IQU (pronounced 'ee-koo', and originally named ICU) is an American

lo-fi music Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

group from

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

, United States.

History

The band formed in Olympia, initially as ICU,Richard-San, Mark (1999)
IQU ''Girls on Dates'' EP
,

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

, August 10, 1999, retrieved 2010-07-24 and comprised Michiko Swiggs (keyboards), Aaron Hartman (bass), and K.O. (Kento Oiwa, guitar, theremin, turntables).Phares, Heather " IQU Biography,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, retrieved 2010-07-24 Swiggs and Oiwa had met at a

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

.Segal, Dave (2003)
Nice Bands Finish First: IQU Will Turn Your Party Out
, '' The Stranger'', Dec 24 – Dec 30, 2003, retrieved 2010-07-24 Their early recordings consisted of free-form improvisation, but became more song-based. They were signed by

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr., (born September 29, 1985) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he twice ...

to his

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent mu ...

label, releasing the album ''Chotto Matte A Moment!'' in 1998. The band's live shows included bills shared with

Unwound Unwound is an American post-hardcore band. The band was formed in 1988 in Tumwater, Washington, Tumwater and Olympia, Washington by vocalist/guitartist Justin Trosper, bassist Vern Rumsey and drummer Brandt Sandeno, and was largely based in Olym ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (keyb ...

Hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...

, and

Mouse on Mars Mouse on Mars is a German electronic music duo formed in 1993 by Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma. Their music is a blend of electronic genres including IDM, dub, krautrock, breakbeat and ambient, featuring heavy use of organic analog synth and ...

, and the band toured extensively.Singer, Liam (2004)
IQU ''Sun Q''
,

, October 28, 2004, retrieved 2010-07-24 In 1999 the band issued the ''Girls on Dates'' EP, a collaboration with performance artist, poet, and filmmaker

Miranda July Miranda July (born Miranda Jennifer Grossinger; February 15, 1974) is an American film director, screenwriter, singer, actress and author. Her body of work includes film, fiction, monologue, digital presentations and live performance art. She w ...

, described by

as "a frightening mix of squealing low-fi electronics and broken verbal communication" and "a wonderfully provocative collaboration".Taylor, Ken " ''Girls on Dates'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-07-24 Their third album, '' Teenage Dream'' was released in 2000, featuring seven different mixes of "Teenage Dream" by the likes of

Looper Looper may refer to: Animals * Cabbage looper (''Trichoplusia ni''), a member of the moth family Noctuidae * Inchworm, of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies People * Looper (surname), a Dutch-language surname with the meanin ...

, Lexaunculpt and

Sonic Boom A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to t ...

, and two mixes of "Can't You Even Remember That?".Phares, Heather " ''Teenage Dream'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-07-24Stahl, Geoff (2000)
IQU ''Teenage Dream''
,

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

, retrieved 2010-07-24Richard-San, Mark (2000)
IQU ''Teenage Dream'' EP
,

, August 15, 2000, retrieved 2010-07-24 Hartman left in 2000, forming Old Time Relijun. Over the next few years, Oiwa scored the soundtrack for ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' and worked as a DJ, and Swiggs became more involved in

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

. Their fourth album, ''Sun Q'', recorded as a duo, was released in 2004, and was regarded as their best yet by

, who described the album as "pretty, Asian flavored synth pop".Phares, Heather " ''Sun Q'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-07-24

described ''Sun Q'' as "a mash of styles that can be generally categorized as "alien pop" - mutated top 40, broken disco, and hyperactive glam instrumentals that flow along at a stream-of-consciousness pace".

Discography

Albums

*''Chotto Matte A Moment!'' (1998), K *'' Teenage Dream'' (2000), K - IQU and friends *''Sun Q'' (2004), Sonic Boom

Singles, EPs

*''Despite The Smell Of Colors, Vol I'' (1998), N.E.W. *''Girls on Dates'' EP (1999), K - with Miranda July *''Dirty Boy'' (2004), Sonic Boom

References

External links

* {{Authority control Rock music groups from Washington (state) Lo-fi music groups Musical groups from Olympia, Washington