Works » By Title » T » Toys (5:54 / 1992)

Toys is a tape-editing project with lots of reverb. The source materials are cheapo, plastic, noise-making toys that the composer gathered over the years. Plastic harmonicas shaped like bananas or corn cobs, 25-cent whistles, that kind of thing. He got the inspiration, during the mid-1980s, after a visit to a music store, but with a limited budget. The composer was weighing whether he could afford to buy a music computer, an Atari ST. It would have cost absolutely every penny that he had. On the way home and not feeling terribly joyful, he stopped in at a toy store where he delightedly bought that banana-shaped harmonica. It cost less than a dollar. Weeks later during a conversation at a party, the composer decided to spend his money on travel — a choice without regrets.