Julian Koster and Robbie Cucchiaro have spent the last four years bringing The Music Tapes' legendary live shows to living rooms, opera house stages, and everywhere in between-along the way garnering an ever-growing legion of devotees enthralled by the band's imaginative and uniquely affecting blend of music, magic, storytelling, and games that collapses the boundaries between pop experimentation, theater, and performance art. Mary's Voice, The Music Tapes' third full-length album, is the warmest and most accessible invitation yet into Koster's world-the culmination of a vision he has been realizing for over a decade.
That vision began taking shape in the '90s, during which time Koster also became a key member of Neutral Milk Hotel and a contributor to The Olivia Tremor Control and other legendary members of the enormously influential Elephant 6 Collective. Since then, Koster (along with long-time creative collaborator Robbie Cucchiaro on horns) has pushed the boundaries of what audiences have come to expect from an "indie rock" band-performing alongside mechanical contraptions like the 7-Foot-Tall Metronome, displaying virtuosity on both the singing saw and orchestral banjo, and staging unique caroling and lullaby tours.
Those trips have taken Koster into over 500 homes across the United States and Canda and the spirit of them infuses Mary's Voice. "The magic was in the people who would welcome us into each house," said Koster. "We would literally go from a huge mansion on a hill overlooking the Hollywood sign, to squats with a bunch of punk kids who'd made a geodesic dome covered in moldy carpet for us to do the show in and forgot to make a hole big enough for the equipment to fit in through. We played for children of all ages-from teenagers to great-grandparents. We would visit the first house at nightfall and the last sometimes not until dawn. The fun and the warmth of each stop-how absolutely unique each was while still being so deeply familiar-was amazing and taught me how much like dreaming living can be."
Mary's Voice, the follow up to 2008's acclaimed Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes, is part one of a planned two-part album and inaugurates a newly active phase in The Music Tapes' evolution-with plans to tour the world in a circus tent later this year and an NPR radio serial in the works. It was recorded with The Music Tapes' signature method of using recording machines of both past (early 1900s, '30s, '40s, '60s) and present to achieve a timeless sound. In Koster's own words: "I love sentimental melodies that you can hum with feeling. People warn against sentimentalizing or mythologizing the past. It's any failure to mythologize the present that I think we have to be afraid of. This is a miracle. You are a miracle. Our lives are magic, and our times all the more so. Music proves it."
www.orbitinghumancircus.com
That vision began taking shape in the '90s, during which time Koster also became a key member of Neutral Milk Hotel and a contributor to The Olivia Tremor Control and other legendary members of the enormously influential Elephant 6 Collective. Since then, Koster (along with long-time creative collaborator Robbie Cucchiaro on horns) has pushed the boundaries of what audiences have come to expect from an "indie rock" band-performing alongside mechanical contraptions like the 7-Foot-Tall Metronome, displaying virtuosity on both the singing saw and orchestral banjo, and staging unique caroling and lullaby tours.
Those trips have taken Koster into over 500 homes across the United States and Canda and the spirit of them infuses Mary's Voice. "The magic was in the people who would welcome us into each house," said Koster. "We would literally go from a huge mansion on a hill overlooking the Hollywood sign, to squats with a bunch of punk kids who'd made a geodesic dome covered in moldy carpet for us to do the show in and forgot to make a hole big enough for the equipment to fit in through. We played for children of all ages-from teenagers to great-grandparents. We would visit the first house at nightfall and the last sometimes not until dawn. The fun and the warmth of each stop-how absolutely unique each was while still being so deeply familiar-was amazing and taught me how much like dreaming living can be."
Mary's Voice, the follow up to 2008's acclaimed Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes, is part one of a planned two-part album and inaugurates a newly active phase in The Music Tapes' evolution-with plans to tour the world in a circus tent later this year and an NPR radio serial in the works. It was recorded with The Music Tapes' signature method of using recording machines of both past (early 1900s, '30s, '40s, '60s) and present to achieve a timeless sound. In Koster's own words: "I love sentimental melodies that you can hum with feeling. People warn against sentimentalizing or mythologizing the past. It's any failure to mythologize the present that I think we have to be afraid of. This is a miracle. You are a miracle. Our lives are magic, and our times all the more so. Music proves it."
www.orbitinghumancircus.com
06/17/13
The Music Tapes are bringing The Traveling Imaginary to Europe! Also, the Music Tapes trio will tour Europe this summer in support of the European release of Mary’s Voice on July 1.
As soon as audiences walk through the door, they will be greeted with The Music Tapes’ surreal, carnival-esque games before entering the tent for a dreamlike show that includes songs from the band’s newest album Mary’s Voice which Pitchfork described as “a grand, genre-straddling vision in sound.” The evening’s entertainment also antique 16mm cartoons, virtuoso Klezmer music performed on the singing saw, Julian Koster’s unique narratives about dehydrated European cities and half-imagined children’s games.
The Music Tapes have a long history of hosting surreal tours since first emerging as part of the influential Elephant 6 Collective – including the annual Caroling and Lullaby tours that have brought them into over 500 homes across the country.
Watch the official trailer for The Traveling Imaginary
Mary’s Voice is available on CD, limited-edition pop-up LP and digital now in the Merge store.
The Music Tapes on tour:
Jun 22 Glasgow, UK Nice N Sleazy
Jun 23 Perth, UK Solas Festival
Jun 25 Aberdeen, UK The Tunnels
Jun 26 Inverness, UK Hootananny
Jun 27 Edinburgh, UK Voodoo Rooms
Jun 28 Manchester, UK The Deaf Institute
Jun 29 Cardiff, UK Clwb Ifor Bach
Jun 30 Brighton, UK The Blind Tiger
Jul 2 Poitiers, FR Le Confort Moderne
Jul 3 Toulous, FR Theatre Garonne
Jul 4 Paris, FR Espace B
Jul 5 London, UK The Lexington
Jul 12 Cork, IRL Cyprus Avenue
Jul 13 Galway, IRL Róisín Dubh
Jul 14 Dublin, IRL Workman’s Club
As soon as audiences walk through the door, they will be greeted with The Music Tapes’ surreal, carnival-esque games before entering the tent for a dreamlike show that includes songs from the band’s newest album Mary’s Voice which Pitchfork described as “a grand, genre-straddling vision in sound.” The evening’s entertainment also antique 16mm cartoons, virtuoso Klezmer music performed on the singing saw, Julian Koster’s unique narratives about dehydrated European cities and half-imagined children’s games.
The Music Tapes have a long history of hosting surreal tours since first emerging as part of the influential Elephant 6 Collective – including the annual Caroling and Lullaby tours that have brought them into over 500 homes across the country.
Watch the official trailer for The Traveling Imaginary
Mary’s Voice is available on CD, limited-edition pop-up LP and digital now in the Merge store.
The Music Tapes on tour:
Jun 22 Glasgow, UK Nice N Sleazy
Jun 23 Perth, UK Solas Festival
Jun 25 Aberdeen, UK The Tunnels
Jun 26 Inverness, UK Hootananny
Jun 27 Edinburgh, UK Voodoo Rooms
Jun 28 Manchester, UK The Deaf Institute
Jun 29 Cardiff, UK Clwb Ifor Bach
Jun 30 Brighton, UK The Blind Tiger
Jul 2 Poitiers, FR Le Confort Moderne
Jul 3 Toulous, FR Theatre Garonne
Jul 4 Paris, FR Espace B
Jul 5 London, UK The Lexington
Jul 12 Cork, IRL Cyprus Avenue
Jul 13 Galway, IRL Róisín Dubh
Jul 14 Dublin, IRL Workman’s Club
01/18/13
As reported by Pitchfork earlier today, Jeff Mangum has extended his solo tour to include the west coast.
Tickets will go on sale for most of the new shows next week, but as always, you can find the most up-to-date information about Jeff Mangum’s shows at Ground Control Touring. A portion of the ticket price for each show will go to Children of Blue Sky. The Music Tapes and Tall Firs support on many of the dates, and don’t forget the Music Tapes’ Traveling Imaginary tour starts next week!
Music from Neutral Milk Hotel and The Music Tapes can be found now in the Merge store.
Full list of Jeff Mangum solo dates:
Jan 18 Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall *
Jan 19 Oklahoma City, OK – ACM, UCO – Performance Lab Diamond Ballroom (moved to larger venue) *
Jan 20 Dallas, TX – Majestic Theater *
Jan 21 Houston, TX – Cullen Theater, the Wortham Center *
Jan 23 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks * (early and late shows)
Jan 24 Tallahassee, FL – The Moon *
Jan 25 Gainesville, FL – Florida Theater *
Jan 26 Orlando, FL – The Beacham *
Jan 28 Augusta, GA – Sky City Sacred Heart Cultural Center *
Jan 29 Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall *
Jan 30 Wilmington, NC – Brooklyn Arts Center, St. Andrews *
Jan 31 Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre *
Feb 01 Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre *
Feb 02 Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle * (early and late shows)
Feb 04 Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theater *
Feb 05 Wilmington, DE – Dupont Theatre *
Feb 06 York, PA – Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center *
Feb 08 Hartford, CT – The Great Hall in Union Station *!
Feb 09 Portland, ME – State Theater *!
Feb 10 Providence, RI – Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel *!
Feb 13 Ithaca, NY – State Theatre *!
Feb 14 Clinton, NY – Hamilton College Chapel *
Feb 15 Poughkeepsie, NY – Barvadon Opera House*!
Feb 16 North Adams, MA – MASS MoCA *!
Mar 24 Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theatre
Mar 25 Santa Barbara, CA – Lobero Theatre
Mar 26 San Diego, CA – Spreckles Theatre
Mar 28 Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
Mar 29 Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre
Mar 30 El Paso, TX – Tricky Falls
Mar 31 Marfa, TX – Goode Crowley Theatre
Apr 02 Santa Fe, NM – The Lensic
Apr 04 Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
Apr 05 Boise, ID – Egyptian Theatre
Apr 07 Eugene, OR – McDonald Theatre
* with Tall Firs
! with the Music Tapes
Tickets will go on sale for most of the new shows next week, but as always, you can find the most up-to-date information about Jeff Mangum’s shows at Ground Control Touring. A portion of the ticket price for each show will go to Children of Blue Sky. The Music Tapes and Tall Firs support on many of the dates, and don’t forget the Music Tapes’ Traveling Imaginary tour starts next week!
Music from Neutral Milk Hotel and The Music Tapes can be found now in the Merge store.
Full list of Jeff Mangum solo dates:
Jan 18 Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall *
Jan 19 Oklahoma City, OK – ACM, UCO – Performance Lab Diamond Ballroom (moved to larger venue) *
Jan 20 Dallas, TX – Majestic Theater *
Jan 21 Houston, TX – Cullen Theater, the Wortham Center *
Jan 23 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks * (early and late shows)
Jan 24 Tallahassee, FL – The Moon *
Jan 25 Gainesville, FL – Florida Theater *
Jan 26 Orlando, FL – The Beacham *
Jan 28 Augusta, GA – Sky City Sacred Heart Cultural Center *
Jan 29 Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall *
Jan 30 Wilmington, NC – Brooklyn Arts Center, St. Andrews *
Jan 31 Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre *
Feb 01 Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre *
Feb 02 Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle * (early and late shows)
Feb 04 Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theater *
Feb 05 Wilmington, DE – Dupont Theatre *
Feb 06 York, PA – Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center *
Feb 08 Hartford, CT – The Great Hall in Union Station *!
Feb 09 Portland, ME – State Theater *!
Feb 10 Providence, RI – Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel *!
Feb 13 Ithaca, NY – State Theatre *!
Feb 14 Clinton, NY – Hamilton College Chapel *
Feb 15 Poughkeepsie, NY – Barvadon Opera House*!
Feb 16 North Adams, MA – MASS MoCA *!
Mar 24 Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theatre
Mar 25 Santa Barbara, CA – Lobero Theatre
Mar 26 San Diego, CA – Spreckles Theatre
Mar 28 Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
Mar 29 Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre
Mar 30 El Paso, TX – Tricky Falls
Mar 31 Marfa, TX – Goode Crowley Theatre
Apr 02 Santa Fe, NM – The Lensic
Apr 04 Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
Apr 05 Boise, ID – Egyptian Theatre
Apr 07 Eugene, OR – McDonald Theatre
* with Tall Firs
! with the Music Tapes
12/17/12
To kick off the last week of the year here at Merge HQ, we are giving away a Merge Holiday SuperBundle as well as a CD of Julian Koster’s The Singing Saw at Christmastime. To enter, send us a photo of your favorite holiday scene via Instagram (@MergeRecords) or email (merge@mergerecords.com). We’ll choose the winner on Friday, December 21st.
The Giveaway includes:
- Your choice of a CD or LP of She & Him’s A Very She & Him Christmas
- Your choice of a CD or LP of Tracey Thorn’s Tinsel and Lights
- a CD of Julian Koster’s The Singing Saw at Christmastime
- a She & Him floaty pen
- a set of five beautiful Tinsel and Lights notecards
Be sure to visit the Merge Holiday Store for our biggest sale of the year! Enter MERGEHOLIDAYS at checkout for 10% off all orders over $50—CDs, LPs, digital downloads, and Merge gear! All orders of $100 or more will receive a free Merge tote bag designed by Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner with help from Vic Chesnutt. Also, buy three or more LPs or preorder any of our 2013 releases on LP and receive a free Merge slipmat for your turntable!
All orders placed after 10 a.m. on December 21 will not ship until January 7, 2013. Pre-orders will ship to arrive on or around release date.
The Giveaway includes:
- Your choice of a CD or LP of She & Him’s A Very She & Him Christmas
- Your choice of a CD or LP of Tracey Thorn’s Tinsel and Lights
- a CD of Julian Koster’s The Singing Saw at Christmastime
- a She & Him floaty pen
- a set of five beautiful Tinsel and Lights notecards
Be sure to visit the Merge Holiday Store for our biggest sale of the year! Enter MERGEHOLIDAYS at checkout for 10% off all orders over $50—CDs, LPs, digital downloads, and Merge gear! All orders of $100 or more will receive a free Merge tote bag designed by Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner with help from Vic Chesnutt. Also, buy three or more LPs or preorder any of our 2013 releases on LP and receive a free Merge slipmat for your turntable!
All orders placed after 10 a.m. on December 21 will not ship until January 7, 2013. Pre-orders will ship to arrive on or around release date.
11/20/12
In support of their new album, Mary’s Voice, The Music Tapes (Julian Koster, Robbie Cucchiaro, 7-Foot-Tall Metronome, a legion of singing saws, and friends) are embarking on a unique US tour. The band will be visiting towns and cities across the country as The Traveling Imaginary. They will pitch the circus tent home built especially for this tour and host an evening of songs, stories, games, movies, magic, amusements, and more.
The tent, which was funded by The Music Tapes’ wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, has been a longtime dream of Julian’s. On entering the completed structure for the very first time, he said, “If you made a circus tent out of blankets in your room when you were a little kid and then fell asleep, it’s like the dream you would have.”
The Music Tapes have announced the inaugural dates of The Traveling Imaginary, and would like you to invite them to visit your town!
To bring the Traveling Imaginary to YOUR art gallery, community center, warehouse, university, museum, performing arts center, studio space, loft, library, church, or barn this coming February and March, write TravelingImaginary@gmail.com for details. The show requires a clear interior space at least 26’ x 38’, with ceilings 10-feet or higher. Also, if you would like to volunteer for the traveling tent pitching crew please write Imaginarytentcrew@gmail.com for details.
The Music Tapes have a long history of hosting surreal tours since first emerging as part of the influential Elephant 6 Collective – including the annual Caroling and Lullaby tours that have brought them into over 500 homes across the country. The Traveling Imaginary is an extension of those shows on a more ambitious scale than anything The Music Tapes has ever done.
Watch the official trailer for The Traveling Imaginary
Mary’s Voice is available on CD, limited-edition pop-up LP and digital now in the Merge store. Also, just in time for the holidays, get Julian Koster’s The Singing Saw at Christmastime at a new special low price!
The Music Tapes Present: The Traveling Imaginary dates (more coming soon!):
Jan 23 Winston-Salem, NC Krankies Coffee
Jan 25 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club (2 Shows This Night)
Jan 28 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle (2 Shows This Night)
Jan 29 Durham, NC Duke Coffeehouse
Jan 31 Washington, DC Rock & Roll Hotel
Feb 02 New York, NY Church For All Nations (2 Shows This Night)
Feb 04 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church – Basement
The tent, which was funded by The Music Tapes’ wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, has been a longtime dream of Julian’s. On entering the completed structure for the very first time, he said, “If you made a circus tent out of blankets in your room when you were a little kid and then fell asleep, it’s like the dream you would have.”
The Music Tapes have announced the inaugural dates of The Traveling Imaginary, and would like you to invite them to visit your town!
To bring the Traveling Imaginary to YOUR art gallery, community center, warehouse, university, museum, performing arts center, studio space, loft, library, church, or barn this coming February and March, write TravelingImaginary@gmail.com for details. The show requires a clear interior space at least 26’ x 38’, with ceilings 10-feet or higher. Also, if you would like to volunteer for the traveling tent pitching crew please write Imaginarytentcrew@gmail.com for details.
The Music Tapes have a long history of hosting surreal tours since first emerging as part of the influential Elephant 6 Collective – including the annual Caroling and Lullaby tours that have brought them into over 500 homes across the country. The Traveling Imaginary is an extension of those shows on a more ambitious scale than anything The Music Tapes has ever done.
Watch the official trailer for The Traveling Imaginary
Mary’s Voice is available on CD, limited-edition pop-up LP and digital now in the Merge store. Also, just in time for the holidays, get Julian Koster’s The Singing Saw at Christmastime at a new special low price!
The Music Tapes Present: The Traveling Imaginary dates (more coming soon!):
Jan 23 Winston-Salem, NC Krankies Coffee
Jan 25 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club (2 Shows This Night)
Jan 28 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle (2 Shows This Night)
Jan 29 Durham, NC Duke Coffeehouse
Jan 31 Washington, DC Rock & Roll Hotel
Feb 02 New York, NY Church For All Nations (2 Shows This Night)
Feb 04 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church – Basement
09/07/12
The Music Tapes released their new album Mary’s Voice on Tuesday and today MTV Hive premiered the video for “S’Alive to Be Known (May We Starve).” Directed by Albert Birney, the video captures the true magic of the Music Tapes with imagery of band members both human and machine.
Julian told MTV Hive:
Stream Mary’s Voice in its entirety via SoundCloud, and find it on CD, digital, and limited-edition LP with pop-up artwork in record stores everywhere and in the Merge store. Also, visit the Music Tapes’ Kickstarter page to find out how you can help bring the Traveling Imaginary to life.
Julian told MTV Hive:
Some of the objects and images that may seem vintage are actually just things or objects that are a part of the Music Tapes world: the sailor playing the white sousaphone is Robby from the Music Tapes and the Sousaphone is one of the horns he plays. The tower with the wooden arms coming out of it is our Organ Playing Tower. The wonderful footage of the swaying Elephant was actually filmed by Robby in person (at a preserve). A lot of these things actually have come over time from family (my grandmother’s basement especially) — and junk stores too.Watch the video for “S’Alive to Be Known (May We Starve)” now at MTV Hive
Stream Mary’s Voice in its entirety via SoundCloud, and find it on CD, digital, and limited-edition LP with pop-up artwork in record stores everywhere and in the Merge store. Also, visit the Music Tapes’ Kickstarter page to find out how you can help bring the Traveling Imaginary to life.
09/04/12
The Music Tapes’ new album, Mary’s Voice, is available now! Stream the album in its entirety via SoundCloud, and find it on CD, digital, and limited-edition LP with pop-up artwork in record stores everywhere and in the Merge store.
Mary’s Voice as described by Julian Koster: “I love sentimental melodies that you can hum with feeling. People warn against sentimentalizing or mythologizing the past. It’s any failure to mythologize the present that I think we have to be afraid of. This is a miracle. You are a miracle. Our lives are magic, and our times all the more so. Music proves it.”
Stream Mary’s Voice now at the Merge SoundCloud page
Mary’s Voice, the follow up to 2008′s acclaimed Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes inaugurates a newly active phase in The Music Tapes’ evolution—with plans to tour the world in a circus tent later this year. To achieve these goals, The Music Tapes launched a Kickstarter page earlier this week to great response! The Kickstarter levels include autographed pillow cases, telephone concerts, and even the banjo that Julian used while recording Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Beginning with a goal of $5,000, they have already raised nearly $14,000!
