Tycho

The electronic project Tycho originated with California-based producer and graphic artist Scott Hansen, evolving into a widely touring ensemble that has placed multiple albums on the Billboard charts. Hansen handled the earliest recordings alone, including 2006's Past Is Prologue, which delivered warm, melody-driven downtempo IDM steeped in the style of Boards of Canada and rich with nostalgic samples. The act expanded to a full band in 2010; beginning with the 2011 album Dive, the sound grew more cohesive and live-oriented, foregrounding guitar lines and unfolding as self-contained electronic dream-pop compositions instead of fragmentary mood sketches. After finishing a trilogy of releases with 2016's Epoch, Tycho refined its approach further and introduced vocals on the 2019 album Weather. A subsequent vocal track, "Only Love," featuring Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard, appeared in 2021, followed by the instrumental album Infinite Health in 2024.

Tycho first surfaced in 2002 via the self-released four-track EP The Science of Patterns. Hansen's debut full-length, Sunrise Projector, came out in 2004 on Gammaphone; after Merck reissued it in 2006 as Past Is Prologue, he aligned with Ghostly International. There he issued the singles and EPs "The Daydream," "Adrift," and "Coastal Brake" while supplying visuals and design under the ISO50 alias. Like many Ghostly acts, Tycho gained visibility through Cartoon Network's Adult Swim late-night block and site, both as background music and via the 2008 compilation Ghostly Swim.

In 2010 Hansen assembled a live lineup comprising guitarist and bassist Zac Brown, drummer Rory O'Connor, and bass guitarist/keyboardist Joe Davancens. The group quickly became a festival and touring draw, selling out headline runs. Dive arrived on Ghostly in 2011 to strong notices, while a vinyl edition of Past Is Prologue returned to the label in 2013. The proper follow-up Awake landed in early 2014, reaching number 23 on the Billboard Top 200—an uncommon achievement for an IDM release. After continued road work and design projects, Tycho issued the remix collection Awake Remixes on Ghostly in early 2016. Later that year the singles "Division" and "Epoch" preceded the surprise September release of Epoch, which earned a 2017 Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album. A rush of singles in early 2019 preceded the July arrival of the fifth album, Weather, on Mom + Pop Music/Ninja Tune; the Grammy-nominated set shifted toward a tighter, pop-oriented focus, placing Saint Sinner's vocals on five of its eight tracks. The instrumental companion Simulcast followed in 2020, as did Weather Remixes featuring contributions from Com Truise, Satin Jackets, and others. The standalone single "Only Love" with Ben Gibbard emerged in July 2021. Tycho curated a volume of the Back to Mine series in 2022, then released the upbeat instrumental "Time to Run" in 2023; Infinite Health continued that instrumental direction the next year.