Part One: Weather
A New Voice, A New Label, A New Era
After four albums of purely instrumental music stretching back to 2006, Scott Hansen did something that no one — including, by his own admission, himself — quite expected. He made a vocal record. Weather, released on July 12, 2019, introduced the voice of Hannah Cottrell, performing under the name Saint Sinner, across five of its eight tracks. It was the most significant creative pivot in the history of the Tycho project, and it arrived on a new label to boot: Mom + Pop Music, in partnership with Ninja Tune, after thirteen years with Ghostly International.
The result was an album that polarized critics and thrilled Grammy voters in roughly equal measure. Weather earned a nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart, and forced a long-running conversation about what Tycho could — and should — sound like.
This entry covers the factual record of both Weather and its instrumental companion, Simulcast, released on February 28, 2020. Personal editorial takes on the vocal era belong elsewhere in this knowledge base.
Release Details
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title | Weather |
| Artist | Tycho |
| Release Date | July 12, 2019 |
| Labels | Mom + Pop Music / Ninja Tune |
| Catalog Numbers | MP427 (Mom + Pop); ZEN257 (Ninja Tune LP); ZENCD257 (CD); ZENDNL257 (digital) |
| Total Runtime | 29:16 |
| Formats | Vinyl (LP, 180g, 45 RPM — multiple color variants); CD (4-panel digisleeve, matte finish); Digital (MP3, 16-bit WAV, 24-bit WAV) |
| Producer | Scott Hansen |
| Mixer / Co-Producer | Mikael “Count” Eldridge |
Sources: Ninja Tune release page, Discogs master release, Wikipedia
Track Listing
| # | Title | Featuring | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easy | — | 3:27 |
| 2 | Pink & Blue | Saint Sinner | 4:19 |
| 3 | Japan | Saint Sinner | 3:18 |
| 4 | Into the Woods | — | 4:02 |
| 5 | Skate | Saint Sinner | 3:07 |
| 6 | For How Long | Saint Sinner | 3:00 |
| 7 | No Stress | Saint Sinner | 3:49 |
| 8 | Weather | — | 4:14 |
All tracks written by Scott Hansen. Vocals and lyrics on tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 by Hannah Cottrell.
Sources: Ninja Tune, Wikipedia
Personnel and Credits
Core: - Scott Hansen (Tycho) — writer, performer, composer, producer, recording engineer, arranger, design, photography - Hannah Cottrell (Saint Sinner) — vocals, lyrics - Mikael “Count” Eldridge — mixing, co-producer, arranger - Zac Brown — arranger, additional producer, guitar, bass - Rory O’Connor (Nitemoves) — drums
Additional: - Robert Cheek — recording engineer - Billy Kim — keyboards, guitar, bass (touring member; contributions to album) - Nirav Patel — cover photography - Chloe Corner — music video director (“Pink & Blue”)
Sources: Ninja Tune, Discogs, AllMusic
Who Is Saint Sinner?
Hannah Cottrell is an Austin, Texas-based singer and songwriter who performs under the name Saint Sinner. She is self-taught musically, having picked up her father’s guitar at age thirteen or fourteen and learning chords from his chord book, starting with songs like “Amazing Grace.” She initially struggled with singing, but found her voice during a two-year stay in South Africa, where she had traveled in her early twenties. Upon returning to Austin, she began writing songs that blended acoustic sensibilities with what she has described as a “deep, indie, house, electronica” sound. Her primary musical influence is Amy Winehouse, though she also cites James Blake, whom she admires for his instrumental use of the human voice.
Cottrell was introduced to Hansen through a mutual friend. Hansen had been searching for the right vocalist for some time — he tried working with several other singers before finding Cottrell — and was looking for someone whose voice he could build an entire record around. As Hansen told PopMatters: “I had sent her the instrumental demos and she wrote lyrics to her favorites… when we started singing I immediately knew I had found the voice for the record.”
There is roughly a twenty-year age gap between the two collaborators; at the time of Weather’s release, Cottrell was around twenty-two years old, while Hansen was in his early forties. This generational difference contributed to the album’s distinct character — where Hansen was a veteran artist with a deep catalog, Cottrell was just getting started.
