Against the Clock is a series where we give an artist 10 minutes in the studio and see what they come up with. You can watch all the past episodes here.

Matt Mondanile is the lead guitarist of Real Estate, but he’s been making music on his own as Ducktails for even longer. How he makes that music has fascinated us for years. Mondanile builds his starry psych-rock pieces more like an electronic producer, gradually layering pieces he’s played like jigsaw pieces to make music that’s comfortingly familiar, yet tantalizingly surreal. We caught up with Mondanile, about to start a European tour, at his studio in downtown LA where he laid out guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums with time left for a shredding, feedback-filled solo. Watch it above, catch him this Friday at Patterns in Brighton, and read our recent interview with Ducktails to learn more about his new album St. Catherine.