Uber Rock Introduces… IOTA

Introduced by Monk

One of the most febrile and productive hotbeds of this battered old rock ‘n’ roll Überverse undoubtedly is the historic port city of Bristol, from where the latest hot prospect to emerge is alt-rock quintet IOTA. They have just released their latest single, which sees them taking further ‘Control’ of their musical destiny, in advance of their imminent debut EP.

Despite some last minute distribution problems with the physical release of same, we thought this was a good time to catch up with the band and find out a bit more about them, what makes them tick and what they plan for their further progression. As ever, though, we started at the beginning and asked them to introduce themselves to the Über massive:

[We are} Sam Mattison on bass, Joe Dean and Joesf Parkes on guitar, Jodie Robinson on vocals and Thomas John on drums.

How did you come together?

We all went to the same uni! Although we actually found each other on a site called Join My Band.

Personally, as a historian, I have an interest in etymology, so I feel have to ask about where the band name came from and if it has any special significance…

We don’t have a crazy backstory really… Jose was actually on a bus and passed a shop called IOTA and it just kinda stuck.

Music is categorized into various genres and sub-genres. How would you define your sound?

Nineties grungy rock with a shoegaze twist?

What individual and collective influences do you draw on for your sound?

Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, No Doubt, QOSTA, BMTH, PJ Harvey

You’re just about to release your new EP. Can you tell us a bit about it? Are there any particular lyrical themes/personal issues you are addressing in the song(s)? Are there any particular issues/subjects that are important to you that you like/wish to address in your material?

When writing our EP, ‘Tyrants’, we were all in places of feeling overwhelmed and overcoming personal battles and obstacles in our lives. Written at Omni Rooms studio, the space provided us with a whole new way of working. We had the facilities to alternate between writing with a full band set up in the live room and demoing songs in the studio’s control room. We recorded the bulk of the EP at a separate studio in Bristol called Humm studios and returned to Omni Rooms to record extra vocals, guitars and other overdubs.

‘Sometimes’ was written after Jodie witnessed her partner fall off a cliff while they were walking in Wales. We all met a few days later when emotion was very raw. The song was written organically and effortlessly in the rehearsal room that day. We’re convinced that the circumstances contributed to us writing the track so fast — it hasn’t changed much since!

‘Ballet Box’s concept translated to lyrical themes of being unaware that there is more to life and feelings of absence and imprisonment.

Control was formed in a headspace of feeling confined by people and unspoken rules in our lives — it was our way of fighting back! Demons is about understanding your inner self and controlling that instinctive fight or flight response. It’s a realisation of not wanting to act on impulse but trying to take a second to fight that instant reaction inside your head.

How important is social media in getting your music out there? Do you think it is useful for bands like yourself who maybe don’t have that big “corporate machine” behind them and dominating traditional media outlets?

It’s helpful but also its challenging not to get consumed in how well everyone else is doing especially when your in a bit of a lull. Its easy to get lost. But its helpful to built momentum when things might be a little quieter behind the scenes through writing periods etc.

Is it more important than, say, streaming outlets especially given the fact that the financial returns for streaming can mean a band doing a lot of work for relatively little reward – i.e. you earn very small percentage returns, with the services themselves taking large chunks of your potential income.

We would much rather have true fans on our streaming services than followers liking our posts on instagram. I think as a band you have to understand your not going to earn big money for a very long time.

Do you think that things like social media platforms, streaming services, etc., have made it easier for fans to discover new bands, or has it led to an even more competitive marketplace in which you need that vital USP in order to get attention?

It has of course led to a competitive market place but at the end of the day it isn’t a competition. It’s not like there’s only a certain amount of artists in the world – there’s new bands every single day. You’ve got to do what you love, and do it well, put it out there and good things will come.

Even though life has returned back to normality (for the meantime anyway), do you think the option of things such as lives streams, which really took off during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, will continue to be used by bands, especially to reach into territories where they may not be able to play,or afford to go to?

We’ve actually never done a live stream – our live show is all about the energy and we never felt we could capture that through a live stream.

So, what is next for the band? What is the plan for, say, 2023 in terms of getting out there and bringing your music to new and expanding audiences?

We’ve a few festivals lined up, tour and lots of new music to record and release.

OK, now a bit of fun, and a couple of quickfire “out there” questions to give us a wee bit of an insight into your personalities:

Ice cream: vanilla or strawberry? Vanilla
Gravy or curry sauce on your chips? Curry Sauce
Salted or sweet popcorn? Sweet
Buckfast or Iron Bru? Iron Bru
Smarties or M&Ms? M&Ms
And the big one: pineapple on pizza? Yes, but this has divided the band.

Final question: now that live gigs are fully up and running again, we’ll give you your choice of any three other bands (signed or otherwise) you would choose to play with on a bill and where would that gig be?

Bring Me The Horizon, Queens of the Stone Age and Deftones at Red Rock Amphitheatre.

www.facebook.com/IOTAOFFICIALUK