Visit the Music Tapes’ Kickstarter page to find out how you can help bring the Traveling Imaginary to life, and order your copy of Mary’s Voice on CD, digital or LP (with special pop-up artwork) now in the Merge store.
Mary’s Voice as described by Julian Koster: “I love sentimental melodies that you can hum with feeling. People warn against sentimentalizing or mythologizing the past. It’s any failure to mythologize the present that I think we have to be afraid of. This is a miracle. You are a miracle. Our lives are magic, and our times all the more so. Music proves it.”
Stream Mary’s Voice now at the Merge SoundCloud page
Mary’s Voice, the follow up to 2008′s acclaimed Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes inaugurates a newly active phase in The Music Tapes’ evolution—with plans to tour the world in a circus tent later this year. To achieve these goals, The Music Tapes launched a Kickstarter page earlier this week to great response! The Kickstarter levels include autographed pillow cases, telephone concerts, and even the banjo that Julian used while recording Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Beginning with a goal of $5,000, they have already raised nearly $14,000!
Visit the Music Tapes’ Kickstarter page to find out how you can help bring the Traveling Imaginary to life, and order your copy of Mary’s Voice on CD, digital or LP (with special pop-up artwork) now in the Merge store.
07/12/12
The Music Tapes will release their new album Mary’s Voice on September 4. Listen to the first track “The Dark Is Singing Songs (Sleepy Time Down South)” now at Tiny Mix Tapes.
Mary’s Voice, The Music Tapes’ third full-length album, is the warmest and most accessible invitation yet into Julian Koster’s world—the culmination of a vision he has been realizing for over a decade.
Also, the Mary’s Voice vinyl features a return to pop-up art for both Merge and The Music Tapes since 1999′s First Imaginary Symphony for Nomad. Pre-order Mary’s Voice now on CD and LP now in the Merge store.
Mary’s Voice, The Music Tapes’ third full-length album, is the warmest and most accessible invitation yet into Julian Koster’s world—the culmination of a vision he has been realizing for over a decade.
Also, the Mary’s Voice vinyl features a return to pop-up art for both Merge and The Music Tapes since 1999′s First Imaginary Symphony for Nomad. Pre-order Mary’s Voice now on CD and LP now in the Merge store.
06/14/12
On September 4, The Music Tapes will release Mary’s Voice.
Mary’s Voice, The Music Tapes’ third full-length album, is the warmest and most accessible invitation yet into Julian Koster’s world—the culmination of a vision he has been realizing for over a decade.
That vision began taking shape in the ’90s, during which time Koster also became a key member of Neutral Milk Hotel and a contributor to The Olivia Tremor Control and other legendary members of the enormously influential Elephant 6 Collective. Since then, Koster (along with long-time collaborator Robbie Cucchiaro on horns) has pushed the boundaries of what audiences have come to expect from an “indie rock” band—staging unique caroling and lullaby tours, performing alongside mechanical contraptions like the 7-Foot-Tall Metronome, and displaying virtuosity on both the singing saw and orchestral banjo.
Mary’s Voice, the follow-up to 2008’s acclaimed Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes, is part one of a planned two-part album and inaugurates a newly active phase in The Music Tapes’ evolution—with plans to tour the world in a circus tent later this year and an NPR radio serial in the works. Recorded with The Music Tapes’ signature method of using recording machines of both past (early 1900s, ’30s, ’40s, ’60s) and present to achieve a timeless sound, the album is, in Koster’s own words, “a holiday from what is so often mistakenly called the ‘real world’… In music, time can disappear the way it does in long summer evenings when we’re allowed to go out and play as kids, or afterwards, when exhausted, we dream.”
Mary’s Voice track listing:
1. The Dark Is Singing Songs (Sleepy Time Down South)
2. Saw and Calliope Organ on Wire
3. S’ Alive (Pt. 1)
4. The Big Beautiful Shops (It’s Said That It Could Be Anyone)
5. Spare the Dark Streets
6. To All Who Say Goodnight
7. Kolyada #3
8. Playing “Evening”
9. Go Home Again
10. S’ Alive to Be Known (May We Starve)
11. Untitled
12. Takeshi and Elijah
Mary’s Voice, The Music Tapes’ third full-length album, is the warmest and most accessible invitation yet into Julian Koster’s world—the culmination of a vision he has been realizing for over a decade.
That vision began taking shape in the ’90s, during which time Koster also became a key member of Neutral Milk Hotel and a contributor to The Olivia Tremor Control and other legendary members of the enormously influential Elephant 6 Collective. Since then, Koster (along with long-time collaborator Robbie Cucchiaro on horns) has pushed the boundaries of what audiences have come to expect from an “indie rock” band—staging unique caroling and lullaby tours, performing alongside mechanical contraptions like the 7-Foot-Tall Metronome, and displaying virtuosity on both the singing saw and orchestral banjo.
