T.O.Y. – The Prophet (Digital/CD Album – Artoffact Records)
For many, T.O.Y. will forever be associated with Evil’s Toy, but that was a long time ago. T.O.Y. has been active since 2000, although releases have been scarce in recent years. This new album is their first full-length effort in eight years.
“The Prophet” took shape during the Covid-19 period. Volker Lutz reconnected with his older synthesizers as a way of reconnecting with the spirit of the 1980s. With some external input from the Faithless camp and encouragement from Marian Gold, the album finally came into being. The title, of course, directly refers to the legendary Prophet-5 synthesizer.
And the music? It clearly sounds like a tribute to the 80s, and more specifically to the Synth-Pop of that era. Everything is polished to perfection, with an extremely clean production—sometimes perhaps too clean—but overall it remains an enjoyable listen. Personally, I find parts of it a little too Indie-oriented, although the final tracks are stronger and lean more towards a floating Pop sound in which the guitar also plays a significant role.
This album may come across as overly polished for fans of classic Synth-Pop, but in terms of production quality, it certainly stands out. (Rating:7½).
Listen to “Turn On feat. Marian Gold”:
About T.O.Y.
T.O.Y. is a German synthpop and futurepop project founded in 2001 by Volker Lutz, who had previously led the electro act Evil’s Toy. The name stands for Trademark Of Youth. The project built an early catalogue with the albums “White Lights”, “Space Radio” and “Fairytale”, later followed by “Home”.
After the 2019 single “Silent Soldiers”, which featured Faithless drummer Andy Treacey, the project returned in 2025 with “The Prophet” on Artoffact Records, its first full-length in eight years. Built around vintage synthesizers, the album features Alphaville singer Marian Gold on the track “Turn On!”.
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