Search:toy machine

Boredom, anxiety, pain killers and frustration make a heady mix for both reflection and action. For three weeks I stared out of the window of the tower block onto the tall brick towers of the old asylum chimneys. The past was a strange land suddenly out of reach, the present confusing and claustrophobic, the future something I could only visualise and idolise.

From the balmy Autumn day of my release a light was switched on, buzzing urgently like a neon street light on my path. Life took on new vigour and meaning. Pleasures starkly illuminated, annoyances inconsequential. Old work was re-examined and appreciated. Machines were treasured and connected. My basement filled with ever greater warmth and excitement.

The toy towns of our inner minds are constructed of a million tiny building blocks of experience. But there's a freedom that comes from realising what might have been. Peace in reflection, untethered from the everyday distraction and I take pleasure in the hum drum. Unhampered by trends, untethered to a scene, stripped back to essential carnal influences and desires. Who are we but the sum of our experience.

'Everything Is Quite Now' meanders through a reimagined landscape of personal history, releasing musical fragments to dri* amongst soaring treetops, hollowed lakes and labyrinthine concrete structures, liberated from genre and form - alive at last. In these great expanses, light and dark are presented not as polar opposites, but as a limitless, unified whole.

References to EBM and industrial techno manifest within the sporadic percussive framework whilst gauzy ambient backdrops form an entire world of their own, constructed from the gentle hiss of a looping tape, the booming caverns of a muffled kick, the vivid distortions of a crystalline synth. In the depths of a misty forest, warmth permeates, absorbing inside it all of the darkness, pain, romance and beauty from before.

Prequel Tapes is a work of deep synthesis. Fragments of melody and memory orchestrated into densely layered tapestries; a deeply emotional study on a life characterised by a shi*ing relationship to electronics. The pieces serve as a chronology of desire and reflection, reconciling a nascent passion for industrial music with a history in the club. Oscillating between utopian to claustrophobic, the evolving synth work, deep techno atmosphere and traces of clangorous energy of early European ambient and industrial tell a distinctly German tale, forged between the forest and the autobahn.

Everything is quite now. What else can it be.

Colin Potter Is A Sound Engineer And Musician Currently Based In London. He Has Worked Within The Fields Of Electronic And Experimental Music For Over 35 Years, Collaborating With The Likes Of Current 93, The Hafler Trio, Organum, Andrew Chalk, And Most Notably As A Key Part Of Nurse With Wound Alongside Steven Stapleton. He Started The Esteemed Icr (integrated Circuit Recordings) Label In 1981 Releasing A Clutch Of Wonderful Home Recordings Of His Own, Over Half A Dozen Small Run Cassette Only Releases.'the Where House' Was Recorded In 1981 At Ic Studio, A Converted Wash House In Sutton On The Forest In North Yorkshire. The Album Was Self-released On Cassette That Same Year Via Icr. This Expanded Double Lp Edition Features All 13 Tracks From The Original Tape On Vinyl For The First Time Plus 4 Bonus Tracks. 'the Where House' Is A Prime Example Of Early Uk Post-punk/industrial Electronic Music. combining Dub, Electro, And Krautrock Rhythms With Psychedelic, Kosmische Noise In Multiple Mutations Ranging From Almost Pop-wise Songcraft To Horizon-scanning Motorik Flights,' Says Boomkat. Most Of The Damage Was Done By Colin Using Guitars, Synths, Sequencers, Drum Machines, Percussion, And Modified Toy Keyboards With Fairly Primitive 4-track Recording Equipment. He Was Assisted On Some Of The Tracks By Stephan Jadd-parry (guitar, Percussions), Jon Caffery (guitar, Bass, E-bow, Percussion) And Nick Jackson (synth). All Songs Have Been Remastered For Vinyl By George Horn At Fantasy Studios In Berkeley. The Record Is Sleeved In A Replica Of The Original Cassette Artwork By Jonathan Coleclough. Every Copy Includes A Double Sided Postcard Insert With Notes From Colin.

