Beirut by Toy Division

From the album Cute released on Temporary Art Tapes 1983.

Melbourne, Australia in the early 1980’s was a melting pot of art, music, pop culture, electronic sounds and experimentation. New cheap electronic keyboards (“toys” like Casio VL-tone) made it easier to experiment with sounds and make music. Recording music on tape and releasing via cassette through Independent record stores was quick and easy.

Friends shared musical instruments and played with equipment in their share houses. Some performed on stage in pubs. Others preferred recording and releasing their music like Toy Division. Toy Division came out of such a sharing of equipment and a passion to experiment with sound. Martin had a 4-track reel to reel, Dick brought a synth (Roland SH101) and drum machine (Roland TR808) and the fun began.

Beirut is one of the electro pop tunes on Cute. Other tracks are sound scapes (SaturdayTheme) or ambient (Autumn Leaves). The tread linking them all was the love of making music and experimenting with sounds during a cold Melbourne winter.