Cottrell’s parents, Robert and Susan Cottrell, are the founders of FreedHearts, an Austin nonprofit that helps Christian parents of LGBTQ children. Hannah herself publicly came out as a lesbian prior to her work with Tycho, and has spoken about using her voice and lyrics to inspire others.
Sources: NPR, L Style G Style, PopMatts interview, KEXP
The Label Move: Ghostly International to Mom + Pop / Ninja Tune
Tycho had been signed to Ghostly International since 2006. Past Is Prologue, Dive, Awake, and Epoch were all released through the Ann Arbor-based label. In April 2019, Hansen announced he had signed with Mom + Pop Music (home to Flume and Jai Wolf, among others) for North American releases, and Ninja Tune (home to Bicep, Bonobo, and ODESZA) for international territories.
The move came after Epoch had reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and earned a Grammy nomination — commercial milestones that may have made a larger infrastructure attractive. Hansen publicly expressed gratitude toward Ghostly, and there are no documented disputes. The label change appears to have been a natural step in career progression: Mom + Pop and Ninja Tune offered broader distribution networks and marketing reach suited to an artist whose audience had grown significantly over the 2010s.
Hansen framed the transition positively in a Billboard announcement: “Music can transport us to other realities but can also ground us firmly within ourselves.” He also said: “After a trilogy of records spent exploring the outer reaches of experience, I am focusing inward to reveal a human side to the music.”
Sources: Billboard, Mom + Pop announcement, RA
Production Process: Writing for Voice for the First Time
The working title of Weather was “Stress.” Hansen has spoken extensively about how the album’s creation process was, paradoxically, a liberating one. As he told Tape Op: “This was the first record I ever made in a healthy way. I really focused on being healthy. The working title of this record was Stress… by the end it was such a freeing process making this record.”
Hansen wrote extensively over a six-month period, generating dozens of instrumentals. Toward the end of that process, he realized some tracks were missing an element and that vocals might be that element. He sent at least a dozen instrumental demos to Cottrell and asked her to write to whichever ones spoke to her. Cottrell happened to choose two that were also Hansen’s favorites, and they reportedly clicked right away in their first session.
With the exception of “No Stress,” all of the vocal songs existed as instrumentals before Cottrell entered the picture. Hansen had deliberately built songs that could stand on their own in both vocal and instrumental forms — a decision that would directly give rise to Simulcast. “No Stress” was the sole track written specifically for Cottrell’s voice after the two had already begun working together. As Hansen told PopMatts: “I wrote that specifically for Hannah’s voice after I met her… I wanted to see what it would be like to write a song specifically for vocals.”
Hansen adopted a hands-off approach with Cottrell’s vocal and lyrical contributions. As he explained to Performer Magazine: “I just wanted to let Hannah do what she does and express herself.” Cottrell composed lyrics and melodies independently, receiving minimal direction — sometimes just a song title.
Regarding his own evolution as a producer, Hansen told MusicTech: “I always thought recording vocals was the holy grail of engineering. I didn’t think I could do that.” The experience of incorporating voice also taught him about his primary craft: “I learned more about instrumental music in making a vocal record than I had in all the years prior, making instrumentals… It’s this different lens to view the process through, and it taught me a lot about how music communicates, and how if there’s vocals or no vocals, it’s still the same message.”
He had long harbored the ambition. As he told Tape Op: “I’m going to focus and practice and get better at producing, and someday I’m going to do a real, true vocal record.” Zero 7 and Cinematic Orchestra served as reference points for how he envisioned vocals fitting into the Tycho sonic world.
Hansen also noted that the album’s thematic content was tied to forces beyond human control: “I wanted to speak to things that are outside of our control, things we kind of have to accept like dealing with adversity. Weather and nature in general has always had a humbling effect on me.”
