Heralding the release of BINARY CHILDHOOD, their debut album, London-based cousins OTZEKI have followed the release of recent single PAY THE TAX by revealing the accompany video.
Having already picked up extensive plays on BBC Radio 1, PAY THE TAX imagines that “an algorithm is the establishment” and references the leaked Paradise Papers and the injustice of a system that serves itself rather than the people it’s supposed to.
As vocalist and guitarist Mike Sharp says, “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”.
Directed by Christian Cargill and shot on the fly across London’s tube and overground network, OTZEKI’s guerrilla tactics proved cost effective; the only fine they incurred whilst filming was forgetting to tap their Oyster Cards whilst rushing for a connection. In the final cut, Mike ramps up his performance as he strides unnervingly across the London transport network.
BINARY CHILDHOOD teams the meticulous attention to detail of keyboard player JOEL ROBERTS with the improvisational methods and stream of consciousness writing that has been a feature ever since OTZEKI’s inception. Separate, spiritual awakenings in Berlin formed the catalyst for the duo’s musical alliance; their mission a project built around balance and duality.
This is an album driven by rhythm, one that takes their previous use of electronic loops and infuses them with more organic sounds and live percussion. An exercise in the dark arts of electronic music, BINARY CHILDHOOD delivers a kind of controlled raving served with something subtly sinister and, despite their insistrence that they’re not academically inclined people, is packed with cerebral songwriting.
The debut FALLING OUT EP initially set the agenda, and the ensuing OTZEKI singles have seen them pick up support from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music and Radio X and, via tours across Europe and the USA, a growing fanbase. To coincide with the release of BINARY CHILDHOOD, the duo embark on an extensive European tour, UK dates as follows:
MAY
Sat 05 LIVERPOOL Sound City
Sun 06 GLASGOW Stag & Dagger
Tue 08 DUBLIN Workman’s Club
Wed 09 MANCHESTER Soup Kitchen
Sat 12 BRISTOL Crofter’s Rights
Sun 13 BRIGHTON Bau Wow
Wed 30 LEEDS Flux Day & Night Party
