Düsseldorf’s DJ Thommek dropped “Time Field” on January 16th, a Deep House track inspired by the Zeitfeld art installation in Düsseldorf. Klaus Rinke created the installation for the 1987 Landesgartenschau: twenty-four station clocks on tall supports arranged in a four-by-six grid. All the clocks are accurate, connected to the Braunschweig atomic clock. The installation makes it impossible to observe all the clocks at once, so time always elapses when you look from one to another. Rinke was the son of a freight train loadmaster and grew up around train stations, developing a thing for these time indicators early on. Thommek‘s been producing electronic music with Ableton Live for over five years, focusing on deep, melodic sound design and subtle textures. The track explores time, repetition, and motion through a hypnotic groove. It’s mostly instrumental, minimal on vocals, built around mood and flow.
DJ Thommek embraces the spaced-out vibes of deep house, almost as if the track is designed to be a soundtrack for contemplating the art installation it was inspired by. It leaves enough space for you to have a conversation about said installation or maybe space for your internal monologue to explore it. Visuals and music go hand in hand, and the relationship between them is often circular, with visuals inspiring the creation of music and music inspiring vivid imagery in one’s mind, so creating a mellow track about “Zeitfeld” is only natural.
Thommek works at the intersection of sound and visual art, and “Time Field” shows that clearly. The track connects electronic music with local inspiration without beating you over the head with the concept.