About
Acoustic double-neck guitarist and Candyrat recording artist Ian Ethan Case has quickly become recognized as “one of the most creative and engaging fingerstyle guitarists in the world” (International Center for Creativity.)
After a decade of composing and performing around the country largely under the radar, in 2015 a viral Facebook video of his song “Butter II” introduced his music to over 6 million listeners around the world in the course of a month. In addition to a record deal and endorsements with companies such as Ovation guitars and Boss pedals, the next few years provided extensive touring opportunities throughout Europe and the United States, including two performances with a full symphony orchestra. Fingerstyle legend Don Ross described his live performance as “some of the most massively inventive musicianship I’ve ever heard/seen”, while other listeners have described his music as a cross between Michael Hedges, Steve Reich, and Pat Metheny.
His latest album, “Earth Suite,” features a dozen musicians from all over the globe, including four-time Grammy Award-winning cellist Eugene Friesen and legendary percussionist Jamey Haddad (Paul Simon, Esperanza Spalding.) While the studio album features a large group and dense orchestration, Case brings much of that expansive sound to his concert performances by making expert use of live looping and other modern digital technologies to enable seemingly infinite layers of sound and sophisticated on-the-spot orchestration that extends well beyond the reach of most looping performers. Expanding even further, a national tour in 2018 saw the debut of his innovative “Photon Symphony”, a lifelike virtual ensemble comprised of multiple synchronized projections which allow a large cast of musicians to join him on stage in a unique blend of virtual reality and live performance. As one first-time listener in California exclaimed, “Ian’s music is phenomenal - watching him play is not ‘listening to music’; it’s a full mind experience. Transporting.”
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"A sonic feast, an epic journey both aurally and conceptually...Each piece is a mini-symphony that holds the attention fully. Run Toward the Mountains [is] a major achievement which is sure to confirm Case among the ranks of significant artists at work today." - Céline Keating, Minor7th.com
"...sets standards not only in the field of acoustic guitar...he will probably be rightly regarded as one of the most innovative guitarists of our time." - Andreas Schiffmann, MusikReviews.de
“The first glimpse into a video of the American guitarist presents technical fireworks reminiscent of colleagues like Preston Reed or Andy McKee. Listening more closely, however, reveals many more details: traces of Pat Metheny, jazz improvisation, folk sounds and the musical realization of the American expanse into cleverly arranged songs.” -Gitarre und Bass
“He creates melodious, orchestral and rhythmic soundscapes that unfold a hypnotic story. An unforgettable, magical and enchanting musical experience.” - Michael Litzko, Klangfarben Kufstein
“Not much can prepare you for the first time you hear Ian Ethan Case because you will never have heard anything like it. I am not talking about tapping ...I am talking about the music.” - Steve Davison, Argenta Acoustic Music Concert Series
“It was refreshing to witness a guitarist who has created his own style and is not emulating a host of other players.” - Devon “Doc” Wendell, The International Review of Music
“A transfixing brand of energetic minimalism, with intense grooves and a harmonic sense reminiscent of Pat Metheny's best moments." - Don Ross , 2x winner, US National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition
“The musical compositions all move through a considerable level of poignancy, but manage to leave a listener with a sense of wonder and optimism, sorely missed in civilization in our current era.” - Peter Bruce Wilder, Emmy-winning Producer & Composer