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IO
Dip It Low
5 tracks
The five tracks that comprise Io’s debut EP, Dip It Low are the are indicators of something very interesting in development—a strange combination of ’80s synth-pop and contemporary dance music. “Lions,” with its guitar/synth combination and bouncy melody, sounds like an updated version of Flock of Seagulls’ “I Ran.” Conversely, “Scarf” is a haunting electro track with auto-tune vocals which sits somewhere between the XX and James Blake, both fantastic touchstones for a band exploring the outer regions of post-dubstep. The remaining three tracks tread the line somewhere between those classic and contemporary influences, showing the promise of great things to come. - The Noise
Discography
io: dip it low (EP)
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Bio
io formed in the spring of 2011 as a collaboration between songwriters Whitney Young and Todd Drogy. Frustrated by the limitations of their previous rock/punk band the two were seeking to expand and explore composition beyond the traditional strictures of genre. io's sound evolved over the course of the summer when the two guitarists began to experiment with a variety of new instruments: synthesizers, drum sequencers, effects pads, and various other noise-inducing gadgets. By summer's end they had written and recorded over a dozen songs in their chord-strewn rehearsal space in the basement of a cafe in Boston's Jamaica Plain. The songs, inspired by the images and inchoate feelings of dreams and memory, attempt to capture something of the emotion swimming beneath the surface of things.
Dip It Low--part ambient, part electro-dance, part dark-wave--showcases five songs from that summer's recording session. Melodic, rhythmically driven, inward-looking, the songs attempt to paint rather than tell. The production is raw and minimal, eschewing computerized effects in favor of manually generated sounds. The aesthetic is that of underground passageways, bruised circuitry, and winter oceans.
io is currently at work on a second record and have added two additional performing members to the band: Joshua Schofield (aka Baby G) on vocals and Helen Aki on vocals, synth, and guitar. Their second ep,Transdimensional, is due for release in December of 2012. In the meantime, io will be performing at basement shows, art openings, and various dives/clubs around Boston, New York and the East Coast.
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