IIO Mini Biography

New York-based duo iiO (pronounced "eye-oh")  (formerly known as vaiio and named after a computer used to write lyrics on) debuted in a local club, where their song "Rapture" was played for the first time. After becoming an Ibiza club favorite, "Rapture" started climbing charts around Europe and finally joined the Global Hits 2002 collection, released by Universal Records.

Assembled by DJ/producer/songwriter Markus Moser and singer Nadia, their first hit was soon remixed by John Creamer and Stephan K., French house act Aloud, Riva, and Deep Dish. Drago Bonacich, All Music Guide

iiO are best known for their 2001 hit "Rapture", the lyrics to which were allegedly inspired by a meeting that occurred between Nadia Ali and an unidentified nightclub patron. Originally named Vaiio, a derivation of the Sony VAIO laptop on which the duo was creating much of their early work, the "Va" was dropped to prevent potential legal problems with Sony.

iiO followed up "Rapture" with several successful remixes of the track by producers John Creamer & Stephane K, Armin Van Buuren and Deep Dish. A large number of bootleg and white label remixes ensued, including a highly-sought Paul Van Dyk remix. After "Rapture" was released, the duo followed suit with "At the End" in 2003. The release featured remixes by The Scumfrog and Saeed & Palash.

iiO's first album, Poetica, had been delayed several times and was finally released independently in March 2005 on Made Records, and worldwide in June 2006. "Smooth" was the first single released to promote the album, followed by "Runaway", "Kiss You", "Is It Love?".

In 2007, iiO released Reconstruction Time: The Best Of iiO Remixed, a remix album which contains the single "Rapture 2007".

Nadia Ali (born August 3, 1980 in Libya) is a Pakistani American singer and songwriter who is best known as a former member of the band iiO, and for their breakthrough 2001 hit Rapture which reached #2 on the UK Singles chart and topped dance charts all over the world.
The family relocated to Queens, New York City, when she was still a small child, and has remained there until this day.[1]

Ali has stated in interviews that the music that most influenced her growing up includes Stevie Nicks, Sade, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, U2, Madonna, Led Zeppelin, Carole King, Carly Simon and The Beatles.[2]

While 20 years old, Ali was working in the New York offices of Versace, and aspiring to start a music career, when a co-worker introduced her to producer Markus Moser, who was looking for a female singer to collaborate on some of his original dance music production.[3] The two teamed up and started a group that was originally named "Vaiio," named after the Sony laptop Nadia was working on. They later dropped the "va" to avoid causing problems in the future with Sony. Working with Moser, she wrote the lyrics and the vocals for the songs. After the success of the 2001 hit "Rapture," the single was remixed many times by the likes of Armin Van Buuren, John Creamer & Stephane K and Deep Dish with bootleg and white label remixes emerging as well. The duo toured all over the world for years and released more singles, including "At the End," "Runaway" and "Smooth."

Ali left the group in 2005 to pursue a solo career, however the long-awaited full-length debut album Poetica was not released to wide distribution until 2006, and Moser continues to release iiO material featuring her on vocals. Most notably, these releases include the 2006 single "Is It Love?" which went to #1 in America on the Billboard Dance Chart, and the 2007 Album Reconstruction Time: The Best Of iiO Remixed.

After leaving iiO, Nadia released her first two singles as a solo artist. The first, "Who is Watching", was a collaboration with DJ/Producer Armin Van Buuren and appeared on his 2005 album Shivers. The second, "Something To Lose" was a duet with singer/songwriter Rosko produced by Creamer & K and released by Ultra Records. The duet was championed on the UK's BBC Radio One by influential DJ and tastemaker Pete Tong,[4] and remixes have appeared on releases by Roger Sanchez, as well as by Sharam Tayebi of Deep Dish for his Global Underground debut "Dubai."

"Crash And Burn" is the first single from her up-coming album, and was released on June 17, 2008 to iTunes. The radio edit was produced by Fritzy, and it includes remixes by Dean Coleman, DJ Shah, Sultan & Ned Shepard, Astro & Glyde, Justin Thomas, Kered & Kiraly and Dilamani & Rassek.

On Nadia's MySpace page, she features versions of "Is It Love?" by Marks Moser, "Give It Up", "Kiss You" by Lance Jordan, which she first recorded with iiO. Her page previously featured "The One" by Fritzy on the music player, but with the release of "Crash and Burn", "The One" was replaced by the new single. Also, her myspace page features "Who is Watching?" featuring Armin Van Buuren and Something to Lose, featuring Rosko, which she released on November 28th 2006, also available via iTunes. On her official website, she also samples "At The End", mixed by Lance Jordan. Her latest single, "Crash and Burn", has become a club smash, reaching the top 10 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart. It recently sat at number 8 on the October 4, 2008 chart.

On February 10 2009, Nadia released her follow-up single called "Love Story" exclusively on BeatPort. Produced by Sultan and Ned Shepard, the single includes a number of remixes, by Andy Moor, Sultan and Ned Shepard and The Starkillers. Nadia has also released her first music video since iiO's At The End in 2002, and has been a hit on YouTube. The video features Nadia in a number of outfits and rooms, with backup dancers behind her. There are promo CDs of the single floating around, and the tentative release date is March 9 for iTunes, with more remixes by The Scumfrog and others said to follow.

Nadia has been working on her up-coming solo album, since 2006, when she released Something to Lose. Producers such as; Scott "Fritzy" Fritz, Sultan, and Ned Shepard, are working with Nadia on the album.

No release date has been given.

Discography

Albums
2005 Poetica - #17 Top Electronic Albums
2007 Reconstruction Time: The Best Of iiO Remixed

Singles
2001 "Rapture" — #2 (UK), #46 (USA), #2 (USA Dance)
2002 "At the End" — #20 (UK), #41 (USA Dance), #1 (SPA)
2003 "Smooth" - #23 (USA Dance Airplay)
2004 "Runaway"
2005 "Kiss You" — #3 (USA Dance), #11 (USA Dance Airplay)
2006 "Is It Love?" — #1 (USA Dance), #6 (USA Dance Airplay)
2007 "Rapture 2007" - #3 (USA Dance)
2008 "Rapture Reconstruction: Platinum Edition"