Music Biography

Since 1999, I’ve released over 100 original compositions. My music is heavily inspired by experimentation with instruments and effects. I am always looking for a way to create a unique sound or feeling. I am (inactively) learning how to play the 6-string guitar on a Les Paul Studio Electric. Music is something I enjoy doing on my free time as a hobby. I’m not too interested in seeking out a musical career, however I would really enjoy making soundtracks for film or video games.

I created my first few songs under the name iodine in the year 1999, and while these songs definitely have an amateur sound, they carry the essence of my modern, experimental style. I retired the name iodine for a more unique name and began releasing music as iosys in 2001. People always ask me where I got my music alias from, so without further ado, the name iosys was a filename that I borrowed from the Windows operating system (io.sys) that I first started using in the early years of IRC chat on a dial-up modem. As it turns out, the uniqueness of my name wasn’t very fool proof; there has been some recent buzz related to an asian music band called IOSYS that I am in no way affiliated with.

I don’t like to limit my creativity to any single genre, yet most of my songs consist of classical elements such as piano and strings, with an ambient or dark vibe. It may be the vast range of music I listen to which lends me this convoluted, experimental style.

Influences

When I was still a kid, the newest babysitter on the block was Nintendo. Parents all over America had sudden relief from their children, and the children had sudden relief from their boredom. The music from Nintendo’s video games were very inspiring and memorable to me at the time and as it turns out, the composers from this 8-bit era evolved with the technology and they continue to create some of the most diverse, highly acclaimed music in the video game industry to this day.

Nobuo Uematsu, the japanese music composer responsible for scoring many of the Final Fantasy games, is without a doubt the most notable musician from this era. It was his character themes, tear jerkers, and epic heart pumping battle music heard in songs like The Decisive Battle and One Winged Angel that gave Final Fantasy its devastatingly emotional effect. I firmly believe that without Mr. Uematsu, the Final Fantasy series could have never made it to the top. Another game called Chrono Trigger, created by the same studio as Final Fantasy, was catapulted into classic status with the help of Yasunori Mitsuda’s excellent soundtrack.

Nintendo may have started the habit, but another game system – Sony PlayStation – continued my obsession with video game soundtracks due to some excellent titles like the horror series Silent Hill, where Akira Yamaoka nails the atmosphere perfectly with his eerie, monotonous vibe reminiscent to Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works, Volume II. Perhaps the greatest thing about Playstation was Sony’s successful bid for Final Fantasy, so again we had Nobuo Uematsu putting out some of the most awe inspiring music ever, as heard in Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation.

(This part is incomplete)

Some artists and bands that have influenced my style:

• Nobuo Uematsu
• Gazpacho
• Yasunori Mitsuda
• Opeth
• Persephone
• Harold Budd
• Paco De Lucia
• Akira Yamaoka
• Matt Uelmen
• Empyrium
• Biosphere
• Shpongle
• The Cinematic Orchestra

Tools

What good is a biography without knowing what tools I use to make this hobby even possible.

• PC
• Edirol PCR-50 MIDI Keyboard Controller
• Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar
• FL Studio Producer XXL
• Guitar Rig 2
• GoldWave
• WinAmp
• Various samples, soundfonts and vst instruments