Toy

The aptly named Toy are a duo consisting of Norwegian producer Jørgen Traeen and British composer Alisdair Stirling, who create abundantly whimsical electronic whirligigs and cartoonish instrumental creampuffs, offering a Scandinavian twist on the stylistic tradition that runs from <a href="spotify:artist:31DffUzogcRBJT3Andaqtt">Raymond Scott</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:62vRPmO2KknlG5VCefR1D3">Bruce Haack</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:2vJObElaIZWYDLpiXiJMo9">Cornelius</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3INW2gvv9ZcgPGL0oqkOXy">Wagon Christ</a>. Traeen, who hails from Bergen and runs the noted Duper Studios there (home to <a href="spotify:artist:5nPOO9iTcrs9k6yFffPxjH">Röyksopp</a>, among others), boasts a production résumé including records by his countrymen <a href="spotify:artist:68HFSFMCZzyRjkkm9bv5Vt">Jaga Jazzist</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0Q6X1jqwOVQuclYp2P1bub">Sondre Lerche</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0aPh6hUf7HfSVXtyxQs9AR">Magnet</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:7AM82auh7kk3c7kJVUc73n">Ralph Myerz & the Jack Herren Band</a>, as well as a 2002 album of eclectic IDM under the alias <a href="spotify:artist:5V96YXWbk5Asw0equkFdFG">Sir Dupermann</a>. Stirling is a Londoner whose initially solo <a href="spotify:artist:5duHAFAXLSS1BF4gEsEyPg">House of Hiss</a> project, another outlet for his soundtrack-influenced pop stylings, expanded to include the Bergen production duo Sensible Twins and eventually Traeen as well, resulting in the 2006 debut album/grab-bag Greatest Hiss. In the meantime, the Traeen and Stirling hooked up as Toy, letting their retro-fangled kiddie pop sensibilities run wild on a few 7" singles and then a delirious self-titled 2005 album for Smalltown Supersound. Bergen-based pop singer <a href="spotify:artist:7zt6Af78CalxaPDqORfw8L">Annie</a> helped introduce Toy to international audiences by opening her installment in the DJ-Kicks series with their single "Rabbit Pushing Mower"; the band returned in 2007 with the Half Baked Alaska EP, including a new song, a <a href="spotify:artist:4C6mJ6VZtsBnwzGKZmmzeF">High Llamas</a> remix, and four live versions of tunes from the debut, re-created with a ten-person electronic organ ensemble. ~ K. Ross Hoffman, Rovi