Mikael “Count” Eldridge, who had mixed Epoch, returned as mixer and co-producer. Zac Brown contributed as arranger and additional producer, with Hansen noting that “Zac came in and they worked a lot together on some of those guitar parts, and that was definitely kind of like a team effort of Zac and Hannah at the end.” Rory O’Connor recorded drum loops and breaks at the beginning of the process, which Hansen then worked with as a loop library.
Sources: Tape Op, PopMatts interview, Performer Magazine, MusicTech, TSIS interview, KCRW
Singles and Rollout
-
“Easy” — released April 17, 2019, as the first single. An instrumental track that served as a bridge between Tycho’s established sound and the new direction. It features acoustic guitar and wordless vocal layers over synths and drum rhythms. It was the track that announced the album and the new label partnership simultaneously.
-
“Pink & Blue” (feat. Saint Sinner) — released May 14, 2019, alongside the full album announcement and tracklist. This was the first-ever vocal-led Tycho track to be released publicly, and it drew immediate attention and debate among the fanbase.
-
“Japan” (feat. Saint Sinner) — released as a promotional single ahead of the album.
Sources: The Line of Best Fit, KEXP, Brooklyn Vegan
Track-by-Track Analysis
1. “Easy” (3:27) The album’s opening track is instrumental, and it functions as a statement of continuity. A shuffling breakbeat sits beneath layered synths, with acoustic guitar adding warmth. It was chosen as the lead single specifically because it bridges the familiar Tycho sound with the new territory to come. Hansen described the broader album concept: “This record was about reconnecting with the positivity and beauty in my early music.”
2. “Pink & Blue” (feat. Saint Sinner) (4:19) The first vocal track introduces Cottrell’s voice over a bed of analog synths and a propulsive groove. PopMatts described it as featuring “the kind of chart-friendly chorus that can’t fail to get the feet moving and the heart pumping” with “real crossover appeal.” Clash noted how the track demonstrated that vocals could “add emotion without overwhelming.” This was the track that announced to the world that Tycho now had a singer.
3. “Japan” (feat. Saint Sinner) (3:18) Named for Hansen’s travels in Japan, this track captures a warm, dreamlike quality. Its Simulcast counterpart, “Cypress,” would later emphasize the psychedelic atmosphere of the piece. The vocal melody sits high in the mix, with Cottrell’s voice weaving through layered guitars and synth pads.
4. “Into the Woods” (4:02) An instrumental centerpiece. MusicOMH noted a “delicate synth pad reminiscent of Aphex Twin’s ambient classic ‘Ageispolis’” alongside gentle guitar chords. Hansen has described the track as embodying “coming to terms with your fears, having this psychedelic experience with nature, and finding your way out.” Multiple reviewers singled it out as one of the album’s strongest moments.
5. “Skate” (feat. Saint Sinner) (3:07) A stripped-back vocal track built around guitar and breathy lyrics. MusicOMH noted it as “an interesting development” in how it pulls back the production to let the voice sit more exposed. At just over three minutes, it is the album’s shortest track.
6. “For How Long” (feat. Saint Sinner) (3:00) Hansen has called this “the stylistic core of the record,” telling TSIS: “‘For How Long’ speaks to me the most. It’s really the stylistic core of the record.” MusicOMH noted “a dubby bassline” and a “weightier rhythm section” that was “refreshing alongside a tracklist that generally packs less punch.” At exactly three minutes, it is the album’s most concise vocal statement.
7. “No Stress” (feat. Saint Sinner) (3:49) The only track written specifically for Cottrell’s voice, rather than adapted from a pre-existing instrumental. It features a bouncy bass line weaving through kick drums. Hansen told PopMatts: “I wrote that specifically for Hannah’s voice after I met her… I wanted to see what it would be like to write a song specifically for vocals.” Its Simulcast counterpart, “Stress,” would prove to be the most difficult track to rework instrumentally.
8. “Weather” (4:14) The instrumental title track closes the album. Hansen told TSIS: “‘Weather,’ the title track, is really special to me… That’s one of my favorite Tycho songs ever now.” It layers atmospheric elements over a driving guitar line and builds across its four-minute runtime. Multiple critics noted it as a highlight — Glide Magazine’s review observed that the instrumental closing title track “ironically” emerged as the album’s strongest piece.
