Nimbo Gives Insight on 'Think Blotting' Ahead of Nashville Showcase
Written by: Sterfrii
Nimbo is back with a new EP, Think Blotting, marking a fresh new chapter for this Nashville-based producer. On this downtempo journey, you can expect room for introspection that displays both restraint and emotional depth. It’s a project shaped by patience and a deep focus on using music as a space for reflection rather than dancing. There is such a layered (and sometimes abstract) approach to his sound design that it made me start asking questions..
Tonight, Nimbo will take the stage alongside Sokol Sound & Gill_Yum for a showcase with Acoustic Artifacts, a grassroots collective known for spotlighting local talent and throwing proper events with their custom sound rig.
We caught up with Nimbo ahead of the show to discuss the EP, his connection to the team behind the event and the creative process that shaped both his sound and his path. Enjoy the read below!
Synapse: Tell me about the show tonight! (Sunday) and what can you tell me about Acoustic Artifacts and the Archives series.
Nimbo: This one is going to be a heater. Acoustic Artifacts is a newer collective that's already making waves across Tennessee. They've invested in a custom rig from Divergent Sound, and they absolutely smack you in the face. I'm a big fan of their mission, which is to highlight the local talent in the Southeast. They're building their brand from the ground up, and you can feel the authenticity and drive that's going to give their project legs.
Synapse: How are you feeling about it? How’d you get connected with Will (Gill_yum) Nick (Sokol Sounds)?
Nimbo: These are them dudes! Nick is one of the first people I met in the Nashville scene when I moved here ten years ago. We've had parallel paths in our respective musical journeys. I first met Will at an event spinning tunes for Smoke Token, and we hit it off. Both of these guys are incredibly versatile artists who can DJ, scratch, and produce with the best of them. This is going to be a great night of music, and it'll especially feel wholesome knowing this is a homegrown event showcasing the state of Tennessee.
Synapse: I want to talk about your new ep obviously but I noticed that your single “Dare To Bloom” was also a 2025 release — how’s it feel to let some music out into the world after a few years?
Nimbo: It feels like a huge relief. After my last run of singles of a couple of years ago, I knew it was time to start digging into the Nimbo project a bit more and come out with another statement piece. I spent a lot of time in that window getting a firmer grasp on the art of writing and the science of mixdowns. I'm really happy with the results I reached, but I know there's oh so much more to learn and build upon.
One of my most memorable lessons early on in my career was from 5AM. I had just released some of my first tunes with the Psychic Research compilation album. They were cool, but definitely early works. When 5AM took a listen, he told me that he liked the idea behind my music, but he wanted to hear me work on them longer. Simple advice, but it's crucial. You really need to sit with a project for a long time to have it be fully realized. Taking breaks and coming back to it with fresh ears is instrumental in understanding where your music is at.
So, that's what I did with this EP. And really, that's one of the benefits of a record. You're forced to sit on your music for a while as you flesh out more ideas to fill it out. I was constantly reshaping elements in every track as I was writing, and that allowed for them to reach the heights that they did. The total time it took to finish the EP ended up being 18 months. Hopefully this experience will help me streamline a bit so there's not such a big gap before the next one.
Synapse: That single features Patricia Faulkner on the vocals and is a real vibey treat. What was it like working with her on that one? Does anything stick out about the creation of that piece?
Nimbo: What an interesting project this was. Patricia and I met at a show I played at Pandora's Box here in Nashville. We got onto the idea of her coming over to the studio to lay down some vocals. I knew she had a reputation as an amazing singer. So, she came over with a poem in hand that she wrote, I laid out a chord progression, and she sang overtop. This would be the groundwork of "Dare To Bloom.” Little did I know at the time, Patricia and I would go on to start dating. We were together for two years, and building out the song was a fun and core part of our relationship. We had just finished the song as our relationship was coming to a close. Things ultimately didn't work out between us, but we've still been able to maintain our friendship. We thought it was important to still share this project, as it was something beautiful that formed from our time together. Stay tuned for a music video.
Synapse: Wow. What an incredible story dude. Let’s push to the new EP — It was mastered by Matt Davis as hacienda recordings, a seemingly mythical and legendary engineer. What were the best things about passing off the project to mastering in general? How was your experience working on this together?
Nimbo: I first came across Matt's work with the Synthesis Audio project pushing out a big platform for learning different areas of production. I really enjoyed listening to Matt speak about the concepts of mastering in addition to the finer numerical details. There have been so many recommendations from my counterparts that I thought this EP would be the perfect project to test out his skills. As expected, he delivered. I had no notes to how he put the finishing touch on these tunes. I plan on moving forward with him for a majority of my work as long as he's in business.
Synapse: Think Blotting is an exploration of lush soundscapes & downtempo delights. What was different about the process of crafting this project vs your older work?
Nimbo: Something I've started to realize with my music is that I don't really make music to dance to. It feels more like music to think and flow to. So, that's the idea behind this EP. Diving into the mind and seeing what comes out. I liked the idea of the old practice of ink blottings, where different people stare at them and see different things form through the abstract images. I wanted my music to do the same, to guide the listeners mind to thoughts that they've been needing to think. That's the origin of the title "Think Blotting.”
I think the biggest lesson I've learned in the writing process thus far in my career has been that less is more. It's important to fit everything tightly in the frequency spectrum with as little overlap as possible. My older projects would have layers and layers of stuff going on at the same time, but once you learned how to carve everything out and arrange it like a puzzle, that's when you've found gold. I've found myself endlessly going back to my older projects and deleting out a ton of momentary sounds and samples littered throughout the tracks to give everything more breathing room, and they now sound so much better playing out live.