The Clock Symphony: How Pink Floyd Built 'Time' from Dozens of Recorded Alarms

The opening of “Time” isn’t a synthesizer or a sampler – it’s a room full of real clocks recorded one by one. Engineer Alan Parsons and the band bought about a dozen antique alarm clocks from a second-hand shop, then spent hours in the studio recording each one chiming at a different time. The effect of overlapping alarms came from manually triggering the recordings on a multi-track, creating that chaotic, disorienting blast that kicks off the song.

For the ticking loop that runs underneath the track, they didn’t just use one clock. They recorded multiple clocks ticking at slightly different speeds and then carefully cut and synced the tapes to create a steady, hypnotic tick-tock that never quite feels mechanical. The whole thing was a painstaking analog process – no digital sequencing, just tape splicing and hands-on timing. That handmade, slightly imperfect feel is what makes the rhythm feel so alive and unsettling.