ticktock - Time For A New School Of Alchemy

ticktock is the musical moniker of a human called Sebastian Zieler. He is foreign (Danish, specifically), in his mid-twenties and currently lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. His new release, cryptically entitled TCOLT EP, is the product of long sessions spent drawing sound with MS Paint-looking audio-imaging software, live recording and technical playfulness. The result is immediate, but otherworldly – like pop conceived of elsewhere.

Years of eager listening, from the most obscure DIY-punk and techno to Destiny's Child (check out the string arpeggios in the EP closer Would You Look At God Go! and tell us that isn't related to Survivor), and failing to mimic various genres has helped form the sonic smorgasbord that is this EP. Take the opening track, A- A- A-. What started off as a botched attempt at making two-step immediately morphed into some sort of very slow, fragmented and morose afro-beat, with the syncopated beat and languid bassline serving as a skeleton for an intensely direct and beautiful song, far from the dark, skittish ambience of its original point of reference.

The influences are many and varied, but no matter the technical approach, and no matter what genres and specific artists may be referenced sonically, the red thread in ticktock's music is an interest in the world: a profoundly enamoured and confused longing that permeates the EP from start to finish.

The first single, the aforementioned A- A- A-, is accompanied by a minimal film-snapshot capturing the mood of the song. It was made by friends Raúl Gonzo and Stephanie Leigh. Keywords: nudity, horses, guns and a California sunset.

Sebastian Zieler was born in Denmark, spent his teens in the north of England, where he quickly learnt how to run fast chased by large, angry groups of people. Since then he's moved back and forth between Copenhagen and London much too often, recently having wrapped up a popular music degree at Goldsmiths in New Cross. He is currently putting the finishing touches to another collection of songs.