Concert Review + Interview: io echo
io echo took the stage at The Glass House as a part of Rocktober
photo credit: IAmSound Records
By: Joceline De la Torre
io echo
The Glass House
Pomona, California
18 October, 2013
It’s that time of year again in Los Angeles, otherwise known as “Rocktober,” where numerous upcoming and legendary bands play in different venues across L.A. County. I had the opportunity to see io echo at The Glass House in Pomona who are currently opening up for sister act, Haim on their Days Are Gone Tour.
The clock was approaching 9:00 pm, and io echo was nowhere to be seen; as the crowd anxiously awaited for the opening band to commence, tunes from artists such as James Blake were playing in the background to ease the audience, but at the end of a 2008 M.I.A. song the audience began applaud as io echo made their way to the stage.
io echo played a set that lasted nearly 40 minutes, which included hits such as “When the Lillies Die” and “Shanghai Girls” from their debut album Ministry of Love. Throughout the whole set, the band utilized not only their talents but also awesome lighting and body movement to keep the audience energized. Talk about multitalented! Towards the end of the set, the band did a cover of The Beatles classic “I Want You” on behalf of a fan request. It was during that cover that Ioanna Gika’s vocals resembled the early works of Dolores O’Riordan from The Cranberries. During the whole show, there was never a dull moment, due to the constant shift of lighting and tempos of songs, which ultimately kept audience members on their toes and waiting to hear more.
At the end of their of their set, I had the opportunity to briefly converse with Ioanna Gika, the lead vocalist of the band, who gave the low down on influences, festivals, and the future of io echo.
Q: So it is evident that one of your heavy influences within your music and stage presence is an Asian oriented culture, what other factors influence your music?
IG: Other influences include places in which I’ve lived in as well as traveled to and people I’ve met while along the way.
Q: You have played both Coachella and Lollapalooza this year, out of both festivals, which was your absolute favorite?
IG: I loved both! The reason in which I don’t have a preference is I’ve been a patron of both festivals in the past, so with that being said, it was a great honor to play both of them, being that Coachella has the beauty of the desert setting whereas Lollapalooza has the beauty of the city scape.
Q: In tangent to festivals and art, earlier this year, io echo had collaboration with James Franco, could you elaborate on such collaboration?
IG: We were reached out to by Harmony Korine, which was one of the directors for the film, “Rebel” which included James Franco, and it was basically a short art piece, in which our music happened to be featured to compliment the piece.
Q: It seems that io echo has achieved a lot so far, but what can we expect for the future?
IG: For the meantime, touring is a given. Later this year an album will be released, and we are hopefully songwriting in the midst of it all.
Overall, Io Echo took the term “opening band” to another level, and left many, including myself, speechless! As previously mentioned, io echo is currently touring, and preparing to release a new album. So in the mean time, check out Ministry of Love, and find out for yourself why io echo is turning heads and making waves in the Indie Alternative scene.