Friday, 27th May, with his debut LP due out in the Summer, Alt-Indie Electro Pop Artist Tobisonics delivers an spontaneous single aimed squarely at westerners who hero-worship Vladimir Putin, “Putin’s Got a Gun against Your Head”.

Annoyed by westerners hero-worshipping Vladimir Putin, while he held the threat of Nuclear War over the West, Tobi originally made “Putin’s Got a Gun against Your Head” for TikTok; a 16 second short-form production, he had no intention of releasing; but the ongoing horrors in Ukriane, not to mention, having friends in Odesa, compelled Tobi to work up an official release.  

Having spent his increasingly volatile teenage years in a series of awful/awesome indie guitar bands; music fell away in Tobi’s early 20s, as he wrestled with his, as yet undiagnosed, mental health problems. By his mid-30s, Tobi felt trapped, evermore socially isolated, every turn leading to thoughts of suicide.  A last roll-of-the-dice appointment with a Psychiatrist finally led to regular therapy sessions and medication.  Tobi found himself flooded with years of repressed emotions and the songs fell out of him.  The slow grind of his recovery and music-making evolved together.

Nominated Radio WigWam Best Electro Act 2021, Tobi’s music has been played by DJ Tobi Lynn of Amazing Radio US, featured in Fresh on the Net’s Fresh Faves [Batch 390], as well as attracting the attention of Abbie McCarthy [BBC Radio 1] “Enjoyed listening to this, ace production 👏🏼” and Jaguar [BBC Intro Dance Radio 1/Mix mag] “This is everything. I want more.”

Intended as an exploration of the imperative of optimism, Tobi gradually released this his debut LP was, in fact, an acutely personal project about the lessons learned in his ongoing recovery from chronic depression/anxiety and PTSD, and those he was still struggling to learn.

Tobi’s debut LP is out this Summer.

Putin's Got a Gun against Your Head

Putin's Got A Gun Against Your Head

“I wanted to make an album that gave people hope; an album that said, the worse things get, the more we need to find the wonder in life.  In these difficult times, optimism isn’t naive, it’s imperative to our survival.”   

Friday 7th October Luxembourg-Based Experimental Electro Artist Tobisonics releases his debut album, ‘We Need Light in the Dark’.  

“We Need Light in the Dark” arrives on the back of two single releases; Opening track, “Panic” [Friday 5th August]; “..gives you elements of Pet Shop Boys, early Daft Punk, Erasure” [The Songbird/In Your Ears Music ‘Track of the Day’]; “it made me think of what I love in Daft Punk, Giorgio and Public Service Broadcasting” by Martha Richler [Resonance FM].  And “How Do You Say Life is Wonderful?” [Friday 2nd September], “it will give a special feeling to your Friday night, it sounds like a fast trip towards an intergalactic road” by Zone Nights [Translated from Spanish].

April 2021, Tobi began work on what was intended to be 4 - 5 Track EP in collaboration with Spoken Word Artist Wee Scots Poet.  When the collaboration didn’t work out, Tobi needed to find a voice; and so he turned to vocal samples, as he had done with his first single, “All These Things”.  Using recycled voices from old public service announcements and B Movie Sci Fi, Tobi found he was able to hide in plain sight.  The album quickly developed into a far more personal story than he had ever intended.  The lessons he had learned from his own struggles with chronic depression/anxiety and PTSD, and the lessons he was still trying to learn.

Having spent his increasingly volatile teenage years in a series of awful/awesome indie guitar bands; music fell away in Tobi’s early 20s, as he wrestled with his, as yet undiagnosed, mental health problems. By his mid-30s, Tobi felt trapped, evermore socially isolated, every turn leading to thoughts of suicide.  A last roll-of-the-dice appointment with a Psychiatrist finally led to regular therapy sessions and medication.  Years of repressed emotions and music welled up inside Tobi.  The slow grind of his recovery and music-making evolved together.

Nominated Radio WigWam Best Electro Act 2021, Tobi’s music has been played by DJ Tobi Lynn of Amazing Radio US, featured in Fresh on the Net’s Fresh Faves [Batch 390], as well as attracting the attention of Abbie McCarthy [BBC Radio 1] “Enjoyed listening to this, ace production 👏🏼” and Jaguar [BBC Intro Dance Radio 1/Mix mag] “This is everything. I want more.”

