Tycho - Past is Prologue

Past is Prologue is Tycho's, aka Scott Hansen's, first album, and it's electronica dripping with delicious, shimmering soundscapes. Like the gorgeous artwork he has personally done for all his albums (he used to be a graphic designer), Past is impressively meticulous and beautiful.

The familiar, dark dreaminess of Boards of Canada echoes through various avenues of the album, but Scott Hansen sets himself apart from their work by livening the dreamy soundscapes with beats and grooves that have your foot tapping throughout. Including a strong presence of tempo was a smart move on his part; the tempo keeps the listener on his feet as the spaciness goes on, whereas other ambient works leave you floating aimlessly. That sort of floating can sound/feel amazing, but somehow having some sort of a beat thrown in the dreamy melodies make the tracks more... clear, or fresh.

Skillfully, Hansen stays safely away from a Techno/dance-club ecstasy sound. That sort of music tends to be far too one-track and in-your-face. Scott Hansen knows that the delicate tracks of Past (and of Tycho's entire discography) would be mangled and shredded like ribbons if he were to use a fat, stupid Techno beat. What he does use to enforce rhythm is a cool, sleek snare/bass affair that fits right in with the gentle, entrancing melodies.

Past is Prologue is not strikingly different from other ambient/electronic works, but it stands out by being groovy and mesmerizing as hell. Funky, refreshing, dreamy, hypnotizing. If you liked the Boards of Canada album that I posted, or if you like electronica stuff in general, you should definitely give this album a try. If you like it, I urge you to support this guy by buying his stuff. The artwork/ presentation of his CDs and LPs is probably the best tangible work made by a band/artist. On top of that, Tycho is not very well known, and I wanna see him make more music.

Best track to start out with:

Dictaphone's Lament

Pbs

Past is Prologue

The Disconnect

A Circular Reeducation

Ohkami no Jikan

This is not an actual album of theirs that I am posting... merely three songs that I scraped off the internet (searched all night, its ALL I can find). There's one actual album of theirs called Mort Nuit, and as soon as I get that album (which may be never) I'll be sure to post it.

But yes, three long trippy jams by one of the best bands from the Japanese Psychedelia era... these guys are really chill and beautiful; the guitars are full of feedback and wonder and the whole thing kinda jazzes out into this awesome spacey noisy jam. Some of the best Psychedelic/Rock/ Garage/ whatever. You know who you are, if this is you're kind of thing, then don't wait any longer and grab what little you can of this precious band, because trust me, there's not a lot of them out there. They're a diamond in the rough for sure.

狼の時間

Stalaggh - Projekt Misanthropia

Woah... how to put Stalaggh into words... Well, its unlike anything I've ever heard before. Its one of the most disturbing and frightening things I've ever listened to.

I guess if you had to describe it, Stalaggh plays noise/drone/freak, with recordings of actual patients from a mental hospital screaming and crying. It's like listening to the mass electrocution of a room full of people. Really just totally fucking disturbing. Apparently, one of the used patients, a guy who stabbed his mother over 30 times, almost killed one of the anonymous band members during recording.

For the most part, if you're into brutal music, this is fucking it. There's no substitute. Everything else pales in comparison. Cannibal Corpse and other bands that call themselves brutal and have blood on their album covers are just a joke compared to this. Seriously, this album spooks me more than most of the horror movies I've seen.

Depending on your tastes in music, this is either absolutely essential to have, or something you want to avoid at all costs.

Oh, it's also great for Halloween parties.