Orbiting Human Circus

Orbiting Human Circus is the continuing evolution of the imagination of Julian Koster (Neutral Milk Hotel, The Music Tapes, Elephant 6), whose music and storytelling under this moniker have encompassed immersive theater and a narrative fiction podcast released in partnership with Night Vale Presents and WNYC—with a new, epic musical fiction podcast coming soon—as well as more traditional EPs and singles. Quartet Plus Two is the group’s debut album.

The “Quartet” is composed of Koster, standup bass player Gauvain Gamon, drummer Kolja Gjoni, and pianist Benji Miller. The “Plus Two” are North and Romika, the singing saws, whom Koster encourages to sing. “I think saws sing like angels,” he says. “I always have, since I was a little boy. When you encourage them to sing, they do so earnestly and beautifully. It’s an honest and real sound. Sometimes when they are singing, I’ve even heard them speak, weep, and imitate birds.”

The origins of Quartet Plus Two are as magical and seemingly unlikely as everything else in Koster’s career. While walking through New York’s Central Park, he stumbled upon Gamon and Gjoni playing Gershwin and Mingus, and, with the addition of Miller, a musical partnership was born. Koster’s longtime collaborators Robbie Cucchiaro (horns) and Thomas Hughes (orchestral arranging and chimes) of The Music Tapes also contribute to the record.