Mary’s Voice, the follow-up to 2008’s acclaimed Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes, is part one of a planned two-part album and inaugurates a newly active phase in The Music Tapes’ evolution—with plans to tour the world in a circus tent later this year and an NPR radio serial in the works. Recorded with The Music Tapes’ signature method of using recording machines of both past (early 1900s, ’30s, ’40s, ’60s) and present to achieve a timeless sound, the album is, in Koster’s own words, “a holiday from what is so often mistakenly called the ‘real world’… In music, time can disappear the way it does in long summer evenings when we’re allowed to go out and play as kids, or afterwards, when exhausted, we dream.”
Mary’s Voice track listing:
1. The Dark Is Singing Songs (Sleepy Time Down South)
2. Saw and Calliope Organ on Wire
3. S’ Alive (Pt. 1)
4. The Big Beautiful Shops (It’s Said That It Could Be Anyone)
5. Spare the Dark Streets
6. To All Who Say Goodnight
7. Kolyada #3
8. Playing “Evening”
9. Go Home Again
10. S’ Alive to Be Known (May We Starve)
11. Untitled
12. Takeshi and Elijah
12/20/11
Julian Koster created The Singing Saw at Christmastime in 2008 to share the carols of the Singing Saw with us, and this year NPR Music has invited Julian to their Tiny Desk for a special presentation. Watch the set at NPR Music now.
Bob Boilen writes:Order The Singing Saw at Christmastime on CD, LP or digital download in the Merge Holiday store now. Orders over $50 save 10% through the end of December.
Somewhere inside the body of Julian Koster — the Elephant 6 and Neutral Milk Hotel alumnus who once released an entire album of Christmas songs performed on a singing saw — lives a 13-year-old boy filled with wonder, imagination and a talent for spinning a good, quirky tale. Just in time for the holidays, and with the season in mind, Koster and his friends brought those wide-eyed songs and earnest spirit to the NPR Music offices for a joyful and strange Tiny Desk Concert performance.
Collectively known as The Music Tapes, they mixed bowed banjos and singing saws with tape machines, a chord organ and a crooning snowman to create a psychedelic holiday music pageant. Whether it’s the traditional “The First Noel” (scored here for two musical saws) or a reworking of Gavin Bryars’ avant garde piece “Jesus Blood,” or even their venture into Santa songs, there’s no one else playing holiday music quite like this. That is, unless you’re a band of 13-year-olds with very vivid imaginations.
11/29/11
Since the release of the 2008 instant holiday classic The Singing Saw at Christmastime, Julian Koster and his singing saws have toured the country spreading holiday cheer to the over 450 homes to which they had been invited. We now have this year’s list of cities and proposed dates which begin tomorrow so get your invitations in now!
Several houses a night will be visited in each city. Houses welcoming outside guests in each area will be listed via email auto-reply two nights prior to the Music Tapes arrival. Write musictapescaroling2011@gmail.com to receive open house list or to make a last minute caroling invitation. Routes are only projected and may change so check often!
The Singing Saw at Christmastime is available now on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge Holiday store.
2011 Holiday Caroling tour:
NOV 30 Virginia
DEC 1 Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC area
DEC 2 Charlotte, NC area
DEC 3 Athens, GA
DEC 4 Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC area
DEC 5 NE Virginia/Washington DC area
DEC 6 Washington, DC
DEC 7 Eastern PA/Philadelphia, PA
Dec 8 Philadelphia/NYC
Dec 9 NYC
Dec 10 Upstate NY/Massachusetts
Dec 11 Rhode Island/Massachusetts/New England
Dec 12 Upstate NY/New England
Several houses a night will be visited in each city. Houses welcoming outside guests in each area will be listed via email auto-reply two nights prior to the Music Tapes arrival. Write musictapescaroling2011@gmail.com to receive open house list or to make a last minute caroling invitation. Routes are only projected and may change so check often!
The Singing Saw at Christmastime is available now on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge Holiday store.
2011 Holiday Caroling tour:
NOV 30 Virginia
DEC 1 Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC area
DEC 2 Charlotte, NC area
DEC 3 Athens, GA
DEC 4 Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC area
DEC 5 NE Virginia/Washington DC area
DEC 6 Washington, DC
DEC 7 Eastern PA/Philadelphia, PA
Dec 8 Philadelphia/NYC
Dec 9 NYC
Dec 10 Upstate NY/Massachusetts
Dec 11 Rhode Island/Massachusetts/New England
Dec 12 Upstate NY/New England
11/09/11
Since the release of the 2008 instant holiday classic The Singing Saw at Christmastime, Julian Koster and his singing saws have toured the country spreading holiday cheer to the over 450 homes to which they had been invited. Today, he has announced the dates and proposed route of his 6th Caroling excursion. Julian and his ambassadors will accept invitations to carol at homes along the east coast of the US and Canada from November 28 to December 12.
Sharing his excitement that his caroling trips have now become a grand tradition, Julian said, “We’d surely like to thank everybody for the extraordinarily magical times and adventures, and wonderful welcomes, and to thank you all for making them happen! As well as our selfless volunteer Caroling Ambassadors!”
They will choose a path visiting as many of the places possible along the east coast of the US and Canada between November 28 and December 12 from which come the warmest invitations. The final list of dates and path of the Caroling will be announced just prior to the commencement of the tour.
For more information about sending an invitation to host an evening of carols, games, stories and other holiday magic, email musictapescaroling2011@gmail.com.
