Introducing: Iko

Imagine if Cristiano Ronaldo was trapped playing football in the Conference league, or if Heston Blumenthal had no choice but to cook in the greasy spoon café that the defeated contestants in ‘The Apprentice’ sit in, never seeming to order any food. Similarly, it seemed as though Iko, my favourite band over the last five years, were fated to languish in the lowest division and end their careers in undeserved obscurity.

Their first album, the astonishingly beautiful I Am Zero, is the ideal accompaniment to wandering the rain-soaked cobbles of St Andrews on a freezing November evening. The ethereal vocals of Kieran Scragg can hardly be done justice through words alone. If you’re looking for 45 minutes of goosebump-inducing balladry, search no further. Its successor, the peculiarly named Ludo Says Hi, retains the sensitive reflection but includes an array of soaring electric guitar melodies to drag listeners out of despair. It is undoubtedly the album that I have played the most during my time at university.

Despite two captivating releases, Iko had completely slipped under the radar. I could not find a single column inch of publicity for them in the music magazines, and Internet bloggers had no idea who they were either. The top search results when I typed the band’s name into Google were a) the online headquarters of a roofing and waterproofing company based in Wigan and b) the website of the International Kiteboarding Organisation. I was beginning to worry that the band’s name, meaning “orphan” or “one who is outside” in Japanese, was frustratingly prophetic. It would have been a far better decision if Scragg and classically trained pianist Neil Reed had picked the Mandarin for “absolutely bloody magnificent” in their brainstorm instead.

At the time of writing, Iko have only 754 “likes” on Facebook. This figure is going to skyrocket very soon indeed. After almost a decade of slaving away in terrible jobs, such as industrial plastic sheet cutter, to fund their musical ambitions, Iko’s dreams of worldwide exposure will finally come to fruition this month. Amazingly, without the bottomless finances and huge network of industry contacts provided by a major label, Iko have managed against all odds to win the attention and love of Hollywood. The band’s latest single, Dazed And Confused, will be played during a new episode of smash hit medical drama ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ this week. Even more incredibly, the band’s utterly gorgeous Heart Of Stone fought off countless competitors to feature on the official soundtrack of the final film in the Twilight series, which will now be heard by millions of hysterical teenage girls following its release on Friday. It will probably be played in one of the Kleenex-at-the-ready reconciliation scenes between the sparkly vampire and the girl who looks like she is sucking on a lemon.

As a result of the Twilight endorsement, press interest in the band is rapidly and rightly escalating. Their first UK and US tours will be announced shortly, and a session at the legendary Abbey Road Studios is in the pipeline. Iko’s third album will be unveiled in spring 2013. It is triumphantly titled The Victory Hall. The Guinness advertising campaigns were definitely correct. Good things come to those who wait.

For more information you can visit their website and facebook.