SOME KIND WORDS...

Rescuing electronic children's toys from car boot sales and thrift shops, Duffy chops and channels the wiring inside to produce a marvelous range of strange new sounds. Under his influence, Speak'n'Spell and Touch'n'Tell are transformed into Delphic oracles, offering impassive mythic revelations on the catchy Fantastic Little Blue World and the gnomic pop insistence of This is the Monkey. Where is my Sock turns the act of getting dressed into an existential enquiry. The Wire

This music is a wonderfully forward-moving electronic soundscape that gobbles up beats and squeaks without regard for their actual source. Very pleasurable stuff. The Wire

Brian Duffy is a national treasure. Mute

Another angle that makes SONAR a yearly addiction for some is the surprise factor. Even if you manage to map out a schedule you continue to wind up hearing something utterly unexpected that blows your mind. This year the winners of the What the f*ck is this but I love it award goes to the British tech-nerd ensemble known as the Modified Toy Orchestra. I never in my life thought I would hear a Kraftwerk cover performed on rewired dolls and altered plastic toy guitars. An unexpected treat that has made me a massive fan. livesets.com

The Modified Toy Orchestra are converting plenty of people to their skewed vision. Texas Instruments' Speak and Spell machines sound like proclamations from the Great Horned One himself. And various people bully kiddys Fisher Price toys into making the kind of noises that would cause most pre-teens to burst into tears. But this is no avant noise irritation. Duffy and co find beauty, terror and melody where, by rights, they should just sound like the prelude to your dad yelling 'Keep it down you noisy bastards!' playlouder.com

Effortlessly enjoyable. Birmingham's Modified Toy Orchestra is something of a local legend, producing strangely beautiful electronica from discarded playthings. Brian Duffy walks a fine line between genius and madman. Like a nine volt Frankenstein. Just amazing. Zero Tolerance

Ive seen Devo and Kraftwerk play live, and these guys blow them away! Tony Wilson

The Modified Toy Orchestra is my favourite album so far this year, no bullshit - it is very beautiful, poignant and daring brilliant! Martin Ware, Heaven 17