Today we’d like to introduce you to i|{o.
Hi i|{o, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
My dad’s side is from LA, and I was born here, but I was raised mostly in Memphis, Tennessee. I’ve always been an artist.
I was something of a black sheep in my childhood and adolescence, especially as a queer creative kid in the heart of the bible belt. I was never without a pen or pencil and paper, drawing to my heart’s content in the margins, and I’ve been writing songs and poetry since I was about 8 years old.
When I graduated high school, I made an escape to NYC to go to Parsons School of Design, pursuing visual art. I loved Parsons for its rigorous curriculum – I learned so much in my short time there. I dropped out after just a year because there was no way for me to fit music into my education. I’d have to shut the door on my passion for writing and performing music if I were to continue, as far as I saw… (That, and I didn’t want to go further into academic debt.)
I started playing in a couple of bands in NYC on an indie pop/rock tip while interning at Truth & Soul Records (now Big Crown.) Eventually, I moved back to Memphis, where I continued to play in multiple projects. I began to host house shows with my friends at our DIY space Dog Haus (Later renamed Frog Haus) and started my first electronic project, Ray Manta, with my collaborator at the time, Austin Swope.
We always had a hard time categorizing it, but Ray Manta could potentially be described as downtempo vocal-centric leftfield pop electronic music. Most of that work never saw the light of day, as we went on an indefinite hiatus when I left Memphis, but some of our old tunes are still on the internet.
I also began painting murals during this stint in Memphis.
At a certain point I decided I needed to be back in a major urban center. I chose to move near my dad and extended family in Los Angeles, took a major detour for about a year as an artist in residence and caretaker at East Jesus, an arts community down in Slab City late 2017 through late 2018.
During my time there, I created an album’s worth of demos and tracks, all recorded over the summer in a solar-powered shipping container. That year, I also remotely lent my vocals, some lyrics, and art to Quebec City post-punk band Oromocto Diamond for their release Iv Il It Ir Ni Ti. (I’m on the track POW, for the curious.)
2019, I spent briefly in NYC, where I met the artist Boris Bernard, who has become a mentor and intermittent collaborator of mine. I had some health troubles and ended up leaving NYC.
During the pandemic, I was back in LA, going back and forth to San Diego and hanging around the Circuit System crew a lot. I’d always wanted to learn to DJ, and finally picked it up and got a controller, making my first mix for their Halloween Stream. Due to a hard drive failure in the 11th hour, I ended up uploading it the next year on my Soundcloud instead, retitled the Eclipse/Apocalypse mix.
I’m still really proud of that mix and the rest of the mixes I’ve put out since then. DJing has become a passion right alongside painting, singing, songwriting and producing. I’ve gotten to perform at various local music festivals and after-hours parties, putting on events with SciFighter and Club Fallout.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been a struggle just to survive and find time to create the way I want to create. I ended up opting to work as an exotic dancer most of my adult life so far, until the pandemic in 2020, simply because it afforded me the most time off to make music and art.
I haven’t had a safety net to fall back on. I’m incredibly grateful that I took the road less traveled because my experiences have been incredibly unique. I’ve experienced a level of creative freedom that many don’t get to explore simply because they end up having to work for other people for their entire careers. I can say that my style and my vision are truly mine because I ferociously guarded my embryonic creative impulses from anything and anybody that was trying to use it to use it to further their own ends. To me, creation is a very sacred act.
That being said, being an adult entertainer was at many times a very othering experience. The emotional, mental, and physical toll were fairly high for me, and sometimes I found myself in vulnerable positions due to the nature of the industry. Still, no regrets. I enjoyed it, and it got me through very hard times.
I’ve been through plenty else, mental health struggles, rough living situations, but I’m not trying to do the Suffering Olympics ™ right now. I’m resilient as hell and grateful to be where I’m at.
My main struggle right now is getting strong enough to do a whole lot of pull-ups in a row.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I do a lot of different things, and I like to think I’m pretty good at all of them.
I’m a fine artist. I do digital paintings and canvases. I draw. I illustrate. I design. I paint murals. I’m incredibly proud of my painting skills, especially with a brush. I work in spray as well. I can do interiors or exteriors, and I can paint just about anything, but I like painting girls and robots the most. My latest show at the Artery at the Brewery – Wreath$$$, Killing Darlings – was largely about the experience of being a femme sex worker, bodily autonomy, and stripper culture.
I’m always looking for walls to paint. (Wall-havers! Hit me up!)
I design apparel as well and have prints & clothing for sale on my shop – Nevermoon Industries.
I’ve been in the woodshed as a producer for some time, but I’m just about ready to start putting out tunes again.
I produce music and write songs. I don’t like to limit myself to any one genre, but lately, it’s been a bit of jungle, house, dnb, breaks, rap, alternative pop, soul, and rock music.
I’m also writing a rock opera on the low, with a convoluted storyline, a la Coheed and Cambria or MCR. I’ve got about 30 minutes of that behemoth architected in Ableton right now, and I’m working on the rest.
I love, love, love to DJ. I’ve recently secured a gig at a local strip club as a DJ, and it’s been so rewarding to get back in the club on the other side of the booth. I play out semi-regularly downtown, and I’m always looking to spin.
What sets me apart as a DJ is probably how relentlessly eclectic I am. I tend to curate my sets by theme/aesthetic/season, and love working international selections and out-there tunes into my sets. I truly love to spin all genres.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Of all things, my persistence and tenacity has been most important to my (impending?) success. I go after what I want. I’ve been through hell on the way to where I am and I have still not given up. I will never give up! If I’ve given up on my art and music, I’m probably dead! And if I’m dead I’m probably in heaven rocking out despite it!!!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nevermoon-industries.myshopify.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iko.x172/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/iko_x172
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ikox172
Image Credits
Danny Norris
Israel Angeles
