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.

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Awake

I wrote these songs a while ago, I think they thread nicely together. Both were influenced by time spent floating around Fitzroy, kicking around the Melbourne band scene in my early 20s. 

Thanks to Soren for helping bring "Catastrophe" to life with your inspired production choices and sharp drum chops!


Dougal James - lead vocals, bass VI, guitars, synthesisers, piano, percussion
Soren Maryasin - drums on "Catastrophe"

Recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Dougal James
"Catastrophe" initial session and co-production with Soren Maryasin
Cover photo by Liam Van Der Vlist

Catastrophe

'All Star' by Smash Mouth, but all notes are C

Dougal James - 
Frederick van Velthuysen and his wife, Josina by Thomas de Keyser (1636)

"I chose this painting because of the startling gloom and unease I felt when I first saw it. I found the wooden poses of the couple to be exceedingly awkward and uncomfortable, and it led me to read into what their relationship might be like. 
I wanted to explore how relationships can be intense and unsettling and awkwardly stilted - in this case, I imagined that Frederick and Josina were a loveless arranged marriage between two wealthy families - so I created a twisted, warped version of the classic plucked guitar love song that slowly descends into frenetic chaos."

Dougal James - 'Frederick van Velthuysen and his wife, Josina'

Chapo Trap House's Matt Christman discusses seeing Yahoo Serious in cinemas, wondering why Jacko was selling him Energizer batteries and why Hudson Hawke is a better movie than Baby Driver.

Matt on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cushbomb
Listen to Chapo Trap House: https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house

You can subscribe on Patreon for exclusive bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/BoontaVista

Don't forget to rate & subscribe on iTunes if that's your thing.
_____________________________
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EPISODE 10: Troppo Chap House (Featuring @cushbomb)

Hollow is the world, like a fragile hog on it's last days of Christmas, counting down the days till it sees it's family again. DON'T DATE MY SON.

Huge Furniture Man Finds His Purpose!

This piece plays on the cliche of a plucked acoustic guitar love ballad. Conflicting unstable, atmospheric moments and more stable tonal structures depict the strained emotional unease of an arranged marriage.
~ Dougal xo

Arrangements of Faces

On Auto, their most innovative and inner-reaching album yet, Eisenberg explores emotional, subjective truth, and how it interacts with an objectivity no person alone can grasp. Inspired by the solo work of Mark Hollis (Talk Talk) and David Sylvian’s Blemish, with playing skills that have already seen them climbing Best Guitarist lists and an unvarnished vocal immediacy, Wendy Eisenberg has created an album of subtle display that resonates with maximal impact. 

Releases October 16, 2020 

Wendy Eisenberg: guitar and voice 
Nick Zanca: synth, electronics, wurlitzer, organ, field recordings, tape objects, singing bowls, cello, electric bass on 4 and 7 
Austin Vaughn: drums and percussion on 2,3,4,5,9 and 10 
Nick Neuberg: drums on 6, 7, and 9 
Nick Bisceglia: electric bass on 3,9,10,11 
Brittany Karlson: upright bass on 6 and 9 
Produced by Nick Zanca 
Mastered by Simon Lancelot 
Front cover photo by Keith Haley Robitaille

Centreville

Piano Recording to Accompany Prints

The Sunken Sea are an art rock band from Melbourne.
Led by the turbulent lyrics and baritone vocals of songwriter Dougal James, they forge syrupy harmonies and intricate rhythms that evolve in unexpected ways.

Catastrophe

The Sunken Sea

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