Matt Mahaffey is teeming with creative energy, and for a man-child with the dexterity to shred on all manner of musical instruments and a whole lotta free time on his hands, anything's possible. So, it wasn't especially strange when Mahaffey, frontman of the industrial pop band Self, abandoned all elements of rock conventionality, summoned his inner child and started recording with instruments he purchased from Toys "R" Us. |

Seriously.

Taking a cue from an unknown indie band called Pianosaurus, who recorded an all- toy-instrument album twelve years ago, Self are hard at work making a record that Mahaffey semi-jokingly calls either Gizmogery or Jichael Mackson. The catch is that the album's being created using nothing but plastic Fisher-Price-type toys that make kazoo-ish squints and squeals, and plush animals that spew forth phrases like "You're my special friend" and "A cow goes moo."

"We've been acquiring [the toy instruments] for a couple of years now to prepare for the onslaught," says Mahaffey, "and we just wanna keep it authentic." Mahaffey hints that Pianosaurus' brush with the absurd cut a few corners along the way, offering, "it just wasn't what I was hearing as a toy instrument album."

After Self completed their second album, Breakfast With Girls, last year, the band found itself with nothing to do while waiting to tour in support of an album with a constantly changing release date. (Originally scheduled for release last summer, the album now may see the light of day on April 20.) Fueling his inventive spirit was a Beck-style clause in his record contract whereby Mahaffey is allowed to release two indie albums (on Spongebath) per every record he releases on his new home, Dreamworks. "That way I can sell out to the Man with my major release and do what I wanna do on the two other things."

And, according to Mahaffey, the Man is totally on board with his eccentric behavior. "One of the tunes I sent to Dreamworks and they were like, 'you guys gotta cut this with real instruments and put it on the album," says Mahaffey. "It's like, fuck, I consider Breakfast With Girls a chapter closed. The true sophomore jinx, I'm done with that."

Thus far, Self have recorded four songs for the all-toy album, including the high school prom ballad "I Love to Love Your Love My Love." The group's arsenal includes a hundred toys ordered from the Sears catalog and some specially made from a toy company in New Jersey. Rather than take the easy route and sample the odd collection of instruments, Self are actually playing them live in the studio, making the musicians appear like giants behind their miniature tools.

"It's totally cool to take a different approach, 'cause it puts you in a position to do something and make it sound good even if your better judgment tells you this needs a piano or kick drum. You have to make this little paper kick drum. You're basically polishing turds."

BLAIR R. FISCHER(Jan. 8, 1999)