Tycho dug Sam Flax.

For our annual Year in Music issue, I asked local musicians, rappers, producers, and music writers to sound off on the year's best songs, album releases, shows – pretty much anything they wanted, music-wise. For the next few days, I'll be posting them up individually on the Noise blog. You can also check the full list here.

Tycho deals in vivid imagery. From blustery waves and bleached sands below orange sunsets to retro film cells, the graphic designer-producer blends sight and sound in mesmerizing live shows – two of which he'll perform next month at the Independent (Jan. 18 and 19). This year, he gained fans touring the world thanks to shows built on 2011's Dive (Ghostly International). This winter, he began work on a followup record.

I picked him as a one of 12 Bay Area acts On the Rise in a special issue at the start of 2012, so I asked him back as the year came to a close:

Tycho, aka Scott Hansen
Favorite Bay Area and Bay Area-Affiliated Music Acts

1. Toro Y Moi

2. Christopher Willits
3. Blackbird Blackbird

8. Doombird
9. Little Foxes
10. Dusty Brown

And here's a video from Tycho's Dive: