Tycho Brahe News

ten years and a new design

2009-07-06T01:16:00.002+10:00

Ten years ago (to the day!) I created "the first unofficial tycho brahe fanboy page" as part of my homepage. It was common practice back then to include a 'what's new' page, which is how I know the date :)

The site was certainly a product of its time, comprised almost entirely of text and including a splash page (with the impractical but fondly-remembered "In the beginning was the voice." intro - shown on the left). It was the days of dialup and the MP3 page held only tiny snippets, and even then we had to explain where to get some software to play them.

Over the past decade that little page has grown significantly and ultimately become about as official as an "unofficial" site can be. It's had several addresses and lived on at least three webhosts that I can recall. It has been up, down, hacked, restored and on a couple of memorable occasions nearly killed by sudden traffic spikes.

In all that time the site has really only had two designs, the original text-only and the slighly-updated grey-bars-and-text design.

So to celebrate the site's tenth birthday I present the third design, an evolution of the minimal look that has served us well for so long - just with the radical innovation of spot colour ;) I've tried to tap into the wonderful clean-and-bold aspects of the synthpop aesthetic. I hope you like it.

There are probably some bugs to iron out and a few corners of the site are still being migrated into the design; if you hit any major problems please drop us a line. But otherwise, it's ready to enjoy.

I must give credit to Leah for helping with this build, providing invaluable design advice and enduring my random "hey can you look at this?" demands. Also thanks to Alastair who helped with the header graphic. Finally I'm compelled to mention an unlikely hero: my tiny little netbook (Asus Eeepc 1000h) which has been used for this entire rebuild, as my desktop machine blew up just before I started.

- heretic

surgery for arthur linndrum

2009-07-05T18:23:00.003+10:00

Ken and Georgina are back from a quick trip to the USA and all the craziness there surrounding the death of Michael Jackson. The trip also included a very quick visit to Mutato Muzika, essentially the headquarters for DEVO. Arthur Linndrum made the trip as well for some repair work and modification, courtesy of probably the world's most famous and respected tech guy, Bruce Forat of Forat Electronics (photo at left - Bruce, Ken and Arthur Linndrum).

Bruce has worked on Linn equipment for a huge roster of famous artists, including Giorgio Moroder, Blondie, Prince, Madonna, all of the various Jackson incarnations including Michael and Janet, Def Leppard, Jam & Lewis - and many, many more. Bruce was kind enough to share a few interesting stories about some of those artists, which I probably shouldn't put into print here - you'll have to ask me at the next gig.

Speaking of which, Tycho is set for a run of shows at Brisbane's legendary Ric's Bar, 321 Brunswick Street Fortitude Valley. The first show is scheduled for Thursday August 13th, as always at Ric's entry will be free. Further details including support act and times will be posted here as soon as they are available.

tycho meets arthur barrow in LA

2009-06-25T18:35:00.005+10:00

"Arthur who," I hear you say...? Arthur is best known for his time as Frank Zappa's bass player and clonemeister, but at Tycho Central he is revered as Giorgio Moroder's mid '80s keyboard guy, Linndrum programmer, bass player and go-to guy. He's worked with heaps of famous names from Diana Ross to Irene Cara to Berlin to Billy Idol and was also seen in Oliver Stone's movie "The Doors" playing the Hammond. Arthur is a living legend and is also a lovely guy who makes a great coffee. Here's me with Arthur last week at his Los Angeles studio, "Lotek", with his tasty Serge modular synth and Oberheim Xpander in the background. Arthur will be contributing some keyboard, bass and guitar parts to a special remix of "1985", when his Jupiter 8 synth is back from the repair shop! It was a privilege to meet Arthur, all the more so since the Tycho Linndrum is named after him ("Arthur Linndrum").

human league tour report

2009-05-29T10:42:00.003+10:00

Do you want to know of the terror/elation of being offered an interstate tour support with your idolised band with only 96 hours notice and no rehearsal time?

