{"title":"The Music Tapes","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Music Tapes\u003c\/strong\u003e’ vision began taking shape in the ’90s, during which time mastermind Julian 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-music-tapes-1st-imaginary-symphony-for-nomad","title":"The Music Tapes - 1st Imaginary Symphony For Nomad","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJulian Koster's\u003c\/strong\u003e conceptual pop project involving TV's from outer space, offing your parents, and other youthful concerns. Part tape collage\/musique concrete pop-art experiment, part Beach Boys song-cycle, all genius.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739178561847,"sku":"MRG158digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/26a5d73b991a9de4397931efd534146196736360_3f286f91c2be284a4d3e1db8bfa78c7f6cb2633d_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785380662"},{"product_id":"the-music-tapes-music-tapes-for-clouds-and-tornadoes","title":"The Music Tapes - Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis album spotlights \u003cstrong\u003eJulian Koster's\u003c\/strong\u003e song-craft and distinctive vocals, his almost religious devotion to the singing saw, and numerous contributions from other musicians in the Elephant 6 orbit. As on previous efforts, recording was done using an array of antique hardware, giving the record a timeless, texturally rich sonic palette.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":52739180396855,"sku":"MRG338cd","price":14.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739180429623,"sku":"MRG338digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/126344313efb2ac995f6378abf300c78a17e7d72_53ce1ca91259e5844cb365e6e5bb725e95050475_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785380712"},{"product_id":"the-music-tapes-purim-s-shadows-the-dark-tours-the-world","title":"The Music Tapes - Purim's Shadows (The Dark Tours the World)","description":"\u003cp\u003eMany of the basic tenants of \u003cstrong\u003eThe Music Tapes’\u003c\/strong\u003e world are found on \u003cem\u003ePurim’s Shadows,\u003c\/em\u003e 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. Julian says, \"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 Julian 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. 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003ePurim’s Shadows\u003c\/em\u003e 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 \u003cstrong\u003eThe Music Tapes\u003c\/strong\u003e are very excited about. The first is \u003cem\u003eMary’s Voice,\u003c\/em\u003e which will comprise the first half of \u003cem\u003eImaginary Symphony No. 3\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739181707575,"sku":"MRG426digital","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/441f79c8500d64c8946a5091d7c02cdab9a2efb7_4634a9c1eac00b684f6b50886cab2997f47c1082_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785380749"},{"product_id":"the-music-tapes-mary-s-voice","title":"The Music Tapes - Mary's Voice","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMary’s Voice\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThat 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMary’s Voice\u003c\/em\u003e, 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.”\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLP includes a coupon for a full download.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":52739182821687,"sku":"MRG368CD","price":14.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739182854455,"sku":"MRG368digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/17fa02c44fd33672bf01f64262e9b315840dad9d_cee8b7a22dafb22e0b83e253e678ce4e9d49422e_medium_jpg_3bef8321-5c26-4912-a191-4d51abb2ea8e.jpg?v=1789600323"},{"product_id":"the-music-tapes-the-orbiting-human-circus","title":"The Music Tapes - The Orbiting Human Circus","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe four songs on the \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOrbiting Human Circus\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e EP feature in or were inspired by Season One of \u003cem\u003eThe Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air)\u003c\/em\u003e, which is now available for download in its entirety (or binge-listening!) on \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/apple.co\/2e17LC2\"\u003eiTunes\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/orbitinghumancircus.com\/podcast.html#listen\"\u003eyour favorite podcasting app\u003c\/a\u003e, and at \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/orbitinghumancircus.com\/\"\u003eorbitinghumancircus.com\u003c\/a\u003e. Part of the Night Vale Presents podcast network, the cast includes \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/julian-koster\"\u003eJulian Koster\u003c\/a\u003e, John Cameron Mitchell, Mandy Patinkin, Tim Robbins, Charlie Day, and more. It also features further creative contributions by long-time Koster collaborators such as Brian Dewan and \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/neutral-milk-hotel\"\u003eJeff Mangum\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eEach song on the EP is sung by the hapless Janitor at the Eiffel Tower—Julian Koster’s character in the podcast and related live shows—over the course of his surreal adventures. The show exists outside of time, in an era simultaneously suggesting the 1930s and our present, so the songs (along with the rest of the show) were recorded on a 1940s Presto Record Lathe, a 1960s tape machine, a 1930s wire recorder, and of course, a computer—giving Julian an excellent opportunity to continue exercising his lifelong obsession with combining antique and modern recording techniques. Performing as the Janitor allows for new avenues for expressiveness in Koster’s singing, while the show’s surreal tone brings the Music Tapes’ otherworldly impressionistic lushness to a new level.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739210936631,"sku":"MRG593digital","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/b9c3f363451000c2a7c2d5a5a59f7b9a3e0e8819_c70f1dbbcc818e19f4b545d2bacfe1c6615c6ce2_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785381225"}],"url":"https:\/\/mergerecords.com\/collections\/the-music-tapes.oembed","provider":"Merge Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}