"A heavy selection of mod-rockers, garage and psych-funk tracks," runs the sub-title of new compilation series, Down In The Valley from Perfect Toy, encapsulating in a nutshell the multifarious pleasures on offer.

And what better way to open such a set than with Van Broussard's banging titty-shaker Mojo This is followed by The Little Bits' screaming garage-soul cut Girl Give Me Love (recorded when the band members were all between nine and twelve years old!) and Frozen Sun's Jamm Pt.1 - a monster psych-soul number secretly laid down in the lobby of radio station KTKT (in Tucson, AZ) on a Sunday after midnight and about as aptly named as a track can get. Phlegethon's You're No Good provides cover song thrills by getting heavy-psychedelic on the Clint Ballard-penned classic, while yet more garage-soul delights are locked down by offerings from The Chapters, The Looking Glass and The Four. Closing the set is Pump's previously unreleased Ashtray Candle 6:33 - a slow-grooving psych masterpiece.

Once again, Chan the Man - previously the guiding light for Perfect Toy's Down & Wired series - was the driving force behind this project. It is his incredible knowledge, combined with the network of record collectors, DJs and vinyl nerds that he has established over the past few decades which have made it possible to come up with such a high-octane selection of super-heavy and extremely rare tracks. Accompanied by detailed liner notes and never-before-seen photos of the artists, Down In The Valley 1 sets the bar high for future volumes.

Anklepants Introduces His Brand New Album For Detroit Undergroud, A Collection Of Ten Cuts, Made With His Very Own Arsenal Of Digital And Hardware Toys, Most Of Them Self Made And Customised For His Purposes. This Multi Faceted Artist Creates A Blend Of Twisted Ryhthms, Synthetic Melodies And Weird Textures And Noises, Yet Danceable Stuff But With Heavy Focus In Experimentation And Risk.

Pollen Opens The Release With A Weird Arabic Style Riff And Arpeggiated Clean Synths Over A Simple Beat, Until More Melodic Layers Complete The Equation.

Chowsey In Upstyled Onesy Minor Follows With Sampled And Morphed Traditional Instruments, Laying Over Destructed Beats And Rythms.

The Perfect Adult Man Relies On Atmospheric Stabs, Four Four Kick And Analogue Bubble Bassline, Dark, Grey And Melancholic.

'lé Cavé_isnt It Funny To Think Once Apon A Time People Thought The World Was Blue White Flat And Squaré' Is Made Of Twisted Samples, Asymetrical Grooves, Organic Instruments Decimated And Multiple Sound Layers.

808 Frapé Is An Homage To The Classic Drum Machine, Electro Shaped Drum Patterns, Floating Sounds And Crispy Metalic Glitches Dance With Random Sequences And Bleeps In A Robotic Exercise.

Reecard Farche The Torture Of Credo Mutwa And The Theft Of The Necklace Of Mysteries_noel Goes Again To Weird Random Bleepy Fields, Alien Grooves, Heavy Sound Processing And Glitched Details.

Industrial Kingpins Und Drachoen Is Dark, Obscure Number, Clear Rythms, Strings And Resonant Bassline Collide, The Groove Transforms To Broken Beats After The Break Bringing New Life To The Overall Feel.

Sharkblood, Sure The Sharks, Repeats This Phrase In Different Pitches Over A Solid Kick Pattern While More Vocal Layers Are Added Progressively In A Voice Madness.

Golife_refracto Relationé Again Plays With Samples In A Mad Style, Altering Every Parameter, Creating Granular Efects, Destroying The Audio Files Creating An Asymetric Tune.

Attila's Own Photos From The Shoot It's The Epilogue, In A Relaxed Mood, Sound Textures, Various String Samples Melting In Different Pitches And Crunchy Atmospheres.

