Raised on the East Coast of England, made in London, multidisciplinary musician, artist, composer and designer Theodore Ian Iagö, aka iagö, has always emerged himself in music from a young age. Starting out experimenting with various instruments before developing a strong passion for DJing from mixing CD’s at the age of just thirteen, iagö swiftly fell in to production and the rest, they say, is history.

Fast forward to the present day and iagö is building a name for himself as one of the most exciting electronic producers emanating from these shores. Following his official debut release “Aphantasia” in 2020, which currently stands on over 1M Spotify streams, iagö has just this month just unleashed his follow up release — a scintillating five-track EP titled “The Chemical Wedding”.

The project is essentially a nod to the eponymous book Chemical Wedding, divided into five chapters; Tests Purifications, Death, Resurrection and Ascension, and looks to discuss the theme of life — exploring human emotion and coping mechanism facing our very own existence. Lead single “Chemical Wedding” features London lyricist Tommy Saint and was released alongside an official video starring the likes of acclaimed artist SOLDIER, building a huge amount of anticipation around the EP.

In the wake of his latest release, we caught up with iagö to chat more about “The Chemical Wedding”, his influences, and his creative processes.

Listen to the EP…

Read the interview…

How would you describe your sound to a first time listener?
I’m certainly drawn to darker sounds, but I wouldn’t say I’m a dark person, it’s more of a feeling that I’m drawn to. It’s really a balancing act between the darker and at times maybe violent sounds, paired with the equally more emotive or romantic palette – as I come to think of it it’s why people enjoy watching thrillers, it’s not because you have a psychotic personality but there’s an attraction to this unsettling nature.

Equally there was an exposure to various artists and genre’s throughout my childhood. From hip-hop, with groups like Three 6 Mafia, punk and new wave, to dance and electronic, the likes of Joy Division, New Order, St Germain. I equally remember the Reactive compilation CD my father kept, predominantly a compilation of 90’s rave. This exposure has certainly had an influence upon my musical output.

Could you tell us more about your background and how you first got into music?
I believe I was 13 or 14 at the same time when I began DJing, a case of CD’s with transcribed track titles and BPMs, I grew a fascination and commitment in trying to master the art. A few months past and I pursued the purchase of Reason 3, an internal point in my development and understanding of recording and production.

Music though was always beside me, a gravitational pull in wanting to perform. I experimented with nothing to loose, different instruments, drums, piano, guitar and so on. I never truly mastered it. Production seemed to be the means to an end.

You recently described yourself as having a hypersensitive mind. How does this impact your creativity and how do you capitalise on it?
The creative process is a very delicate procedure. You have a finite amount of time until your idea diminishes or the transferable energy dissipates. You have to be ready to implement, ensuring not to disrupt.

I’m specially drawn to the small details, the increments and imperfections both visually and sonically. Those finite noises as the sound wave is transferred out of one synth into an outboard processor and back into the digital realm. These imperfections are what give a character or give a life to something.

Like a painter, you can see the pain or emotion through their strokes, in some cases the errors. Take Pierre Soulages or Mark Rothko, there’s an unexplainable energy within their works, they captured a certain moment or mood at that given time – it’s quite scary to think about it, it’s supernatural, a freeze-frame in time.

Having first started out in 2020 with tracks such as “Aphantasia”, how has your sound and direction changed over the last few years?
I believe in essence, the pursuit for true artistry is about infinite refinement; you navigate your way through life, redacting your work, until you hit a point where each element serves an integral part in the makeup of the piece.

It comes down to research and exposure, whether that, music, design or art. Understanding your medium, in this specific case sonic. Understanding why you may like a certain sonic language. There’s certain records and artists that come to mind, Alan Vega and Martin Rev for Suicide, the 77’ album or Nine Inch Nails’s Downward Spiral, to the likes of Brian Eno’s Apollo.

You’ve just dropped a scintillating new EP called “The Chemical Wedding”. Firstly, what’s the meaning behind the name?
The birth for the project as a whole acts as a testament for my love of the works by Philip K. Dick, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and sci-fi writers like George Lucas. These being the catalysts to “The Chemical Wedding”, a reference to the first sci-fi novel written in 1616.

This really acted as the foundation I wanted to immerse myself in, an ode to depict a sonic landscape that portrayed this harsh underbelly and, at times, a dark romanticism.

And what’s the broader concept of the project?
The book is split into five thematic stages, depicting the symbolic representation of birth, survival and death, life being represented as a circle because it’s a constant loop. The idea that the end of one’s existence is not necessarily the end of life altogether.

There are some darker chapters, some light and joyous, some romantic and euphoric. There’s such a breath of language and human emotion, which was partly the reason I was drawn to it, it’s at that cross section I want to operate.

I really aimed to push the narrative and this notion as far I could, with the aim to transport the listener into another world. It’s my sonic interpretation with each track portraying a different story and setting a different pace within the sonic narrative, with Chemical Wedding’ acting as the pivotal moment in the story, the crescendo in which the plot shifts.

What other themes and influences have shaped the EP?
The 1970s in 2050.

You’ve released two singles prior, “Last Ashes” and “Chemical Wedding” featuring Tommy Saint. How did the link-up with Tommy come about?
“Chemical Wedding” was the first thing I recorded for the project, so I really aimed for it to be that pivotal moment in the story, the crescendo in which the plot shifts. Tommy really acted as the main antagonist.

The collaboration itself grew through a relationship I had with a previous collaborator. I knew from Tommy’s work that he’d depict the angst and energy that was necessary.

Tell us about the creative process behind each of the above tracks, and any differences in production/ recording methods?
My computer is an integral part go how I write music, it acts as the central workstation, in which my outboard units, my synthesisers and processors are rooted back into. There’s a performative aspect to the way I write, encapsulating an energy and emotion, embracing any imperfections as and when they arise, the small increments of details, the finite noises as the sound wave is transferred out of one synth into the outboard processor and back into the digital realm.

We look at the early recordings and wonder why those records have certain quality. It really comes down to the methods and approach they took when recording. It’s more of a performance, it’s like a euphoric state that brings out things you wouldn’t have otherwise had.

Now the possibilities are endless. Everything around us is so formulaic, produced to clinical levels of perfection. We all seemed to be locked into this strive for perfection. I’m not against it but a balance needs to be struck.

For “Chemical Wedding” you released a captivating set of visuals, featuring artist SOLDIER. Can you expand more on the importance of the visuals for the project?
There’s a German term called ‘Gesamtkunswerk’, popularised by composer Richard Wagner, which means ‘a total work’. It describes a process in which different art forms are combined to create one singular whole. A concept I hold close to my practice.

I mention this because my work is consistently rooted within this conceptual framework; the process to construct a narrative in which I can begin to build a story through both sound and visuals. I need all parts to exist. Each one – whether a visual, sonic or design language, typography – acts as the catalyst for another.

What’s on the horizon for iagö? Can we expect more music this year?
In my mind, I’m constantly thinking about how I can reinvent and push the boundaries, not just sonically and visually but also how one can present or exhibit one’s work – thinking further about the spatiality of music and finding new ways to communicate physical space through sound.

Possibly in the next month?