Tobacco

Thomas Fec (born February 6, 1980), better known by his stage name Tobacco (stylized in all caps), is an American electronic musician. He is the frontman of the psychedelic rock band Black Moth Super Rainbow, in addition to working as a solo artist. As of late 2018, he has teamed up with rapper Aesop Rock to become the music duo Malibu Ken, releasing their self-titled debut album in January 2019. History He grew up in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Hampton High School in 1998 along with bandmate Seth Ciotti. In a 2009 interview with Skyscraper Magazine, Tobacco said that his name derived from "a character that freaked me out as a kid, the Tobacco Man," referring to the character from the film Redneck Zombies. In a 2016 interview with Song Exploder podcast, Tobacco discloses that he doesn't know "any instruments," but that he became enamored with a four-track recorder that his parents gave him while he was in high school. Tobacco released his first solo album, Fucked Up Friends, on Anticon on October 14, 2008. It was recorded using entirely analog equipment. Rolling Stone said of the album, "one of the year's best stoner-rock records – only it's powered by synths, hip-hop beats and vocoders instead of guitars." Exclaim! called it "worthy of obsessive listening." The album featured a guest appearance from Aesop Rock. A DVD of the album had been released more than a year prior, on September 3, 2007, by The 70's Gymnastics Recording Company. In February 2010, an e-mail sent out to the Black Moth Super Rainbow/Tobacco e-mail list announced a new CD by Tobacco entitled Maniac Meat that would feature Beck on two tracks titled "Fresh Hex" and "Grape Aerosmith." Tobacco revealed that in making the album, the two exchanged parts for songs via e-mail, and that they had never actually met in person. On March 30, 2010, the website Pitchfork Media released the first song from Maniac Meat titled "Sweatmother". The album came out on May 25 on Anticon.