This was the astounding situation Tycho found themselves in earlier this year when a Human League support was offered out of left field. To the credit of all Tycho crew involved, we not only managed to play these shows, but we seriously *kicked ass*!!! The tour report is now up with photos, and you'll see that we don't take ourselves *too* seriously :-)

Settle in with a cuppa (or a beersky), and have a read here: http://www.tycho.com.au/events/200903-omg-tour.html

tycho brahe with pseudo echo

2009-05-20T23:53:00.003+10:00

It's difficult to believe, but it's been over 10 years since Tycho Brahe first played a show with Aussie synthpop icons Pseudo Echo, who are heading north once again.

Initially we had hoped to hook up with our southern mates for all four upcoming Queensland shows but due to other committments we could only do two of these shows - Victoria Point (Brisbane) and Coolangatta.

This time through, Pseudo Echo has the "Funkytown" era line-up that most of us Countdown kids would be familiar with - Sir Brian Canham, Pierre Pierre and the Leigh brothers. It's always a great singalong night with the Pseuds, we hope to see you there.

Tycho will be opening for the following shows:

Sat 30th May, 9pm. Victoria Point Sharks Sporting Club, 325 Colburn Avenue Victoria Point. Cost $25.

Sun 31 May, 7pm. Coolangatta Hotel, Cnr Warner Street & Marine Parade Coolangatta $12 + bf, on sale now at venue and OzTix outlets www.oztix.com.au 1300 762 545 (Ticket price will be more at the door) 18+, ID required.

Cheers!

schmoozing with tycho

2009-04-21T01:11:00.002+10:00

[schmooze (shmooz) - verb. To converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.]

After threatening to do so for several months, I've started a new photo album on our Myspace called "Schmoozing With Tycho". Its basically happy snaps of various Tycho members conversing casually with other assorted muso types, gaining advantages and, errrm, making social connections. There are only a handful of photos up at this time, but the album will be added to regularly over the next few days/ weeks.

You may have also noticed a few photos have appeared in the main Myspace album, these are courtesy of Angus Young, taken during the recent Sydney show with The Human League. Some photos from the Melbourne show are also on the way, when they're all sorted out I'll see that they're posted and let you know...

gig saturday april 18th

2009-04-10T23:16:00.002+10:00

There's no rest for the wicked! Having barely recovered from our interstate supports with The Human League, we are playing a show at Brisbane club Atmosphere with local lads Leaders of Men. Depending on how things go at rehearsal, we are hoping to give a couple of new songs their live debut, and maybe dust off a couple of oldies that haven't been performed live for years. This will be an intimate gig in a relaxed atmosphere (no pun intended), and we'll be playing for a little longer than usual.

Where: Atmosphere at the Tank Hotel, 371 Queen St, Brisbane

When: Saturday 18th April, doors open 8pm, Leaders of Men early, Tycho Brahe 11pm.

How much: $12

There will also be giveaways of the new Depeche Mode album "Sounds of the Universe", and it's Robert Smith's 50th birthday, so trowel on that eyeliner and wear something dark!

tycho returns

2009-04-05T09:47:00.003+10:00

It would have seemed inconceivable in the early days of Tycho that we would someday be touring with the world's most successful synthpop band, The Human League. Not only have we now done so, but we acquitted ourselves very well under logistically near-impossible circumstances, with band members and equipment at times spread across 3 states. Once we've gathered our wits a full tour report will be posted, but to summarize - we kicked arse!

tycho brahe opening for human league

2009-03-29T21:21:00.010+10:00

A quick news flash from Ken, on the email list:

News just confirmed - Tycho Brahe will be opening for Human League in Sydney Tuesday 31/03 and Melbourne Friday 03/04!

We are scrambling with last minute logistics, more details to follow when I get the time to post them.

That's just a couple of days away, people! Make your plans now! :) Note that the gig has moved from the original venues in both cities.

sydney

The Metro: THE HUMAN LEAGUE - Licensed All Ages | Metro Theatre.

melbourne

Billboard: Human League (tickets through Ticketmaster).

tycho meets numan

2009-03-03T01:09:00.004+10:00

A brief distraction last night - a night off from the studio (currently working on a new Andy Walls penned song, "Another Useless Photograph") to see electro legend Gary Numan. What an amazing set - including several classics ("Are 'Friends' Electric", "Films", "Down In The Park").

