The Orbiting Human Circus songbook expands further today with the release of “It’s So Peaceful in the Country,” the latest single from their November 17 album Quartet Plus Two. Orbiting Human Circus’ interpretation of this classic Alec Wilder composition is simultaneously lush and jazzy, a gorgeous meeting of Julian Koster’s longstanding collaborators The Music Tapes (Robbie Cucchiaro and Thomas Hughes) and the album’s titular quartet (Koster, Gauvain Gamon, Kolja Gjoni, and Benji Miller). Listen to and share “It's So Peaceful in the Country” wherever you listen to music, and pre-order Quartet Plus Two on CD, LP, or natural & pink swirl Peak Vinyl from the Merge store!

North and Romika, the singing saws, are the anchor of this piece, accompanying Koster and Hughes’ cinematic orchestral arrangement as if opening the curtain on the countryside he sings in praise of. Later, they take the lead, imitating birds over the trio of Gauvain (bass), Gjoni (drums), and Miller (piano). The worlds Koster has been able to conjure in his career as a musician and storyteller are enchanting, as are our guides through them, and “It’s So Peaceful in the Country” offers the most complete picture of how those worlds are able to come together in a single piece of music.

Of the song, Koster writes:

Sometimes when a group plays a song together, there is such a present glow everybody is feeling. “It’s So Peaceful in the Country” was one of those recordings. We all looked at each other as we played, and we were just feeling the song so much. As a group we are such a product of New York City and Brooklyn—we’d formed the arrangement in lower Manhattan, rehearsed for the album session in Brooklyn, then recorded it right down the street. I think we were all actually aching deeply for the things that the song describes. It’s that kind of song. I think it’s really a song sung by someone who’s trapped in the city, about the countryside we dream of and pine for, and when we were playing the song, we all somehow felt like we were really there, living it. It was like we could see it all around us.

Fans of Koster have two more opportunities to see Orbiting Human Circus perform as a duo, featuring the songs of The Music Tapes and more, tonight at Athens, Georgia’s 40 Watt Club and Saturday, September 23, at eyedrum in Atlanta. Stay tuned for more opportunities to see the Orbiting Human Circus when they come to your town!

Orbiting Human Circus (duo) on tour:
Sep 21 Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club
Sep 23 Atlanta, GA – eyedrum