Romattic’s “Candy Smoking” uses a love song to question why being in a relationship can become something people feel they need to prove about themselves. The speaker knows the woman he is dating may be using him, yet that knowledge never becomes enough to make him leave. “My friends tell me I’m hopeless / She’s stripping off my senses” puts that contradiction in plain terms: he can hear the warnings and even recognize their basis, but the possibility of losing the relationship carries its own fear.
That fear becomes clearer as the song stays with the gap between wanting someone and wanting what having someone represents. The speaker is not simply protecting a romance from outside criticism. He is protecting his place within a social expectation where being alone can feel like falling behind. The title “Candy Smoking” adds another strange image to that fixation, suggesting something sweet that is also consumed, burned away, and difficult to stop reaching for. The relationship may be one-sided, but giving it up would mean giving up the status attached to having it.
By keeping the speaker aware of his own situation, “Candy Smoking” avoids turning him into someone who simply cannot see the truth. He sees it and stays anyway. That choice is what makes the song’s version of romance uncomfortable: the relationship matters not only because of the person at its center, but because of what losing it might say about him. Romattic leaves him caught between knowing he should let go and being unwilling to find out what comes after.
For those who might not know you yet, how would you introduce yourself?
Theo: I am Theodor (Friends call me Theo) and I represent the lyrical and vocal aspect of Romattic. I consider myself to be loud and energetic.
Tommy: If I wanna introduce myself, I’m just a guy who does things that I personally think are fun.
If you had to bottle up your sound into just three words, which ones would you choose?
Theo: Creativity on drugs
Tommy: Chaotic, powerful, melodic
Which artists (not only music-related) or moments have left the biggest mark on your music?
Theo: For me. I think there’s only one band I’d ever say inspired me. Even though I am a big sucker for old school rock and grew up with a family who listened to classics like Rolling Stones, Beatles, Aerosmith and Guns ‘n Roses. The band that has inspired me the most has to be Set It Off. I remember back when I was 9 years old and music started taking over my life I would CONSTANTLY ask my mother if I could listen to music while doing homework. And once I was finished with that I would keep listening to music and start drawing instead. And when I first listened to Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing on Set It Off’s album “Duality”, I was just mind blown. I was thinking to myself “Can music really be this cool” and ever since then I’ve been inspired to get into music myself. And I am glad I did. Had I not gotten into music I would have not been able to perform for His Royal Majesty King Haakon VIII of Norway. And I would have never been able to be here today talking about my musical journey and why music matters to me.
Tommy: Artists that have really left a mark on my music are Title Fight, Pierce the Veil, and a bunch of like j-rock music. My music has heavy influences from Japanese anime and rock sub-genres.
When you hit play on your songs, what kind of feeling takes over?
Theo: Had there been an easy word for it, I would have explained it. I personally think every song in Romattic’s catalogue awakens different feelings based on the mood I’m in while I’m listening. It’s that type of openness to the lyrics and melody that allows me to put a different context to the same song.
Tommy: When you hit play the first thing you feel is an explosion of pent-up rage and energy. You can’t help but feel pumped listening to it.
If you could team up with anyone in the world, no limits, who would be that dream collaborator?
Theo: Cody Carson from Set It Off. He’s been my hero since I was 9
Tommy: If I could team up with anyone in the world, whether as a producer or an animator. It would be people who want to express themselves and let it come to life.
What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?
Theo: If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise. Jokes aside we are aiming towards our debut album. Candy Smoking will feature on it as well as some future singles we are currently working on.
Tommy: Currently working on some songs and working as a solo artist/animator on other projects too. My plan in the future is to become a freelancer within the art/animation space, but will also do music too.
Can you walk us through the story or emotion behind “Candy Smoking”? If you can, tell us about the storytelling
Theo: Candy Smoking was originally two different songs before we fused them together. One being called “This Secret Stays In Bed” and the other was titled “Candy Girl”. “This Secret Stays In Bed” is the song that had the rhythm guitar line that Candy Smoking has that took a lot of inspiration from The Offspring’s “PrettyFly”. It was a song about my opinion on people who cheat on their partners as I had a former friend of mine who tried to use me to cheat on their partner which I was not ok with at all. “Candy Girl” is where the obsession elements in Candy Smoking comes from. It was originally gonna be a slightly grotesque and gory song about how deprived a man could become when the girl he wants chooses someone else over him, but then I went to the movies with my mother and watched Curry Barker’s “Obsession”. And then an idea hit me… What if I took two songs I have an idea for that both share the trait of corrupt romance and I make a song where I talk about the (with a lack of any better words for the kids) enshitification regarding how us as a modern society have ruined dating with our double morals and overqualified standards no one could ever keep up with and remain mentally sane. And I was long contemplating the title of the song. I wanted to keep the title “Candy Girl”, but then a close friend of mine who looked at a draft I made for a potential cover art for the track told me “With that rotten look. You should call it Candy Smoking” and that’s when all the pieces fell in place.