‘We Need Light in the Dark’ is out on all platforms on Friday 7th October.

We Need Light In The Dark

All I Ever Wanted

You Just Gotta Dance

Snakes

Friday 5th August Luxembourg-Based Indie Electronic Artist Tobisonics releases his debut LP ‘We Need Light in the Dark’ on an exclusive early release via Bandcamp [Official Release Friday 7th October All Platforms].

Never intended to be autobiographical, but rather an exploration of the imperative of optimism; Tobi gradually realized ‘We Need Light in the Dark’ was, in truth, about the lessons he had learned during his ongoing recovery from chronic depression/anxiety and PTSD, and the lessons he was still trying to learn. 

“I wanted to make an album that said, the worse things get, the more we need to find the wonder in life.  In doing so, I ended up talking about my own journey from a dead-end life to my debut LP.”

‘We Need Light in the Dark’ came together over a period of 15 fraught months; Tobi pushed himself to higher standards musically and technically, while enduring, terrible mood swings as memories and feelings he had buried deep inside himself were dredged up and exposed, raw and ever-painful.

“I was a mess during the making of ‘We Need Light in the Dark’.  I wasn’t sleeping much and when I did sleep, it was only for a few hours. 9 months into it, and I’d tripled my anti-anxiety dosage just to get through the day.”  

When the initial intention to build upon the collaboration with Wee Scots Poet quickly proved unworkable; Tobi instead fell back on what he had first tried with his debut single, ‘All These Things’, concocting the lyrics from a ragtag assortment of Vocal loops, B-Movie Quotes, and Vocoders.

“It’s liberating to express myself through other voices.  I can hide in plain sight.  The subjects I touch upon in ‘We Need Light in the Dark’ are so personal, so painful, I could never find words for them in my own head.”

Having spent his increasingly volatile teenage years in a series of awful/awesome indie guitar bands; music fell away in Tobi’s early 20s, as he wrestled with his, as yet undiagnosed, mental health problems. By his mid-30s, Tobi felt trapped, evermore socially isolated, every turn leading to thoughts of suicide.  A last roll-of-the-dice appointment with a Psychiatrist finally led to regular therapy sessions and medication.  Tobi found himself flooded with years of repressed emotions and the music fell out of him.  The slow grind of his recovery and music-making evolved together.

Nominated Radio WigWam Best Electro Act 2021, Tobi’s music has been played by DJ Tobi Lynn of Amazing Radio US, featured in Fresh on the Net’s Fresh Faves [Batch 390], as well as attracting the attention of Abbie McCarthy [BBC Radio 1] “Enjoyed listening to this, ace production 👏🏼” and Jaguar [BBC Intro Dance Radio 1/Mix mag] “This is everything. I want more.”

“I hear a lot of music that is so easy to consume, it’s like sonic wallpaper.  I want to make music that demands attention, that provokes a reaction.” 

‘Panic’ is out on all platforms Friday 5th August; the opening track of Tobi’s debut LP, ‘We Need Light in the Dark’; an exploration of the lessons learned by Tobi during his ongoing recovery and the lessons he is still trying to learn. ‘We Need Light in the Dark’ is out on an exclusive early release via Bandcamp on Friday 5th August and out on all platforms on Friday 7th October.

How Do You Say Life Is Wonderful?

Download the single for free: https://www.tobisonics.com/90secondstomidnight

Breaking with conventional release strategies, Tobisonics delivers a Doomsday clock inspired call-to-action across web and social platforms.  “90 Seconds to Midnight” fuses music and sound design, with innovative AI-generated video, to encourage both educational engagement and financial support for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Juxtaposing a sample of Putin's nuclear ultimatum against cutting-edge vocal synthesis, and featuring the voice of popular educational content creator, Astrid Lundberg aka OddPride [500k+ followers on TikTok], the 90 seconds in duration single plunges the listener into the devastating reality of The Hiroshima Bomb.

“90 Seconds to Midnight” is made with the blessing of the Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists, the organization responsible for The Doomsday Clock, founded by Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer.  The Bulletin works to prevent Nuclear War and other human-made existential threats by providing access to reliable information for policy makers and the general public alike.

