The Music Tapes

Though primarily viewed as an offshoot of the Elephant 6 collective that encompassed Neutral Milk Hotel, the Olivia Tremor Control, and the Apples in Stereo, the Music Tapes originated in the imagination of Julian Koster. At age 16 he shaped early pieces such as the "Silly Putty Symphony" into an otherworldly sonic realm meant for personal refuge and for sharing among peers. The same impulse sustained his contemporaneous group Chocolate U.S.A., which later fed into the broader Elephant 6 initiatives, among them Neutral Milk Hotel, where Koster contributed on multiple instruments. Reviving the Music Tapes project in 1995, Koster recruited Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeremy Barnes. Three years afterward they issued the debut single "Please Hear Mr. Flight Control," layering antique and modern instruments with an assortment of textures and accompanying pop-up artwork. The 1999 full-length 1st Imaginary Symphony for Nomad followed the same approach, captured on both a wax cylinder recorder and a wire recorder and packaged with an accompanying comic book. Nearly nine years of work culminated in the 2008 release Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes, while 2012 brought the Purim’s Shadows (The Dark Tours the World) EP together with the album Mary’s Voice.