Ian was born at Sacred Heart hospital in Eugene, Oregon in 1980, spending his first years on a chicken farm outside of town. He came of age in the Czech Republic, however, not long after the fall of the Soviet Union, the experience of which, with its plentiful medieval castle ruins and Gothic cathedrals being swiftly overrun by Western fast food corporations while folk musicians armed with guitars, chanting in unison, persevered aboard the inter-city trains, had a profound influence on him.
Upon returning to the States, he found his way to Portland and played in various bands in the local punk scene, adopting the nickname Kashani after the 19th century Babi historian-martyr and touring extensively both on domestic soil and abroad, releasing a handful of increasingly urgent records. Some years passed as he focused on solo music to allow himself more space for experimentation, starting with hastily recorded demos posted online that bloomed into patient yet fully impassioned affairs transmuted onto vinyl and beyond; he completed his fifteenth release Still in 2025. He also made forays into visual art, producing lo-fi music videos and a number of high contrast black and white sketches that graced a plethora of projects, as well as writing stream-of-consciousness poetry and short prose, collected at last in a slim, self-published volume available worldwide.
Relocating to San Francisco, he currently lives in the Excelsior district, aspiring to the role of tomato plant gardener, making blueprints for future albums and poring feverishly over neglected literature.