It’s been five years since prolific rapper-producer-visual artist Ecco2k released new music. While his Drain Gang crewmates Bladee and Thaiboy Digital – collectively pioneers of the internet-native cloud rap movement in the 2010s – continued to drop a steady stream of albums in this time, aside from a few select features, Ecco has been silent. Some had even given up waiting. But, last night, the multi-hypenate made his long-awaited return with “Aldehydes and Ketones”, an immersive electronic track heavily implied to begin a new album campaign.
The video also provides a pretty good answer to where Ecco has actually been all these years: travelling. Consisting of cryptic, brooding shots around the world, the new self-directed video portrays the enigmatic Swedish artist as something of an international man of mystery; overlooking futuristic cities, climbing frost-bitten mountains, plodding through red-hued valleys. And, in many of these shots, Ecco can be seen lugging a satellite dish. Perhaps he has been trying to get in touch with his fans, too, all these years.
So, in an attempt to beat Reddit to the punch and definitely answer exactly where Drain Gang’s most elusive member has been these past five years, we took to Google Maps and undertook the immense task of matching scenes from “Aldehydes and Ketones” to their real-life locations. From remote Scottish highlands to the skylines of Tokyo, think of it as the world’s drainiest game of Geoguessr.
THE PLANE SPOTTING BEACH, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
One of the most striking scenes in the new video, the shot of the Singapore Airlines flight taking off from a beach-runway was also one of the easiest to place in the real-world. After all, there are few airport runways so close to a public beach. The exact location is The Plane Spotting Beach next to Sydney Airport. Take a walk for yourself in the Google Maps link below.
TBILISI, GEORGIA
“Aldehydes and Ketones”, Ecco2k in Georgia
Another dead giveaway in the new music video is the footage of a bus stop at sunset. While the strange lettering might confuse some viewers, a quick Google search reveals that it is only Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi that uses the video’s distinct combination of ID and telephone number to identify their bus stops. Cross-referencing these IDs with the Georgian public transport database reveals that bus stop 1267 sits near the city’s main train station, at the intersection of Abastumani Street and Tevdore Mghvdeli Street. While it’s hard to match exact one-to-one shots of this one on Street View (ironically, a bloody bus is in the way), the lettering and disordered, power line-decorated streets are a clear match.
Later confirmation of Ecco2k’s time in Tbilisi arrives with this unmistakable shot of the city’s Mother of Georgia, also forming “Aldehydes and Ketones”’s single artwork. See below.
HONG KONG
“Aldehydes and Ketones”, Ecco2k in Hong Kong
Perhaps the city with the most footage featured in the new video is Hong Kong, its futuristic skylines and unique mix of mountain and metropolis forming a visual backbone of the new release. Chief of which is this shot of the Bank of China building, taken from somewhere in the high-altitude Bowen Park.
Later, across the city, another scene depicts Ecco looking at Tai Tam Harbour from the Hong Kong’s more verdant Dragon’s Back hiking trail. Walking down the trail with this in mind places the shot around Obelisk Hill below.
Finally, working with the unmistakable topography of Hong Kong, we can place this third shot as somewhere around Chai Wan Industrial Park to the city’s east. Look due east in the map below to see the long highway bridge visible in “Aldehydes and Ketones” and also note Ecco’s appearance – both his outfit and hairstyle are completely different to other Hong Kong shots, suggesting that he visited the city on at least two occasions while filming the video.
MOROCCO
“Aldehydes and Ketones”, Ecco2k in Morocco
The first clue that this scene takes place in Morocco is not the landscape, but rather the satellite dish that Ecco is carrying – a brand fittingly named Echolink, which is specific to the North African country. Investigating further, the Arabic script shop names, grassy streets and reddish buildings all seem to place this particular scene in the town of M’hamid to the south of Marrakech. Street View has not reached this area yet, so we’ll have to settle for this YouTube vlog walking through the streets to identify the location.
Working from the satellite dish and yellow-green sports top that Ecco is wearing, this also places subsequent scenes apparently shot in an arid valley in Morocco, too. Likely the Ourika Valley near the Atlas Mountains, judging by the red, iron-rich hues of the Oued River (often referred to as ‘the red river’).
STRONELAIRG WINDFARM, FORT AUGUSTUS, SCOTLAND
Stacked, closely-packed windfarms? Misty, moory highlands? This can only be one place: Stronelairg Windfarm near the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. In truth, this was near-impossible to locate. But, in the end, what it took was a reverse image search online for engines to match this still to industrial surveys of the region. Take a look for yourself below.
SHIBUYA, TOKYO
The Tokyo skyline is one of the most distinct in the world, with its prolific urban sprawl long cementing it as the biggest city on Earth from 1955 right up to last year (when it was deposed by Jakarta in Indonesia). Still, placing the exact location in Tokyo was more difficult. Judging by the placements of the parks in shot, this was likely taken from the rooftop of the Tokyo Government Metropolitan Building Observation Deck. It’s a popular tourist spot in the city’s Shibuya district, and a number of videos seem to corroborate the “Aldehydes and Ketones” still above, but exactly how Ecco made it onto the rooftop itself and outside the observation deck remains unclear.