The last 12 months have been amazing, I have been lucky enough to see shows by John Foxx, DEVO, Human League, ABC, Heaven 17, Covenant, VNV Nation (again), Howard Jones and now Gary Numan.....the John Foxx crew were the best drinkers though ;-)

club night - bushfire appeal

2009-02-17T23:09:00.004+10:00

Saturday 28th February is a special night for Brisbane dark alternative club Atmosphere at the Tank Hotel, 371 Queen St, Brisbane, with $1 per entry going to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal. There will be many door prizes on the night including Tycho Brahe CDs, some of them signed by Yours Truly and Co amongst other goodies. Click on the picture (left) for more info....

bushfires

2009-02-11T00:32:00.004+10:00

All of you here in Australia and many of you in other countries would be aware of the devastating bushfires in the state of Victoria over the last few days. At the time of writing, over 180 people are confirmed dead, many more are injured with dreadful burns, and over 5000 are homeless. The toll is expected to rise. The magnitude and sheer horror of this, Australia's worst natural disaster, is difficult to comprehend; the emotional, psychological, economic and environmental repercussions will be felt for years to come.

I am unsure as to what can be done from overseas, however here in Australia at least, monetary donations from individuals and businesses can be made to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal. This can be done securely online or by telephone, Red Cross will not deduct any funds from this appeal for administration costs. All funds received will be kept in a Trust Fund set up by the Victorian Government, donations over $2 are tax deductible.

In addition to this, the Victorian Bushfire Public Accommodation donation line is coordinating donations of billeting/housing and accommodation within Victoria. If you can assist with accommodation and reside within Victoria, phone 1800 006 468.

Red Cross site:

http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm

tycho vs brand new day

2009-01-17T00:53:00.003+10:00

A while back I was honoured to be invited to contribute some guest vocals for US electronic pop act Brand New Day. The result is "Take Cover", the title track of the new Brand New Day double album due for a March release in the US. The project enabled me to think outside the Tycho box a little, and I ended up taking it a bit EBM :-0

If anyone can guess what I based the lyrics on, I'll put them on the guestlist for the next Tycho show and buy them a beer ;-)

Click HERE to listen to the song and get some info on Brand New Day...

Cheers,

Ken.

the sheffield pilgrimage

2008-12-15T08:26:00.003+10:00

I will be back at Tycho Central within a few days now, freshly inspired to move things along with Tycho and get some new material out. I spent today visiting the headquarters of the greatest synthpop band in the world, the band that personally started it all for me...here's a photo of yours truly with Philip Oakey of the Human League, taken at HL Studios earlier today....

r.i.p. max the studio cat

2008-12-11T20:36:00.005+10:00

Some very sad news from Tycho Central... Max the Studio Cat has passed away at the grand old age of 18. Max disappeared a couple of weeks ago and due to his poor health, the Tychos have had to assume the worst.

Credited in the notes for every release, Max was Ken's constant studio companion... and critic! As Ken once put it: "I know if Max walks out, it's crap..."

Max is the eyes on the front cover and liner notes of Tasty. He's also responsible for the purring and slurping at the end of the CD - if you've ever wondered what that was, it was Max eating some cheese (his favourite food).

Faithful family pet and a part of the Tycho mythos, Max the Studio Cat will be sadly missed. In Ken's words: Max, wherever you are, you will be missed but will live on in our memories. Thanks for 18 great years my little friend, RIP.

ken in the uk

2008-12-09T12:53:00.005+10:00

Things are a little quiet in Tycho land at the moment due to Ken being in the UK, schmoozing it up on the Steel City Tour with The Human League, ABC and Heaven 17. Here's a photo of Ken with Human League founder and Heaven 17 supremo, Mr Martyn Ware.

The tour is amazing, with all three bands delivering mind blowingly great sets - Heaven 17 backing vocalist Billie Godfrey is stunning audiences with her amazing powerful vocal performance on Temptation, unbelievably great stuff that words cannot convey. Human League's huge LED set is also something that must be seen to be believed. I will post some photos somewhere at a later date for those who are interested....

tour report now up

2008-11-22T19:04:00.003+10:00

They came, they played, steam came off the top of Ken's Head.