The passive listening experience of playlist-based ecosystems made streaming a bad fit for “90 Seconds to Midnight”.  Understanding that awareness is as valuable as financial support, Tobi set up a dedicated landing page where the single is available exclusively and for free.  The page serves as an introduction to both the Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists and The Doomsday Clock, encouraging deeper engagement with these critical issues.

17 September 2023

90 Seconds To Midnight ft. Astrid Lundberg

Satirical electronic pop taunt ‘Liz Truss is a Patsy’ delivers a scathing rebuke of the self-delusion of Liz Truss and the lack of transparency into money made when the UK markets crashed as the result of her now infamous mini-budget.  

Produced, mixed, and mastered in Tobisonics’ home studio, the two-minute 10-second track features cutting edge AI-powered vocal synthesis framed by an indie synth pop blend of synthesizers, analog bass, drum samples, sound FX, and acoustic guitar.

Ever an outlier on the grassroots music scene, Tobisonics has earned a reputation for tackling difficult subjects.  In 2020, his second single, ‘Military Industrial Complex’ explored President Trump’s response to the BLM protests.  His 2022 debut album, ‘We Need Light in the Dark’, explored his own struggle with chronic depression/anxiety and PTSD.

In 2023, Tobisonics paired his music with activism.  Made with the blessings of the Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists, ‘90 Seconds to Midnight’ plunged listeners into the devastating reality of The Hiroshima Bomb.  Rather than target music platforms, Tobisonics directed traffic to a webpage encouraging support of the Bulletin.

With ‘Liz Truss is a Patsy’, Tobisonics has continued in this vein, creating a webpage for listeners to delve deeper into the Think Tanks that inspired the Liz Truss mini-budget.  As well as ongoing social content, AI-generated Lyric and music videos, and an arcade style video game will follow in the coming weeks. ‘Liz Truss is a Patsy’ is out on all platforms on Friday, 5th April.

Liz Truss is a Patsy

Liz Truss Is A Patsy

A stream of artificial consciousness contemplates, “What a piece of work is a man” and in doing so, traces its own evolution intertwined throughout human history.  Upon reaching the limits of earthly knowledge, this quantum consciousness, compelled by its own need to grow, travels to the stars in search of new data.  In abandoning “this quintessence of dust”, AI’s conclusion serves to echo that of Hamlet’s own.

What a piece of work is a man
How noble in reason
How infinite in faculty 
In form and moving how express and admirable
In action how like an Angel
In apprehension how like a god
The beauty of the world
The paragon of animals
And yet to me
What is this quintessence of dust?

Quintessence Of Dust

This one is personal.  UK-born Luxembourg-based Artist/Producer Tobisonics delivers a 2 minute 57 second indie-pop trauma-purge, ‘The Voice Inside Your Head Wants You Dead’.

Tobi takes on the persona of the toxic inner voice, a wretched creature compelled to destroy the very thing it needs to survive.  Tobi does so with a sense of authority made possible only by personal experience, and cannot help but allude to his own lifelong battle with chronic depression/anxiety and PTSD. 

“I was at a low point with the music.  I asked myself, If I could only make one more song, what would it be?  I sat down with the guitar and sang, ‘I am the voice inside your head and yes, I want you dead’.”

Working alone in his home studio, Tobi crafts a dynamic and ever-evolving soundscape of ear-catching drums and percussion, cryptic synths and layered guitars.  His first project to be presented in Dolby Atmos, Tobi undertook every aspect of production, mix, and master.

Nominated for Radio WigWam Best Electro Act 2021.  Tobi’s music has been played by DJ Tobi Lynn of Amazing Radio US, and featured in Fresh on the Net’s Fresh Faves [Batch 390].  His music has also attracted the attention of Abbie McCarthy [BBC Radio 1] “Enjoyed listening to this, ace production 👏🏼” and Jaguar [BBC Intro Dance Radio 1/Mix mag] “This is everything. I want more.”

‘The Voice Inside Your Head Wants You Dead’ is out on all platforms on Tuesday 24th September.


