Saturday, September 08, 2012

The Music Tapes’ Imaginary Voices and Circuses

Read more on thebomberjacket.com

The last time I saw Julian Koster, the main man behind The Music Tapes, we were sitting in a field in Cambridge, MA near Harvard with a circle of other people. He told us about how the animated feature film he planned to make with DreamWorks about a story he wrote called “Second Imaginary Symphony for Cloudmaking” got derailed. He also mentioned that the special and extremely personal tours that he does around the U.S. can take three different forms. The third form that he mentioned, he talked about wistfully, explaining in his slow, little boy voice that it was like a traveling carnival, complete with amusements and games. It sounded like something that could never happen. However, it seems that it is actually happening this fall in support of his new record, Mary’s Voice, and it’s called “The Traveling Imaginary.”

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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Music Tapes :: For Clouds and Tornadoes



Julian Koster has explained his main project The Music Tapes as ‘post cards from his imaginary world.’ If this is true then their latest album For Clouds and Tornadoes was post marked nine years ago. That’s how long it’s been since the band released 1st Imaginary Symphony for Nomad.

The new album is a lo-fi journey into the wintery shallows of Koster’s mind. It is much more accessible than 1st Imaginary, which was characterized by experiments in sound and noise, audio clips cut together and storytelling, all blended in song. For Clouds and Tornadoes is reminiscent of Koster’s work with Neutral Milk Hotel, however the band is in no way trapped in the shadow of Jeff Mangum and stands by itself amazingly well. The only darkness looming over The Music Tapes is that of the sonic tornado Koster has created.

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