A Tycho-delic Experience

Thursday, 26 January 2012 12:22

Ambient electronic artist Tycho headlined a bill at Double Down Tuesday night showcasing several facets of electronic music. 

Hundred Waters played first and had the largest ensemble, which included both analog and electronic instruments. The music by this Gainesville band, which was playing only its second show, was cheerful, upbeat and infectious.

New York electronic duo Beacon—currently on tour with Tycho—held down the middle slot. Their music was moody but rhythmic, a postmodern ambient soul music with emotion.

Tycho, a.k.a. Scott Hansen, played a set of ambient soundscapes for an appreciative crowd. Tycho's band consisted of a bassist (and occasional guitar player) and a drummer who was very busy trying to keep up with the implied rhythms of Scott’s keys, knobs and pedals. Scott also played some guitar when not busy triggering and twiddling electronic music.

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The lighting was supplied by projected video on a giant screen behind the band, which bathed the band in dynamic light and gave abstract context to the soundscapes with seemingly unrelated imagery. The video ran the gamut from bizarre footage in strange colors to the kind of psychedelic movement one would expect from San Francisco hippie bands (Scott, also a visual artist, is from San Fran).

By John Davisson