Last updated: 6 hours ago
Though the Music Tapes are seen primarily as a spinoff from the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Elephant+6%22">Elephant 6</a> music collective, which includes bands like <a href="spotify:artist:2ooIqOf4X2uz4mMptXCtie">Neutral Milk Hotel</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4a2nAPF15Gv8V65Ba3IJSB">the Olivia Tremor Control</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:5KIrQe9pb7tn8y775PsoAP">the Apples in Stereo</a>, they began as the brainchild of <a href="spotify:artist:7xtsOnL0LUcIETlMABUkOO">Julian Koster</a>. As a 16-year-old, <a href="spotify:artist:7xtsOnL0LUcIETlMABUkOO">Koster</a> conceived of his early recordings, like the "Silly Putty Symphony" as a surreal soundworld to escape into and share with friends. This motivation also fueled <a href="spotify:artist:7xtsOnL0LUcIETlMABUkOO">Koster</a>'s band at the time, <a href="spotify:artist:2xopAm72Ccj8ojBb5MH5TC">Chocolate U.S.A</a>., which eventually evolved into the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Elephant+6%22">Elephant 6</a> projects, including <a href="spotify:artist:2ooIqOf4X2uz4mMptXCtie">Neutral Milk Hotel</a>, in which <a href="spotify:artist:7xtsOnL0LUcIETlMABUkOO">Koster</a> performed as a multi-instrumentalist. When he decided to resurrect the Music Tapes in 1995, <a href="spotify:artist:7xtsOnL0LUcIETlMABUkOO">Koster</a> enlisted the help of Jeremy Barnes, another member of <a href="spotify:artist:2ooIqOf4X2uz4mMptXCtie">Neutral Milk Hotel</a>. Their first single, Please Hear Mr. Flight Control, was released three years later, and featured a variety of sounds and antique and contemporary instruments, as well as pop-up artwork. The 1999 debut album 1st Imaginary Symphony for Nomad had a similar aesthetic: a wax cylinder recorder and a wire recorder were used to record it, and a supplemental comic book was also included. 2008 saw the release of the like-minded Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes, which took nearly nine years to record, and 2012 heralded the arrival of the Purim's Shadows (The Dark Tours the World) EP and the full length Mary's Voice. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi
Monthly Listeners
24,741
Monthly Listeners History
Track the evolution of monthly listeners over the last 28 days.
Followers
17,940
Followers History
Track the evolution of followers over the last 28 days.
Top Cities
406 listeners
398 listeners
296 listeners
266 listeners
234 listeners
Related Artists
Orbiting Human Circus
Christian Camarao
Dylan Kanner
Mark Lousy
Nick Stratton