Sources: PopMatts review, MusicOMH, Clash, TSIS interview, Glide Magazine, Conscious Electronic
Critical Reception
Metacritic Score: 76/100 (based on 10 critic reviews — “generally favorable”)
Album of the Year aggregate: 72 (based on 15 critic reviews)
| Publication | Score | Key Quote |
|---|---|---|
| Exclaim! | 9/10 | “Weather pushes the boundaries of Tycho’s traditional sound, and in so doing, proves there is something serious to be said about stepping outside the comfort zone.” |
| Clash | 8/10 | “A bold step in the right direction” that “combines the sweet urgency of indie-pop with the dignity of previous albums.” |
| PopMatts | 7/10 | “He can incorporate all of his signature elements into a traditional pop song structure without having to compromise the core.” |
| Paste Magazine | 7/10 | — |
| AllMusic | 3.5/5 | “Weather functions as one would expect of Tycho’s vision of a pop album — it’s immaculately crafted as well as relatable, while also smooth and unchallenging enough to warrant repeated background listening.” |
| MusicOMH | 3.5/5 | “It is when the album starts to sound like a Saint Sinner record produced by Tycho that the problems arise, but it remains worth a listen.” |
| Audioxide | 16/30 | “There’s easy listening, and then there’s something like Weather. This is ambient Muzak.” (Individual scores: 5/10, 6/10, 5/10) |
The critical landscape was notably divided. Positive reviews praised the album’s ambition and immaculate production. Exclaim! framed it as “an exciting new phase of Hansen’s musical progression.” Clash called it Tycho’s “most mature album to date.” PopMatts positioned the vocal integration as a natural evolution from Awake and Epoch.
More skeptical takes questioned whether the vocals added enough to justify the departure. Audioxide found the album “polished yet emotionally inert,” arguing that “technical perfection cannot compensate for lack of substance.” Spectrum Culture offered a mixed verdict: “Pop looks good on Tycho” but noted that “his music was best when it… created its own universe rather than resigning itself to exist in ours.”
Glide Magazine captured the middle ground effectively: “Any new direction takes time to get right. Tycho needed something new, Weather is a bold step forward, and one can certainly see them striking the right balance before too long.”
Sources: Metacritic, Album of the Year, Exclaim!, Clash, PopMatts, AllMusic, MusicOMH, Audioxide, Spectrum Culture, Glide Magazine
Chart Performance
| Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums | #3 |
| Billboard Dance/Electronic Album Sales | #1 |
| Billboard 200 | #132 |
| UK Independent Albums | #17 |
Weather debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart, making it Tycho’s fourth top-ten entry on that chart following Epoch’s No. 1 debut in 2016.
Grammy Nomination: 62nd Annual Grammy Awards
Weather was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. This was Tycho’s second career Grammy nomination, following Epoch’s nomination in the same category at the 59th Grammy Awards in 2017.
Full list of nominees in the category:
| Artist | Album | Result |
|---|---|---|
| The Chemical Brothers | No Geography | Winner |
| Apparat | LP5 | Nominated |
| Flume | Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape) | Nominated |
| RUFUS DU SOL | SOLACE | Nominated |
| Tycho | Weather | Nominated |
The Chemical Brothers’ win was their third in the category (previously winning for We Are The Night in 2007). Hansen attended the ceremony. The nomination was significant for Tycho in that it validated the vocal direction commercially and within the industry, even as fan opinion remained divided.
