Sweet Headache

Sweet Headache feat. iO

If you haven’t heard about iO before: He is a rising UK artist who is currently introducing his signature sound to the buzzing Garage scene. His official artist page described his sound like this: “Soul samples flow smoothly over precise percussive punctuation, with sweeping synths and bass from the deepest depths.” iO recently teamed up with bass music collective Diamond&Raw and is working on his first official releases for a number of labels.

I wanted to know more about his use of Soul samples and his musical background in general, so I asked him about this.

iO:“ I grew up listening to all kinds of music, but there was a focus on R&B and Soul. I use a lot of acapellas. There is something about female vocals that I really like in my tracks. When I listen to a track, I want to be able to remember it, and a vocal helps a lot.”

In another interview, I had read about him owning a Fender Rhodes - a classic electronic music instrument that was invented in 1942 -and I was curious about how he got this.

iO:“Its the most precious thing i own! I got it when I was 18. I fell in love with that sound. I saved a bit of money, and spent months trying to find the right one. It was used in a recording studio before I bought it, so it was in good condition. Unfortunately, I lost the pedal and the lid in a fire at my house a few years ago, which was a bit of a shame. But yeh, I love using it in tracks.”

iO’s sound can be described as a mix of down-to-earth grooves and spacey sounds. This also reflects in the meaning of his pseudonym iO, which is one of the moons of Jupiter.

iO: “Yeh, its the name of one of Jupiter’s moons. Im a bit into space. (laughs) People have asked me if its a refrence to binary code, or ‘ins and outs’ in production. But the truth is that i just liked the name!“

Talking about computers, iO tells me that the internet plays a big role in his development as an artist. Even his involvement with Diamond&Raw wouldn’t have happened without it:

iO: “Adam from Diamon&Raw got in touch with me via Soundcloud. It sounds crazy, but we have never met in person. The internet is so amazing for connecting people like that.“

iO is quite busy producing sounds right now. Apart from working on his own EP, he has done remixes for Warrior One, Space, Ladies and Labyrinth Ear and collaborations with Kastle and LO:TEK.

iO: “If you want to have a career in music, working hard is what you have to do. I have three jobs right now, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”