Toy
Toy

Imagine having a transophonic catalyst capable of ortho-transferring you into uranic hyperspace. You are now in a world that resembles Arale's world (do you remember it?) with semi-spherical mountains, dogs with glasses that speak, robotic cats, and characters with at least unusual appearances. Here the law that defines gravitational force is inversely proportional to the square of the velocity of subordinate moving clouds. You have at your disposal a pair of photo-crystal glasses that allow you to exploit the color dosages inserted into the landscape as you please. Now you can run by rotating your feet and speak languages unknown to most. Maybe even to yourself. I don't know if there is a different way to describe the sensations experienced while listening to this little puzzle of electrodigital madness.

The authors of this semi-conducted micromondo are Alisdair Stirling (apparently of British nationality) and the Norwegian Jørgen Træen, also known as Sir Dupermann who, for the collaborative project under analysis, have labeled themselves with the name Toy. The computerized efforts proposed on this shiny disc about 12 cm in diameter with an absolutely magnificent cover at first listen can leave one puzzled. The synthesizers overlap and intersect creating an amalgam of cadenced and furiously childish beeps. It is a silicon journey in pastel tones described in katakana characters and developed in 50 minutes of digital impulses. Theremin, moog, and electro drum synchronize like carousel horses leaving the listener astonished, perplexed, and with a dazed smile almost painted on their face. The pieces in their simplicity are small masterpieces of electronics; dense with micro-sounds detectable only after attentive and focused listening but that melt like pale green caramel. Expressing a judgment on this cartoonish cacophony, urgent and tremendously non-conformist, is a daunting task.

An album that can be loved or hated but certainly does not leave one indifferent upon listening. It is an extremely niche sound that the Anglo-Norwegian duo has created with all the pros and cons of the case. Listening is mostly recommended for lovers of nippo-cartoon style electronics with round sounds, round beeps, round(?) melodies, and that touch of irony typically Sol-levant-esque that here in the West often proves (with few exceptions like the duo in question) difficult and rarely fully understandable.