Tycho - Weather 12 July, 2019

Tycho's fifth album, Weather is out 12 July on Mom and Pop Records / Ninja Tune:

  Quote

When setting out to record Weather I wanted to finally fulfill what had been a vision of mine since the beginning: to incorporate the most organic instrument of all, the human voice. While developing the initial concepts, I met Hannah Cottrell, aka Saint Sinner, and the vocal component of the album immediately came into focus. Our initial sessions were incredibly productive and I strongly identified with the imagery in her lyrics. Her vision folded effortlessly into mine and her voice integrated seamlessly into the sonic landscape, opening new spaces for me as a songwriter and producer. It has been inspiring working with Hannah’s voice and hearing Tycho evolve into something that I had always hoped it someday would. My philosophy in life is that when you see a path clearly laid out you must follow it to see where it leads. As an artist you have to continuously challenge yourself and evolve to make genuine artistic statements. Looking back it’s clear that every step of the past 18 years has lead to this moment and I couldn’t be happier with the result.

SIDE A

1) Easy
2) Pink & Blue
3) Japan
4) Into The Woods

SIDE B

5) Skate
6) For How Long
7) No Stress
Weather

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Ordering information can be found here: https://tycho.lnk.to/weatherAN?mc_cid=7499df0d6b&mc_eid=94ddabdce0

The new single, "Pink & Blue" is available and here is a video:

Picture the scene. Middle-Class suburbia. Sunday lunchtime. Andrew is just finishing washing the Prius. There will be time for a bit of waxing too. Laura has sent the kids off to her mother and is now busying herself with the new Latté Machine they bought from Amazon Prime because it was free delivery. Andrew has the app on his iPhone so they can shop all day if they want.

After lunch, they decide to take a trip to their local Gap clothing store in the shopping mall only 10 km away. The mall plays this really inoffensive muzak that lulls shoppers into a sort of embryonic bliss that makes them more susceptible to impulse purchases.

Andrew knows all this because he majored in Psychology from Stanford. Muzak came to prominence in the late 70s and early 80s. Andrew is actually a fan and once enjoyed George Winston's albums on the Windham Hill label.

He scrolls through his iTunes playlist for something new and finds just the thing for a Sunday drive.

"What's that inoffensive, bland drivel that makes me want to slip into a coma?" asks his wife of five years.

Andrew smiles and turns to her. "Ah, it's the new Tycho album."

out 12 juky

  On 5/14/2019 at 9:55 PM, fumi said:

 

Andrew smiles and turns to her. "Ah, it's the new Tycho album."

  On 5/14/2019 at 9:59 PM, MIXL2 said:

out 12 juky

LOL, I fat-fingered it when I thought it was June vs July...

seeing tycho at red rocks was kinda peak tycho for me. their beacon collab sounded better imo

I need to finish that story about the surreal Tycho show I went to. I know sheathe and goiter have been waiting for it for a long ass time.

  On 5/14/2019 at 10:16 PM, joshuatxuk said:

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It's okay to park those carbon-frame bikes out front. It's a safe neighbourhood since gentrification.

Bottom left guy is busy designing the new Instagram logo. He and a team of 100 people have been at it solidly night and day for three months.

It's a huge project, bringing all the design teams together.

  On 5/14/2019 at 9:55 PM, fumi said:

Picture the scene. Middle-Class suburbia. Sunday lunchtime. Andrew is just finishing washing the Prius. There will be time for a bit of waxing too. Laura has sent the kids off to her mother and is now busying herself with the new Latté Machine they bought from Amazon Prime because it was free delivery. Andrew has the app on his iPhone so they can shop all day if they want.

After lunch, they decide to take a trip to their local Gap clothing store in the shopping mall only 10 km away. The mall plays this really inoffensive muzak that lulls shoppers into a sort of embryonic bliss that makes them more susceptible to impulse purchases.

Andrew knows all this because he majored in Psychology from Stanford. Muzak came to prominence in the late 70s and early 80s. Andrew is actually a fan and once enjoyed George Winston's albums on the Windham Hill label.

He scrolls through his iTunes playlist for something new and finds just the thing for a Sunday drive.

"What's that inoffensive, bland drivel that makes me want to slip into a coma?" asks his wife of five years.

Andrew smiles and turns to her. "Ah, it's the new Tycho album."

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This works even if you replace GAP with Monaco.

I feel like I can hear that new single in my head without even clicking on that video

  Quote

When setting out to record Weather I wanted to finally fulfill what had been a vision of mine since the beginning: to incorporate the most organic instrument of all, the human voice.