Sources: Grammy.com, Wikipedia - Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album, Billboard nominations list, Mixmag
What Hansen Has Said About Weather
Hansen has been unusually candid in interviews about Weather. Here is a collection of key quotes from across the press cycle:
On whether he worried about alienating fans: “I wasn’t really considering that as I was making the record, I just sort of had my head down and was following this path and seeing where it led… I was certainly conscious of how different it was once the record was finished.” — PopMatts
On why he moved away from instrumentals: “I just wasn’t feeling instrumental music enough to make another entire album of it. There will be plenty more instrumental music to come but I think if people give Weather a chance they’ll see that it isn’t as different from the other records as they think, there’s just a new instrument.” — PopMatts
On finding Cottrell’s voice: “I really wanted it to be this powerful statement, like ‘this is the current iteration of Tycho. This is the vocalist…’” — TSIS
“The tonal range and space she works in kind of rises above it all.” — Tape Op
On tour reception: “People were singing along, it was kind of crazy… to see the positive reaction the new songs got, particularly the vocal tracks.” — PopMatts
On the album as creative renewal: “If you’re going to spend 18 months in a room working this hard on something it has to constantly inspire you and you have to believe in it wholeheartedly.” — PopMatts
“I definitely feel more inspired than I have in a long time and I just want to keep exploring and trying different things.” — PopMatts
On the album’s artwork and tone: “With this album I wanted it to be human… I wanted it to feel vulnerable and intimate.” — TSIS
On health and process: “This was the first record I ever made in a healthy way. I really focused on being healthy.” — Tape Op
Sources: PopMatts interview, TSIS interview, Tape Op
Vinyl Editions and Physical Releases
Weather received an unusually wide array of vinyl pressings, all cut at 45 RPM on 180-gram vinyl:
| Variant | Notes | Catalog |
|---|---|---|
| Black vinyl | Standard edition, 12” jacket with printed inner bag | ZEN257 |
| Clear vinyl (limited) | Ninja Tune limited edition; also available as indie-exclusive 180g clear | ZEN257X |
| Blue opaque vinyl | Mom + Pop edition | MP427 |
| Green vinyl (limited) | Limited pressing | — |
| Red vinyl (limited) | Limited pressing | — |
| Pink vinyl | Additional color variant | — |
| Deep blue vinyl (2021) | Later repress | — |
| Signed CD | 4-panel digisleeve, matte finish, signed by Hansen | ZENCD257SIG |
| Standard CD | 4-panel digisleeve, matte finish | ZENCD257 |
All vinyl editions were pressed at 45 RPM for improved audio fidelity and included a download code. The Mom + Pop catalog number (MP427) appears on the outer sleeve, while the Ninja Tune catalog number (ZEN257) appears on the printed inner sleeve.
A bundle pairing Weather on limited clear vinyl with Simulcast on black vinyl was also offered through the Ninja Tune store.
Sources: Discogs, Ninja Tune, Amazon, Turntable Lab
Weather World Tour (2019-2020)
The Weather World Tour was Tycho’s most ambitious touring cycle to date, and the first to incorporate a live vocalist.
Touring Band: - Scott Hansen — synthesizers, guitar - Zac Brown — guitar, bass - Rory O’Connor — drums - Billy Kim — keyboards, guitar, bass - Hannah Cottrell (Saint Sinner) — vocals
Tour Structure: The tour kicked off in summer 2019 with festival appearances including Splendour in the Grass (Australia), Fuji Rock Festival (Japan), and a debut at the Sydney Opera House. The North American fall 2019 leg featured Chrome Sparks and Poolside as openers on select dates. A European leg was scheduled for early 2020, with Poolside as support, though dates were impacted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notable Venues and Appearances: - The Greek Theatre (Los Angeles and Berkeley) - SummerStage, Central Park (New York City) - The Independent, San Francisco (album debut show, July 16, 2019) - Printworks, London (March 5, 2020) - Various European cities (February-March 2020)
Live Show Format: At the album debut show at The Independent in San Francisco on July 16, 2019, the band played two sets separated by a fifteen-minute intermission. The first set revisited material from 2006 through 2016 (including “Daydream,” “Spectre,” “Source,” “Montana,” “Hours,” “PBS,” “Pip,” “Horizon,” and “Epoch”). The second set presented Weather in its entirety. The encore featured “A Walk,” “Awake,” and “Division.” Hansen later stated that the production was “rebuilt from the ground up on the tech and sonic level,” and the show featured synchronized visual projections of natural imagery — clouds, ocean waves, canyons.