Matt Flanagan has been making music as DeFeKT, ESS and Tinfoil for the past few years, so who better to put out the debut release on First Cut We decided early on that there was no point in repeating his admittedly fine back catalogue, so Matt went off one evening and did a 30-minute live jam on his machines. There was no real plan, but between us, we picked the three best bits, which you now own. Then we had to come up with a name. Initially, we toyed with the idea of calling it 'FeKT' but then decided that only a local audience would appreciate the joke and that it wouldn't travel well. Octal Step then emerged as the clear favourite. We sealed the deal to release 'Toner Head' over a cup of takeaway coffee on a bench in the Stephen's Green Cente in Dublin. And why is Gunter Walraff on the other side of this sheet Well, he seems like a cool guy. Plus he's German and has a moustache - what's there not to like about that

Tom Ware is a Grammy nominated engineer, producer and musician from Omaha Nebraska. Throughout the 70s and 80s Tom was the drummer for many bands, including Norman & The Rockwells, Toy boat Toy boat Toy boat, and Hit N Run. Because of his love for electronics, mechanics, and machines of any kind, he was always the only one who truly knew how pa systems worked. Tom got an entry level job at a Rainbow Studios and would work at the recording studio during the day, play evening gigs till 2 in the morning, then go back to the studio and work on new ideas all night. During these teeth cutting sessions, Tom worked by himself, following his instincts and creating sounds he loved to listen to.

His reckless abandon approach and thrill to learn was a high octane fuel that resulted in his first solo self-titled album. The album's 10 songs were recorded and mixed between August & December of 1983 and self-released in early 1984. The album would be re-released in 1985 by independent Krautrock/Kosmische Musik label Sky Records in Germany and re-titled 'The Fourth Circle'. Some of the instruments used on the LP were a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, & Pro One, Simmons SDSV electronic drums, Roland TR-606 drum machine, & Hammond B3 organ. While recording this album Tom was influenced by new wave sounds of Yellow Magic Orchestra, the Berlin and Düsseldorf schools of pulsing synth music and the celestial realms of Jean Michel Jarre. All songs have been mastered and lacquer cut by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each LP is housed in a replica cover with computer graphics by Lars Erickson and photos by Ken Mayer and includes a postcard with liner notes by Tom Ware.

Rising Amsterdam-based star Esther Duijn leads the charge with a hypnotic, understated slice of dub techno that grooves in all the right places. Label boss Brothers' Vibe then steps up with a sharp-edged, percussion led workout that blooms into a fulsome, acidic jam laced with techno futurism and pure machine soul. German production duo youANDme are regular collaborators with Brothers' Vibe, and here they join forces for the tough, drum-pounding Playing With Toys. Rodriguez also takes the opportunity to unveil the Silent Rodgerz alias, championing the Toad Red vision with a daring, experimental trip through abstractmodular-synthesizer processes that build towards a jacking rhythmic throw-down.

Driveclub has sold over 2million copies on the PS4 and for the first time the critically acclaimed soundtrack (inc Driveclub Bikes OST) is available on limited edition vinyl. It features an original score by Hybrid who fuse their trademark bass & electronics with epic cinematic orchestral stylings. Remixes come from luminaries across the electronica, techno and drum n' bass worlds including DJ Shadow, Clark, Noisia, Photek & Machinedrum.

High Summer. Sun is shining and the Bordello is open to newcomers, the latest being Slovenia's Ichisan. A 12' that bulldozes barriers, Metamundas seamlessly slips between electro disco, braindance acid and gilded funk. Writhing 303 jerks are tempered by warm-hearted key changes for the title track, patterns ducking into playful frolics and lush deeps. And this desire to toy with convention is what characterises the EP. Bitter chords are sugared, machine grooves with nods to the dancefloors of the 70s, spaceflights with undertones of Chicago; Ichisan brings all together in a 12' that is as unique as it is addictive.

