PLASTIC PLANET
BY MODIFIED TOY ORCHESTRA UK
‘I never in my life thought I would hear a Kraftwerk cover performed on rewired dolls and altered plastic toy guitars.’ — livesets.com
Brian Duffy customises children electric toys into musical instruments with circuit bending. His band Modified Toy Orchestra is composed of Laurence Hunt, Darren Joyce, Michael Josoph Leach, Pascal Smart and visual artist Chris Plane. In the absence of synchronizer or computer, the discarded toys give shape to sound and visual effect in the name of ‘Plastic Planet’ concerts.
Modified Toy Orchestra has toured many venues around Europe, including Royal Institute, Supersonic Festival in the U.K., as well as Sonar in Barcelona Spain. Debut album ‘Toygapop’ is a labor of love, which two of the five years production was invested in customizing and practicing, the rest in investigating, editing and remixing various sound effects and editions. The follow up offering ‘Earth One’ is going to be released in March after Hong Kong Live.
Text: Carmen Lee | Translation: dilettante
Photo Courtesy: Orlean Lai Project, Modified Toy Orchestra
Update: 11 March 2009
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