Pacing Around the Church", "Catacombs", and "Burning Sage" |
| 2017 | Cavalera Conspiracy | Psychosis | Synthesizer on "Spectral War", "Hellfire" and "Excruciating" |
| 2017 | Power Trip | Nightmare Logic | (As Prurient) Introduction on "Waiting Around to Die" |
| 2018 | Oneohtrix Point Never | Age Of | (As Prurient) Voice on "Babylon", "Warning", and "Same" |