Quantic | Time is the Enemy
Quantic's "Time is the Enemy" - how a 21-year-old Will Holland created a hypnotic downtempo masterpiece in his bedroom, sampling Lena Horne's Beatles cover for his genre-defining 2001 debut.
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Story Behind “Time Is the Enemy” by Quantic
The Bedroom Producer’s Lunchbreak Discovery
“Time is the Enemy” emerged from the most unlikely of recording environments. In 2001, Will Holland was just 21 years old, working out of a makeshift bedroom studio in his family’s timber-framed home beside the River Severn in Worcestershire, England. The track that would become one of his most enduring compositions was built from samples discovered during lunchbreak trips to local record shops, piecing together fragments of musical history into something completely new.
Holland had already caught the attention of Brighton’s Tru Thoughts label with his deep funk sensibility and sophisticated production technique. For The 5th Exotic, his debut album, he constructed an entire world of sound from the diverse collection of instruments scattered throughout the Holland household and his growing vinyl collection. “Time is the Enemy” became the album’s emotional centerpiece, a track that Richard Dorfmeister of Kruder & Dorfmeister would later call part of “one of the best beats albums I have heard in a long time.”
From Bedroom to Brighton’s Downtempo Revolution
The creation of “Time is the Enemy” represented the DIY culture at its finest. Like Bonobo’s Animal Magic from the same era, The 5th Exotic proved that world-class electronic music could be created without expensive studio time or major label backing. Holland’s approach combined hip-hop production techniques with jazz sensibility, building hypnotic loops that felt both vintage and contemporary.
The track arrived during a fertile moment for British electronic music. The late ‘90s trip-hop sound was evolving into something more diverse, and producers like Holland were pushing beyond the genre’s boundaries. His use of sample-based composition, combined with his multi-instrumental abilities, created a signature sound that would influence countless producers in the years to come.
“Time is the Enemy” Recording and Production Details
Sample-Based Architecture and Bedroom Innovation
Will Holland produced “Time is the Enemy” entirely in his bedroom studio, using a production approach that layered carefully chosen samples into a hypnotic sonic architecture. The track’s foundation rests on a piano sample from Lena Horne’s 1965 cover of The Beatles’ “And I Love Her” (retitled “And I Love Him”), which Holland looped into four persistent, echoing chords that build the song’s contemplative mood.
Additional drum samples came from Rare Earth’s “Get Ready” and Tony Newman’s “Soul Thing,” with Holland programming the beats to achieve what one critic described as “metronomically precise, like horse hooves trotting right down the middle of the song.” The production also features Holland’s own guitar and double bass work, demonstrating his abilities as both a multi-instrumentalist and producer.
Organic Downtempo Production Technique
The genius of “Time is the Enemy” lies in its restraint. Unlike many sample-heavy productions, Holland knew when to step back and let the elements breathe. The track builds its hypnotic quality through repetition rather than dramatic changes, creating what one music blog described as a piece that “doesn’t really build or take any turns. It just is, until it isn’t.”
Holland’s bedroom production achieved a remarkably hi-fi sound despite its DIY origins. The track’s warm, organic quality came from his approach of treating samples not as disposable elements but as foundational building blocks worthy of careful arrangement and mixing. This attention to detail, combined with his jazz-funk sensibility, created a downtempo aesthetic that transcended the limitations of his recording environment.
