- The Virginia-based ambient and noise artist sets sail on a sea of tranquility with a deeply atmospheric ambient EP on Blank Forms.
- No, the artist name and title are not the wrong way around here. Neo Seven is the record, while 7038634357—his actual phone number—is American producer Neo Gibson's artist name. When he was making abrasive, full-throttle techno on a Korg ESX-1 he was called Neo Petal. In the liner notes of a 2017 release, he said he chose the phone number alias because "anyone who listened to the music and who had access to a phone had a way to contact me about it, let me know what they thought, check in on me." Out of respect for his privacy—and the potential international call charges—I didn't call the number. The emotional ambient he releases on Bandcamp is a suitable enough vessel to become immersed in his world. Neo Seven is his seventh release as 703863435 and his first on vinyl. It's a deeply atmospheric ambient journey that's less a collection of separate tracks and more a continuous piece divided into chapters.
Be it the prickly sine waves that adorned Electric or the gurning sawtooth waves on My Way Out, Gibson's last two projects are similar to Neo Seven in terms of form and structure. The same sonic motif is repeated with varying levels of modulation. Imagine if you could hear the circular ripples that form on bodies of water when raindrops fall on them—the windswept synths that pulsate through each track embody this with a relaxing tenderness. "Acolyte" and "Overbraid" are carried by the same melody, but a broader filter and some throbbing sidechaining makes "Overbraid" sound defiant and optimistic, compared to "Acolyte"s more morose, shoegaze-y step.
When 7038634357 starts singing at the end of the gorgeous "Square Heart," the soft croons bubble like words exchanged underwater. At times, like on "Acolyte," sudden crackles and pops punctuate the soundscape bringing to mind the same arctic climate that Burial painted on last year's Antidawn. Whether you're being transported underwater or into a blizzard, there's a warmth and tenderness that Gibson massages into his synthesis that envelopes you in safety.
Even played in a room full of people, Neo Seven is a lonely listen. The passages of digital noise on "Winded" and "Perfect Night"—the opener and closer, respectively—are like protective walls surrounding the fragility within the tracks they enclose, hinting at 7038634357's earlier, more abrasive work. This music, subtle and sweeping at the same time, can't be boxed into overt emotions, like happy or sad. Instead, it's more like hearing the actual brain waves or signals that trigger emotions. The tail end of "Perfect Night" is where this vibrational tide is at its highest. Gibson's illegible, tender vocals are at the forefront over guttural, hedge-cutter synths. They're indecipherable, but they emit the same instruction that the rest of Neo Seven does: to feel.
Tracklist01. Winded
02. Everytime
03. Square Heart
04. Acolyte
05. Overbraid
06. Eraser
07. Perfect Night