Modified Toy Orchestra - Plastic Planet

Five years after the release of the debut album Toygopop, the Modified Toy Orchestra announces the release of their second album Plastic Planet. Continuing the philosophy of performing everything live with a collection of re-purposed children’s toys.., MTO convert abandoned playthings into exotic new musical instruments - exploring the latent potential and surplus value inherent in the liberated circuitry. Guided by the revelations of this hidden world, MTO make Avant-garde pop music which devoid of personal narrative or autobiography. Instead they ask bigger questions about our relationship with the next new gadget and the desire for continual upgrade. The result of this on-going investigation has been variously described as cinematic, dark, joyful and life affirming. It is rare to hear an electronic live performance that has no midi, no sampling, no synthesizers, no laptops… in fact no conventional instruments of any kind. Plastic Planet hints at other concerns. With its themes of utopian bliss “Funfair for the common man” the rise of the information age “Qwerty” the collapse of empires “Great kings fall” and the dire consequences of ecological vandalism “Earth one” and the emotive and haunting “It’s raining”, and is released in a unique and specially designed cardboard book format. MTO have spent the last year performing to much critical acclaim at venues as diverse as Hong Kong city hall, the Bridge-water hall Manchester and the Royal opera house London.

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