TBCs debut album ‘Fruitfly Effect’ is an eclectic 16-track flight through multiple genres. A 99% self-recorded and produced living-room-studio album with a crunchy dose of Lo-fi feels. Released to the public after almost a decade of live performances, TBC reverse the traditional cycle of audio consumption and marketing, testing the songs in front of a crowd first, in order to decide what works & what doesn’t, prior to release. The duo approaches their music with snappy humour and lightness, masking darker, subterranean realities lurking within careful listening. Their work can be described as iconoclast and humorist, concurrently maintaining their innate fragilities and self-awareness.


The Album

The title of the album ‘Fruitfly Effect’ is a playful appropriation of the butterfly effect, similar to the chaos theory. In contrary to the elegant butterfly the much smaller, graceless fruit-fly lacks its counterparts sophistication, its wing span is scant. Nevertheless discovering just one fruit-fly in the kitchen on a calm eve is a sure omen of an approaching armageddon the next morning. Fruit-flies always come en masse and feed on the fermenting waste, anything laying around really and just continue multiplying. Although terribly annoying, they’re a vital part of the food chain. TBC find this relatable and came up with the term while falling asleep one time.
The fruitily-effect is how TBC describe the vast virality of questionable trends and the resulting hype-birth, which they hope to hijack with their music.

“Throughout the time writing this album, coming with positively rebellious, youthful attitudes, we’ve been really concerned about the relevance of craftsmanship and innovation in the art and music industries, so that’s what this album came to reflect. It helped us come to terms with expectations and decide when to prioritise what.”


About the Songs

The album opens with ‘Bullshit Time’, a cynical narration about conceitedness, vanity and vagueness of a toxic libertine, delivering a counter commentary over a driving, pushy dance beat, reminiscent of Peaches or M.I.A.

The following song ‘Dive Into Work’ hits a melancholic note and reflects with a smooth touch of Indie Pop, speaking to us through a telephone vocal in the verse and concluding in a layered chorus. Presenting a protocol of life between cabin fever and alienation, resulting from an everyday life in a small city, nobody writes songs about.

‘Stuck in a Battle’ is inspired by the games Street Fighter and Tekken, written as a joke by LS while Veru was playing a portable game and screamed out the eponymous phrase and main lyric of the song. The song materialised as a metaphor for an ongoing, sisyphean artistic struggle.

‘Cannot talk to Strangers’ touches on overcoming mental health issues and social anxiety, delivered in a campy Pop way. Watch out for when the Bridge drops, serving Dorian Electra, Charly XCX vibes.

‘Summer Muse’ introduces a dusky twist into the sun-induced Reggaeton genre and provides a poetic insight into the singer’s identity and nihilist dissolutions. The dramatic key change between the Verse and the Chorus is unexpected and addictive, bringing out and celebrating Veru’s Ecuadorian roots.

‘Gravity’ is directed towards the parts of society, for whom the laws of gravity don’t apply. The track is about privilege and is dedicated to all the snitches. Short and compact delivers a strong, electronically charged blow.

’Nowadays’ comments on the victory of quantity over quality in the times of rising internet stardom accompanied by a heavy trap beat and ghostly interruptions, just when you think the song is over, it hits again!

‘In Circles’ has a mantraesque, almost robotic quality, reflecting on the turmoil of getting stuck in a dilemma. The Verse features Veru’s vocal reminiscent of the aiding fairy Fi in the Legend of Zelda.

‘Hi Friend’ opens with a steady bass and deep four on the floor kick, reflecting on flattery and nepotism in the professional world, where A-List contacts count.

‘Tricks’ presents an experimental and elaborate composition. Starting off with a rolling, ambient-like long intro of found sounds including local crows worthy of Aphex Twin, falling into the mysterious, 808 bass-heavy Verse. Ignoring classical song structure, going straight for the bridge, felted with elaborate, howling vocal loops, harmonies and dramatic ascension erupting in groovy funkiness. It’s based on a dystopian future scenario story of heightened supervision and injustice.

’Weak’ is a semi-classical Pop Ballade about broken friendships building up into a progressive treat in the ending sequence. This is the song of the album which would work great sung by Selena Gomez.

‘Polyphony Rebels Club’ is a sassy dance song inspired by 90s EDM like Alice DJ or Aqua, talking about social media, this is the oldest song on the album and is a remastered version of the 2017 original, old but gold nevertheless.

‘Vibez’ was previously released as a Single on Halloween 2018, before the release of ‘Fruitfly Effect’ was heavily delayed. ‘Vibez’ is a protective spell, a prayer.

‘Allein’ plays with the idea of being the last survivor on the entire planet, becoming even more relevant in the time of the pandemic. On the other hand it can also be read as self empowerment. Musically it draws from gothic, EBM, Rammstein. It is the only German song on the album.

In ‘Holiday’ LS expresses his wish to take a break, to go on the titular holiday, to live the fantasy far away from the everyday, to the Ice Cream Island.

The album concludes softly on an honest, ephemeral note with ‘Remind Me’ solely coloured by the piano and a disassociating, processed, melancholic, vocoder vocal, showing the bands stripped essence, lulling the listener towards the end.