Music career[edit]

Krauss was born to Fred and Louise, and raised in Champaign, Illinois. As a boy, he enjoyed listening to soundtracks. He started on piano and trumpet before moving on to playing double bass with local jazz groups in his early teens. In high school, he began composing music and was influenced by rock, soul, and R&B. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and studied bass, voice, and electronic music. While in college, he formed a band called Difficult Listening.^[1]


In 1992, he became a member of the Free Mexican Airforce led by Peter Rowan, a bluegrass guitarist and singer from Boston. After working with Rowan, he joined the band of country singer Lyle Lovett, touring and recording for the next ten years. He played on Forget About It, a solo album by his sister, Alison.^[1]


He recorded his album Far from Enough (Nonesuch, 2004) with Alison, dobro player Jerry Douglas, drummer Steve Jordan, and guitarist Bill Frisell. Alison sings a cover version of the song "Big Log" by Robert Plant. Viktor Krauss called his album a soundtrack without a movie. It combines country, bluegrass, and jazz.^[2][3][4] His second album, II (EMI/Back Porch, 2007), was also compared to a film soundtrack. Shawn Colvin sings a cover version of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd.^[5]


Krauss has worked as a session musician on albums by the Cox Family, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Bill Frisell, Jerry Douglas, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Martin Taylor, Michael McDonald, and Natalie MacMaster. He is also the composer of the indie horror game No Players Online.^[6]