IQU: bio

In the unique world of IQU, nothing is certain, and everything is permissible. That’s the feeling you get upon first entrance into their special sonic universe, an inebriating experience filled with merriment and awe, as if all reality suddenly shifted into a vivid and elaborate cartoon. Stylistically diverse and tremendously resourceful, IQU is an electronic act on the rise, for their sound is absolutely original, without peer, and continues to perk up the ears of many worldwide.

Beginning as an experiment of founder DJ K.O. by putting live guitar, horns, Casio and whatever he got from thriftshops over looped and programmed beats, IQU was born as ICU (later changed to IQU for threat of legal action) and evolved from a damp, dark basement in rain-soaked Olympia, Washington circa 1996. K.O. had played guitar in a few rock bands by then and was spinning drum n’ bass at the local club, so his skills on the turntables and guitar were immediately applied to the music swirling in his brain. With the help from Van Stevens (of the old-school hardcore band DISSENT from South Dakota) on bass, ICU started playing at parties around town. After going through various mutations, upright bass player Aaron Hartman (OLD TIME RELIJUN and THE REPLIKANTS) joined to provide the low end with an acoustic touch. Along came his friend Michiko Swiggs, an electronic music student at the local liberal arts college who had acquired a splendid array of vintage analog keyboards and synthesizers. It was the perfect element for the futuristic electronic pop music K.O. was constructing. Adding theremin to the mix for the final touch, the project had become a full-fledged band. They started playing some live shows around town, and the word was out about a band that sounded unlike any other act in the fertile punk rock haven that is Olympia.

Their debut release, the 7” single Despite The Smell of Colors Vol. I, started the rumor outside of Olympia about an electronic band in the Pacific Northwest which had a pleasing sound to both the techno crowd and the indie rock stable. Live shows increased in frequency, attracting more and more people. They went on a national tour with UNWOUND, spreading the word further. IQU truly struck a chord in October 1998 with the release of their first long-player, the critically acclaimed CD/2xLP Chotto Matte A MOMENT!, winning over the hearts of music fans all over.

It’s their live show which really allows the band to stand out. Unlike the majority of stoic electronica acts, IQU engage with their audience, both visually and directly, by putting on a spectacle. The members of IQU burrow ahead into their instruments with animated intensity, determined to squeeze out every last drop of sound possible, battling the keyboards, programmers, sequencers, turntables, theremin and guitar like gladiators of musical alchemy.

IQU have played shows with plenty of diverse acts, including FUGAZI, BUFFALO DAUGHTER, PERE UBU, BUILT TO SPILL, FREAKY CHAKRA, IMPERIAL TEEN, MAKE UP and JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET. They have toured America 4 times with the likes of LOOPER, MOUSE ON MARS, and as a member of the “Music Against Brain Degeneration Revue” tour with FLAMING LIPS, SEBADOH, CORNELIUS and SONIC BOOM; they have played the Golden Voice and Bumbershoot festivals alongside SONIC YOUTH, SLEATER-KINNEY, MODEST MOUSE, BOREDOMS and CIBO MATTO. In 1999 IQU released an ep with spoken word/performance artist MIRANDA JULY, the tour de force Girls on Dates EP. 2000 promises to be another stellar year as the band gets set to release the ep Teenage Dream which features remixes of IQU by LOOPER, SONIC BOOM, and more. If ever there was a band crucial to their time and place, it is IQU. Now fresh as a duo of K.O. and Michiko, the plan is set to bomb the world with their tremendous melding of electronica, pop, and DIY punk.

Artist's Website:http://www.iquiqu.com/sunq/