Dylan Carlson (born March 12, 1968) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist and founder of the drone metal/post-rock group Earth, and the main contributor to his solo project Drcarlsonalbion.
He had first become interested in being a rock musician at age 15, inspired by bands such as Molly Hatchet, AC/DC, and Black Sabbath.[3] He also cites the Melvins, and composers La Monte Young and Terry Riley as major influences on his music. It was in Olympia, Washington that he met Slim Moon, Greg Babior, Dave Harwell and Joe Preston, with whom he would later form Earth.[3] During this time, he would often make "sonic collages" with his then-roommate Kurt Cobain.[4] From 1991 to 1996, Earth had an ever-changing lineup. Carlson attributes a lack of (full-length) studio album recordings from 1997 to 2005 to "legal and drug problems".[5]
Personal life
Carlson was a good friend of Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and, like Cobain, has struggled with heroin addiction, particularly so after Cobain's death.[6] Dylan was the one who purchased the gun that ended Kurt's life, which he bought at Cobain's request six days before his death.[7] He was actually with investigator Tom Grant when he searched Kurt's home, but they failed to search the greenhouse above the garage where his body lay.
In his biography of Cobain, Heavier Than Heaven, Charles R. Cross asserted that "In Bloom" was a "thinly disguised portrait" of Carlson.[8]
He now lives in recovery of heroin addiction. He has survived a rare form of hepatitis B and liver failure.[9][10] Carlson was married to fellow Earth member, drummer Adrienne Davies for a time.[11] Davies still remains in the band despite their split.
Solo discography
Dylan Carlson at Aarhus Festival, Denmark 2018
Gold (as Drcarlsonalbion) (2014)
Falling with a 1000 Stars and other wonders from the House of Albion (with Coleman Grey) (2016)
^Bekki Bemrose. "Dylan Carlson - Conquistador". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 April 2020. Dylan Carlson has gathered a reputation as an innovator of drone rock [...] Carlson has become one of the most prolific and consistently rewarding artists currently operating within experimental music
