Of Sound, Of Art, Of Expression
IO
IO is a Brazilian visual artist, scenographer, fashion designer, performer and electronic music producer from Porto Alegre. Sonically her works move between dark ambience and noise- having been active since the year 2020. She also runs/ manages five netlabels. We tracked down the very busy lady for an email interview.
M[m]: Hello IO. It is a pleasure to interview you. You’re a rather significant figure within the South American heavy electronics scene. You’re also a prolific anti-musician in your own right. Please give us an introduction to the labels you run, and the projects you are involved in?
IO: The pleasure is mine. Thanks for the recognition. In fact, my work has gained a lot of prominence on the international scene. I sought from the beginning to cross cultural barriers and borders and speak a universal language. I make different types of music, using synthesizers and also the computer. At the moment I manage five netlabels: z0, aimed at ambient, dark ambient, and industrial; Shadow Tears, for dark music, ghost music, dungeon synth; OIOOIOOI OIOOIIII, for computer music, vaporwave, synthwave, etc; and also The Church of Noisy Goat and Grimm Goat, on which I share work with Bode. I started making music three years ago, and during that time I had some projects, which were put on hold, because now I'm only identifying myself by my name and doing some specific projects. I have very prolific phases and others of hiatus. Right now I'm in a prolific phase, so I made The Flower Book and The Hunt of the Unicorn.
M[m]: One of your more recent releases is “The Flower Book”- which is a rather impressively large work. Could you talk a little about it?
IO: The Flower Book consists of a collection of 38 dark ambient albums, each one a single, composed for each of Sir Edward Burne-Jones' 38 round watercolor plates, where flowers are not depicted, but figures related to their symbology. And The Hunt of the Unicorn is a collection of seven dark ambient albums composed for the seven tapestries in the Unicorn Tapestries series, one of the most beautiful and enigmatic works remaining from the Middle Ages. These collections were highly featured on Bandcamp, being #1 in the nominations.
M[m]: What is the origin of your IO mantle?
IO: I took on that name a few years ago, in the early 2000s, when I started working with visual arts. I chose it for several reasons and it has several references. Refers to the initials of my original name. It also refers to the binary in nature. It symbolizes a dagger and a cup. A dash and a circle. When you introduce the stroke into the circle. you get a circum point, a solar symbol ʘ. If you could see this from above, the circle would be like a dash and the other intersecting stroke forms a cross. It also reminds me of the mythology of Io, as I am a Sagittarius and this sign is ruled by the planet Jupiter.
M[m]: How/ when did you first become aware of the noise genre? And was any one track/ album that made you want to create your own work?
IO: I became more aware of this type of music around 2013, when I met Bode. I only listened to my friends from the local Porto Alegre scene. I started noise in 2020 basically out of an urge to prove to myself that I could do it. I didn't look for references.
M[m]: The labels and the projects you are involved in highlight you are well grounded with the wider heavy electronic underground including, as well, old school industrial and noise, along with more modern genres such as vaporwave. How have you developed as a listener and editor.?
IO: I listen to absolutely everything, every work I release through my labels. Usually, when the artist comes to us, he already has an idea to which one he wants to send his work for release, otherwise we go in that direction. About 90% of the music, I listen to these days comes from these artists, very good stuff. Otherwise, I listen to calm music for my dogs to sleep.
M[m]: Your netlabel The Church Of Noisy Goat has released nearly one hundred & fifty release. Please select ten of your favorite releases thus far & explain why they stand out?
IO: I created The Church of Noisy Goat in October 2020 to release my own work that I was starting. I have a partnership with (Gustavo) Bode, who is a person who knows a lot about netlabels, he pioneered netlabel in Brazil in the early 2000s at Archive.org.
In our three years of existence, we have released more than 900 albums through TCNG. Counting the releases of the other netlabels, we have already released over a thousand albums.
Therefore, it is very difficult to choose only ten highlights. I wouldn't want to be unfair to anyone, because I released the work of some wonderful artists, all very talented, and each album is special. But here are ten. They are:
The Vision and the Voice, by myself.
This was my first work and the reason for starting everything, so I couldn't not mention it.
Synthetic_Organic_Spaces by Thomas Jackson Park.
This was the first submission we received, so I couldn't not mention it either.
TRUE and FALSE by Joseph Nechvatal.
This is responsible for us being among the best experimental labels on Bandcamp in 2022.
DARK AMBIENCE Vol. 3 by Pete Swinton.
It’s an important series from this artist who is very prolific, and well known in the ambient scene.
Clonazepam Zombie by Antoine Trauma.
Standout album from this artist who is also very prolific, as well as having a very personal stamp.
To Die Alone by Mental Anguish, aka Chris Phinney.
This was the first work for our netlabel by this artist and music producer who is a reference in the US and worldwide. Repolarity by Bode, which was the artist's first solo in 2003, reissued especially for TCNG.
VAHCO - 30 YEARS OF WORK (1989-2019)
The three-disc set brings together songs from many different styles during the 30-year career of this incredible and extremely versatile artist.
Sibylla Canticles by Fabio Keiner.
A super talented artist.
High Temperature by High Temperature, aka Haiiyuuko.