Sources: Live Music Blog, Brooklyn Vegan, Facebook / Tycho, Performer Magazine, PromoWest Live
Weather Remixes (December 18, 2020)
A companion remix album was released on December 18, 2020, featuring one remix per track from the original album:
| # | Title | Remixer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easy (Mild Minds Remix) | Mild Minds |
| 2 | Pink & Blue (RAC Mix) | RAC |
| 3 | Japan (Satin Jackets Remix) | Satin Jackets |
| 4 | Into The Woods (Christopher Willits Remix) | Christopher Willits |
| 5 | Skate (pluko Remix) | pluko |
| 6 | For How Long (Harvey Sutherland Remix) | Harvey Sutherland |
| 7 | No Stress (Com Truise Remix) | Com Truise |
| 8 | Weather (Nitemoves Remix) | Nitemoves (Rory O’Connor) |
The Nitemoves remix is notable as it was created by Tycho’s own drummer, Rory O’Connor, under his solo project name.
Sources: Bandcamp, Ninja Tune, Exclaim!
Part Two: Simulcast
Not a Vocal Strip — A Reimagining
Simulcast is frequently described as “the instrumental version of Weather.” This description is both technically accurate and fundamentally misleading. Hansen has been emphatic that Simulcast is not the result of simply removing vocal stems from the Weather sessions. The tracks were reworked, rearranged, and in some cases substantially reimagined. New melodies were introduced, instrument balances were shifted, song structures were altered, and several tracks were renamed to reflect their transformed character.
Hansen explained the concept through the album’s very title: “A Simulcast is the transmission of a program across different mediums and in different languages. With these two albums I wanted to present the same ideas” — one literal, with lyrics; the other instrumental and open to interpretation.
Release Details
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title | Simulcast |
| Artist | Tycho |
| Release Date | February 28, 2020 |
| Labels | Mom + Pop Music / Ninja Tune |
| Catalog Numbers | ZEN260 (LP); ZENCD260 (CD); ZENDNL260 (digital) |
| Total Runtime | 34:34 |
| Formats | Vinyl (LP, 180g — black and gold opaque limited edition); CD; Digital |
| Producer | Scott Hansen |
Sources: Ninja Tune, Discogs, Wikipedia
Track Listing (with Weather Counterparts)
| # | Simulcast Title | Duration | Weather Counterpart |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weather | 4:14 | Weather |
| 2 | Alright | 4:02 | For How Long |
| 3 | Outer Sunset | 4:10 | Skate |
| 4 | Into the Woods | 4:02 | Into the Woods |
| 5 | Easy | 3:26 | Easy |
| 6 | PCH | 3:20 | Pink & Blue |
| 7 | Cypress | 6:14 | Japan |
| 8 | Stress | 5:06 | No Stress |
All tracks written by Tycho.
Note that Simulcast runs 34:34 compared to Weather’s 29:16 — over five minutes longer, largely due to the expanded runtimes of “Cypress” (6:14 vs. “Japan” at 3:18) and “Stress” (5:06 vs. “No Stress” at 3:49). The tracks also appear in a different sequence than their Weather counterparts, with the title track “Weather” opening rather than closing the album.
Sources: Wikipedia, Bandcamp, Conscious Electronic
How Simulcast Differs from Weather
This point bears repeating because it is so often misunderstood: Simulcast is not Weather with the vocals muted. Hansen reworked each piece into its own arrangement. Here is what is known about the specific transformations:
“Weather” opens the album instead of closing it, inverting the framing device of the original record.
“Alright” (from “For How Long”) went through multiple versions before Hansen settled on the final arrangement, which incorporated elements from various iterations while maintaining the original’s simplicity.
“Outer Sunset” (from “Skate”) is described as “very serene,” featuring melodic basslines paired with distorted drums, synths, and guitar work. The San Francisco neighborhood reference in the title is a signature Hansen touch.
“Into the Woods” retains its name and core identity but exists in an expanded instrumental space without needing to accommodate a vocal melody.
“Easy” maintains its essential character, being an instrumental track on both albums, though subtle differences exist in the arrangement.
“PCH” (from “Pink & Blue”) features synth modifications and the removal of the vocal line shifts the track’s overall character. “PCH” refers to Pacific Coast Highway.
“Cypress” (from “Japan”) captures what Hansen described as a “warm, psychedelic, dream-like state” from his Japan travels. At 6:14, it is nearly double the length of “Japan” (3:18), making it the album’s longest track and the most dramatically expanded reworking.
“Stress” (from “No Stress”) was, by Hansen’s account, “the hardest one” to convert instrumentally because the original “was written entirely to be sung along with.” The reimagined version incorporates elements reminiscent of his earlier album Epoch.
Magnetic Magazine noted that on Simulcast, “subtle new drums are added, guitar and synths become more prominent and there is a greater focus on the non-vocal elements to make them stand out more.”
Sources: Conscious Electronic, Magnetic Magazine, The Line of Best Fit, KCRW
Simulcast Vinyl Editions
| Variant | Notes |
|---|---|
| Black vinyl | Standard 180g pressing, single jacket with printed inner sleeve |
| Gold opaque (limited) | Limited edition, pressed by GZ Media |
| Bundle with Weather | Simulcast on 180g black + Weather on 180g limited clear vinyl |
Sources: Discogs, Ninja Tune store
Critical Reception of Simulcast
Metacritic Score: 67/100 (based on 4 critic reviews — “generally favorable”)
| Publication | Score | Key Quote |
|---|---|---|
| Exclaim! | 9/10 | “A shining and beautifully crafted album that reaffirms Hansen’s hold atop 21st century ambient electronic.” |
| Clash | 7/10 | — |
| Pitchfork | 5.0/10 | “Non-offensive, near-benign, and as if custom-built for the provocations of doing something else.” |
| AllMusic | 3.5/5 | — |
Critical opinion on Simulcast was thinner in volume and more divided than for Weather. The album received significantly fewer reviews — only four on Metacritic — which is common for companion releases. Those who reviewed it tended to fall into two camps.
Exclaim! championed the album unreservedly, treating it as further evidence of Hansen’s mastery. On the other end, Pitchfork’s 5.0 was the harshest major-outlet score, describing Simulcast as “a reliably egoless experience, an art that approaches productivity-enhancing apparatus.” Live4ever’s review captured the middle ground: “As a companion piece Simulcast is fine enough, there’s very little here that convincingly makes the case for independence from its parent project.”
Arctic Reviews offered a measured take, noting that while Hansen “deconstructs most of the material back into more familiar structures,” the results were “surprisingly mixed.”
Sources: Metacritic, Album of the Year, Exclaim!, Live4ever, Arctic Reviews
Chart Performance: Simulcast
| Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums | #6 |
| Billboard Top Album Sales | #41 |
| Billboard Independent Albums | #46 |
Sources: Wikipedia
What Hansen Has Said About Simulcast and the Two-Album Concept
On the relationship between the two records: “I wanted to show those songs through two different lenses: the vocal and the instrumental. I wanted to show how a single core concept can evolve into two completely different things.” — Magnetic Magazine
On the Simulcast title: “A Simulcast is the transmission of a program across different mediums and in different languages. With these two albums I wanted to present the same ideas.” — The Line of Best Fit
On what vocal production taught him about instrumental music: “I learned more about instrumental music in making a vocal record than I had in all the years prior, making instrumentals… It’s this different lens to view the process through, and it taught me a lot about how music communicates, and how if there’s vocals or no vocals, it’s still the same message.” — KCRW
On the difficulty of reworking “Stress”: Hansen called it “the hardest one” because the original “No Stress” was “written entirely to be sung along with.” — Conscious Electronic
On the album’s genesis: Hansen noted during the TSIS interview that he was already working on the instrumental record while Weather was being finished: “I’m working on the instrumental record right now which is almost done.” He also mentioned that “there’s another instrumental record I was writing in parallel to Weather, completely separate songs” — suggesting that the creative energy from this period extended beyond just the Weather/Simulcast duality.
