IL: Iain Laskey.
Where are you from?
IL: I'm from Great Wakering, a village in Essex.
Name of band:
IL: IX (Pronounced "icks").
Who else is in your band?
IL: Darren Esp - he's from Chelmsford, also Essex.
How would you describe yourselves and your music?
DE: We always struggle with this question. It's a bit of a cliché but we don't really see ourselves sitting solidly in any one category. Is electo-prog-rock a category?
Who are your main influences musically?
IL: My heart has always been in electronic music. I had a vague interest in music as a teen but when John Foxx's Metamatic came out and that sudden rush of synth music, it just felt special to me. I quickly started backtracking, discovering all the 70's pioneering experimenters. I was resolutely synth only for years but since then I've started to go through phases, Krautrock, 70's funk, 60's psychodelia, anything that sounds interesting really. I'm far more about moods and texture rather than catchy riffs though. I can get quite unfeasibly excited by a sound!
DE : We're quite eclectic when it comes to influences, some of the great electro pioneers like the early Human League, John Foxx, OMD for sure, but also people like Led Zeppelin, Rage Against The Machine, Mozart, Jean Michel Jarre, Underworld, NIN, Earth Wind and Fire... we're a bit all over the place when it comes to influences.
What do you hope to achieve in music?
DE: IX is about building up a body of quality work and a reputation. Our style is going to change from release to release but we hope the people who take the time to listen to us will like what they hear no matter where we go with it. In the long term we plan to get into doing soundtrack work and producing other artists as well as continuing to put out albums as IX.
IL: Whilst riches would be great, we're far more interested in producing something we like and are happy with quality wise. If other people enjoy it too, we're doubly happy.
What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
IL: I think the realisation, after years of enjoying other people's music, that we can do it ourselves and produce something with a certain level of polish. I grew up through the years when the music industry was a closed book unless you went through the route of getting a manager, getting signed, expensive studio time and all the manipulation that then follows. Being able to put a release out across all the major outlets, for minimal funding and with just our own efforts was a huge buzz. I've also been massively impressed by just how supportive the self publishing indie world is. There's some fantastic web sites, people on Twitter, Soundcloud and so on who are all promoting each other, working together in a totally ego free way, often giving huge amounts of their time, basically for the love of music.
DE: There's been a couple for me. Our first sale on iTunes, yeah that was a good feeling... but for me the best moment was when I'd just finished recording The Machine (parts I - III) and I sat back for the final play through and thought... yeah... that's proper that is.
And what’s the moment you want to forget?
IL: So far so good :-)
DE: For me the massively long mastering sessions for the System VII which resulted in insane amounts of frustration. Finally we ended up dumping all the work and starting over again. We'd decided that were going to take a High Dynamic Range approach to mastering and to hell with the "loudness war" and modern conventions.
If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
IL: I would say The Machine (Part I-III) is most representative of our work up until now although newer tracks are off in a different direction to some extent.
DE: I'd have to pick the track IX from System VII... It's a real mish-mash of influences but for me totally works. It's got an odd time signature, a kind of rocky edge and some serious electronic noise assaults too.
Where can we listen to it?
DE: https://soundcloud.com/ix_
IL: https://soundcloud.com/ix_
Where can we find out more about your music?
http://www.ixband.co.uk/
@ixbanduk
https://ixband.bandcamp.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/
https://soundcloud.com/ix_band
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/
https://www.facebook.com/
Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?
DE: Our next album called "Grinder" is well under way and should be out in the spring. Look out for the pre-orders going live on Bandcamp soon.
IL: Just that we always appreciate any and all feedback, especially via Twitter and Soundcloud. It's the interaction with fans and other bands and indie supporters that has been really rewarding for me.
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