Along with this announcement of a new caroling tour, we also have a new video from the Music Tapes to share! Set to the song “Nantasket” from the recently released digital EP “Purim’s Shadows (The Dark Tours the World),” the video showcases the Paragon Carousel as well as Julian’s whimsical drawings and footage of people having fun which is what the Music Tapes is all about!
Click here to view the embedded video.
Julian Koster’s The Singing Saw at Christmastime is available on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store as well as the Music Tapes’ “Purim’s Shadows (The Dark Tours the World)” and the rest of the Music Tapes’ catalog.
Sharing his excitement that his caroling trips have now become a grand tradition, Julian said, “We’d surely like to thank everybody for the extraordinarily magical times and adventures, and wonderful welcomes, and to thank you all for making them happen! As well as our selfless volunteer Caroling Ambassadors!”
They will choose a path visiting as many of the places possible along the east coast of the US and Canada between November 28 and December 12 from which come the warmest invitations. The final list of dates and path of the Caroling will be announced just prior to the commencement of the tour.
For more information about sending an invitation to host an evening of carols, games, stories and other holiday magic, email musictapescaroling2011@gmail.com.
Along with this announcement of a new caroling tour, we also have a new video from the Music Tapes to share! Set to the song “Nantasket” from the recently released digital EP “Purim’s Shadows (The Dark Tours the World),” the video showcases the Paragon Carousel as well as Julian’s whimsical drawings and footage of people having fun which is what the Music Tapes is all about!
Click here to view the embedded video.
Julian Koster’s The Singing Saw at Christmastime is available on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store as well as the Music Tapes’ “Purim’s Shadows (The Dark Tours the World)” and the rest of the Music Tapes’ catalog.
08/29/11
The Music Tapes are currently opening for The Olivia Tremor Control! Don’t miss the live full-band Music Tapes experience!
Purim’s Shadows, the new digital EP from The Music Tapes, is available now in the Merge store and from all your favorite digital outlets. The kazoos have sold out in our store, but Julian will have some on tour with him. Stop by the merch table to pick one up!
The Music Tapes on tour:
All dates with The Olivia Tremor Control
Aug 31 Austin, TX – Mohawk
Sep 05 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Sep 08 Seattle, WA – The Vera Project
Sep 09 Portland, OR – MFNW – Someday Lounge
Sep 12 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
Sep 13 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
Sep 14 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center for the Arts
Sep 15 Pittsburgh, PA – The Warhol at New Hazlett Theater
Sep 16 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
Sep 17 Montréal, QC – Il Motore
Sep 19 Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
Sep 21 New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
Sep 23 Philadelphia, PA – UPenn Rotunda (SPEC Jazz & Grooves’ Fall Concert)
Purim’s Shadows, the new digital EP from The Music Tapes, is available now in the Merge store and from all your favorite digital outlets. The kazoos have sold out in our store, but Julian will have some on tour with him. Stop by the merch table to pick one up!
The Music Tapes on tour:
All dates with The Olivia Tremor Control
Aug 31 Austin, TX – Mohawk
Sep 05 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Sep 08 Seattle, WA – The Vera Project
Sep 09 Portland, OR – MFNW – Someday Lounge
Sep 12 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
Sep 13 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
Sep 14 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center for the Arts
Sep 15 Pittsburgh, PA – The Warhol at New Hazlett Theater
Sep 16 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
Sep 17 Montréal, QC – Il Motore
Sep 19 Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
Sep 21 New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
Sep 23 Philadelphia, PA – UPenn Rotunda (SPEC Jazz & Grooves’ Fall Concert)
06/14/11
Today, The Music Tapes’ new digital EP Purim’s Shadows is available in the Merge store and from all your favorite digital outlets. Also, exclusively in the Merge store, the Purim’s Shadows EP comes with a special limited-edition Music Tapes kazoo, a bonus track, and a special surprise from Julian Koster himself.
Julian shared some thoughts about Purim’s Shadows and The Music Tapes with us:
Purim’s Shadows is a very small entrance into a vast landscape that is both auditory and imaginary and from which will come two full-length albums that I’m very excited about. The first will be Mary’s Voice, which we are finishing up now and will comprise the first half of Imaginary Symphony No. 3.
The Music Tapes, to me, is a sort of living dream that illustrates the continual process of how dreams become real. For example, when the 7-Foot-Tall Metronome sprang from my imagination, it was to be The Music Tapes’ primary rhythm instrument, and although it existed only as a drawing in a notebook, imagining it delighted and inspired me. My friends (Scott Spillane, Terry Rowlette, Robbie Cucchiaro, Laura Carter, Eric Harris, and others) saw the drawing and, in a flurry of excited activity, made it real. And thus the real world became different: it had a 7-foot-tall metronome in it.
