io is an English experimental rock band from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England. The band currently consists of Al Lawson (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

), Stu Atkins (

), Dave Wright (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

), and Steve Wood (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

). The band formed in 2006 after the collapse of two Birmingham bands, State of Serenity and Project-7. Al Lawson (guitars/vocals), Stu Atkins (guitar), Dave Wright (drums), and Tom Lawson (bass) started writing

loud Loud most commonly refers to: * Loudness, the subjective quality of sound of great intensity Loud may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Loud'' (Half Japanese album), 1981 * ''Loud'' (Rihanna album), 2010 * ''Loud'' (Timo Maas album), 2001 * ...

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

music that evoked the feeling of

Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogw ...

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

and

Red Sparowes Red Sparowes is an American, Los Angeles-based post-rock band, comprising current and former members of Isis, Marriages, The Nocturnes, Halifax Pier, Angel Hair and Pleasure Forever. Their sound is characteristic of soundscape-influenced exper ...

. After cementing a live show described as "so spectacular and powerful it could have soundtracked the moon's conversion from a glowing, white golf ball into a fearsome, reddish planet", the band entered the studio to record their debut EP, ''itwaslostinthefirewestarted''. Recorded by Jay at Dub:Rek studios in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, the self-released EP garnered praise such as "a 'choose your own adventure' book for audiophiles" and "sublime, contemplative, and explosive epic noise". In August 2007, the band tour the EP in the UK with friends Death of London and To the Bones. The band's debut album ''Monolith'' released in Europe in March 2008. Released by short lived French label Arghh! Records (Mothertrucker,

God is an Astronaut God Is an Astronaut are an Irish post-rock band from County Wicklow, formed in 2002 by Niels and Torsten Kinsella. Their style employs elements of electronic music, krautrock, and space rock, reminiscent of Tangerine Dream. The band currently co ...

, The Mantra Above the Spotless Melt Moon) the album consisted of the four tracks from ''itwaslostinthefirewestarted'' together with two new tracks, "Where We're Going we Don't Need Roads" and "Farewell, My Concubine". Favourable reviews in France, Germany and Italy allowed io to tour mainland Europe to support the release. After the tour, James Black, who had been playing bass since the recording of the debut EP, left to band to pursue dubstep. A struggle to replace Black saw a quiet end to 2008. In 2009, Steve Wood took over on bass and the band began playing live and writing for their second album. ''Materioptikon'' was released in November on Grammatical Records. The album received positive reviews such as "A beautiful, melodic, Post-Rock epic that forces repeated listens".

Discography

References

External links

io's Myspace Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Io (English Band) English experimental rock groups Musical groups established in 2006 Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands