Neil Cippon + Otal at The Gatherings

Philadelphia based multi-instrumentalist Neil Cippon explores the ambient atmospheres possible with his six string electric bass. Using various pedals, filters, loopers and delays combined with synthesizer textures and Berlin-School sequencing, his soundscapes send the listener in an outward direction along an arc of original sounds, designs and moods. Issuing a silvery beam of cool tones and tender textures, Cippon's processed bass guitar plays warmly in easily engaging curving contours. With concerts in this expanded minimalist style, the continuously lulling long-form pieces drift gently through Ambient realms. A quieter experiment than those of the Rock Band years, his more recent routes take their time to develop. Moving gently through our thoughts, toward an audience tending toward the meaningful and mysterious, Neil Cippon shares his secrets.

Recording under the name Ótal the work of Óskar Arngrímsson feels more measured than most modular synth realizations. Blurring the borders between collage, sculpture, abstraction and tonal representation he searches for a hidden realm. Original, restlessly changing and charging sounds float free of context or lineage, with meaning pointing in multiple possible directions. As enigmatic as the realm it is trying to depict, these realizations do not merely hang in the air, inert. They sparkle, shine and gleam - moving as easily out through the cosmos as they do inward to the recesses of the human spirit.

This event will also to include the video artistry of Neil Cippon and Samara Talkin.
Generating projections of original, ever-evolving graphics onto the interior features of the St Mary's staging space, their visual output will align with the improvised live musical expressions conjured by the musicians.

The Gatherings Concert Series presents Neil Cippon plus Ótal live in concert on Saturday 12 September 2026 at 8:00PM. (doors open at 7:30PM) in the church sanctuary of St. Mary's Hamilton Village 3916 Locust Walk (just east of 40th & Locust) on the Penn campus in West Philadelphia. Free Admission/Donations Requested. Advance Registration is available through Humanitix.

http://www.thegatherings.org