io is an experimental rock

Experimental rock

Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....

 band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 from Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, UK. The band currently consists of Al Lawson (guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

/vocals), Stu Atkins (guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

), Dave Wright (drums), and Steve Wood (bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

).

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

Loud

Loud may refer to:* Loudness, the subjective quality of sound of great intensity.* Loud , a TV show on Canada's MuchMusic/A TV channel owned by CTVglobemedia* Loud Mine, a gold mine in White County, Georgia* Loud Township, Michigan, U.S....

, progressive

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

, instrumental

Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....

 music that evoked the feeling of Mogwai

Mogwai

The word mogwai is the transliteration of the Cantonese word 魔怪 meaning "monster", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon".-Mogwai/Mogui in Chinese culture:...

, ISIS

ISIS

ISIS is an industry standard interface for image scanning technologies, developed by Pixel Translations in 1990 ....

 and Red Sparowes

Red Sparowes

Red Sparowes is a Los Angeles post-rock band comprising current and former members of Isis, Halifax Pier, Angel Hair and Pleasure Forever. Their sound is characteristic of soundscape-influenced experimental rock, with an otherwise uncommon extensive use of a pedal steel guitar.-History:Red Sparowes...

. 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

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

, itwaslostinthefirewestarted. Recorded by Jay at Dub:Rek studios in Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

, 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.

March 2008 saw the European release of io's debut album, Monolith

Monolith

A monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument...

. Released by short lived French label Arghh! records (Mothertrucker, God is an Astronaut

God Is an Astronaut

God Is an Astronaut are an instrumental/post-rock band from the Glen of the Downs, Co. Wicklow, Ireland.-History:After forming in 2002, God is an Astronaut took the inspiration for its name from a famous quote in the movie Nightbreed...

, 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 his love of dubstep

Dubstep

Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....

. He currently DJs under the name Arctic.

A struggle to replace James 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 full length album. The album "Materioptikon" was released in November on Grammatical Records. The album received positive reviews such as "a stunning piece of progressive hardcore/post-rock mashup" and "A beautiful, melodic, Post-Rock epic that forces repeated listens".

Discography

Title	Release date	Label	Type
itwaslostinthefirewestarted	2007	Self-Released	EP
Monolith	2008	Arghh! Records	LP
Materioptikon	2010	Grammatical Records	LP