Then what the fuck was this?

yikes...that track sounds like something off of those late 90s/early 00s chill out albums.

  On 5/14/2019 at 11:30 PM, Lada Laika said:

Then what the fuck was this?

 

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I think he means actual lyrics instead of just a voice sample here and there...

Then he should just say that. 

I've been a Tycho defender for a while but it bums me out that "every step of the last 18 years" has led to being just another synthpop revivalist, a decade after the fact. 

  On 5/14/2019 at 11:45 PM, Lada Laika said:

Then he should just say that. 

I've been a Tycho defender for a while but it bums me out that "every step of the last 18 years" has led to being just another synthpop revivalist, a decade after the fact. 

I think you should reserve judgement until we hear the other six tracks on the album...

I'm always up for hearing what he's working on and have been a long time fan, but I do think he started sounding more 'watered down' beginning with Awake. Dad-IDM, synthpop, whatever you want to call it, his last 2 albums just haven't been terribly interesting. Maybe it's just me but as I've gotten older I've actually started leaning in on the more unique/obtuse/strange IDM rather than dime a dozen NPR background music. 

So kinda what Fumi is saying. I love Past is Prologue and Dive, though. I will also always have a soft spot for him because he's from San Francisco. Also, they do put on a very good live show.

This new single though - not for me. Glad he's finding his demographic. I'd rather turn on AE - Elseq, myself. He's been gaining steam these past couple years, good for him. Really!

  On 5/14/2019 at 11:33 PM, zero said:

yikes...that track sounds like something off of those late 90s/early 00s chill out albums.

 

that's not a bad thing but I don't hear that

new track sounds like any other well made enjoyable 10s downtempo electronic music  - and the album art is so apropos to this trend it's absurd. I actually miss his trademark artwork aesthetic, it was so honed in and minimal it had the appeal to me on the level as a throw pillow I'd buy at Target or IKEA but I have to give him credit for those trilogy of albums being distinct and effective.

his Dive era stuff is more akin to ulrich strauss, M83, Manual or other nu-gaze

I said this earlier on reddit, I'm weirdly torn about this - I'm glad he's finally injected some "oomph" to his music after a few albums of well-crafted but meticulously recycled timbres via the vocals and arrival at full blown song-writing. On the flipside, this sounds like literally 100s of peers in the good but broad, often safe AF "downtempo" style of indie electronica that's so popular lately. it'd be hard to argue the instrumental is a shift or progression from his last two albums.

It's good though, well composed build-up and climax but I don't find it offering me anything Sylvan Esso, M83, or Phantogram haven't already done.

  On 5/15/2019 at 5:06 AM, Friendly Stranger said:

I'm always up for hearing what he's working on and have been a long time fan, but I do think he started sounding more 'watered down' beginning with Awake. Dad-IDM, synthpop, whatever you want to call it, his last 2 albums just haven't been terribly interesting. Maybe it's just me but as I've gotten older I've actually started leaning in on the more unique/obtuse/strange IDM rather than dime a dozen NPR background music. 

So kinda what Fumi is saying. I love Past is Prologue and Dive, though. I will also always have a soft spot for him because he's from San Francisco. Also, they do put on a very good live show

This, some friends of mine were really into the last albums as musicians themselves but they (awake and epoch) just did not click with me. I'd gladly argue the merits of Dive being something of a small masterpiece, mini classic of sorts even but more and more it seems like a flash-in-the pan moment where he hit his stride. I just feel he's joined the same club as Com Truise where he's boxed himself into this distinct sound that will perpetually please a core group of fans but never really go anywhere beyond incremental tweaking - so much so a true change in direction would be risky AF. Lone has also gotten into this albeit I'm such a sucker for rave stabs and breakbeat fine tuning it's still fresh even though he's re-inventing the wheel just as much. That's why the full-blown vocals on this seem jarring when they are really a fairly conservative new shift. Also his live show has validated his music a lot - they are legit live and really filled a niche early on for audiences few other acts were doing. They are way better than most of the EDM "live bands" that have similar followings and simultaneously more fun and appealing than say, jazz or modern classical leaning electronic acts.

I initially didn't like the vocal version when I first heard it (admittedly over shitty computer speakers), but listening to it while working out later in the day, I do like the track. The instrumental version is nice, but the vocals actually do make it a better song.

I think he is slowly, carefully evolving his music, and this is the beginning of the next phase in that evolution.