limited to 300 copies
The latest Toy Tonics release comes straight from London with a remix by Germany's finest TUFF CITY KIDS. Metropolitan Soul Museum or MSM are Nick & Filippo. The pair have been running together Nick's Teng Records for the past 3 years - the label was set up to release Nick's Akra project music as well as other artists. Heads will remember this great imprint. Always crossing borders. Never being boring. Nick was also part of Mock & Toof, a duo that had quite a buzz when they were releasing freaky house music just few years ago. MSM have had a good start already: they self-released their Ruff Trk 4 a few months ago - including a remix by ROUND, the guy from Talabot's Hivern Discs. The interesting thing about MSM is also their live act: Playing with 707, Vintage keys, Machine and various effects - a similar set up for their studio production brought on the dance floor. There will be a lot more to come from MSM. This is just the beginning. house. Just good taste.

limited to 300 copies
New EP by Alixander III. After AZARI & III have finally split up, main man Alixander III joined the Toy Tonics records crew. Like his first TT release also this new one consists of raw and heavy machine funk. It's techno - but with a heavy dose of soul! The one that makes you swing. Not stomp! 'Heavy Friends 2 is a collaboration featuring guest vocalists and producers from his hometown of Toronto, Canada. A tight package of vintage, old school, Detroit soul techno. Bulging with hooks and unusual textures. A vast soufflé of bittersweet melancholy, a polished yet irreverent statement that congeals the far-reaching influences and intricate techniques that have defined Alixander's work since long before Azari & III met the world.

*The product of a move from South Carolina to Berkeley, CA and the subsequent extended separation from loved ones, Toro Y Moi's third full-length, Anything in Return, puts Chaz Bundick right in the middle of the producer/songwriter dichotomy that his first two albums established.
*There's a pervasive sense of peace with his tendency to dabble in both sides of the modern music-making spectrum, and he sounds comfortable engaging in intuitive pop production and putting forth the impression of unmediated id.
*The producer's hand is prominent- not least in the sampled "yeah"s and "uh"s that give the album a hip-hop-indebted confidence- and many of the songs feature the 4/4 beats and deftly employed effects usually associated with house music. Tracks like "High Living" and "Day One" show a considerably Californian influence, their languid funk redolent of a West Coast temperament, and elsewhere- not least on lead single, "So Many Details"- the record plays with darker atmospheres than we're used to hearing from Toro Y Moi. Sounding quite assured in what some may call this songwriter's return to producer-hood, Anything in Return is Bundick uninhibited by issues of genre, an album that feels like the artist's essence.
*Born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, Chaz Bundick has been toying with various musical projects since early adolescence. Having spent his formative years playing in punk and indie rock acts, his protean Toro Y Moi project has been his vessel for further musical exploration since 2001. During his time spent studying graphic design at the University of South Carolina, Chaz became increasingly focused on his solo work, incorporating electronics and allowing a wider range of influences- French house, Brian Wilson's pop, 80s R&B, and Stones Throw hip-hop- to show up in his music. By the time he graduated in spring 2009, Chaz had refined his sound to something all his own. Music journals across the board touted his hazy recordings as the sound of the summer, and he released his debut album, Causers of This in early 2010.
*Since then, Bundick has proven himself to be not just a prolific musician, but a diverse one as well, letting each successive release broaden the scope of the Toro Y Moi oeuvre. The funky psych-pop of 2011's Underneath the Pine evinced an artist who could create similar atmospheres even without the aid of source material and drum machines. His Freaking Out EP, a handful of singles and remixes, and a retrospective box-set plot points all along the producer/songwriter spectrum in which he's worked since his debut, and Anything In Return is another exciting offering that shows he's still not ready to settle into any one genre.

His compositions cleverly anchor stark, machine-like percussion in unprocessed field recordings and abstract noise sources, toying with the conventional boundaries between sound and music. The mixture of impromptu organic recordings and pin-sharp manmade elements simultaneously humanises and adds an air of detachment to the work; a testament to Manni Dee's command of texture and flair for sound design.