TYCHO drops two new singles from forthcoming album 'Infinite Health' out August 30th, on Ninja Tune.
‘Infinite Health’ is the captivating and evocative sixth album by Tycho, the project of celebrated San Francisco songwriter, musician and producer Scott Hansen. The album will be released onAugust 30 via Mom + Pop Records in the U.S. and Ninja Tune in the rest of the world.
Following previous single “Phantom” ,today Tycho presents a soliloquey in electronics, dropping two contrasting tracks that show the breadth of mood and nuance on this intimate and heart-felt new record.
"Green and Devices represent the conceptual bookends of the forthcoming album, Infinite Health"
he comments
"I wanted to illustrate this tension with a set of sonically contrasting songs."
Hansen originally wrote “Devices” for a film soundtrack; it ended up on the cutting room floor, but Hansen thought to revisit it, presenting it now as a moody, atmospheric, dance-floor ready cut. For him, the track evokes moving to downtown Sacramento in the late ‘90s, as he fell in love with electronic music and got his creative bearings.
"Devices represents the struggle to stay connected to nature and our own humanity in the modern world. A couple of my first synths were trance-centric,”
Hansen recalls of those early days.
“I wanted to reference them in some way without literally making a song like that.”
It is juxtaposed with counterpart single today, the gorgeous, downtempo “Green”, which is of utmost personal significance to Hansen — it evokes the American River in California, which he grew up near.
“That’s a really nostalgic, kind of meaningful song for me,”
Hansen says, adding that his guitar-based compositions list toward introspection.
"Green is an elegy to my childhood home, a once-rural town on the outskirts of Sacramento where I spent my youth forging a deep connection with nature"he continues."I have spent my adult life channeling that experience into music."
"Green" comes with visuals by Charles Bergquist, who comments:
"From my perspective on the video, Scott has a very personal and youthful connection to the American River. We ventured out with our small crew and an array of cameras in a raft on a calm Monday in July. We attempted to create more than a visualiser and more of a “memory film” capturing the essence of what it’s like to ride down the American River on a hot summer day."
Hansen says new album 'Infinite Health' is
"about hope for the future and a requiem for the past."
he explains
"I kept thinking back to the high-water mark scene in Fear and Loathing, the author sitting at a typewriter looking out a window onto his past, trying to find meaning in the chaos.
Infinite Health is about creating a space for healing and reflection, a mantra for spiritual, emotional, and physical healing.
At the end of the day, all we really have is our health – both physical and mental – and we wish infinite health to our family and friends. So in those ways, infinite health is a salutation and an imperative."
Sonically, the record sees him return to a more electronic-based production style,
"focusing on breaks, drums and rhythmic elements. Then, using that as the foundation, and having all the instrumentation follow that lead, as opposed to the other way around.”
he says.
Since the project’s inception in 2001, Scott Hansen has continued to evolve the Tycho sound as a leader in the electronic arena. Along the way, Tycho has earned two GRAMMY nominations and produced remixes and collaborated with countless notable artists such as ODESZA, Maggie Rogers, Little Dragon, Leon Bridges, and Death Cab for Cutie.
Now, Hansen has followed up 2020’s 'Simulcast', a sister album to 2019’s 'Weather', with this captivating new offering. Although it retains the personnel of recent works — as usual, Zac Brown shares guitar, and Rory O’Connor’s behind the kit, Hansen considers 'Infinite Health' to mark a fourth era for Tycho.
Hansen dove into the ‘Infinite Health’ recording process with aural distinctiveness, and concision, as artistic goals
.“The big overarching concept, at least on the technical side, is ‘Let’s try to make this sound as different as possible, while still holding true to our roots”
he explains.
These were partly achieved through an emphasis on the uptempo, danceable elements of Tycho’s sound, and keen co-production by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor. By utilizing a palette of chopped up drums and warm, rounded guitars, 'Infinite Health' becomes its own miniature world.
‘Infinite Health’ is your way station to a fresh, updated world for Tycho. After more than two decades, Hansen’s still at the vanguard of electronic music, with so much more to say through his samplers and synths.
Photo by Jamie James Medina
‘Infinite Health’ will be released on August 30th
via Mom + Pop Records in the U.S. and Ninja Tune in the rest of the world.
Pre-order/pre-save here.
Tycho live dates:
Fri 13 Sep – Ogden Twilight Concert Series – Ogden, UT, US
Sat 14 Sep – Knitting Factory – Boise, ID, US
Sun 15 Sep – McDonald Theatre – Eugene, OR, US
Tue 17 Sep – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR, US
Wed 18 Sep – Hollywood Theatre – Vancouver, BC, CA
Thu 19 Sep – Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WA, US
Fri 20 Sep – Knitting Factory – Spokane, WA, US
Sat 21 Sep – The Elm – Bozeman, MT, US
Mon 23 Sep – Wilma – Missoula, MT, US
Wed 25 Sep – Mission – Denver, CO, US
Fri 27 Sep - Harrah's Lake Tahoe - Stateline, NV, US
Sat 28 Sep – Portola Music Festival – San Francisco, CA, US
Tue 29 Oct – Sound – San Diego, CA, US
Wed 30 Oct – Van Buren – Phoenix, AZ, US
Thu 31 Oct – Meow Wolf – Santa Fe, NM, US
Sun 03 Nov – Granada – Dallas, TX, US
Mon 04 Nov – White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX, US
Thu 07 Nov – Eastern – Atlanta, GA, US
Fri 08 Nov – The Caverns – Pelham, TN, US
Sat 09 Nov - Jefferson Theater - Charlottesville, VA, US
Sun 10 Nov – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA, US
Mon 11 Nov – Royale – Boston, MA, US
Tue 12 Nov – Brooklyn Steel – New York City, NY, US
Thu 14 Nov – History – Toronto, ON, CA
Fri 15 Nov – Salt Shed – Chicago, IL, US
Sat 16 Nov – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN, US
buy tickets here