Iio

Iio (sometimes written iiO and pronounced “eye-oh”) was a New York vocal House duo made up of producer and composer Markus Moser and singer-songwriter Nadia Ali. The project was originally called Vaiio, a tribute to the Sony VAIO laptop on which much of their early work was created, but the name was changed to avoid legal complications.

The duo rose to international fame in 2001 with the global hit Rapture, a House track that became a dancefloor classic. They followed with singles such as At The End (2002), Smooth (2003) and Runaway (2004), cementing their place in the electronic and vocal Trance scene.

Their debut album, Poetica, was delayed several times before being released independently in March 2005 and then worldwide in June 2006. However, Nadia Ali had already left the group in 2005 to pursue a solo career. Markus Moser nevertheless continued releasing material under the Iio name using previously recorded vocals by the singer.

These later releases include the singles Kiss You and Is It Love?, as well as remix projects such as Rapture 2007 and the compilations Reconstruction Time: The Best Of iiO Remixed (2007) and Rapture Reconstruction: Platinum Edition (2008). After a break, the project resurfaced in late 2010 with new remixes of At The End (Metropolitan Mix).

The final chapter was the album Exit 110, released on April 19, 2011, featuring Nadia Ali’s voice one last time on recordings made before her departure. It was announced that the record would mark the definitive end of the Iio project, answering fan demand.

Rooted in vocal House and Trance, Iio’s sound left a lasting imprint on 2000s electronic music.