After the high noon sun, the boys of Tycho arrived from Japan to sit down and chat with the Philippine media. Scott Hansen together with his band mates Zac Brown, Rory O’Connor and Joe Davancens were welcomed at the Solaire Resort and Casino for a cozy press conference. Here are some of the questions and answers we were able to gather.

On your previous LPs, you’ve been playing alone. How does it work for you with having a band right now?
It’s actually made it a lot easier, and more comfortable. It’s also added to the show. It feels more visceral, and makes it more enjoyable. The whole idea behind Awake was to take what we do live and take that energy and translate it into a record.

Compared to your previous releases, Awake has noticeable changes on your style. What can you say about that?
Right on the dive, Zac and I started working together in a writing capacity. We hooked up with Rory and started playing deconstructed songs. We played it differently live than on the record. That’s what we wanted to accomplish with Awake. There was a definite shift in energy and focus. We spent a lot of time at the end of the process on the arrangements, stripping things down and making the ideas more concise.

Is there any similarity in the process when you create music and graphic design? Do they complement each other during the process?
Yeah, absolutely. There are big parallels. I don’t see a big difference between the processes. The software might change, but really it’s about layering and experimenting. It’s a process of trying new things. There’s a big overlap there. At the end of the day, they’re telling two sides to the same story. They’re different facets of a bigger picture.

What do you think is the most challenging part of the process?
When we work in the studio we try to capture live instrumentation—the drums, particularly, and amps. That kind of stuff. Real-world stuff. Once you get it into a computer, you can chop away. The real world stuff is difficult. Working within the context of a band has added a new component. In Awake, that’s the time we spent the most on: working on arrangements, production, and live material.

Can you describe your reception of your Asian audience? Is there any difference from how they perceive you guys?
It’s been very respectful. In Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, there were seated shows, like theaters. There’s a very quiet kind of respectful show. They show their appreciation between the songs, but then in some places, people are just going kinda crazy. We’ve been overwhelmed. It’s been amazing.

How did you translate your music into a live performance, and how did you subsequently plan it out to make it so organic-like?
We usually spend a lot of time before the Awake tours stripping everything down, and figuring what we could recreate in live instrumentation. With Rory, a lot of his stuff is the original drumming, so that was a little easier, but mostly me and Zac, we had to translate what we’ve done in the studio to make it sound it as much as the record as we could, but at the same time we wanted to change a little, so people are experiencing something different in the shows.

In Reddit AMA, you mentioned you find high deserts inspiring. Would love to hear you elaborate.
As a kid, me and my family spent a lot of time traveling around the Western United States, so that was always at the core of how I experienced nature—in those open spaces. When we started touring a lot after Dive, we started seeing a lot more of that, and I think that brought me full circle from when I was a kid to revisiting that with the work. That’s where Awake was aesthetically at least for me, was about is to try and capture the way you feel when you’re in those open spaces.

I noticed that you create different posters for each city. How do you come up with them?
That’s why I try to wait until I’m close to that place to create them, so I get some sense of what it’s going to be like, and get inspired by it. It’s subjective on one level because it’s my personal experience wherever I have to be. It might be external things or something within that environment. Usually, it’s whatever comes to mind at that time, and also any preconceived notions I’ve had about that place.

How did you come up with the poster for the Philippines?
I knew it was warm and that it was close to the equator. The sun is always the central element in my work visually. I knew I wanted to incorporate that in some way. The gold texture is something that immediately occurred to me, and the aqua just felt like what my idea of here was. It may or may not have any foundation in reality, but for me, that’s what came out when I tried to visualize.

Thank you. We’re excited to watch you play tomorrow.
Thank you too. We’re excited too.

As the conference came to a close, Scott gave a shout out to Filipinos, inviting them to come to his show, “Hope to see you. We really appreciate everybody for welcoming us to the Philippines!”

Catch Tycho live tonight at The Theater, Solaire Resort, and be part of the Tycho Awake World Tour Manila. You can still get tickets at Ticketworld!

Audio transcribed by Isabel R. Matias. Questions came from the different Philippine media groups, and a few Twitter submissions.