Sources: Magnetic Magazine, The Line of Best Fit, KCRW, Conscious Electronic, TSIS
Fan Reception
Fan opinion on the Weather/Simulcast era remains one of the most active fault lines in the Tycho community. The introduction of vocals was, for many longtime listeners, the single most consequential creative decision Hansen ever made. Some welcomed the evolution enthusiastically; others saw it as a departure from what had drawn them to the project in the first place.
Simulcast complicated this picture further. For fans who had been skeptical of the vocal direction, it offered something closer to the Tycho they loved — yet as a “companion” record rather than a standalone statement, it could feel secondary. For fans who had embraced Weather’s vocals, Simulcast could feel like a concession rather than a creative equal. And for a certain subset of listeners, Simulcast was the superior version of the material: the arrangements were more spacious, the runtimes were more generous, and the absence of vocals allowed Hansen’s production to occupy more of the foreground.
User reviews on Album of the Year and Metacritic reflect this division. Simulcast holds a higher user score than Weather on some platforms, suggesting that the instrumental reworkings resonated strongly with a portion of the fanbase even as critics gave them less attention.
The two albums, taken together, represent a fascinating experiment in artistic duality — the same core ideas refracted through two distinct presentations.
Sources: Album of the Year - Simulcast user reviews, Metacritic - Simulcast user reviews
Timeline Summary
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| April 2019 | Hansen announces signing with Mom + Pop / Ninja Tune |
| April 17, 2019 | “Easy” released as first single |
| May 14, 2019 | “Pink & Blue” released; album and tracklist announced |
| July 12, 2019 | Weather released |
| July 16, 2019 | Album debut live show at The Independent, San Francisco |
| Summer-Fall 2019 | Weather World Tour (North America, Australia, Japan) |
| November 20, 2019 | Grammy nominations announced; Weather nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album |
| January 26, 2020 | 62nd Grammy Awards; The Chemical Brothers win for No Geography |
| January 28, 2020 | “Outer Sunset” released as Simulcast lead single |
| February 28, 2020 | Simulcast released |
| March 2020 | European tour dates impacted by COVID-19 pandemic |
| December 18, 2020 | Weather Remixes released |
This entry covers the factual record of Weather and Simulcast only. Personal editorial commentary on the vocal era belongs in a separate section of the knowledge base.
Complete Source List
- NPR - “Ambience, Vocalized”
- PopMatts - Interview with Tycho
- PopMatts - Weather Review
- Performer Magazine - Cover Story
- Tape Op - Scott Hansen Interview
- MusicTech - Tycho Interview
- TSIS - Exclusive Interview
- KCRW - Simulcast Interview
- Billboard - Album Announcement
- Ninja Tune - Weather Release Page
- Ninja Tune - Simulcast Release Page
- Discogs - Weather Master Release
- Discogs - Simulcast Master Release
- Wikipedia - Weather (Tycho album)
- Wikipedia - Simulcast (album)
- Wikipedia - Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album
- Metacritic - Weather
- Metacritic - Simulcast
- Album of the Year - Weather
- Album of the Year - Simulcast
- Exclaim! - Weather Review
- Exclaim! - Simulcast Review
- Clash - Weather Review
- Audioxide - Weather Review
- MusicOMH - Weather Review
- Spectrum Culture - Weather Review
- Glide Magazine - Weather Review
- AllMusic - Weather
- Magnetic Magazine - Simulcast Details
- Magnetic Magazine - Simulcast Release
- The Line of Best Fit - Simulcast Announcement
- Conscious Electronic - Simulcast Review
- Live Music Blog - The Independent Show
- Bandcamp - Weather Remixes
- Bandcamp - Simulcast
- KEXP - Album Announcement
- Brooklyn Vegan - Tour Announcement
- L Style G Style - Hannah Cottrell Profile
- RA - Label Signing News
- Grammy.com - Tycho Artist Page
- Soundtoys - Tycho Interview
- Sound on Sound - Eldridge/Tycho Mixing
- Mixmag - Grammy Nominations
- Billboard - Grammy Nominations Complete List
- Arctic Reviews - Simulcast
- Live4ever - Simulcast Review