Modified Toy Orchestra
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The Modified Toy Orchestra is an
experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
group from
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, England. Brian Duffy, the main member and creator of the
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
makes the group's instruments by
circuit bending Circuit bending is the creative customization of the circuits within electronic devices such as children's toys and digital synthesizers to create new musical or visual instruments and sound generators. Circuit bending is manipulating a circuit ...
sound making devices, such as toy keyboards, and educational spelling toys.


History

The band was founded by Brian Duffy as a one-man project. He originally began by sampling sounds from toys to use in his electronic music, but after disassembling a
Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume. The company's focus is on developing analog ...
Speak & Spell he realised he could modify them to produce new sounds, turning the toys themselves into instruments. He began looking in
car boot sale Car boot sales or boot fairs are a form of market in which private individuals come together to sell household and garden goods. They are popular in the United Kingdom, where they are often referred to simply as 'car boots'. Some scientific ...
s and skips for more electronic toys to modify and use in performances. Duffy describes the intent behind his music as "an interest in the surplus value and hidden potential of seemingly redundant technology."


Members

*Brian Duffy *Darren Joyce *Laurence Hunt *Sean Tighe *Chris Plant *Graeme Rose


Past members

*Mike Johnston – his last performance with Modified Toy Orchestra was on 15 October 2007 at the
Birmingham Town Hall Birmingham Town Hall is a concert hall and venue for popular assemblies opened in 1834 and situated in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The hall underwent a major renovation between 2002 and 2007. It no ...
. He sang a cover version of
Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...
's
Pocket Calculator An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics. The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-siz ...
as his last song with the band.


Live

In 2006, the Modified Toy Orchestra was expanded from a one-man project by Brian Duffy to a full six-piece band, to have more possibilities when playing live. New live members are: Laurence Hunt ( Pram), Darren Joyce (Dreams of Tall Buildings), Mike Johnston (
Plone Plone is a free software, free and open source software, open source content management system (CMS) built on top of the Zope application server. Plone is positioned as an enterprise CMS and is commonly used for intranets and as part of the web ...
, Mike in Mono), and visual projection artist Chris Plant. Together they have performed at the 2006
Sónar Sónar is a festival dedicated to music, creativity and technology, founded in Barcelona in 1994 by Ricard Robles, Enric Palau, and Sergi Caballero. The festival has been divided into two parts since its inception: Sónar by Day and Sónar b ...
festival in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
and
Supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...
festival in the United Kingdom. Previous performances have included the Royal Institute, and supporting bands
Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of founding Human League members Martyn Ware (keyboards, drum machine, vocals) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) with voc ...
and
Melt Banana Melt-Banana is a Japanese noise rock band that is known for playing extremely fast noise rock and hardcore punk mixed with experimental, electronica and pop-based song structures. Since forming in 1992 the band has released ten albums and toure ...
. Live sets have also been transmitted on
Resonance FM Resonance 104.4 FM is a London based non-profit community radio station specialising in the arts run by the London Musicians' Collective (LMC). The station is staffed by two permanent staff members, including Chief Executive Officer Peter Lance ...
and
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
.


Discography

* ''Silfurberg'' (CD album, Bit-Phalanx Music, 2023) * ''Plastic Planet'' (LP, Warm Circuit Records, 2010) * ''Pocket Calculator / TVOD'' (Limited Edition 7" vinyl, Warm Circuit Records, 2006) * ''Toygopop'' (LP, Warm Circuit Records, 2006) * ''This Is the Monkey'' (7" vinyl, Warm Circuit Records, 2004)


References


External links


Bio from Warm Circuit Records

MySpace Profile
* {{Authority control English experimental musical groups Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands