September has brought a flurry of music to The Blue Note. A good deal of hype surrounds the arrival of Odd Future, which creates fun, raw and socially controversial hip-hop, and Hoodie Allen, one of the many Caucasian rappers attempting to carry the torch that Marshall Mathers set ablaze over a decade ago. Both the bizarre SoCal skaters and the Long Island hipster-hopper have a lot of energy to their music, and both attracted lively crowds. But for those with mellower ears, there is San Franciscan [Tycho](https://soundcloud.com/tycho/tycho-hours), known to his parents and the federal government as Scott Hansen.
Tycho has been Hansen’s musical alter ego since 2002, and a decade of working toward his vision of down-tempo shows and the musical progress he has made and in his artistic evolution. Eleven months ago, he released the _Dive_ LP, a 10-track effort that brings to mind the feeling of standing in the Atlantic while watching the summer heat flicker and bounce off a strip of asphalt. This feeling becomes apparent from the very beginning of the album as “A Walk” encompasses and massages the consciousness with a matrix of synthesizers and sleepy drums. The album’s eponymous single is perfectly placed amongst its comrades and provides a peaceful high that is eventually resolved through “Epigram” and “Elegy.” As with all chillwave releases, there are some dry spots where Hansen struggles to maintain movement and energy, but as a whole he mixes in many different melodies and musical elements. His waves of sound are the accompanying soundtrack to a relaxing beach vacation, perhaps on a hammock with a significant other and a cool, refreshing beverage.
Mr. Hansen’s performances are renowned for their live instrumentation, abstract visuals and syncopated lighting displays. As one would expect from a man who makes feel-good music designed to up the listener’s vibes, his shows are designed to be welcoming to anyone in the mood for a night of intelligent dance music and the sort of calm energy that one associates with the nicer parts of the Bay Area and its inhabitants’ patronage of various medical dispensaries. Attendees to Mr. Hansen’s performance at The Blue Note will also be treated to the sounds of opening act [18 Carat Affair](https://soundcloud.com/18carataffair/kaleidoscopics). They are similar to Tycho’s music in that both create sounds meant to fill the room and echo from floor to ceiling. However, while Tycho usually makes music that starts with a central theme and then manipulates it to become a new entity, 18 Carat Affair stacks recordings and synths on top of each other to create complex puzzles of sound that ring of 1980s elevator music with better drums.