Music producer Tobi (Toby Davis) has been using his creative vision and talents mixing, mastering or remixing other artists and bands’ music for a while now. And though he’s generally preferred to work behind the scenes in relative anonymity in the Luxembourg countryside where he resides, he’s also found it difficult to build momentum or a fan base in his own right. Consequently, he came to the realization that he needed to invent and control his own brand. In addition, he’s long thought of his collaborations as  ‘alternate versions’, rather than simply ‘remixes’, and that the term ‘remix’ did not serve him well. This has led him to create a new ‘Tobisonics’ brand as an opportunity to more properly reflect his alternate versions and the manner in which he approaches and feels about them.

For his first project as Tobisonics, he’s teamed up with the theatrical, genre-bending Las Vegas-based duo Fans of Jimmy Century to re-imagine their modwave neo-noir song “Noirstar (Memories of His City).” Fans of Jimmy Century consists of vocalist, lyricist, composer and voice-over artist Alicia Perrone & songwriter, producer and bassist Victor James. Tobisonics gives their song a cinematic synth-scape treatment, redubbed  “Noirstar (Dark City Edition)“.

Fans of Jimmy Century

Living up to its title, the languid track is sexy and dark, with a slightly menacing vibe that conveys the sense of excitement, titillation and danger inherent in big city life. Starting with Victor James’s deep, pulsating bass line, Tobi recasts it as a modulated/phased sequencer bass, creating a hypnotic EDM beat over which he layers spacey, otherworldly synths. In her mysterious, sultry vocals, Alicia Perrone purrs: “Still have memories of the city. I wouldn’t wish ’em on anyone. Not anyone.” Exactly what she’s referring to isn’t clear, leaving it up to the listener to interpret as we wish. The tension gradually builds until the two-minute mark, at which point Tobi breaks down the track with eerie tribal chants and soaring synth chords. After about 20 seconds, the previous bass-driven tempo returns and continues through to the end, leaving us mesmerized by this captivating song.

Connect with Tobi:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Connect with Fans of Jimmy Century:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Download/purchase the track on  iTunes / Amazon / Google Play / Tidal