Many of the basic tenants of The Music Tapes’ world are found on Purim’s Shadows, including the 7-Foot-Tall Metronome which provides the primary rhythm for “A Lightning’s Cheeks.” Also featured are the Orchestral Banjo and the Singing Saws. The Orchestral Banjo is played with a violin bow, producing a sound that I love very much; it’s like having at your command ghostly orchestras from crackly old records. And Saws, of course, sound to me like angels. This recording marks the first time a Singing Saw solo was encouraged (played) by someone other than me on a Music Tapes record: the solo at the end of “Night and Day” is the work of Ian Ludders, a great encourager of Saws, and I am honored to have had him play with us. Robbie Cucchiaro, The Music Tapes’ co-founding member, supplied horns and his signature euphonium. And finally, the most important contributors to this recording, and central to The Music Tapes’ sound, are the Webster Chicago wire recorder, RCA DX44 ribbon mic, and The Music Tapes’ array of antique and modern recording machinery and field recorders.
Without state-of-the-art machinery, The Music Tapes’ recordings would be next to impossible. But, of course, the past is where the future comes from. What often makes something new is not a loyal adherence to the trends and technologies of the moment but rather a loving interaction with the rich inheritance that makes our moment in time the most unique of all. All that has come before us has been left for us to find, dusty and often without any context to distract from its pure magic. It is my happiness to endeavor to make brand-new sorts of things in which all that I love most about the world will have a home, just as my friends meaningfully and lovingly set out to make a 7-foot-tall metronome exist, giving their love and friendship a large, loud wooden form that can march forward in time.
Julian shared some thoughts about Purim’s Shadows and The Music Tapes with us:
Purim’s Shadows is a very small entrance into a vast landscape that is both auditory and imaginary and from which will come two full-length albums that I’m very excited about. The first will be Mary’s Voice, which we are finishing up now and will comprise the first half of Imaginary Symphony No. 3.
The Music Tapes, to me, is a sort of living dream that illustrates the continual process of how dreams become real. For example, when the 7-Foot-Tall Metronome sprang from my imagination, it was to be The Music Tapes’ primary rhythm instrument, and although it existed only as a drawing in a notebook, imagining it delighted and inspired me. My friends (Scott Spillane, Terry Rowlette, Robbie Cucchiaro, Laura Carter, Eric Harris, and others) saw the drawing and, in a flurry of excited activity, made it real. And thus the real world became different: it had a 7-foot-tall metronome in it.
Many of the basic tenants of The Music Tapes’ world are found on Purim’s Shadows, including the 7-Foot-Tall Metronome which provides the primary rhythm for “A Lightning’s Cheeks.” Also featured are the Orchestral Banjo and the Singing Saws. The Orchestral Banjo is played with a violin bow, producing a sound that I love very much; it’s like having at your command ghostly orchestras from crackly old records. And Saws, of course, sound to me like angels. This recording marks the first time a Singing Saw solo was encouraged (played) by someone other than me on a Music Tapes record: the solo at the end of “Night and Day” is the work of Ian Ludders, a great encourager of Saws, and I am honored to have had him play with us. Robbie Cucchiaro, The Music Tapes’ co-founding member, supplied horns and his signature euphonium. And finally, the most important contributors to this recording, and central to The Music Tapes’ sound, are the Webster Chicago wire recorder, RCA DX44 ribbon mic, and The Music Tapes’ array of antique and modern recording machinery and field recorders.
Without state-of-the-art machinery, The Music Tapes’ recordings would be next to impossible. But, of course, the past is where the future comes from. What often makes something new is not a loyal adherence to the trends and technologies of the moment but rather a loving interaction with the rich inheritance that makes our moment in time the most unique of all. All that has come before us has been left for us to find, dusty and often without any context to distract from its pure magic. It is my happiness to endeavor to make brand-new sorts of things in which all that I love most about the world will have a home, just as my friends meaningfully and lovingly set out to make a 7-foot-tall metronome exist, giving their love and friendship a large, loud wooden form that can march forward in time.
| 06.22.2013 | Glasgow, UK | Nice n Sleazy's | |
| 06.23.2013 | Perth, UK | Solas Festival | |
| 06.25.2013 | Aberdeen, UK | The Tunnels | |
| 06.26.2013 | Inverness, UK | Hootananny | |
| 06.27.2013 | Edinburgh, UK | Voodoo Rooms | |
| 06.28.2013 | Manchester, UK | The Deaf Institute | |
| 06.29.2013 | Cardiff, UK | Clwb Ifor Bach | |
| 06.30.2013 | Brighton, UK | The Blind Tiger | |
| 07.02.2013 | Poitiers, FR | Le Confort Moderne | |
| 07.03.2013 | Toulouse, FR | Theatre Garonne | |
| 07.04.2013 | Paris, FR | Espace B | |
| 07.05.2013 | London, UK | The Lexington | |
| 07.12.2013 | Cork, IE | Cyprus Avenue | |
| 07.13.2013 | Galway, IE | Roisin Dubh | |
| 07.14.2013 | Dublin, IE | Workmans Club |
First Imaginary Symphony for Nomad :: CD/LP (Merge) 1999
Music Tapes For Clouds and Tornadoes :: CD/LP (Merge) 2008
Purim's Shadows (The Dark Tours the World) :: kazoo/digital EP (Merge) 2011
Mary's Voice :: CD/LP (Merge) 2012
Music Tapes For Clouds and Tornadoes :: CD/LP (Merge) 2008
Purim's Shadows (The Dark Tours the World) :: kazoo/digital EP (Merge) 2011
Mary's Voice :: CD/LP (Merge) 2012
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