Photo by Reuben Wu
With his usual musical output being quite dreamy and always a bit out of space it might be an interestung experience for us all to learn a bit more about Scott Hansen’s musical influences. You might better know the Californian musician and designer under his alias TYCHO. His latest album Awake has just been released and once again it invites all its listeners to a dreamy trip away from their usual and partly unfriendly environment. And to celebrate his new record and his current tour Mr. Hansen was kind enough to share some of his current favourites with NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION in form of a new ‘Seven Songs’ feature.
Get ready to discover the musical favourites of TYCHO on the following seven pages, featuring such interesting choices like VAMPIRE WEEKEND or ATOMS FOR PEACE. And yes, indeed – it might even invite you to dream a bit. And if you make it to the last page you can also win a few great goodies by TYCHO.
Photo by Reuben Wu
01. Gardens & Villa – ‘Colony Glen’
The poppy 80’s influenced arrangement here is veiled by some dark imagery by way of Chris Lynch’s lyrics. The juxtaposition strikes a nice balance and there’s just something about this song that resonates with me on a nostalgic level.
Photo by Reuben Wu
02. Dauwd – What’s There
Dauwd introduced me to the world of minimal house; he blends two seemingly contradictory aesthetics seamlessly. As stripped down and minimal as his mixes are, there is still this warmth to the music, it breathes in this perfect way. What’s There, Heat Division, and Ikopol were on heaviest rotation in terms of electronic music for me last year.
Photo by Reuben Wu
03. Vampire Weekend – Step
This is my pop indulgence. This Ariel Rechtshaid produced track is so full of beauty and nostalgia it’s overwhelming. Ezra Koenig’s voice floats over the whole affair like a ballon and goes stratospheric at the shift in the chorus.
Photo by Reuben Wu
04. Atoms for Peace – Dropped
The contrast here is so beautiful. There’s this tension and simplicity to the first part and then Flea’s bass drops in and it’s just this transcendent moment where all these memories are swirling around. I was lucky enough to see them perform this song live at Treasure Island in San Francisco and the entire performance was one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever seen; it was one of those rare moments for me when seeing the music performed live recontextualized the album and after that it really had new meaning for me.
Photo by Reuben Wu
05. White Denim – Street Joy
This is a timeless ballad and a song I keep coming back to. It’s so haunting, like digging through some old boxes and finding a teenage love letter that never got sent. Also might be my favorite music video ever.
Photo by Reuben Wu
06. Mahogany – One Plus One Equals Three or More
I always come back to this song for the bass, I think it influenced a lot of my playing on the new record. There’s this raw, frenetic energy, the intro is so heavy.
Photo by Reuben Wu
07. Airbird & Napoleon – In The Zone
This is just a perfect mix. It breathes, so much warmth. I don’t get exposed to a lot of new electronic music but this was definitely a standout from last year.
NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION presents the upcoming TYCHO show at Berlin’s Bi Nuu on March the 30th. To celebrate this event we’re giving away one big package – it includes the new album in CD-form, one shirt and 1×2 guestlist spots for the show in Berlin. Please be aware – you can only participate if you’ll attend the show in Berlin. Just write us a mail with your full name, your shirt size and the subject ‘Tycho’ to win@nbhap.com. Good luck!
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