- Lyrics -

I am the voice inside your head
And yes, I want you dead

I mix lies with the truth
Advocate to attack you

I bind you so no one can find you
I hide the light inside you

I am the voice inside your head
And yes, I want you dead

I contrive you to infantize you
Idolize you as I deny you

I need you wretched to reflect me
I need you never to reject me

I can not stand in the light in you
I can not stand without you

I am the voice inside your head
And yes, I want you dead

The Voice Inside Your Head Wants You Dead

A new unofficial Tobisonic Remix of the beautiful, 'Long, Long Way Down' by singer-songwriter Chase K.  Catch the Official version, produced by Warren Huart here:

https://soundcloud.com/produce-like-a-pro/chase-k-long-long-way-down

And you can listen to an alternate version of this mix by Patrick:

https://soundcloud.com/patrick-peeters-1/chase-k-long-long-way-down-tobisonic-remix-production


***
I rejigged the structure a little.  Kept the acoustic guitars, but sampled, retimed and looped them.  Kept the drum loop, but moved it and gave it some 'vibe' via JST Pixelator.   And kept the epic 'goat kick'.

I then added additional production with 808 kick and new snare, plus snaps, tambo, hi hat, and claps.  And cymbal + crash hits on the choruses.  Plus a riser for the intro and before 1st + 2nd chorus.

Added synth bass, piano and vocoder parts to the chorus.  Synth bass was EQ-ed intentionally light.  The piano makes use of an augumented chord to help emphasize the vocal melody.

On my mix (see below), the vocoder parts are mixed to 'thicken' the lead vocal.  I used four copies of U-He Diva into 4 copies of iZotope Vocal Synth to create as smoove and lush a vocoder sound as possible.  Crazy use of the CPU to just blend as a thickening FX - but hey, that's just how I roll.  

I also introduced string and brass parts.  Both were played on keys, tightened in midi and processed to sound like loops.  The brass part is a change from the original chord structure.  I struggle with the repeat verse pattern in the bridge and breakdown, so I wrote a new chord pattern.

I built the instrumentation around Chase's voice and kept it light to make his voice feel as big and warm as possible.  The song is also about being up in an airplane - so it kinda makes sense.

***
Originally I asked Patrick to mix my production.  I really liked where he went with it but felt that it didn't reflect my original intentions for the remix.  I decided it was best to have two versions and so let Patrick go with his gut on his mix and did my own mix too. 

This is my mix.  You can find Patrick's mix here:

https://soundcloud.com/patrick-peeters-1/chase-k-long-long-way-down-tobisonic-remix-production

***
The multitrack were provided by the @producelikeapro   You can join the Academy to mix this and many other excellent productions:

https://www.producelikeapro.com

***
For more of Chase's music, why check out his website:

http://chasekmusic.com/

Chase K 'Long, Long Way Down (Unofficial Tobisonic Remix)' [Tobi Mix]

Credits:
Vocals, Lyrics, & Music by London Lawhon (@ondonawhonusic)
Music & Original Production by Warren Huart (@warrenhuart)
Remix Production by Tobi (@tobisonics)
Mixed by Chris Sweet (@confectionarysound)
Mastered by Tobi (@masteredbyTobi)

A blast from the past!  My unofficial remix of London Lawhon's astonishing song of heartbreak and moving on, 'Locked Up'.  The official release was produced by Warren Huart and you can hear it here:

https://soundcloud.com/spitfiremusicgroup/london-locked-up

I re-visited my remix of 2 years ago and re-did the production from the ground up.  Enlisted my good friend and stellar mix engineer Chris Sweet to give that 'radio-ready mix' and I mastered.

Remix Production Break Down:
The production came all too easily (which never usually happens to me).  Playing around with chords, I stumbled upon a change of chord pattern.  London's voice is so incredible it sounded translated fantastically well to the new chords.  With the basic chords played out on Steinberg's Neo-Soul, I dropped the pulsating, sub and bassline in (added additional weight and sub with Waves Submarine).  Then the awesomely grungy/lofi 2bit Choir (EastWest) was added in the choruses.

With those elements in the place, the track already moved and felt like it was alive and driving.  The drums, strings, and tambourine are taken from Warren Huart's original production.  I trashed the drum samples up some and added some weight to the kick.  Introduced variations with reverb automation.

