Yet Tycho are certainly not a group that could be considered ambient - just instrumental. Ambient music broke ground just like any other genre, and nowadays there’s entire websites like and A Closer Listen constantly championing new voices in the ambient scene, while Joe Muggs absolutely comprehensive overview of the ambient albums available on Bandcamp went viral earlier this year because it exposed so many to the sheer depths and details of a genre that wasn’t only finding its cultural foothold but also its commercial one as well. Thus, with heightened interest in the genre, it’s no wonder that touchstones like Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works 85-92 and Oval’s 94 Diskont have been gradually appearing on more and more all-genre “greatest album of all time” lists, and for good reason. Outside of opener Beacon performing one vocal take with the group, the rest of the show featured Tycho building up their elaborate sonic structures from scratch to an absolutely rapturous reception, no vocals needed.
When attending a spring Chicago date for Grammy-nominated soundscapers Tycho, the venue was at capacity with people overflowing from the tightly contained pit. In a time of truly fiery political rhetoric, people have been diving ears-first into the expansive realms of ambient/instrumental music in droves, putting on drawn-out and deliberate mood pieces to chill out to or do work to or meditate to, and while the eternal question of whether using ambient music for those purposes belies the artistry that went into it, make no mistake: the art is appreciated. It’s pretty astounding how casual and raucous the ambient/instrumental crowd is these days.
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