''System 7'' is the first studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

band

System 7 System 7, codenamed "Big Bang", and also known as Mac OS 7, is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers and is part of the classic Mac OS series of operating systems. It was introduced on May 13, 1991, by Apple Co ...

. A somewhat different version was released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as ''777'' by 777. The running order is different, there are different mixes of two tracks (taken from the "Miracle" single), and it has two tracks from the "Freedom Fighters" single – "Depth Disco" and "Mia". Just to confuse matters, ''777'' was also the title of System 7's second UK album, with completely different music. With several vocal tracks, this album has rather a different feel from later System 7 albums. Aniff Cousins appears on "Freedom Fighters" (with Zoë providing chorus vocals) and "Dog", and

Olu Rowe Olu is a popular name amongst people of the Yoruba ethnic group. It is usually the first three letters of the full name. "Olu" is a diminutive of " Oluwa" in the Yoruba language and it can mean God, deity or lord, so the name 'Oluwale' could mean " ...

on "Habibi", "Bon Humeur" and "Strange Quotations".

Style

Candy Absorption of '' The Rough Guide to Rock'' wrote that the album was "accessible, if in retrospect untypical", adding that group leaders

Steve Hillage Stephen Simpson Hillage (born 2 August 1951) is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s. Besides his solo sound recording and reprodu ...

and

Miquette Giraudy Miquette Giraudy is a French keyboard player and vocalist, best known for her work in Gong, and with her partner Steve Hillage. She and Hillage form the core of the ambient band System 7. She has also worked as an actress, film editor and writer ...

"were yet to settle into their after-hours, dreamy,

chill-out Chill-out (shortened as chill; also typeset as chillout or chill out) is a loosely defined form of popular music characterized by slow tempos and relaxed moods. The definition of "chill-out music" has evolved throughout the decades, and generally ...

style, and the record features vocals by Olu Rowe reminiscent of

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

." John Bush of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

writes that the album is a "potent

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

record" that explores "the polished end of

ambient house Ambient house is a downtempo subgenre of house music that first emerged in the late 1980s, combining elements of acid house and ambient music. The genre developed in chill-out rooms and specialist clubs as part of the UK's dance music scene. It w ...

". He wrote that Hillage's guitar solos and the structures of several tracks evoke Hillage's mid-1970s work, considering the album to be "

space-rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drumming ...

explorations". Davydd Chong of ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' describes it as an album of "atmospheric

sound collage In music, montage (literally "putting together") or sound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly branded sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage. This is often done throug ...

s" which are laced with harder-edged material. The single "Habibi" was described by Chong as " world music dragged through a sweaty sound system at three in the morning". Hillage explained: "'Habibi' means 'my love' in Arabic. I've had a long-term interest in

Arabic music Arabic music or Arab music ( ar, الموسيقى العربية, al-mūsīqā al-ʿArabīyyah) is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also man ...

, right back to the mid-seventies. It's quite elevating." "Mia (The Fisherman Mix)", found on the American version of the album, is a washing

track which features on the 1993 ''Excursions in Ambience'' compilation.

Track listing

System 7

777

References

External links

*
System 7
' on the official System 7 website 1991 albums System 7 (band) albums Ambient house albums Dance music albums by English artists Sound collage albums Space rock albums Ambient pop albums {{1990s-electronic-album-stub