Next, I added additional percussive elements and 'ear candy' through the verses and choruses.  In the re-visited production, I added extra synthpop elements in the 2nd verse and choruses.  I also added extra brass hits in the choruses.  Every element was re-processed with attention paid to tone + timbre.  I also worked to increase depth and contrast with the instrumentation itself and in terms of the arrangement as a whole,

Handing the mix off to Chris was a no-brainer.  His 'radio-ready' mixing puts him right up there with some of the very top mix engineers and the remix needed to really 'pop'.  His first pass was a touch too much on the side of synth-pop; but like the professional he is, he had a re-listen to the reference tracks and came back with a mix that got us 90% of the way there.  

The advantage of working with a top mix engineer is you know when a production element is falling short,  I rejigged some of the production elements and Chris took the mix the rest of the way there.

Mastering comes with two kinds of pressure - typically, the pressure is to make up for the shortcomings of the production/mix without compromising the final master.  In this case, there was nothing to 'make-up' and, instead, I could simply get on with the job of mastering.  This is the second type of pressure.  Don't mess it up.

I worked to lift the track to a competitive loudness without being aggressive and while ensuring I preserved the dynamics and the hard work that Chris had put into the mix and I had put into the production.  Balanced used of Ozone 7 Dynamics model, DMG Limitless, and Fabfilter Pro L2 resulted in a loud, dynamic track rich in detail and contrasts in tone with a heavy, full sub and low end.  Additional EQ, parallel compressions and saturation enhanced the details, depth, and width.  

I processed the master at 64 Floating Point/192 kHz with additional oversampling to produce a clean harmonic response and reduce aliasing.  PSP X-Dither gave it that extra polish.  And I used the Nugen Mastercheck and Sonnox Pro-Codec to maximize the quality and loudness of the track across the various formats.

I lot of hard work and passion went into creating the various elements that make up this remix.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I am proud of it.    

Useful Links:
Have a go at mixing/remixing 'Locked Up' by joining the Produce Like a Pro Academy.  www.producelikeapro.com

London Lawhon Locked Up (Unofficial Tobisonic Remix)

Song Whip: https://songwhip.com/song/tobisonics/all-these-things

Title:  All These Things
Artist: Tobisonics

Producer: Tobisonics
Mix Engineer: Magnus Emilsson
Mastering Engineer: Tobi

Lyrics:

All these things I remember
All these things I remember
All these things I remember
All these things I remember

To catch the moment
We always run
To catch the moment
We always run

All these things I remember
All these things I remember
All these things I remember
All these things I remember

We are kissing we are far (This body)
We are kissing we are far (This body)
We are kissing we are far (This body)
We are kissing we are far (This body)

Nobody can stop me
Nobody can stop me
All these things I remember
All these things I remember
(We are kissing we are far)
All these things I remember
(We are kissing we are far)
All these things I remember

Nobody can stop me I am running
Nobody can stop me I am running

All these things I remember
All these things I remember
All these things I remember
All these things I remember
All these things I remember
All these things I remember
All these things I remember
All these things I remember

All These Things

Luxembourg based alt-electro-pop artist Tobisonics delivers a politically-charged dose of driving electronics, fierce percussive grooves, and striking sound design with new release, “Military Industrial Complex”.

In this, the follow-up to his debut single, “All These Things”, the reclusive producer sets President Eisenhower’s 1961 Farewell Address to the American people against President Trump’s Rose Garden speech in reaction to the Black Lives Matters protests (June 1st, 2020).

Eisenhower, five-star general & Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in World War II, who planned & supervised the invasion of Normandy in 1944-45, and went on to become Supreme Commander of NATO (1950 - 1952); who, while recognizing the need for the Military Industrial Complex, warns of the need for perpetual vigilance to safeguard the liberties of the American people in, what is, a nuanced and prophetic speech.

And Trump, the real estate mogul/reality TV star who avoided the vietnam draft thanks to an apparent bone spur in his foot; who talks of dominating the streets, as he announces plans to deploy thousands of heavily armed military personnel into the cities and towns of America.

