The Tick Collector

First and foremost let’s make a clarification here: it’s this ✅, no other. I seem to have a knack for finding names that turn out to be confusing or unadvisable from the logistics point of view, like for example, Hel. If I had known at the time how many other artists, bands and things out there are called Hel (like the devil’s home minus an L, I used to say in my gigs) I would have stuck to my own name. I know for a fact there are a couple other Elena Marcos in the world, but as far as I know they’re not making music... So, anyway, yes, I am the one who collects symbols that represent accomplishment or completion, as opposed to disgusting bloodsucking parasites (although I’m sure they play their part in the circle of life and all that).

“The Tick Collector“ can be considered the second part of “Arts & Crafts and Frankensteins” in as much the songs in the former where all recorded after the songs in the latter (and for the most part also composed) and likewise belong to that BC period (Before China), with the exception of “The Tick Collector” itself, which was both written and recorded here in Dalian. There is however an underlying theme that “Arts & Crafts and Frankensteins” lacks, and it’s no more no less than the geographical pursuit of dreams.

This is not a concept album, though. Some of these songs (Paper House, Sunflowers, Flying Back, My Dear Sailor, Thinking of China) were conceived way before returning to China (and let alone staying for almost 5 years now) was even a desire, much less a possibility, and many moons prior to the idea of taking the Indian name “The Tick Collector”. But they relate to the idea of the album in the sense that they touch on the themes of travel, love on the move, fear of getting stuck, etc. The rest of the songs are pretty much chapters of the life of the Tick Collector, therefore consistent with the album, with one exception: Holding On To This Feeling (that one was made with a specific goal in mind, a goal different from the usual expressing myself, that fell through, but I still liked the song so I kept it for the album). To put it plainly, I took a bunch of pre-existing recordings and made sense of them as a vital experience a posteriori, which is in no way different from how I try to make sense of my own life by looking back at a bunch of facts and extracting some common purpose and direction from them that justifies why I’m doing what I’m doing at a particular point in time, like I’ve been walking an actual path and not taking random steps to end up where I am.

Well, I don’t know what’s going to happen to “ The Tick Collector“, she seems pretty healthy and pretty happy doing her thing, but I am afraid that Hel needs to be discontinued not too far from now. Soon I will be “the artist formerly known as Hel“. Fortunately I have yet another alias: Elena Marco. I’m going to stick to that name from now on, and see what gives.

By the way, the album is available online on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify and all the major shops. Hope you like it!