(07.12.05) Toytronic kick-off their re-issue campaign by returning to the very beginning: TOY1, the Load Error E.P. from Martin Haidinger’s Gimmik project. Re-packaged in a new CD format and expanded with six exclusive new/old tracks, this re-issue series spells the end of the drudgery of trawling eBay and paying exorbitantly high-prices for the original brown paper bag clad copies, or the subsequent vinyl re-issues in Toytronic’s infamous, fragrant custom die-cut mailer
sleeves just to hear the music. No doubt these originals will still remain prized collector’s items but now, for all those who desire simply to own the music itself, they can finally do so in a brand new, digital format.
Most people will know exactly what to expect from Load Error; tracks like “Floppy Disk” literally defined Toytronic’s signature sound. The original six track Load Error E.P. was released on vinyl way back in 1997, and though the material hasn’t dated badly it is nevertheless easy to detect the rougher edges and less intricately realized and produced ingredients that would slowly be distilled into the more refined sound and polished production that characterized Gimmik’s first full length album for the label, the excellent Back to Basics. And in today’s saturated market where more, in terms of complexity, duration and production, often seems to be perceived as better, the no-nonsense approach of Load Error is wonderfully refreshing, though the scattershot opener, “Little Computer People,” wastes no time in launching a blitz of crunchy percussion, fractured beats, squelches and bleeps through the speakers with wild abandon.
As you would expect of the debut release on a label called Toytronic, Load Error doesn’t take itself too seriously either: the futuristic chimes of “Sister Moon” are peppered with samples of babies gurgling and cats mewing, and “Soft Drink” is aptly named as blizzards of digital bubbles and froth coruscate through its aqueous spaces. “Thing On A Spring” is one of Load Error‘s most memorable pieces, if only for it’s whimsical plundering of pretty much every single vocal snippet from the classic game “Worms,” as comically constructed drum patterns and snare hits clatter out it’s jaunty rhythms.
The automated phone bleeps of the recently rediscovered “Berts Toybox-Tales” reprise “Little Computer People” and herald the beginning of the block of new tracks. Perhaps the best and most substantial addition to the package is the jewel encrusted “Monitor (v.0.9 – Easy Sunday Mix),” a Gimmik remix of a track that originally appeared on the Random Access E.P. on Worm Interface. It’s the perfect ambassador to both the Toytronic and Gimmik sound – a basic, hefty thudding bass rhythm is joined by structured glitchery and bouncing-ball effects as a simple, tear-jerking lullaby melody glints in the darkness. This has to be one of Gimmik’s most memorable melodic tracks and the re-issue is almost worth the upgrade on the strength of this track alone.
The shimmering pads of the ambient “1 Minute Journey” absent-mindedly lull the listener into a peaceful relaxation for the duration indicated by it’s title, only to break the reverie with the jolting blasts of noise fired from “Ernie & Bert,” a track that originally appeared on the first 500 copies of TOY3, the Signalflow compilation, replaced on subsequent pressings by another Gimmik track, “Resonance.” “Ernie & Bert” is essentially two and a half minutes of unchecked insanity, it’s almost hardcore effects (broken only briefly by a tinkling, child-like music box sequence) having more in common with one of those noisy Mu-Ziq numbers than Gimmik’s usual output.
While the additional six tracks only amount to a further twelve minutes of Gimmik material, the Load Error re-issue definitely represents a significant and worthy upgrade to the original, as well as being a classic release in its own right. An absolute must-have for Toytronic collectors and Gimmik fans alike, this is also a hugely entertaining blast from the past that is essential for all lovers of crunchy, analog and tongue-in-cheek IDM.
Load Error is out now on Toytronic.
