Iris
Chicago, IL United States
Genres:Electronic - Pop, Electronic - Ambient, Pop - Electronic, Alternative Pop, Rock - New Wave, Rock - Experimental/Post-Rock, Rock - Alternative Pop
Bio:
// BIOGRAPHY
Reagan Jones - Vocals, songwriting
Andrew Sega - Programming, orchestration, guitars
Taking elements of rock, glitch, retro-flavored-synth music, and coloring it with a decidedly melodic worldview, Iris is a band that''''s hard to classify. Junior Boys meets New Order? Depeche Mode meets Toad the Wet Sprocket? Whatever you call it, the new album, "Wrath", is yet another signpost in the Iris story - complex, energetic and emotional.
Iris started in the mid-90''''s when two college friends decided their common musical tastes would be a great foundation to start a band on. Originally called "Forgiving Iris", vocalist Reagan Jones and founding keyboardist Matt Morris started out playing covers in local Texas bars. After getting spots on local radio festivals, they dropped the "Forgiving", changed the name to simply "Iris", and signed with A Different Drum to release the first record, "Disconnect". It was a wild success, selling thousands on word of mouth alone.
In 2001, Matt decided to pursue other ventures, and Reagan found someone new: keyboardist and IDM producer Andrew Sega. Together, they released the full-length "Awakening" CD in 2003. After the limited edition pressing sold out in under 3 weeks, the band started attracting serious interest from European labels. Signing with Infacted Recordings, they set out on their first major overseas tour, playing some major festivals along the way such as Arvika (Sweden) and WGT (Germany).
For their third record, "Wrath", Iris decided to take a more energetic approach, bring the guitars a bit up in the mix, while maintaining their complex mood and textures. Released at the end of 2005, "Wrath" was a statement that electro-pop doesn''''t have to be disposable dance music. The lead single, "Appetite" went to #1 on mainstream radio in Poland, the band was featured artist (twice!) on MySpace, and the band went on three more European tours (with bands like De/Vision and Mesh). As we move into 2007, Iris is working on their first-ever DVD and remix disc, and is making plans to finally do a long-awaited full US tour. In the middle of ever-changing musical climates, these guys from Texas show us that honest, serious, electronic music has both a fanbase and a future.