The F 5000 Booty Juice Tour brought Tycho to Sydney to play with Covenant and a host of others, as part of the Under the Blue Moon festival.

In their adventures the Tychsters observed the wonders of Darlinghurst's locals; discovered the joys of driving a renter with full cover; debated the rock'n'roll-ness of Sydney Harbour; played the gig; drank the rider; then headed home...

For the full story, check out the The F 5000 Booty Juice Tour report, including photos and video!

tycho baby news

2008-11-11T23:18:00.001+10:00

Some non-musical yet happy news....

Ex-Tycho bass keyboard player Alison Barclay and drummer Stephen Birt celebrated the arrival of their baby boy on October 31st (Halloween). Mum and baby are both doing well after an eventful delivery.

Stephen and Alison first met as members of Tycho Brahe, and have named their boy Noah Brahe as a nod to the band. Of course, this is a great honour and we here at Tycho Central are delighted!

Congratulations Stephen and Alison, and welcome to the world baby Noah :-)

best review ever?

2008-10-14T22:44:00.004+10:00

Ken reports: Ok folks - this would come close to being my favourite ever Tycho review, despite us playing virtually nothing on the night :-)

The night of burning dead stars begins with a near-epic bummer where one cannot help but feel for local synthpop stalwarts Tycho Brahe, who have to curtail their set in the middle of the second song due to a malfunctioning laptop. Frontman Ken Evans is however able to extract humour from the rather dour situation, brandishing his bass like a weapon and extorting "This is as hard as a rock, baby!" to the crowd's cheers.

Full review in Brisbane's Rave Magazine: http://www.ravemagazine.com.au/content/view/11767/82/

tycho spotting

2008-10-12T17:20:00.003+10:00

Roving Tycho photographer and local scenester Mil Clayton was recently snapped on Tanzania's Mt Kilimanjaro wearing the latest fashion "must have", a Tycho T-shirt (2008 issue).

These have been selling like the proverbial hot-cakes at the last few shows, and despite having had two runs of these printed we have (as of the ill fated Covenant show) run out of medium sizes. We have a handful of small, large, and XL left.

To get a better look at these stylish garments check out the photos over at the Tycho Myspace where you can see a close-up of the front and back designs. The back features the "secret" logos from all CD releases to date.

We currently have no direct sales system set up, but I'm sure if you really wanted one of these we could organise a Paypal transaction. Price is AUD$30 plus postage.

catastrophe!

2008-10-10T10:55:00.007+10:00

Well, last night's show with Covenant didn't go quite as planned. We suffered a catastrophic equipment failure, which resulted in Georgina's keyboard, Andy's keytar, most of Stephen's electronic percussion and all sequenced sections going down. We attempted a fix three times but had to abandon the show after playing half of Free and half of Avarice. Those who got there early may have heard half of Dislocation as a soundcheck :-)

The equipment failure may have been due in part to the mishandled roadcase on the Qantas flight back from Sydney on the weekend (it was smashed by the baggage handlers), but there were some software driver issues that also became apparent. Probably a bit of each, maybe? Either way, we'll work towards having some additional backup systems in place for future shows to avoid this happening again. I have to say, it's a first for me - I've never had to abandon a show completely before, and I've been doing this for quite a while now!

There were quite a few disappointed people in the audience who spoke to me afterwards - thankyou again to those people for your kind and supportive comments. We play for your enjoyment (and ours) and we're disappointed that we couldn't deliver for you.

Anyhoo, onwards and upwards - it may be a while before the next show but there are some exciting projects on the boil with Tycho, so please stay tuned and we'll see you at the next show!

Cheers,

Ken.

gigs + remixes + farewell, rowdy mcstix

2008-09-27T16:56:00.005+10:00

There are a few things going on in Tycho land, here's the deal...

gigs! sydney and brisbane

sunday october 5th @ the gaelic, sydney

Tycho are performing in Sydney at the Under The Blue Moon festival, a huge gig with a massive lineup - headlined by Covenant and also featuring Ikon and Diary of Dreams.

