INTERVIEW : TOBACCO
On paper, Tom Fec's experimental project TOBACCO should thrive in obscurity. The kind of albums you discover in a niche vinyl boutique, 20 years after the fact, and proudly exhibit to your friends. It must be a sign of our times that, instead, these urgent jams characterized by their hissing synth tones and blown-out basses have captured the zeitgeist in so many ways, amassing accolades from famous musicians and soundtracking a hit HBO show. On his new album Hot, Wet & Sassy, Fec indulges a few of his pop impulses, re-thinking his sound without denaturing it. A bit less lo-fi, but still just as amazingly weird, his new tracks explore different codes of electronic music to create something completely unique. We had a chat with Tom to learn more about the making of the album.
I read you had a period of writer’s block before you made Sweatbox Dynasty. In what headspace were you when you started working on Hot, Wet & Sassy?
That time before Sweatbox was more than writer’s block- I didn’t even wanna turn the shit on. When I did, it happened really fast. So my headspace was way different making this one. I think I pretty much started it like right after I finished Sweatbox. For the most part, I felt pretty solid during the whole time, which isn’t always where I am.
What was your process when you conceived the album?
It accelerates near the end, but like 3 or 4 years of writing, letting it breathe, fine-tuning, letting it breathe, fine-tuning some more. A little more consistent and meticulous than I used to be.
By like end of 2017, I noticed Devil’s Night 2020 fell on a Friday, so I set my sights on that. I ended up having months to spare, so had it mastered and turned in way early, and then like right as it was about to go to manufacturing, I made Jinmenken and switched it out with another song last second and turned it into a rush.
You’re notorious for your use of analog gear. What was your setup like for HW&S? Are there any particular instruments that inspired you?
I have a really small set of synths compared to what I think people would expect of me. I wanted the palette to be almost completely different from every past album, so I didn’t touch modular very much or even the few old mono synths I have. I have a Hornet synth that I looked at as The Sound. Even though it wasn’t on every song, it was always set up staring at me.
What were you listening to while you were making the album?
I don’t know that they necessarily influenced anything I was doing, but during that time I got really into Delroy Edwards and Moon B. And the 1st Patricia album Ghostly put out. Been stuck on that sound since.
You’ve collaborated on a hip hop record with Aesop Rock, could you see yourself producing records for other artists?
I don’t see that, but someone could come out of the woodwork and surprise me. I’ve accomplished what I wanted in past collaborations and now there are new things I wanna try. Whether or not those are ever even heard, I wanna do it on my own.
The face of the music industry has changed countless times in the past decade. I know it's a lame question, but what advice would you give a young musician releasing music today? Or what advice would you give your younger self?
Like even the outsiders are manufactured now, making it harder to find the real weirdos. Manipulating an algorithm is worth more than making something really good. I don't feel like there's a place for me anymore. At least I wouldn't be able to get anything going now.
I would tell anyone starting out to be hyper-aware of what’s going on. Learn what the money assholes know, but not by what they tell you. You have to just feel it and know. And then manipulate it to your strengths. That’s just a bunch of words because I don’t have a definitive answer because I don’t even know. That shit is gross. The idea of a squishy headed bald motherfucker telling you how to make music to make them even richer is gross. And that’s what you have to deal with. I don’t envy that.
Do you already have plans for the rest of the year? What will you do after the promo cycle of Hot, Wet & Sassy is over?
No plans. I was working at getting certified to be a personal trainer before I got really deep into this album, and I thought I would finish that now, but seems like a bad time for it. Hopefully next year.
Hot, Wet & Sassy will be out just in time for Halloween, on October 30th, via Ghostly International.