Opening up one of the band’s most divisive albums is “Timeland” — a fifteen-minute journey through different electronic sounds and styles. These varied new sounds are pulled together through the use of a constantly ticking (though tonally changing) metronome at sixty beats per minute, which the band work off of in a series of polyrhythms. Compositionally speaking, “Timeland” is one of King Gizzard’s most varied, with an array of influences they had never used before. From the start of the song to around two minutes is a cheery section with vocal harmonies opened by the sound of a door creaking. Following this is a techno section which features a name drop from PHC director Max Coles (later reprised in “Smoke & Mirrors”). At 3:43 the band introduces a melody played on ocarina over the sound of wind, bringing to mind the music of ancient cultures. We then get an acid house section which actually sees the metronome ticking change from every beat to every other beat (the bassline is later reused at the end of “Smoke & Mirrors”). Moving from the trippy synths, we have a baroque-inspired piece with synthesized reeds, harpsichord, and what sounds like a theremin. After this is a percussion-heavy section where Ambrose chants briefly before moving back into the acid house section heard before. The song’s intro is reprised once again, this time with Ambrose freestyling on top, which leads to the final movement where Cavs drums frantically to what appears to be the sound of a train crossing signal. “Timeland” ends with an explosion and the ticking metronome.
Little information is out there about the creative process behind Made In Timeland, but Stu gave some details in a 2022 Reddit AMA. When asked why they used the ticking of a clock, Stu said he “needed to make intermission music. Decided to make an album out of the idea.” The intermission was to be used between the two sets of the original planned marathon shows of 2020; by the fulfillment of the long-postponed shows, sister album Laminated Denim was used for the intermission instead. Stu also described) Timeland as “all about vignettes. Each vignette was mostly recorded by one individual member, then brought to the band for overdubs and additional ideas. I had the task of splicing them together into a cohesive piece. Was a fun way to make music.”
In a drum seminar at Drumtek in Northcote, Victoria, Cavs stated that some of the drums on the album were recorded using an iPhone but did not specify what parts.
As for things unique to “Timeland,” it's the only song on Made In Timeland that features Cook Craig. The final lineup of musicians would be Stu (drums/bass/guitar/keyboards/synthesizer/percussion/vocals/ocarina/Mellotron), Joey (synthesizers/percussion), Cavs (drums/percussion), Ambrose (vocals) and Cook (keyboards/synthesizer). Fans knew of “Timeland” going all the way back to July 13th, 2020, when Reddit user u/theres_yer_problem posted two newly registered songs to the ASCAP ACE Repertory on r/KGATLW. “Timeland” was first heard when the entire album was leaked on December 8th, 2021. The leak was confirmed to be legitimate when the band put out an advertisement for the Timeland festival which featured “Timeland” prominently.
After making a quick appearance in the video TIMELAND JUICE to promote the band’s later-canceled Timeland festival, it debuted at The Return of Curse of Timeland festival where Made In Timeland was first sold. The song appeared with a Jason Galea-created countdown clock on the stage screen that played before the band’s set. The visualizer itself was released on October 12th, 2022, alongside the release of Laminated Denim, and the digital release of Made In Timeland. Since The Return of the Curse of Timeland, the countdown clock reappeared at other marathon shows with a final appearance on [2022-11-02]
“Timeland” has not been performed live.