I find his music enjoyable and I almost always have a Tycho track in my playlists. I don't think music has to always be innovative or move in a different direction to still be enjoyable.

  On 5/15/2019 at 3:34 PM, Joyrex said:

I find his music enjoyable and I almost always have a Tycho track in my playlists. I don't think music has to always be innovative or move in a different direction to still be enjoyable.

I absolutely agree, it applies to art in general, which is why I don't really want to push that as a critique. Some of my favorite artists have a similar ethos and discography with only incremental and nuanced shifts in their distinct sounds. I can always recommend them but never claim they've really pushed the envelope in terms of style development or genre hopping. 

  On 5/15/2019 at 4:21 PM, joshuatxuk said:

I absolutely agree, it applies to art in general, which is why I don't really want to push that as a critique. Some of my favorite artists have a similar ethos and discography with only incremental and nuanced shifts in their distinct sounds. I can always recommend them but never claim they've really pushed the envelope in terms of style development or genre hopping. 

I agree as well, but it shouldn't always be derivative of someone else's sound. He kind of went from a good BoC clone to a good version of this chillwave thing that just sounds like a dime-a-dozen spotify commercial thing. If this song came on in a mix, you'd never know it was Tycho, but you also really wouldn't care who it was because it is just so, well, normal...

  On 5/15/2019 at 5:06 AM, Friendly Stranger said:

I love Past is Prologue and Dive, though.

Me too, although I didn't come around to Past is Prologue until after I heard Dive. I couldn't get past him so obviously ripping off BoC when he first came on the scene and never gave Sunrise Projector much of a fair shot at the time. I'm not sure if you were on WATMM back then, but there was some major Tycho bashing here when that came out. I think he even posted somewhere that he hadn't even heard much BoC before he started making music to try and distance himself from the BoC clone label that was dumped on him.

For me it's Dive > Past is Prologue > Awake > Epoch. In fact I don't think I've listened to Epoch all the way through more than once because I found it so unremarkable.

  On 5/15/2019 at 5:54 PM, zero said:

Me too, although I didn't come around to Past is Prologue until after I heard Dive. I couldn't get past him so obviously ripping off BoC when he first came on the scene and never gave Sunrise Projector much of a fair shot at the time. I'm not sure if you were on WATMM back then, but there was some major Tycho bashing here when that came out. I think he even posted somewhere that he hadn't even heard much BoC before he started making music to try and distance himself from the BoC clone label that was dumped on him.

For me it's Dive > Past is Prologue > Awake > Epoch. In fact I don't think I've listened to Epoch all the way through more than once because I found it so unremarkable.

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Yeah those posts got quite vicious and heated and friend/acquaintance of Scott even chimed in. There was some healthy debate over the merits of artistry, originality, drawing the line of aping versus being influenced by, homage versus "in the vein of", etc. awepittance in his usual cynical sharp self ended up conceding to this metaphor I still think of now - in his opinion of how Tycho is more of an "artisan" producer than an artist when it came to past is prologue - akin to a carpenter or classical musician but in this case BoC-esque IDM. basically that ripping off / blatant imitation isn't itself a bad thing, especially when so well executed and given little new flourishes, and I took that as middle ground that often isn't really addressed. People usually just get often get highly dismissive or defensive. Also, again this back in 2009 or whatever, 2011 Past is Prologue was far more akin to BoC than say Black Moth Super Rainbow, Christ, or Casino Versus Japan - who were all considered similar to Boards, and Tychowas just about to shift to his now unique and trademark sound.

  On 5/15/2019 at 5:54 PM, zero said:

Me too, although I didn't come around to Past is Prologue until after I heard Dive. I couldn't get past him so obviously ripping off BoC when he first came on the scene and never gave Sunrise Projector much of a fair shot at the time. I'm not sure if you were on WATMM back then, but there was some major Tycho bashing here when that came out. I think he even posted somewhere that he hadn't even heard much BoC before he started making music to try and distance himself from the BoC clone label that was dumped on him.

For me it's Dive > Past is Prologue > Awake > Epoch. In fact I don't think I've listened to Epoch all the way through more than once because I found it so unremarkable.

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Dive is far and away his best work to date. There were individual tracks on Epoch that I liked better than anything on Awake but I agree that Awake as a whole is the superior album of the two.

I honestly listen to all four releases - I don't have one particular favourite over the other, but I guess if I had to rank them it would be :

Dive > Epoch > Awake > Past is Prologue. Rory aka Nitemoves drumming on Awake is just too damn good.