TOBACCO

TOBACCO creates a sound that is simultaneously disgusting and beautiful. It is built on a foundation of thick, melted analog synthesizers that feel like they are oozing out of the speakers. The percussion is heavy and deliberate, borrowing the rhythmic DNA of boom-bap hip-hop but slowing it down into a swampy, psychedelic crawl. Everything is coated in a layer of tape hiss and intentional distortion, giving the music a tactile, physical presence that feels like handling old, degraded film.

What truly sets the project apart is the vocal treatment. Tom Fec almost exclusively uses a vocoder, but not in the clean, robotic way of pop music. Instead, the vocals are gargled, distorted, and buried within the mix, acting more like a lead synthesizer than a traditional singer. This creates a sense of anonymity and mystery, as if the music is being broadcast from a pirate radio station in a parallel dimension where the 1980s never ended but only decayed.

For those new to this world, Fucked Up Friends is the essential entry point. It perfectly captures the balance between catchy melodic hooks and the abrasive, lo-fi textures that define the TOBACCO aesthetic. It is music for people who like their electronic sounds to have dirt under their fingernails and a bit of a sinister grin.