Tyler Bradley Walker takes you on a ride to the dark side in his nocturnal, immersive and utterly unique new single and video Nobody Wants To — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The veteran American musician, sound artist and studio master’s debut single under his own name artfully sidesteps convention and nimbly defies definition. A slowly evolving, gradually building electronic / organic hybrid fashioned from layers of rich keyboards, a noodly bassline and a subtly shapeshifting tom-tom backbeat, the track suddenly shifts at its midpoint, plunging you into a coldly ominous, futuristically ambient post-rock netherworld. Hushed, deadpan and vaguely desperate vocals finally emerge from the ether in the cut’s final minute, chanting simple variations on the song’s title refrain:
“Nobody wants to drown
Nobody tries — swim
Nobody wants to die
Nobody tries — live
Nobody wants to — wrong
Nobody tries — right
Nobody wants to help!
Nobody tries — help!”
Individual and idiosyncractic, disturbing and thrilling, moody and compelling, Nobody Wants To is midway between a sci-fi soundtrack, a fever dream and a nerbous breakdown — and unlike anything else you’re likely to hear. What does it mean? Where did it come from? Walker sheds some light: “This piece originated, like many of my new songs, with the use of a hardware MIDI sequencer called the Manikin Schrittmacher — a favorite of Tangerine Dream’s Klaus Schulze. I found the limitations of the device challenging and designed sequences for a selection of hardware synthesizers including an old Akai s950 sampler. The patterns that existed in the first half of this song were notable, to my eye, and featured a nice Korg baseline.
“The song features a stark juxtaposition of electronica and rock where we layered acoustic instruments, notably rock instrumentation including Gross Pokossi’s acoustic bass contributions, with the earlier sequences. Vocals are featured by indie-rock legend and co-producer Brian Deck and the lyrics repeat iterations of “Nobody wants to” as a moody plea for change on top of a diffused guitar-and-drum atmosphere. The music is accompanied by a visualizer directed by Christian Del Rio.”
This sort of juxtaposition is nothing new to Walker, whose art explores the cross-pollination of popular, rock and concert music. An engaged and imaginative collaborator, Walker has worked with artists and ensembles as diverse as Angus Andrew (Liars), Answer Code Request, the Atlanta Percussion Trio, Ade Blackburn (Clinic), the Cincinnati Art Museum (Sol LeWitt Exhibit), Chris Connelly (Ministry), Carson Cox (Merchandise), the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, John McEntire (Tortoise), Daniel Myer, Luke Reynolds (Guster), Louis Resto (Eminem), Pat Sansone (Wilco), Jessie Stein (The Luyas), Tarwater, Martina Topley-Bird, Kurt Wagner (Lambchop) and many others.
He may be best known as one half of the experimental electronic rock duo Gone To Color, who released their debut album in late 2021. In early 2023, they released Gone To Color RMXS, which featured remixes by electronic music pioneers The Field, Oval and Plaid, among others.
As a producer, audio engineer, and studio director over the last 14 years Walker has collaborated with and supported a long list of familiar bands including Blackberry Smoke, The Doobie Brothers, Elton John, Larkin Poe, Megadeth, String Cheese Incident, Zac Brown Band and has facilitated work with producers Brian Deck, Tom Drummond (Better Than Ezra), Mike Fraser, Ryan Hewitt, Damien Lewis, Manny Marroquin, Neal Pogue, Matt Serletic, Keith Stegall and Matt Wallace.
Watch the video for Nobody Wants To above, listen to the track below, and tell Tyler Bradley Walker what you really want on his website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Bluesky.
