Discography

This is a short list of Tyler's recorded works. It does not include recordings by other artists that Tyler has appeared upon.

Säx Album Cover

Säx (2004) - original sax quartet compositions (two altos, two tenors), played entirely by Tyler.

http://tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/electrock-music

Electrock Music (2006) - a hodgepodge of random instrumental MIDI compositions.

http://tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/electrock-ii-space-rock

Electrock II: Space Rock (2007) - a "semi-programmatic" collection of instrumental MIDI works about futuristic musicologist-astronauts traveling the Solar System collecting musical samples (turns out music in the future isn't much different)

Tyler Cook: The Compleat Masterworks (2007) - a grab bag of Tyler's earlier works, including the lyrically inaccurate a cappella cover of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" that dozens have come to know and love.

Rock-o-Rama (2011) - album with The Lovecrafts, featuring Tyler on sax, vocals, and keys. Includes the live-show staple "Gonna Make Love to Ke$ha (Tonight)" (written by Tyler Cook).

Seriously?! (2012) - EP with The Lovecrafts, featuring Tyler on sax, vocals, and keys. Includes the pop-rock single "Timrod Park" and the funky "Micah (Scrawny White Girl)," both penned by Tyler.

http://tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/electrock-ep-the-four-unicorns-of-the-apocalypse

Electrock EP: The Four Unicorns of the Apocalypse (2012) - an overwrought masterpiece; equal parts programmatic Biblical allegory and high-concept progressive metal/rock/electronica/dance-pop. Due out 23 November 2012. The de facto single, "Zombie Unicorn," was released a few hours before Halloween 2012. "Cyborg Unicorn," the first track completed, is available as a bonus track with purchase of Electrock II, and has received considerable play on Spreaker.com.

http://tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/electrock-retrospective-volume-i-dance-party

Electrock Retrospective, Volume I: Dance Party (January 2013) - the first of several planned retrospectives of past Electrock works. Each retrospective will feature 3-5 tracks and a specific theme, as well as a new track from the upcoming Electrock III.

Tracks: "Robobop," "Music One Might Hear in a Victorian Mexican Dance Club (Intergalactic Partytime)," "Synth Dance and Anthem," "Fun With Aliens," "Disco Unicorn."

http:/tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/electrock-retrospective-volume-ii-technological-romance

Electrock Retrospective, Volume II: Technological Romance (February 2013) - the second retrospective of Electrock works, this one focuses on the ballad and "love songs" of previous Electrock releases. It includes one new track from the upcoming Electrock III. Tracks: "Pwrblld (Ballad II)," "Four Brief Movements for the Cosmos," "Magnum Opus," "Ballad I (Untitled)," "Future Unicorn."

From the "Album Notes" from CD Baby:

A legend in his own mind, Cook combines the false bravado and delusions of grandeur of Jack Black with the gospel-drenched vocal styling of Meat Loaf. Fan favorites "Hipster Girl Next Door" and "Contest Winner" round out his solo debut collection of six tasty tunes, ranging stylistically from Billy Joel-esque piano-fueled pop-rock and Elton John-inspired power ballads to synth-heavy odes to his own songwriting prowess.

Cook has been writing, composing, and arranging music for over a decade, but delved into solo songwriting in 2012, making a minor (albeit drenching) splash on the local open mic circuit in the Pee Dee region of his beloved South Carolina with his cheeky lyrics and mash-ups of 80s power ballads. Cook entered this EP's title track, "Contest Winner," in the inaugural 2012 Artsville Songwriting Contest in Hartsville, South Carolina, where the song won the People's Choice Prize. Over the next two years, he would go on to write a number of other songs, including the six tracks that appear here.

In March 2014, Cook began recording his original material with Ken "Dakota" Jones of Southern Harmony Studios in Florence, South Carolina. The result was six tracks featuring Cook's improbable falsetto vocal harmonies, Neanderthalic piano playing, and some Asia-esque synthesizer work.

Each of these tracks represent Cook's unusual, slice-of-life perspective on the world, derailed romance, and hipsters. Submitted for your approval: Tyler James Cook's Contest Winner EP.

Electrock III (due out Fall 2015) - pre-maturely dubbed "the Ziggy Stardust of MIDI-based electronic instrumental music," Electrock III is the most ambitious Electrock project to date. Originally conceived as a standard Electrock release (about 12 tracks), I've decided to expand Electrock III into a double-album of about 24 tracks. I made this decision because my compositions and style have developed and changed a bit over the years, and many of original tracks for EIII were written from 2007-2009. The double-album approach should give listeners a chance to "time travel" between the older compositions and the new ones.

http://tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/contest-winner-ep