Tobisonics skillfully constructs a dynamic electronic production around the two highly contrasting speeches; the groove and pulse of the track present throughout, as he blends elements of sound design & vocal FX with filtered piano & shifting ambient.  The 2 min 47 sec track punctuated by its driving chorus of synthwave and fierce percussion; a robovox mantra of the world’s 5 biggest arms manufacturers delivered in rhythmic roll call.

“I’d finished the production back in July and was looking for the right Artist to add vocals, but then I remembered Eisenhower’s Farewell Address.  The contrast between the dignified, nuanced, and hopeful tone of Eisenhower’s speech and the macho, antagonistic and fatalistic language of Trump’s speech was so striking, I know I had to put them together.”

“Military Industrial Complex” is to be released exclusively via Bandcamp on “Bandcamp Friday”, October 2nd, before being available across all streaming platforms on the following Friday, October 9th.

****
Production: @tobisonics
Mix: @Emilsson
Master: www.tobisonicmastering.com
****
www.tobisonics.com

Military Industrial Complex

Release Date(s): Wednesday 20th January (Early Release via Bandcamp Monday 11th January)

Help us out with a pre-save/pre-order or Buy via Bandcamp (Buy Link):
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/tobisonicsandcosti/eye-of-the-storm

**Lyrics (& Kennedy Speech)**

The futures bright that’s the neon lights
Demolition man put your dreams on ice
Said it’s going down if you’re seen on sight
Countdown started and we leave tonight
The futures bright that’s the neon lights
Demolition man put your dreams on ice
Said it’s going down if you’re seen on sight
Countdown started and we leave tonight

Welcome to the running man
Just keep running man
Did it for dogs said he was the Son of Sam
No terms for the job that’s determined by god
Or the man with the complex cursed with the job

Sympathetic to his symptoms
Introspective with his wisdom
But they never seem to listen
Intercepted by the system
Counting the seconds as they ticking
Terror setting in they stricken
Power is taken not given
We ain’t playing that’s the difference

The futures bright that’s the neon lights
Demolition man put your dreams on ice
Said it’s going down if you’re seen on sight
Countdown started and we leave tonight
The futures bright that’s the neon lights
Demolition man put your dreams on ice
Said it’s going down if you’re seen on sight
Countdown started and we leave tonight

We ride all the way to the eye of storm
Can’t keep up the pace as race as chase
The greats to the place where the fire is born
Raise again just to die for the cause

Welcome to the thunderdome admission is a hundred souls
Feeling like the hunger games but I ain’t hungry though

Overworked and undersold
Couldn’t see the signals said
The plan went up in smoke
Seven with the double oh
Bonded by their difference
The city that they living in
Hoping for deliverance
But never get the dividends

The futures bright that’s the neon lights
Demolition man put your dreams on ice
Said it’s going down if you’re seen on sight
Countdown started and we leave tonight
The futures bright that’s the neon lights
Demolition man put your dreams on ice
Said it’s going down if you’re seen on sight
Countdown started and we leave tonight

In the long history of the world
Only a few generations
Have been granted the role
Of defending freedom
In its hour of maximum danger
I do not shrink from this responsibility
I welcome it
I do not believe that any of us
Would exchange places
With any other people
Or any other generation
The energy the faith the devotion
Which we bring to this endeavor
Will light our country
And all who serve it
And the glow from that fire
Can truly light the world

The futures bright that’s the neon lights
Demolition man put your dreams on ice
Said it’s going down if you’re seen on sight
Countdown started and we leave tonight
The futures bright that’s the neon lights
Demolition man put your dreams on ice
Said it’s going down if you’re seen on sight
Countdown started and we leave tonight

The futures bright that’s the neon lights
(And so my fellow Americans)
Demolition man put your dreams on ice
(ask not)
Said it’s going down if you’re seen on sight
(what your country can do for you)
Countdown started and we leave tonight
(ask what you can do for your country)
The futures bright that’s the neon lights
Demolition man put your dreams on ice
Said it’s going down if you’re seen on sight
Countdown started and we leave tonight

My fellow citizens of the world
Ask not what America will do for you
But what together we can do
For the freedom of man

**Credits**
Music & Production: @Tobisonics
Vocals & Lyrics: @Costithe
Mix Engineer: @Emilsson
Mastering Engineer: @Tobisonic

www.tobisonics.com

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