One of the favourite new discoveries in 2011 has been London-based psychedelic pop five-piece TOY !
TOY have already supported the likes of The Horrors !
They play a residency at Dalston’s Shacklewell Arms on the following dates next year:
-18th Jan
-25th Jan
-1st Feb
-10th Feb
https://www.facebook.com/toy.band
Tom, Dom and Panda had been in a band together and when that finished it was the perfect time to start a new project with a completely different approach. We had known each other for a very long time so we decided to do something together, with me adding the electronic element. Very soon after we met charlie and TOY finally was complete!
I guess a good place to start would be the beginning. I know you've just started gaining some attention and I was curious about your backstory. Had you been making music for a while before making it as TOY? (..Lean and The Jing Jang Jong).
Dom, Tom and Panda played together since they met as teenagers, before they joined their old band. Charlie had his own project and had played in a couple of bands and I played classical guitar as a child too although I just got involved with sound synthesis when forming TOY.
What about the songwriting – who writes what?
That varies a lot. Usually somebody comes with an idea, or a riff, etc and we meet up and work on it all together, add our parts and work out the structure. It's a very dynamic process, since the moment we write something till we feel the song is finished, each of us would have changed a million bits until we are completely happy with it.
What kind of music inspires you the most?
There are lots of genres that we all love, from early electronic and musique concrete to rock and roll, punk, psychedelia, krautrock, folk… I'm influenced by music like Harmonia and Eno, Can, Amon Duul II, I've been recently listening to Zeit by Tangerine Dream, but I also love Bands like MBV, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Television, Velvet Underground, to put some examples.
Can you describe the vibe of the track “Left myself behind”?
That's quite a tricky question… It's our first release so for me is very special. We recorded the demo of this song in our house quite a while ago and through rehearsals, gigs, etc has changed a lot from the original. It is a long song but when we decided to release it we knew it had to be in full format, not a radio hit but not really a problem!
I was watching your video - Is there any meaning behind having minimal stage lights?
We made the projection ourselves for live gigs so wanted it to be prominent in the video. We like how it fast it moves and, in a black dark room, all the colours are brighter and makes the whole experience a bit more intense. We had all agreed that we didn't want a story line, just a live performance, so we tried to play with everything else.
You've played a few gigs with The horrors , how did that support come about? How did it get setup that you’d play with them?
We've known them since TOY started, we are very good friends so the idea of going on tour together could just mean having a really great time, and we did!!
What are you recording or planning to release? Anything soon?
The idea is to release another 2 or 3 singles followed by a LP which we are very excited about. We are just about to go in the studio to record the second single which will be out pretty soon. In the meantime we keep on playing, writing and doing live shows. Also, we are hoping to start touring around Europe, Japan and America soon, I personally can't wait!
And finally, what ambitions do you have for the band over the next few years?
We just want to keep on playing and touring and constantly writing and releasing new songs and albums. We want to be as prolific as possible for as long as possible!
Thank you TOY !
