"Brian Duffy, award winning sound artist and creator of the Modified Toy Orchestra, has been at the forefront of a world wide underground movement called circuit bending which involves rescuing childrens electronic toys from car boot sales, and converting them into new strange and wonderfully sophisticated musical instruments. Taking them apart, he finds new connections hidden within each toys circuits that reveal new sounds, exposing the surplus value of redundant technology. The toys are then reassembled including switches and dials with which to control this surplus value. The results of this process can be shockingly beautiful, funny and extreme and have led to Brian being labelled a genius, a madman, and a national treasure."
Band stalwarts Dazz and Loz had warned me that there’s no such thing as a trouble-free mto gig and true to form the Toy Orchestra’s first proper Brum show in 2 years was not without its drama. At the sound check there was no whiff of Brian…— New-ish Modified Toy Orchestra member Graeme Rose blogs on the recent MTO gig.