This festival has been getting a bit of online press attention, for example you can find some info including a short interview with Ken in the Under The Blue Moon aticle on liveguide.com.au.

When?: Sunday October 5th, doors at 4:30pm, Tycho at 5:30pm, followed by Ikon.
Where?: The Gaelic, 64 Devonshire St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tickets and more info?: Tickets and further info can be found at the Under the Blue Moon site or The Gaelic - UTBM event listing.

thursday october 9th @ the step inn, brisbane

On Thursday October 9th Tycho will be back in Brisbane as opening act for Covenant at the Step Inn. Note the early start time, since it is a school night!

When?: Thursday October 9th, doors at 6pm, Tycho at 7:40pm
Where?: The Step Inn, 186 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006
Tickets?: Online via Oztix or in store at Rockinghorse Records.

tycho remix for parralox

From Ken:

Fellow Aussie synth act Parralox is causing quite a stir – I've been privileged to have been an inside observer to this creation from its inception only a few months ago. The opening song from Electricity, Parralox's debut album, is called Europa and a Tycho Brahe remix of this song has now been completed for release at a later date.

Visit Parralox on MySpace here: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=330761846

I will be attending their album launch in London in November, so if anyone on this list is going to be there be sure to say "Hi!" to me :-)

francis leaving tycho

Last but certainly not least, Ken has confirmed what many already suspected - Francis Tohill has officially left the band, after four years behind the drums for Tycho. His final show with Tycho was the Assemblage 23 show in January.

Francis will still turn up around the traps as part of the covers band Karma Nova, giving us all a chance to yell "Hoots!" at him and request Dreams of Dying.

Stephen Birt will continue to perform with Tycho on a show by show basis, combining his energetic style with Tycho's fantabulous red Simmons drum kit. Stephen was a full time Tycho member from March 1998 to September 2003.

1985 - new song uploaded to myspace

2008-08-25T01:29:00.003+10:00

A new Tycho song has been uploaded to the Tycho Myspace page. It's called "1985" and it made it's live debut at the VNV Nation gig a couple of weeks ago. The recorded version available on Myspace is unmastered (so it may be a little quieter than other tracks) and it *may* change a little before it's official release on the next Tycho album.

Click on the "1985 Sleeve" (left) to go to the Tycho Myspace page and hear the new song. Hope you like it!

photos from vnv nation gig

2008-08-16T22:12:00.002+10:00

Mil Clayton has posted some photos online of Tycho opening for VNV Nation last Thursday night. Due to the tiny stage at the Step Inn, the lighting conditions and ban on flash photography these are a bit limited - there are no photos of Andy and if you squint you can *just* make out Georgina in one shot :-)

Anyhoo - a big "THANKS!" to Mil for posting these pix, which can be seen by clicking on the photo at left - (L to R) Ken, Mark, Ronan and Stephen backstage.

vnv nation + tycho brahe + junk circuit gig details

2008-08-11T01:53:00.004+10:00

Tycho Brahe will be opening for the mighty VNV Nation this Thursday night at the Step Inn, along with Sydney's Junk Circuit. I'm not sure of exact running times yet but it *is* a school night so we will be on very early, so get there when the doors open otherwise you might miss us.

Stephen Birt will once again be drumming for us on the Simmons drum kit, and we will be debuting a brand new song that we're very excited about called "1985". It's got cowbells, it's got handclaps, it's 130bpm, what more does any Hi-NRG throwback need?

Also, for the first time in many years, we will have some brand new Tycho T-shirts available! These will be priced at $30, available in black with a new logo design on the front and all of the CD logos on the back. Rats, tridents, stars and broken hearts!

Gig details:

Step Inn, 186 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley, Thursday 14th August, 8pm.

Tycho Brahe first, Junk Circuit (Sydney) second, then VNV Nation.

This is an 18+ event, ID required, tickets are $53.50 thru: http://www.oztix.com.au/ or $54.50 from Rockinghorse Records