They say that in the Universe nothing disappears without a trace – matter only chaotically dissipates in time and space, taking on new, sometimes bizarre forms. We consist of atoms of long-extinguished stars, and our thoughts – of echoes of random encounters and fragments of old melodies. But sometimes entropic noise crystallizes into something frighteningly structured. Many strive to be “heard,” while Neo Darbinyan Norton, performing under the alias IΞOlicious, prefers to be “felt.” His debut album “LΞT IT BΞ ИIGHT” is a kind of chemical reaction in which the laboratory precision of structure combines with boundless emotional logic. His connection with music began long before the thought of releasing his own songs.
It all started with the flickering screens of Nintendo and the scores of Zelda and Splatoon. This gamer background gave him an understanding of music as space. Having abandoned a career as a chemist, Neo did not abandon science – he transferred it into Ableton. The album “LΞT IT BΞ ИIGHT” by IΞOlicious exists in the interval – between unconscious noise and the attempt to give it form. It is perceived as an environment: fluid, reactive, sometimes unpredictable. In this sense, the album is indeed closer to a system than to a traditional release. The concept was born on the road. Mountains, twilight, the blueness of the sky as the only source of light – and a metaphor that seemed to come into his hands by itself: transport as the human psyche. We are all going somewhere half-asleep, through a haze that we take for reality. Night is not the end of the day, but the beginning of clarity. “Sometimes you need to wake up at night to see the full picture,” says Neo. And the album is arranged exactly like that: as a gradual awakening. Three years of work on a MacBook Air turned the roadside twilight of California highways into a full-fledged release of 14 tracks, where hyperpop meets ethereal avant-garde.
The album opens with the composition “Personal Transformation” – a manifesto of change, where the sound imitates the process of cell division. Fragile synthesizers layer over each other, creating the illusion of ascent. The atmosphere works like an airlock chamber: the listener is not yet inside, but no longer outside. The vocal is in a borderline state between whisper and singing. In the composition “MŪN V rays” it becomes clear, open, as if working with reflected light: sounds gently refract and unfold the voice outward. Here “star” synths appear – multilayered and tangible. If the first track was about the threshold, then this one is about the first step into the darkness. Lunar escapism – the word suggests itself – works as permission to be different within reality. The center of the album is the title track “DIM THE LIGHTS AND LΞT IT BΞ ИIGHT.” The noise of the city subsides, giving way to nocturnal foley. IΞOlicious masterfully uses the sounds of airplanes and the distant hum of trains, weaving them into the fabric of avant-pop. Night is not a time for sleep, but a space for genuine awareness. His vocal acquires ritual weight, calling to turn off the light in order to finally see the essence.
Meanwhile, “Idk” is perceived as the emotional fracture of the album. Its hyperpop-chaotic nature exposes the structure. Sharp transitions, broken rhythms and deliberately unstable vocals convey internal conflict. It is noteworthy that the video for it will be shot in the desert with artist friends: dancing under the moon in broad daylight as a “ritual act of passion and persistence.” In the music one can feel that very “dance under the moon.” The rhythmic grid is accentuated, forcing the body to move despite the existential confusion of the text. The energy of chaos reaches its peak in “LUИΔTIC.” The track flirts with the aesthetics of hyperpop: broken structures, accelerated textures and a “haze” masking reality. This is a sound representation of disorientation, which the author speaks about. But even in this madness, IΞOlicious maintains control – triangles, as he himself warns, continue to observe.
Calm comes in “Conceivery Sanctuary” – a sonic refuge woven from ambient pads and soft vocals. After the “lunatic” surge, we enter a space of inner silence. Esoteric themes, once inspired by Manizha, take on an intimate form. The music envelops like fog, allowing the listener to be alone with their thoughts. The tracks “DAWN OF ИO ΞND” and (still pending)_ are perceived as the final horizon, where night slowly dissolves into pale light. Colors blur, contours lose clarity, and the world seems to be reassembled from soft halftones. “DAWN OF ИO ΞND” slips away imperceptibly, returning to the same flickering uncertainty of the beginning – but now it is warm, inhabited. And then (still pending)_ appears – like the last frame suspended in the air: Neo seems to say that we have arrived. But where exactly – everyone decides for themselves.
“LΞT IT BΞ ИIGHT” is a debut with a long-term vision. IΞOlicious has created a project in which aesthetics does not overshadow sincerity. He has made a perfect soundtrack for those who prefer to search for meanings in twilight. Remember: dawn is inevitable, but night is the place where we become ourselves. 🌚⚠️
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