The album was rescued from the old Archive.org netlabel, which was an important record in the Japanoise style.
M[m]: You keep three dogs. Is that a commercial activity, do you breed some special race? Is it just a hobby? Please tell more about your pupils and your connection with Nature.
IO: Yes, I have three dogs at the moment, two boys and a girl. They are ZOS, a white Mini Schnauzer, Thoth, a black pomeranian lulu (German spitz), and now the newest member of the family, KIA, a black and white French Bulldog. I love my dogs very much. I was used to it since I was a child with many animals in my house, because my father loved them. I've always had many dogs, cats, birds, rodents, and even reptiles, amphibians and I have a special attraction for insects. Now as I live in an apartment I can only have these. I have them just to think they're cute and cute and love them, and they give me so much pure love in return. I love animals and have a special connection with nature, a connection that is considered a high skill. I can interpret nature and its signs. I can accurately tell when it will rain, for example, even days in advance. My mother is a descendant of Charrua Indians and she taught me many things about nature, plants, medicines, blessings, etc…
M[m]: Your art seems to be much connected to the occult. The basic statement of Crowleyan system is “Method of science - aim of religion”. Are you a religious person yourself, and how much do spiritual powers affect your creations?
IO: Yes, my art has a lot of occultism and religiosity. I was introduced to the occult and different religions as a child and I have a great interest in the topic. Occultism for me is a bridge between science and faith. Everything is on. And religions, symbols and myths are explanations for scientific and faith phenomena. I've also had experiences that make me certain that there is something beyond our three-dimensional plane and what we call reality. When we manage to make the right connections, frontiers open up in our thinking, and we can no longer go back. Everything explains man and his existence, the nature around him and his behaviour. From the beginning, I brought this whole load of knowledge to my work.
M[m]: Could you discuss your sonic set-up for IO sonic output & has this changed/ developed since you started creating sound?
IO: Indeed. I started to make music using the computer. Then I bought an audio interface. So I wanted to experiment with synthesizers. I wanted one with patch cables. So I bought a Crave, by Behringer. It's compact and I practiced with it to make harsh noise and HNW. Then I added a KORG MS20 mini, which I affectionately call a battle tank. But I keep working with VST's too.
M[m]: Could you please discuss the more visual side of your work?. And what do you see as your key visual themes?
IO: I'm a visual artist and designer. When I started out in music, I used covers that I made myself with a drawing technique I developed that uses masks and oil pastels. Then I wanted to do work that involved more digital collages. I believe that album cover offers a fuller and more flavorful experience for the music collector. I want the cover to be a complement, for it to illustrate the album. The themes are varied, depending on the work presented, since I produce different styles of music
M[m]: You’re a beautiful person, which is undeniable. How much does this affect your work? A few people with-in the scene have accused you’re using your looks to gain attention, mostly spread by jealous people, but how do you handle these accusations? It seems to be very easy nowadays to attack someone on the internet just because they are good-looking and the content of the real artistic creation is simply lost in informational noise. Please refer..
IO: Thank you for the compliment. Well, I think beauty standards and beauty itself are relative. Maybe I satisfy some and not others. I don't think I'm a beauty, I don't take over-produced photos and I don't wear heavy makeup. My quest is not for the exposure of my physique. However I found that many people think I'm a person with a pretty face, and that generates a lot of prejudice and judgments. It's as if the fact that you have a slightly more symmetrical face is enough to condemn you to a life where you have no right to do anything other than stare at yourself in a mirror. Your deeds are undervalued. Anyway, it's a big mistake to judge people's lives by their physique. I see no basis in such accusations, because in four years of using the social network, I have posted 40 photos of me, both varied and in profile. I have the right to show who I am to the world, even if it displeases some. This is me, this is my face. I just don't care about it. I'll post more pictures from now on, by the way.
M[m]: please talk about some of your plans in both creative/musical and label-related fields. Also, any final words for our readers…
IO: For the future, I plan to invest more time in my personal career, as I have been doing. I enjoyed working with the creation of collectable discographies. Soon I will have my albums in a physical media presentation. I will continue to release other artists through my netlabels, but I will pay more attention to my own work. I also decided that I would invest in my career as an artist. I already have the material to start a series of paintings with the technique I developed, in the field of modern art and Zen art. I will tie the music to these visual works. I really want to bring a sound and visual installation presentation to the public about something very special that I've been studying and working on for some time. I am interested in cinema, and I developed some scripts that I still want to film. I also plan to make an illustrated book about transhumanism. And I also intend to have my own micronation, which I have already created, which is called Ioland.
I would like to thank you immensely for the opportunity of this interview, as well as for all the support received from the public, from the people who follow me and who appreciate the arts in general. I believe I'm just starting a journey, and it's magnificent to be able to
count on so many amazing people. I hope people consume more and more digital music.
I wish you all a full and happy life, with lots of music and art.
Thanks to IO for her time & effort with the interview. A few links:
https://thechurchofnoisygoat.bandcamp.com/
Interview carried out/ conducted by Sado Rituals, with extra questions/ etc from Roger Batty
Photo Credits IO- used with kind permission