We recently connected with Neo and have shared our conversation below.

Neo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

I feel like along my time in Los Angeles, i’ve been put in a box and generalized in terms of who “I am” or what “I do”. Usually im just assumed as a Stylist or a Model since that’s what the most “accessible” thing for people to connect with my art. I’d say when it comes to my music and my design, (especially my music) I’ve tended to experiment more and truly created a unique aura around the sounds I produce with electronic , ambient, and alternative. It’s to the point where it’s foreign to a lot of people in Los Angeles but when I go to somewhere like New York, it’s not experimental ENOUGH. The culture and diversity is vibrant and people tend to gravitate to what I do. It’s all about environment. When it comes to the process of my design for my brand INFRAROUGE, I’m still building the ethos and brand image to where I can create an customer base who gravitates towards INFRAROUGE, which is one of the most important things, I’d say. I want to create a world where all my art forms can combine seamlessly. For example, how Tyler the creator has created a world around his brand

Neo, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In terms of my process, I’ve gone in waves with the amount of energy and the amount of time I’ve put into my crafts throughout the past few years. As of the end of 22’, my main focuses have been to finally bring my design ideas to life for my brand INFRAROUGE, as well as perfecting and polishing my sound design and instrumentation skills. It’s taken the right amount of discipline to be able to focus and put forth my very first INFRAROUGE product: The Handbag. I designed the technical packages, sourced the fabrics, trims, and hardware, as well as established a relationship with a CMT (cut make trim) clothing manufacturer in Los Angeles. This was important for my process because I wanted to focus on the quality of my products while being able to have as much hands/eyes on the process, especially being American made. It was one of the most detail oriented processes of my life because I brought a drawing I had on a paper to an actual physical bag. The most fun part of the process, though, was to shoot The Handbag editorial for INFRAROUGE because I grabbed my skills from styling and directing photo shoots in the past and applied that to the first editorial for my brand. The end result was truly more than I envisioned and it kickstarted the aura and ethos I wanted to push for INFRAROUGE (high fashion, editorial).

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think the main step that can be done to support artists to thrive is create an environment and community where likeminded people can each play their part in a creative process. I can only do so much but I have friends an acquaintances who are on standby to play their part in my process. I do the same me my own, always. For example, I’ve recently joint a group that manages a creative/event space and we plan on throwing monthly events to further extend our network of creatives and artists and create a community where others have access to the space. Obviously we must run it in a manner where these people have something to offer to the space; it’s like a trade off but needed to understand who actually wants to put their energy into the bigger picture

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I’d say the overall goal and mission I have for myself and my brand/musis/creative energy as a whole is something I mentioned before: to create a world around my artistry. I want INFRAROUGE to be connected to my music, especially being able to throw music/art events and have artists signed to INFRAROUGE RADIO who display similar experimental and unique musical tendencies; as well as creating products and designs with people who align with the music and the aura/ethos im presenting. It’s setting a standard and bar for my future self

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theinfrarouge.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/neodeeweb
• Other: SoundCloud.com/neoandthedeepweb