Tycho - "Awake World Tour" (Review)

Tycho in Bologna, Italy

A Review By: Troy Manley

Tycho, an ambient instrumental outfit based out of San Francisco, started as the brainchild of Scott Hansen. With a number of albums under his belt - Sunrise Projector (2004) and Past in Prologue (2006) - Scott released his third wildly successful album, Dive, in 2011 with the help of guitarist, Zac Brown. Scott and Zac began touring as a live band with backing from Rory O'Connor on Drums and Joe Davancens on bass guitar, keyboards, and synthesizers. (Check out Rory's side-project, Nitemoves) During live performances, Scott utilizes synthesizers, and rocks out on the guitar and bass, all while managing the visual programming of the performance; with Zac rounding things out on bass guitar and electric guitar.

Tycho in Hamburg, Germany

While performing, all the guitars are played live by either Scott or Zac, and the bass is also played live with the exception of the song Hours. Drums are played live by Rory, and the lead synths are also produced live on stage. Often times, Scott triggers samples with foot pedals while rocking out on his guitar. At every show they strive to maintain the intricate balance between the fluidity of a live show and loyalty to the sound of the album.

 In 2014, Tycho released their 4th full length album, Awake, and went on a world tour to support it, playing 33 shows in 13 countries. Lucky enough to catch 3 of those shows in 3 different countries - Hamburg, Germany; Warsaw, Poland; and Bologna, Italy - Tycho has solidified themselves on my list of top groups currently touring. Working their way through some of their best stuff, they casually busted out Adrift, Apogee, L, Dye, Hours, See, Elegy, Past is Prologue, PBS, A Walk, and Spectre before calling it a night and heading off stage. After the roaring crowds convinced them to return, Scott came up alone and played a bass heavy remix of Awake by Com Truise - included below - before the rest of the gang would rejoin him onstage and nonchalantly go flawlessly into the original cut of the track. They would then finish up the encore with a favorite off their newest album, Montana. 

Tycho in Warsaw, Poland

The crowd at all three shows were very receptive to what these guys were doing on stage, and rightfully so. They played with precision and tact every time while maintaining a high level of energy (well, as high as you can while playing ambient downtempo music) and did an awesome job switching up the flow of the tracks to keep the crowds engaged. After seeing these guys 5 times total - Red Rocks 2013 w/STS9 & Electric Forest 2014 being the 2 other shows - it's easy to say that anytime these guys come around again, a certain someone will be in attendance.


If you haven't yet, do yourself a favor and check out their newest album - included below - and if you dig it, support the band by picking it up HERE and going to a show when they come near you. All in all, I give this tour an A++ rating. 10/10, would attend again.

Check out a video of "See" from their show in Hamburg, Germany below.

Here's the remix mentioned earlier.

Here's their newest album, Awake.