I o (musician)

Garrett Falls Lockhart (May 16, 1990 – November 23, 2020), known professionally by his stage name i_o, was an American techno DJ and record producer.

Garrett Falls Lockhart was born on May 16, 1990, in Richmond, Virginia, and attended St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas.

After graduating high school, he attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C. While in college, he began learning to DJ and had his first gig in his sophomore year.

During college, he built up a following performing under the name 'Glock' (a portmanteau of his name) at local clubs like Lima and the Sweet Spot.

While studying from 2009 throughout 2012, Lockhart produced and released several dubstep songs under the Glock moniker.

In an interview with The GW Hatchet, he remarked his first warehouse rave as "the best experience of my life" and wanted to make a career out of teaching others how to make music.

In 2013, Lockhart moved to Los Angeles to attend the Icon Collective music production school in Burbank, California.

In this post Icon Collective time he was using the alias 'Fawks'.

Over time, Lockhart gained some notoriety and gigs through compromising online accounts for various artists, labels, and venues.

Given the nature of these events its difficult to fully discern between true unauthorized penetration and ad campaign for these claims.

Either way it was an ongoing story for him over several years while working with several labels.

This is referenced on his Armada Music profile page bio which states, "Making a name for himself by taking control of various social media accounts of record labels, media outlets, artists, and venues...".

A more specific reference to this was given in an earlier interview with EDMIdentity.

When asked, "Montreal's New City Gas was the latest victim of your exploits as you hacked their page effortlessly after they challenged you with a booking on the line. What made them such an easy target?"

he responded:

"What can I say, I really wanted to play Montreal. Don't store your admin on an open facing network."

Lockhart spent his time at George Washington University promoting himself under the alias Glock (stylized as GLock) by spreading flyers around the university campus, ordering hundreds of stickers featuring his logo, and giving shirts to students, promoters, and club bouncers.

After graduating in 2013, Lockhart Deejayed at several clubs under the Glock alias, saying that the clubs would ask him to play a show because his position as a college student would attract other George Washington University students to show up.

Lockhart later started releasing under the alias Fawks, becoming known for his "Fawks Flips", a series of unofficial remixes.

He had produced "Fawks Flips" of RL Grime's "Core", "Shelter" by Porter Robinson and Madeon, "Imaginary Friends" by Deadmau5, The Game and Skrillex's "El Chapo", and "No Type" by Rae Sremmurd.

By 2015, he had been released through various record labels such as Ministry of Sound and Ultra Music.

Lockhart released various singles as Fawks, including a G-House song titled "Riddim"; the electro house song "Say You Like It", featuring Medicienne as vocals; and the song "AFK" in July 2017.

Lockhart was a featured artist on YDG's "Hold Up", providing vocals for the single.

Lockhart debuted the i_o moniker in 2017 as part of Mau5trap's We Are Friends, Vol. 7.

He included the electro house song "Warning" as part of the compilation album and was marked as a "powerful" debut as described by a Dancing Astronaut writer.

Online magazine columnists noted that Mau5trap was known to debut emerging artists, including Rezz, Rinzen, No Mana, and Attlas, and so marked Lockhart as an artist to watch; EDM Identity would include him in their 2018 "artists to watch" article.

In late December, Australian DJ and record producer Tommy Trash collaborated with Lockhart and singer Daisy Guttridge to release "Oxygen".

The deep house song was conceptualized from a breakdown idea that Lockhart had sent to Tommy Trash, with the latter recruiting Daisy Guttridge to record vocals.

It was well-received by critics, with a writer for Dancing Astronaut noted the song's "atmospheric allure and subdued, deep house vigor" as a departure from what Tommy Trash had been producing for over a decade.

On February 20, 2018, Lockhart released his debut extended play Analog//DDoS on Mau5trap.

The two-track EP contained the songs "Analog" and "//DDoS" and was well-received by critics.

Following the EPs release, Lockhart took over Mau5trap's Twitter account, answering fan questions and "leaking" information, including another EP release in May, an album release by Rezz in late-2018, and several other future Mau5trap releases.

The stunt lauded as a PR campaign by EDM Sauce 's Erik Mahal, who said it would "go down in history."

Lockhart released his second extended play, Rootkit, on May 25, 2018.

The 2-track extended play contained the progressive house song "Audio Dust" and the techno song "PassiveX" and was well-received by critics.

Karlie Powell of Your EDM described the two songs as a ying to the other's yang, saying that Lockhart presents an "astonishingly diverse style in a 2-track sweep."

In an interview with Billboard, Lockhart explained that he wanted to explore different components of the i_o project, with "Audio Dust" leading as a "more melodic components of the project" while "PassiveX" acts as "an example of where my heart of the i_o project lies: dark warehouses and banging techno."

Lockhart's third extended play, Scriptkiddi, was released for free on July 17, 2018.

The two-track EP consisted of the songs "On Acid" and "The New Wave", both previously featured in DJ mixes before release.

Writing for Dancing Astronaut, Robyn Dexter noted that both songs featured on the extended play were "hard-hitting techno heaters, composed of whirlwinds of heavy bass and sultry, computerized vocals".