Mo’ Wax — Where Are They Now: iO (1995)
Mo’ Wax was a record label started by James Lavelle in 1992, which closed about ten years later. Initially they released 12" singles and licensed a compilation from Japan of Japanese Hip Hop, until 1994 when they began releasing albums of their artists original work. While some of these artists such as DJ Shadow, DJ Krush, and Money Mark continued releasing music after Mo’ Wax closed, others have seemingly disappeared from the music scene. In this series I will look at each artist on Mo’ Wax and try to find out where are they now…
In 1995 Mo’ Wax created a spin-off label called Excursions. It put out ten 12" singles which were then collected onto a compilation album, also called Excursions, and released by Mo’ Wax in 1996.
iO was Erdem Tunakan, Gerhard Potuznik, Herbert Gollini, and Patrick Pulsinger. The group formed in 1993 and released their debut 12" Attack that year on Cheap Records, a label based in in Vienna, Austria and founded by Tunakan and Pulsinger, also in 1993.
Attack featured four songs recorded in Tunakan’s bedroom, and was followed by the Sustain & Release 12" which featured eight tracks. In 1994 they released the three-track Decay 12" on Cheap, before all three EPs were collected onto the iO compilation ADSR.
On July 3, 1995 Mo’ Wax released iO’s Claire and Libre on a 12" featuring remixes from Mark Broom, Stasis (Steve Pickton), and Andrea Parker. Both original iO tracks featured on the Sustain & Release 12" and were licensed to Mo’ Wax for their Excursions series, which saw five techno and five hip hop 12" releases come out in quick succession. On the techno side, the series also included releases from Mark Broom’s Midnight Funk Association, and Stasis. Later in 1996 when the Excursion series was collected onto one CD, it was the Stasis remix of Libre which was included, alongside the original Claire.
Cheap Records would later credit the Mo’ Wax / Excursions release for bringing worldwide attention to their label. They wrote:
“Built around samples and classic drum programming, they [Claire & Libre] also appealed to a wider audience. It’s safe to say that this double 12” was a turning point in Cheap’s history and encouraged us to proceed with an even wider approach on electronic music, troughout the 90ies.”
With ADSR and the Excursions 12", these were the final releases from iO, although their songs continued to feature on various compilations, and the group continued releasing music through other projects, often collaborating with each other.
Erdem Tunakan and Patrick Pulsinger had been releasing music together since the early 90s, shortly after they first met. Their first work together was 1992’s album 3.11 Eyewitnessnews On Subfusion FM as B.Low, and several of their later collaborations were released on their label Cheap, including Lazer Musik, Love The Machines!, Restaurant Tracks, Showroom Recordings, and Sluts’n’Strings & 909.
In 1997 they told Wire magazine their artist names were pretty interchangeable, and they would switch them to keep the audience on their toes. They also revealed each track they released was usually cut down from hour long recording sessions, as they would slowly remove the things which bored them.
Outside of the collaborations with Patrick Pulsinger, Erdem Tunakan has released his own music, including the recent Broken Deck 12" released in December 2021.
Patrick Pulsinger also released his own 12" as Oebles on Cheap in 1993, while his debut album Porno was released in 1994 on the Munich-based label Disko B. This was followed in 2010 by Impassive Skies on the same label, and Pulsinger has contributed to several collaborative albums and group releases. Most recently he has been mastering releases for Austrian label forTunea.
Gerhard Potuznik has released music as Pin-Ups In Exile, P.O.T., Hype, Gerard Deluxxe, GDX, G.D. Luxxe, Flattape, as well as under his own name. He released several 12"s on Cheap, including his second solo album Concorde+ in 1999, the follow up to 1996’s Amore Motore (… Autobahn) released on Meego. His most recent work includes 2019’s The Happy Sun self-titled album, where Potuznik is credited for writing, recording, producing, performing electric guitar and vocals, and creating the artwork and photography.
Herbert Gollini and Erdem Tunakan first worked together as Cold Ve Chaud, which released a 12" in 1992. They also released music as Gum, Figures In Distortion, and Los Modernistas. Both were also part of The Private Lightning Six with Potuznik, Pulsinger, and fifth member Sokol. Gollini founded his own label Vienna Wildstyle Recordings in 2010, and in 2021 they released the Vienna Wildstyle EP by Nino Sebelic featuring a remix by Gollini.
In 2020 Cheap Records announced iO’s Sustain & Release would be remastered and re-released digitally as part of a series of digital reissues. These were remastered by Patrick Pulsinger who said of the proccess:
“I had to work my way through all sorts of historical mediums, from 1⁄4 inch tape, DAT, cassette or miniDisc to some really good vinyl cuts. A uniform sound was especially important to me to make the catalogue experienceable through 30 years of different production, mixing and mastering processes. Nevertheless, I didn’t want to completely destroy the sound of the given time.”
Erdem Tunakan approved the remasters, noting it would allow new fans to discover the label’s music, and Sustain & Release was released digitally on Beatport on November 27, 2020. In 2021 it was released on Bandcamp, with Attack and Decay following.
Now, all 50 of the original Cheap releases from 1993–2010 have been made available digitally, including the entire Cheap iO discography, and the label has continued putting out new records too. The only parts of iO’s discography which aren’t available are the remixes produced by Mo’ Wax for their Excursions series, which remain unavailable outside of YouTube.