Notes About “Time is the Enemy” by Quantic
Release Date: June 19, 2001
Duration: 3:39 (also listed as 3:43 on some platforms)
Genre: Downtempo / Trip-Hop / Electronica / Nu Jazz
Album: The 5th Exotic (debut album, track 10)
Producer: Will Holland (Quantic)
Label: Tru Thoughts (TRUCD016)
Key: C minor
BPM: 166-167
Samples: “And I Love Him” by Lena Horne (1965), “Get Ready” by Rare Earth (1969), “Soul Thing” by Tony Newman (1968)
Quantic “Time is the Enemy” Era Band Details
Album Details
Album: The 5th Exotic
Release Date: June 19, 2001
Label: Tru Thoughts (TRUCD016)
Producer: Will Holland
Recording Location: Bedroom studio, Holland family home, Worcestershire, England
Album Length: 52:56 (12 tracks)
Recording Approach: Sample-based production with live instruments
Critical Reception: Praised by Richard Dorfmeister (Kruder & Dorfmeister) as “one of the best beats albums I have heard in a long time”
Personnel
Will Holland (Quantic) - Producer, Arranger, Guitar, Double Bass, Programming, Samples
Guest Musicians: Holland’s two sisters (featured on album)
A&R: Robert Luis
Management: Paul Jonas, Robert Luis
Publishing: Full Thought Publishing
Production Notes
Entire album recorded in Holland’s bedroom studio using DIY methods
Samples collected from lunchbreak record shop visits
Album combined influences from jazz, soul, funk, and hip-hop
Holland was only 21 years old at time of completion
Album marked beginning of Holland’s long relationship with Tru Thoughts label (until 2020)
Production demonstrated that professional-quality electronic music could be created in home studios
After album’s success, Holland moved studio operations to Brighton and developed The Quantic Soul Orchestra project
Interesting Facts About “Time is the Enemy”
The 1906 San Francisco Music Video That Captured Time Itself
Ten years after “Time is the Enemy” was released, a YouTube user named Transferunique uploaded a video that would become the track’s de facto official video. The footage shows an uninterrupted shot from a streetcar traveling through San Francisco in 1906, capturing that brief chaotic period when automobiles, streetcars, horse-and-buggies, cyclists, and pedestrians all shared the same space without traffic lights. The pairing proved eerily perfect, the visual metaphor of time’s passage matching the song’s contemplative mood. Lena Horne, whose voice is sampled in the track, lived from 1917 to 2010, spanning almost the entire period between the filming of that San Francisco footage and the video’s 2011 upload, creating yet another layer of temporal connection that makes the pairing even more haunting.
The Track That Proved Bedroom Producers Could Compete
“Time is the Enemy” became crucial evidence that the bedroom producer revolution was real. In an era when expensive studio time and major label backing seemed essential for professional-quality electronic music, Holland’s debut demonstrated otherwise. The track received wholehearted support from notable chill-out DJs and helped establish Tru Thoughts as one of the UK’s most respected independent labels. Holland’s success inspired a generation of producers to trust their bedroom setups and DIY instincts. The track’s enduring popularity, subsequent sampling by hip-hop artists like Joe Budden and Nekfeu, and continued streaming success prove that authentic musical vision matters more than recording environment.
Common Questions
Q: What samples does Quantic use in “Time is the Enemy”? A: “Time is the Enemy” contains three primary samples: the main piano melody from Lena Horne’s 1965 cover of The Beatles’ “And I Love Her” (titled “And I Love Him”), drum breaks from Rare Earth’s “Get Ready” (1969), and elements from Tony Newman’s “Soul Thing” (1968). The Lena Horne piano sample forms the track’s hypnotic four-chord foundation.
Q: Where was “Time is the Enemy” recorded? A: Will Holland recorded the entire track in his bedroom studio in his family’s timber-framed home beside the River Severn in Worcestershire, England. He was only 21 years old at the time, and the album demonstrated that professional-quality electronic music could be created in DIY home studio environments.
Q: What genre is “Time is the Enemy”? A: The track blends downtempo, trip-hop, electronica, and nu jazz influences. It combines the sample-based, breakbeat approach of ‘90s trip-hop with jazz-funk sensibility and organic production, representing the evolution of British electronic music in the early 2000s.
Q: Why is “Time is the Enemy” so popular? A: The track’s hypnotic piano loop, metronomic beats, and contemplative mood create an emotional resonance that encourages introspection about time’s passage. Its instrumental nature allows personal interpretation, while the production quality achieved in a bedroom studio inspired countless producers. The 1906 San Francisco streetcar video uploaded in 2011 further cemented its cultural significance.
Q: What album is “Time is the Enemy” from? A: The track appears on The 5th Exotic, Quantic’s debut album released on June 19, 2001, through Brighton’s Tru Thoughts label. The album was recorded entirely in Holland’s bedroom and established his reputation as one of the UK’s most innovative electronic producers.