When I first heard the demo that Tom b sent to me, I whacked the volume up to 100 on my headphones and began to pace around my flat. I had no idea what to expect. What I heard was a cacophony of electronic sounds and samples, beautifully interwoven into this musical tapestry that Tom b and Flipso called ‘Lavender Water – Remix’. As the song blared, I caught a reflection of myself in the mirror in my room, a Cheshire cat grin stretched wide across my face. I was euphoric, and it was a feeling that I could solely attribute to the song I was hearing. The song played on repeat for the whole evening, migrating from my headphones to my stereo, with each listen revealing another sonic intricacy that had been carefully embedded within.
This track is a testament to their musical excellence, showcasing a sharp instinct for the placements of certain sounds and a flawless balance of pace and timbre. There’s this solitude conveyed by Lucy Wroe’s vocals in the song’s opening moments which is suddenly wrapped in a comforting blanket of certainty, as the instrumental swells and seems to gently encourage her to open up. For a song that opens with such minimalism, it quickly transforms into something almost unrecognisable as the sounds layer and evolve, building into this truly rich and dynamic soundscape. This song borrows all of the greatest facets from UK garage and drum and bass, blending them seamlessly into a high-energy, genre-defying piece that feels simultaneously nostalgic and fresh.
I wanted to know more about how this song had come to fruition, and so I spoke with Tom b, picking his brains on the process of producing the original song, and finding out how Flipso had become involved in the musical evolution of ‘Lavender Water – Remix’.
First off, tell me a little bit about yourself. Who is Tom b?
I’m from Somerset, however I’m currently living in London. I’ve been making music in various forms since I was in my early teens, but I’ve only really settled in with my own stuff as ‘Tom b’ since 2022. Stylistically I draw a lot from lofi producers and artists like the Microphones and the Books, specifically the very aggressive way of sampling themselves.
You are releasing a remix this month, what are the stylistic influences around it and how did this release come to fruition?
This release is a remix of my song “Lavender Water” done by my pal and fellow producer Philipp Koerver (Flipso). Philipp is a big fan of the original, and when we were playing a few gigs in Germany a year or two ago we talked a lot about UK garage and drum and bass as genres we really like but have never really gotten into making. One day Philipp sent me a rough version of the remix. I thought it was incredible and I asked him to finish it and flesh it out fully for a release. The original track was written on an improvised guitar progression, Lucy wrote some vocals around it using the title I gave as inspiration. I remember sitting on the tube home from work and having this idea for a song in my head. I basically ran home so that I could record my initial ideas. Anyway the song has come a long way since that moment and now it has been reimagined into a completely new form.
How did you find letting someone remix your work? Was that something that you struggled with at all?
This is the first time I’ve ever had one of my tracks remixed, and the first time Philipp has remixed anything as well. I more or less let Philipp do
whatever he wanted. I gave him the stems and let him run free. He sent me the odd draft and I commented on certain mix things but I was very careful to not put too much of my own input and opinions into it, I wanted it to be representative of him.
Me and Philipp met through Lucy, the vocalist and lyric writer. We both work with Lucy on her own music. When you look back at all of the things we have made, I think it’s fair to say we all work fairly cohesively. I’ve sampled Philipp’s drumming and piano playing a lot, Philipp’s had me engineering and recording drums for him, both Philipp and I produce Lucy’s solo work, and we’ve toured together a couple of times.
In terms of struggling with the notion of someone remixing my own work, I think this release is a real development in my own creative journey. It’s really challenged me to embrace the idea that allowing others to reinterpret our work opens up a vast array of musical possibilities, opportunities I might never have realised on my own.
When I started producing and releasing my own music it was all very insular and single minded. I played everything, produced, mixed, and mastered it all. But over time I’ve made a conscious effort to involve more and more people in the creative process, and that is how ‘Lavender Water – Remix’ has come around.
Are there any messages or specific feelings you are trying to evoke through this release?
Recently I’ve been trying not to think too hard about the type of person listening. It’s been a bit more of an exercise in making stuff for me, and Philipp definitely shares this outlook as well at the moment. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of creating things that you think people will like and not actually liking it yourself, I’ve definitely done that.
Have you got any plans following the release of this project? Are you looking to collaborate or work on new music any time soon?
Currently I’ve got another small EP lined up, a live studio session I recorded and filmed with a full band last year. This will probably be out in March. I’m also currently working on a recorded version of an improvised live set I played, fleshed out with more instrumentation and collaborators.
Listen to Lavender Water – Flipso Remix on Bandcamp: https://tomb26.bandcamp.com/track/lavender-water-flipso-remix
Listen to Lavender Water – Flipso Remix on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2wrhrGBNpA1GeYvayTVDhC?si=68768bcdddab4ec2
