Iroiro

Led by members of the inimitable IQU*, Michiko Swiggs (synths) and Kento Oiwa (guitar/theremin), Iroiro also feature drummer Justin Schwartz (Cobra High) and bassist/synthesist James Drage (SIL2K). They prove that having a singer is unnecessary when you create music this potently psychedelic. Iroiro haven’t been around very long, but their impact so far has been seismic among true heads, and moving forward, it’s only going to intensify.

*IQU (website/wiki) is a K Records artist who was active from the late ‘90s to mid 2000s. They performed extensively, from house parties in Olympia to the first Coachella, and toured nationally with The Flaming Lips, Unwound, Mouse on Mars, and more.

“You know that feeling when you see a band for the first time and immediately realize that they’re going to be your favorite group in town for the foreseeable future? No, you probably don’t, because it’s such a rare phenomenon. But that happened to at least one jaded, old writer last year when Seattle’s Iroiro wowed an arty crowd at a Pioneer Square gallery with a grip of neo-krautrock songs that stood out from today’s hordes of neo-krautrockers like a gold-plated Moog Modular 55. “— Dave Segal, The Stranger