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CNN’s  entertainment forecasts for 2003 predicted the return of Rock music in the US and a further proliferation of electronic Pop music in Europe. At the first listen of German composer Frank Gingeleit’s new CD „Toy Island“ one might think that he’s taken this forecast too literally. Already the cover shows a neon lighted ensemble of tiny little toys in the style of an Eighties’ Electro Pop record cover, even cellophane and spray color is used for the background... The CD opens with the title track that comes with handclaps in an electronic rhyhtm background - what’s that all about? Wait a moment, please! Return to the first track later and smile, have another look at the cover while listening to that tune and grin! At the second listen „Toy Island - Part One“ reveals itself to be a tricky collage of all kinds of styles and genres that prepares the ground for the perspective for the entire CD and thus serves as a real „ear-opener“ to a child’s perception of the world and its wonders. This is reflected in the music as well as in the titles of  the tracks. „According to the main title“, says Frank, „I consciously avoided ‚planetary’, ‚martial’ or ‚psychedelic’ titles for the single tunes. I think that many thoughts and feelings of children have a ‚psychedelic beauty’ without drugs or adult freakiness“, he adds, „and I tried to express this in the music as well as in the names of the tunes.“

But on the other hand, „Toy Island“ is definitely not music for children, rather adult music that invites the listener to retrospective memories of his or her perception of the world as a child. The quite opulent title track is followed by „Counting Sheep“, some sort of a minimalistic groove ballad, using a marimbaphone pattern, a woodblock, a triangle and a dropping faucet as a „backing band“ for a horn-like improvisation with an altogether almost hypnotic effect, reflecting the feelings of a child alone in a cradle. Next is „Talk With Your Children“, a dialog between a father and his child based on a heavy but slowed down Trip Hop groove and contrasted with a an „elegic“ melody line that together develop the tensions between the beauty and the horrors of childhood. „Free And Easy“ is about fantasies of freedom and their limiting boundaries showing rather strict and free form elements in one tune. „Ducklings And Polar Bears“ is reflecting the learning of differences - small and big, round and square, peaceful and violent, black and white - and to percieve them as facets of a whole. „Toy Island - Part Two“ is a remix of part one: only the rhythm tracks have been changed, everything else is the same, but this alone develops a completely different character of the tune. „Witchcraft Lessons At A Dwarves School“ is the most „narrative“ tune of the CD, describing the situation of a „witch teacher“ having come to an elementary school and the „little ones“ are buzzing about, curious, fascinated and a little frightened. The CD closes with „Hot Socks“ - okay, do you know what your child is thinking what his or her  cloths are doing while asleep at night? - a highly dancable tune that might work well even in discotheques...

„Toy Island“ altogether tries to build a bridge from experimental and avant-garde electronic music to that sort of modern popular music that is signified by the use of loops and sound samples of different origins - usually put together with the help of a computer. But as on the previous albums by Frank Gingeleit no computer and no sequencing software was used during the production process. Even the voices and the drops of water you hear on this CD are not sampled and alienated voices or drops of water but created with the filters, modulators and arpeggiators of a synthesizer. The instruments used on „Toy Island“ are a guitar synthesizer, a key-based synthesizer and an arranger keyboard designed for dance music...