Tic Toc Tokyo aren’t unsung heroes, in as much as they have a singer – and he’s good. But, after wearing the carpets in Melbourne’s live venues thin, it’s high time for a full length release from the Melbourne based foursome.
Simon Gibbs (singer) admits that their EP Artefacts is long overdue. “I think it was a real case of we sort of wanted to take our time with it, we’ve sort of have been working on our sound and it’s been developing at quite a rate. We wanted to wait until we were comfortable with the songs and we wanted like a really solid EP that was four songs that made a real impact.”
Tic Toc Tokyo stand out in my hazy gig going memory mostly due to the sheer conviction of Gibbs. An old-soul at the microphone, he takes command with contained physical intensity; it’s like watching someone shake a bottle of coca-cola –and waiting for it to explode. In person, Gibbs is quietly spoken in an old-school British kind of way, with the requisite serving of self-depreciating humour. There’s one thing he’s dead serious about however, and that’s his music and his ambitions for the band he has helmed since 2005.
Launches for the debut EP Artefacts are lined up in Melbourne and Sydney in the next week, and Gibbs is particularly excited about the prospect of an all ages show at Sydney’s Gaelic club. “The Sydney launch is an all ages show, which is something that is very important to us as we get to play to a broader audience and often a much more enthusiastic one as well.
“I grew up in the United Kingdom and you could actually see anyone. I went to gigs from a really young age with a friend of my mum’s. I was with a supposedly responsible adult who took me to shows, so I saw lots of bands literally from the age of 13 which was pretty good.”
His testimony mounts a persuasive argument for allowing the youngsters to attend gigs. Tic Toc Tokyo have released several demos in the past, which Gibbs describes as “well received”, but their first EP exceeds expectations. More than 100 live shows in their three years together has tightened the edges of the Tic Toc Tokyo’s sound to the n th degree. Artefacts manages to capture their distinctive live aesthetic, incorporating the dark angular edges of new-rave, without sacrificing the fun. It will propel audiences onto the dance floor like a sharp elbow to the ribs.
Securing a distribution deal with MGM Records has been a turning point for the band: “it’s something which is really important for us as an independent band, because we can do everything else ourselves but we can’t physically put the record in stores and now that we have a distributor we’ve got which we didn’t before.”
Now that they have overcome the first EP road hump, Tic Toc Tokyo are looking to the future with a full length album slated for release in the next 12 months. In the meantime, Melbourne and Sydney fans can catch them live this month as they launch Artefacts.
Saturday March 15 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
with Plug-In City and Bachelor of Arts.
Thursday March 20 – The Future is Now @ Gaelic Club, Sydney
All-Ages
