Artist: T.O.Y.
Title: The Prophet
Genre: Synthpop / Futurepop
Release Date: 5th December 2025
Label: Artoffact Records
Album Review
Are there people in your life whom you haven’t seen for months or years, and when they suddenly appear in the doorway everything instantly feels familiar again - as if the months since your last meeting had never passed? With T.O.Y. it feels exactly like that. For almost 8.5 years, T.O.Y. merely nodded to us in passing encounters - a handshake in transit. Now they are back and welcome us with a warm embrace. An old friend has returned and brought time along. You sit together over a glass of wine, exchange experiences, laugh and cry together, and let shared memories come alive.
T.O.Y. are back. The Synthpop and Futurepop formation around Volker Lutz from Witten has developed a distinctive signature since 2001: melancholic lyrics, lovingly detailed electronic arrangements, strong melodies and a deep understanding of the roots of their genre. “You can feel in T.O.Y.’s music where it comes from; it hasn’t simply been dropped into the world without substance… T.O.Y. has developed into a completely unique voice. Volker is a romantic, a melancholic minstrel with analogue-electronic equipment. And ‘The Prophet’ is his lute.” (Marian Gold, ALPHAVILLE)
Born from T.O.Y.’s obsession with the 1980s, a modern love letter to Synthpop and New Wave emerged in the isolation of the pandemic. The use of original equipment such as the Roland Juno 60, the VP330, the Linndrum and the iconic Prophet 5 synthesiser not only lends the album sonic authenticity but turns it into a direct homage to the electronic pioneers of the late 1970s and early 1980s - analogue, raw, authentic.
Volker Lutz is supported by an entire family of brilliant musicians, lyricists, engineers and artists whose contributions make the sound deeper, more organic and more characterful. Long-time companions like Helge Wiegand and Marc A. Nathaniel have been joined, among others, by Marian Gold (ALPHAVILLE), Andy Treacey and Jonathan White (FAITHLESS), and Tom Steinbrecher, all of whom audibly shape the album. This close connection of friendship and artistic exchange brings every track on the album to life.
‘The Prophet’ feels cohesive and clearly focused. The sound is compact and modern. Precise drums and subtle synth pads define the picture. Everything feels controlled and carefully arranged. The features complement this aesthetic and add additional colours to the sound. The lyrics are direct, clear and often marked by sober reflection. They revolve around self-assertion, inner conflicts and the traces of the past. At the centre stands the question of how personal strength endures under pressure. The strongest passages appear where sound and content interlock. The quieter productions amplify the personal lines. Harder beats give the more combative statements greater weight. The album thus gains a clear structure and a recognisable character.
Driving Linndrum beats, shimmering synth pads and an addictive melody form the opening of ‘The Prophet’. The opener transports the listener straight beneath the disco ball - ‘Neon Lights’ dance across the walls, laser beams cut through the darkness, the beat seizes the body and you dance until morning. ‘Now and Anytime’ takes us from this radiant 80s dance floor moment directly to the beach bar. This track brings sunshine into cold, wet winter evenings. Before the mind’s eye, a seafront unfolds: laughing children, playing dogs, skaters, colourful cocktails beneath palm trees, a white beach, deep blue water and gentle waves. A longing for faraway places sets in. The desire for holidays and distant countries is reinforced by the guitars, which spread a warm beach-club flair.
‘To the Stars with Me’ fuses Danni Kuschner’s lyrics, Jonathan White’s unmistakable bass, Marc Nathaniel’s drum arrangement and Tom Steinbrecher’s guitars. A song like a melancholic flight through a starry night sky. Isolation and escapism during lockdown flow directly into the lines: “You can fly / To the stars with me / Way beyond the world we know.” A piece of longing - galactic, shimmering, weightless and yet profoundly human.
‘Lost in You’ is a glimmer of light in sonic form: a beautiful melody, piano, broad synth pads. “and I don’t know if you can bring the light” - Volker’s warm voice conveying the feeling that in the end everything will turn out all right. This song brings light into every room, every heart, the mind, and I fell in love with it on first listen. ‘Night & Day’ offers a wide musical spectrum. It begins in quiet melancholy, a little dreamy. Then an energetic, uplifting chorus rises, oscillating between departure and holding on, before the long, almost floating outro freezes the moment like twilight just before sunrise. The Shakespeare reference is mirrored in the lyrics, which articulate holding on to a night as protection from the inevitable day: “Turn back into the night / And we can still hold on.” A gentle but striking high point of the album.
‘Turn On!’ is certainly one of the highlights of ‘The Prophet’ and, thanks to Marian Gold’s voice, a sparkling jewel. Lyrically biting, ironic, socially critical; musically a firework of 80s references, saxophone and a distinctive hook. This song breathes the 80s in every note, every chord. Gold’s vocals drive the track forward with a blend of pathos and sharpness: a wry commentary on media, manipulation and illusion. With its sense of drama, the song adds a new colour to the album: extroverted and edgy.
‘Silent Soldiers’ is thematically aligned with ‘To the Stars with Me’ but far more introspective: loneliness in space as a mirror of an earthly emotional state. The lyrics abstract isolation into a cosmic image: “silent soldiers / too far from home”. A melancholic, weightless piece with guitar and drum accents by Steinbrecher and Treacey. ‘Forever in Silence’ - a song about two people hovering somewhere between closeness and rupture. The chorus opens wide: “Million miles away from home / And forever in silence”. Volker’s voice, prominent at the beginning, opens the space for broad synth layers and guitars that shape transitions - a sound of farewell but without bitterness.
The album’s most emotional moment for me is ‘Home’. Dreamy, vulnerable, full of longing yet conciliatory: “But if you don’t feel at home / I know / you have to go.” T.O.Y.’s strength becomes very clear here: pain is not dramatized but told gently, warmly, humanly. The song shines and sparkles while Volker’s voice embraces the listener with warmth. ‘I Want to Know’ becomes almost the second side of the coin. Where ‘Home’ accepts, ‘I Want to Know’ demands: “Leave him / Come on over I want to know.” The urgency is reinforced by the guitar solo, which makes the emotional pressure audible. The song works more rhythmically and therefore feels far more immediate. Together both tracks form a narrative diptych about loss, longing and self-assertion.
With ‘Eye to Eye’, ‘The Prophet’ finds a conciliatory conclusion. The song feels like returning home after a long, arduous journey: calm, loving and full of hope. The lines “back home / and we know it’s time to shine” set an optimistic final point. Volker’s voice stands particularly clearly in the foreground here, while synth pads and guitars weave a gentle carpet. A quiet but significant finale that appears only on the CD version of the album. If you prefer the LP, which incidentally comes on chic white vinyl, I recommend buying it via Bandcamp. There a high-quality digital download and the CD bonus ‘Eye to Eye’ are included.
After more than 8.5 years, T.O.Y. return with an emotionally multi-layered, sonically detailed and artistically matured Synthpop album that carries its roots in the 80s yet stands firmly in the present at every moment. It combines personal stories, nostalgic sonic aesthetics, analogue warmth and a remarkable series of musical collaborations. ‘The Prophet’ is danceable, dreamy, cosmic, intimate - and above all: absolutely timeless.
Line-up
Volker Lutz - Vocals, Arrangements, Programming
Helge Wiegand - Keyboards, Vocals
Marc A. Nathaniel - Drums
Website
https://toy-music.bandcamp.com / https://www.facebook.com/toymusicofficial
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 10
Total: 9.5 / 10
