Evan Blix for Tibi Close Friends
A 3-part, stripped-down live set in Santa Ana, California.
The latest project from Tibi Creative Lab, a Creative Pragmatist Media Production - Evan Blix for Tibi Close Friends.
I grew up listening to what my parents listened to. Naturally, I think this is likely how most of us begin our music journeys, and if not, perhaps it begins with the radio in the car at an early age. In any case, the point here is that the music we listen to and love started growing its roots long ago. While we at Tibi don’t typically agree with or follow the algorithms of the massive tech companies we use, I will reference that of Spotify’s “Wrapped” program to further this story. My apparent “listening age” according to Spotify, is in the 70s, which is crazy ironic, because that is also close to the young age of my father who more than likely influenced most of, if not everything I listen to outside of rap and house music.
Growing up, we listened to Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Simon & Garfunkel, the list goes on. These artists still make up my daily dose of music - I was in the top 0.5% of Bob Dylan listeners this year. With that said, these guys were from a different time, and I’ve always wondered if there would come a day where the distinct sound of this era would come back to life through the soul of someone from my generation. Until the start of 2025, I was unsure. And then I discovered the music of Evan Blix, firstly his song Only You, the second single from his new venture as a solo artist.
From the first nine seconds, maybe even the first three, I was captivated, and down the rabbit-hole I dove. Turns out Evan is my age, 25, from Santa Barbara, CA, and not only did he have another solo single, Poor Annie, but he was also the frontman of a former band called Glenn Annie. I was in heaven. New music, young artists, and that oldie feel I had been seeking out for what felt like my entire life. In 2024 Glenn Annie dissolved, and Evan began his solo career. The band was a seamless and coherent mix of inspiration and influence from that with which I grew up. The Beatles are clearly evident in the song Nite Tan, the Grateful Dead shine through in Becomes a Blur, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in Sweet Delilah.
I messaged Evan a few days later after a deep dive into his discography and we were on the phone the next week chatting about music, his inspirations, and if there was any possibility that he’d be up to creating something with us. He was genuine, distinctly smart, humble, and was in. The only caveat was that he lives in Santa Barbara, but it was likely his partner would be moving to NYC in the summer, so we left the timeline open and continued talking through the coming months. The summer passed and the move had not happened, but October came around and internal talks began about hosting a styling event in LA in November - Evan was my first thought. We hopped on another call and learned his recording studio, Voyager Studios, was in Tustin, CA, just an hour or so from the Tibi house in West Hollywood.
Fast forward one month and Matt and I are driving to Tustin to produce a Tibi Close Friends with Evan. Pulling off the 101, we turned onto a street of warehouses and ground floor office/studio spaces. Inconspicuously tucked away in one of these complexes was Voyager Studios - a place visually steeped in heritage, a time capsule from a previous decade, with warm brown and orange tones of light that fill every crevice of the 15-foot sound board and various instruments, microphones, speakers, and sound proofing equipment in the space.
We recorded three stripped-down, piano versions of More Than a Moment, Motorbike, and Playing The Game on an RCA Type 77-DX ribbon microphone from the mid-1950s. Motorbike and Playing The Game have not been officially released yet, but are potentially Evan’s best work, and yet I cringe as I write that because all his singles are beautifully unique and special pieces of art.
Evan wore a range of pieces from Tibi’s Fundamentals collection. The project will launch on December 12, 2025 at Tibi.com, and on the Tibi Creative Lab Instagram. You can also visit Tibi’s Cosmos page to view an extended library of photography and behind the scenes moments from the production. A special thank you goes out to Chris and Voyager Studios for their hospitality and expertise, to Ella for the extra camera flash, and all others who helped to bring this project to life.
Beautiful storytelling around discovering an artist who channels that 70s sound through modern production. The choice to use the RCA Type 77-DX ribbon mic from the mid-50s is chef's kiss, those vintage ribbons capture warmth and transients in ways modern condersers just can't replicate. What's compelling is how the technical choices (stripped-down piano, vintage mic positioning) serve the narrative of bridging generational musical tastes rather than just being aesthetic flourish.