Number 9 of 2006 — iiO: Poetica

Poetica was in production for four years, despite being finished in demo form in the summer of 2001, and finally released in the UK in 2006. Disputes with music industry and ‘associates’ led to its delay, so what you get with Poetica is a historical document and a statement of belief – music made on iiO’s terms.

It’s therefore surprising that despite five singles being released prior to the album, there’s a wealth of other material on the album to enjoy. It would be quite easy to tack another substandard four tracks on and cash-in. iiO make the brave move of getting all of those singles out right at the start of the album. This avoids A-B comparisons and allows the listener the opportunity to get to know the other songs without anticipating the next big single.

So what of those singles? Well, that’s another surprise – fundamentally they are different from what you might have heard already. The clue is that those singles, with their multiple remixes are plainly remixes. Even the original mix of Rapture is different to what appears as the opening track on the album. Rapture feels perceptibly slower and less busy, but still holds those subtle additional fills that complete the backing to Nadia Ali’s vocals. The middle-break and drop remains too – and the same is true with its sonic sibling Kiss You. What you get with the singles on this album is a sparser approach, leaving the mid-range to Nadia’s voice. Because it’s her lyrics and her extraordinarily unique voice that are the focus of the album.

If you want a clearer example, Smooth eschews the jostling swoops and dives of its Airbase Club Mix for a sleepy slow dub ballad – a technique repeated with the semi-breakbeat of Runaway and on new track Rebel. Its execution is in the torch song territory (if not its spirit) and it works brilliantly. The nine minutes of Chastity breaks away from this design with a staggeringly long intro, and an ad-lib outro.

There are two flaws in the album: Tantric is, in places, a mess – a car crash involving Istanbul Market and Ministry of Sound. However it exploits Nadia’s impulse function melisma and it’s unnervingly catchy. Closing track Poetica sounds like something from Billie Ray Martin’s Four Ambient Tales and would have been better not being on album, and just placed on the sleeve notes. That would have been fiercely artistic too.

Excepting these tracks, the remainder of the new ones are of the same quality as the singles, perhaps even better. Is It Love – the only single to be released after the album – broods with longing, alongside a simple pulsing backing track. Give It Up almost shows signs of bursting through into a full-on dance track, but never succeeds – indeed it probably doesn’t want to. The restraint is remarkable. No, the closest we come to club music comes in the sawtooth synth and snares of The One – it’s also the emotional pinnacle of the album.

Nadia’s lyrics are several levels above the usual pop dregs, and in some places breathtaking. This is crucial for a collection of songs which demand one’s attention to voice and words. I’m particularly fond of Rebel’s “Audit me, however you may want / I own a slang that you’ll never pronounce.”

Those left wanting more from iiO might be disappointed: Nadia left in 2005 and is now developing a solo career with guest vocals on Creamer & K’s Something to Lose and Armin van Buuren’s Shivers – neither of which matches iiO. But The Voice is still present, and fundamentally that’s what makes this album succeed. It’s the best album of its genre since Electribe 101’s Electribal Memories.

[Poetica – iTunes UK]
[Amazon UK Import]