Tycho - Epoch


Tycho
Epoch
2016
Soundcloud

Sunsets, Sunrises, Space, Matter, Existence.. all these things, these huge ideas that we often can't put in to words Tycho is able to put into music. He always has been able to, it's his absolute gift. Because there are no lyrics in his music you are able to put yourself right in the middle of it, it surrounds you and eventually becomes you. I am well aware as I write this that what I'm saying sounds totally nuts, and like I am projecting a great deal on to Tycho's music, but that's the point. Put whatever you want on to his music and it will hold up, take it on and soar. Epoch is not just another ambient jam sesh, it's an idea made sonic. However it is not just floating around in a soundscape on "Horizon" he breaks into this dance beat towards the end that feels so damn good to move to. It's almost House music but it never fully goes there it holds on to it's spacey vibe. By the time the first two tracks have finished you have to take a step back and catch your breath because they are so very dense, yet so incredibly good. When things slow down a bit like on "Receiver" the sound is still so rich and engaging that you cannot help be remain transfixed. The title track is where we really get some classic Tycho, a four on the floor beat surrounded by swirling synths and guitars coming together to make something really great.

What is most fascinating about Tycho and his music is the patience and restraint He is able to show. "Division" the first single Tycho released really shows the evolution that he has gone through from being a purely electronic producer to now a full band making the sound He was always trying to capture via keyboard. Very little about Epoch feels electronic, as is the case with much of Tycho, instead there is the innate sense of life and organic things going on. "Source" is skittery but that choppiness is created with drum beats rather than with electronic sounds, something really new and really novel. Epoch was released about a month after recording was complete according to Tycho, and did not really go through the whole promotion machine. What this does is give the album this almost secret feel, like you are in on something no one else is, and it also feels incredibly fresh despite having no lyrics. Epcoh closes with the sweet and delicate "Field" gliding you in for a soft landing on what is otherwise an album of heavy hitters. Music like the kind Tycho makes does not come around to often, able to bridge the gap between ambient and pop, but on this record He does it incredibly well. No Man's Sky was a video game that promised exploration of new and exciting planets in a limitless galaxy, the game over promised and under delivered, but Epoch is just that, a journey to new worlds via music, and a damn good one at that.

9.1 out of 10

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