Iko - '83

I wrote a review for this album about one year ago with my old Discogs account. I think that it's appropriate to write another review one year later. Iko's only LP release, " '83 " has continued to grow on me and presents one of the most unknown yet amazing creations in the entire history of minimal wave and electronic music. I still stand by my solitude of Subway 49 being the best song on the LP. The synths on that song outdo anything else on the LP, with Elevator coming in a close second. As for Subway 49, the male vocalist sings about finding "her" on the subway system. The thing about the song that moves me is how sincere the vocalist seems to be as he sings about the "train arriving .. pushing to get things better .. turn my head and saw your face". The kind of thing a minimal waver would have written in his or her little notepad back in 1983. Anyways, the LP is very rare and valuable. A bootleg CD has surfaced, containing 2 additional songs that were never released: Military Service and Surrender To The Dream.

This is probably one of the best electro-disco albums ever made. The best song in my opinion is Subway 49, but every song on the '83 album is phenomenal. Lots of simplistic lyrics, abstract and experimental sounds, and at the time, extremely groundbreaking techniques on the synthesizer. Iko is what today's electro artists replicate - Adult. being the best example. Their sound is hardly new or unique some 20 years later. Try this album for a trip down electro lane.