Acoustic

guitar

Music writing inspiration

Calum Graham

Percussive Guitar

jens

Why I don't Play Guitar

Tycho "Awake" LP on Ghostly International
Release date: MARCH 18, 2014

Purchase "Awake": shop.iso50.com/collections/awake

formats:
CD/LP/DIGITAL

artwork by:
ISO50

For nearly a decade, Tycho has been known as the musical alias of Scott Hansen, but with the release of Awake – his second LP for Ghostly International – the solo project has evolved into a three-piece band. Relating closer to post-rock than ambient soundscapes, the record is situated in the present, sounding more like Hansen than drawing from his influences. “This is, in many ways, the first true Tycho record.”

Following 2011’s Dive LP, the San Francisco-based designer toured extensively, and with a full band on stage, his sound coalesced into a percussive, organic whole. Zac Brown (guitars, bass) rejoined Scott on the road for this tour, but it was the particular addition of Rory O’Connor’s live drumming that ultimately sent Hansen back to the studio with a more precise vision. “After the tour, I decided that I wanted to capture the more energetic, driven sound of the live show on the next album,” Hansen recalls. Bringing musicians into Tycho’s creative process was a step towards expanding his own songwriting and advancing the project beyond its current sound.

In a cabin near Tahoe last winter, Zac and Scott began fleshing out the structure of the new record, but it wasn’t until they set up shop in the hills of Santa Cruz with Rory that it all fell into place. “It crystallized the vision of how the drums would come to the forefront on this record,” says Hansen. The sound was much more stripped-down and concise with more organic instruments in the fold. Songs like “Montana” and “Awake” are a departure from Tycho’s previous material – unique to the group effort poured into the songs on the new record – while “See” and “Dye” echo ideas from previous works, bridging a middle ground between the old and new. Working with Count Eldridge, who also engineered Dive, the team could fixate on the pulses that Tycho might previously layer under synthesizers and exhume them with distinct bass and guitar patterns.

Also known for his design work as ISO50, Hansen’s visual and sonic efforts have dovetailed throughout the course of his career. “This is the first time in my life I've dropped everything to focus on one artistic pursuit,” notes Hansen. Previous Tycho releases came to fruition when an amalgam of songs were nearing completion, but Awake is where music becomes the focus and true expression becomes the result.

WEB - www.tychomusic.com 
TWITTER - www.twitter.com/iso50 
FB - www.facebook.com/tychomusic 
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/user/iso50 
INSTAGRAM - @iso50

Awake

It Is What It Is

12:34

Waiting

3 Way Street

Indivisible

Phoenix Rising

Purchase "Montana" on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/montana-single/id799641047

Tycho "Awake" LP on Ghostly International
Release date: MARCH 18, 2014

Purchase "Awake": http://shop.iso50.com/collections/awake

formats:
CD/LP/DIGITAL

artwork by:
ISO50

For nearly a decade, Tycho has been known as the musical alias of Scott Hansen, but with the release of Awake – his second LP for Ghostly International – the solo project has evolved into a three-piece band. Relating closer to post-rock than ambient soundscapes, the record is situated in the present, sounding more like Hansen than drawing from his influences. “This is, in many ways, the first true Tycho record.”

Following 2011’s Dive LP, the San Francisco-based designer toured extensively, and with a full band on stage, his sound coalesced into a percussive, organic whole. Zac Brown (guitars, bass) rejoined Scott on the road for this tour, but it was the particular addition of Rory O’Connor’s live drumming that ultimately sent Hansen back to the studio with a more precise vision. “After the tour, I decided that I wanted to capture the more energetic, driven sound of the live show on the next album,” Hansen recalls. Bringing musicians into Tycho’s creative process was a step towards expanding his own songwriting and advancing the project beyond its current sound.

In a cabin near Tahoe last winter, Zac and Scott began fleshing out the structure of the new record, but it wasn’t until they set up shop in the hills of Santa Cruz with Rory that it all fell into place. “It crystallized the vision of how the drums would come to the forefront on this record,” says Hansen. The sound was much more stripped-down and concise with more organic instruments in the fold. Songs like “Montana” and “Awake” are a departure from Tycho’s previous material – unique to the group effort poured into the songs on the new record – while “See” and “Dye” echo ideas from previous works, bridging a middle ground between the old and new. Working with Count Eldridge, who also engineered Dive, the team could fixate on the pulses that Tycho might previously layer under synthesizers and exhume them with distinct bass and guitar patterns.

Also known for his design work as ISO50, Hansen’s visual and sonic efforts have dovetailed throughout the course of his career. “This is the first time in my life I've dropped everything to focus on one artistic pursuit,” notes Hansen. Previous Tycho releases came to fruition when an amalgam of songs were nearing completion, but Awake is where music becomes the focus and true expression becomes the result.

WEB - www.tychomusic.com 
TWITTER - www.twitter.com/iso50 
FB - www.facebook.com/tychomusic 
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/user/iso50 
INSTAGRAM - @iso50

Montana

Patient Love

The latest album from the 'Acoustic Ninja' Trace Bundy.

Elephant King
Release date: 5/1/2012

Studio CD

01. Elephant King
02. Joy & Sorrow
03. Traverse
04. Tres Capos
05. Timepiece
06. Adventures in Sawyerland
07. Be Still
08. Overtime
09. Bongolo
10. Coronation
11. Anchor

Traverse

Timepiece

'The Wrong Direction,' the first north american single EP from the 'All The Little Lights' album is out today!! Preview some of the tracks from the 4-song EP below and get your full copy from iTunes: www.itunes.com/passenger

Life's For The Living (Acoustic)

Elegy

Don't Panic is the new album from British virtuoso acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter, Jon Gomm. 

Don't Panic is the follow up to debut album Hypertension, released way back in December 2003. Why the long wait? ''I made the first record shortly after I d put together a solo acoustic set and wanted to start touring: it was just a demo to get gigs. I made it a full length album because back then the gig fee was barely covering my petrol money, and I needed something to sell!'' This plan worked a little too well, and Gomm has been touring hard ever since, taking his unique brand of virtuosic acoustic guitar-playing to prestigious festivals around Europe and a punishing tour schedule centred around the UK and Italy, and a new album has had to wait. 

The new CD features stronger songs, exhibiting Jon's genuine grasp of a wide range of genres from blues to jazz to rock to country, which comes from his lifelong experience as a session musician and musical academic. Throw in some Urdu lyrics and you're getting the picture: a one man melting pot. The songs range from dark laments, to sweet melodies, to frenzied romps and there's even elements of the humour for which Jon's live shows are renowned. The guitar playing here is perhaps even more technically demanding than the previous CD too: ''Every time I arrange a new guitar part I make sure I can t play it without practice. I love the technical aspect as much as the creative process of songwriting, although they are very much separate affairs.'' And as with the debut album, there are no overdubs here, although it may sound like it: there is never more than one guitar on every track. 

Jon's fiercely independent approach to the music industry has meant that the CD was home recorded and is released on his own label.

Jon Gomm - Topeka

Jon Gomm - Loveproof

It Is What It Is

calumgraham