Binary Childhood - Otzeki
Amongst the overpowering amount of mainstream music with no meaning, finding Otzeki and their deep musical involvement was like a breath of fresh air. On the 13th of April 2018, London-based duo ‘Otzeki’ released ‘binary childhood,’ an insightful LP that brought back the art in music. ‘The Rough Trade’ states “It’s an album driven by rhythm, that takes their previous use of electronic loops and infuses them with more organic sounds and live percussion.”
The first soulful song of twelve, “All The Animals” sets a high standard for the rest of the album (but nevertheless thrived) with a smooth repetition of chord progressions on electric guitar played by Mike Sharp and cousin Joel on keyboard.
Otzeki cannot be described as a specific style, however their tracks are very much similar to electronic rock or alternative EDM, this is revealed in ‘Pay The Tax.’ This single was released on the 20th of March, and illustrates the hard-hitting reality of all beings living their lives too similarly to their peers. This is what the LP’s title ‘Binary Childhood’ is based on, as every child is growing up cautious of individuality.
Pay The Tax, alongside the entire album release, has been hugely supported over BBC Radio One, having their songs streamed on Huw Stephen’s ‘Album Of The Week’. Mike, the guitarist/vocalist adds, “I’m pretty apolitical in the sense that I’m interested in humanity but politics has become automatically associated with economics and business, and humanity should come before that” and that shows the general picture of the pair’s influences for their music. Being London-based themselves, the video was captured on London’s tube, not only being cost-effective and simple but also hitting the jackpot with a sinister and meaningful outcome.
Another hit on the LP is ‘Angry Fix’. The video, directed by Will Pine, was published on June 19th 2018, and corresponds with the song’s themes which are portrayed by Otzeki. The band says the video is “based on a clown character oversaturated by online media and the pressure to commodify his life. This character’s imagination has been seduced by the narcotic infinity of online interaction. Scrolling through images, quotes, messages, films, music, and never truly engaging with anything for any length of time or being satisfied. He becomes impatient to the point of asphyxiation and internalises this computer virus into the form of a real human sickness”. The song has been reviewed by ‘The Beat’ as “all about minimalist beats, brooding vocals and making your body groove.”
‘Already dead’ and it’s video pursues this realisation of a made up society, with strong and well thought lyrics, even from the start, reflecting on human life and our activities, concentrating on the illusion of our technological lifestyle - singing that “this life is all in your head.”
A previous EP by the two, ‘Falling Out’ triggered the growth of their fanbase after making an exceptional impression. Since the release there has been a clear display of support and appreciation from stations including BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and Radio X. I can expect that after this release, the fanbase will only further expand.
Unlike most music albums, ‘Binary Childhood’ tells a story. It’s a rollercoaster of creativity, art and emotion. Otzeki have explained that “The title ‘Binary Childhood’ is inspired by growing up exposed to a world of duality. The immediate human world that we knew gradually became digitized to the extent that we lost ownership of our identities. Our individual imaginations were transposed like a form of schizophrenia between imaginarily voices online and what was happening in reality within our minds,”. Disregarding their magical songs, I think so many people can relate to this, causing the duo to attain so much support in their current Europe and USA tour.
