imaginarysymphonies

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Julian’s cover of The Mountain Goats’ ”Jeff Davis County Blues,” from episode ten of I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats. You can listen to the episode in full here, which includes a delightful interview with Julian describing how his interpretation of this song came to him.

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The extra-long bonus episode of the Orbiting Human Circus Special: The 2nd Imaginary Symphony, is now in the air! Julian answers questions about the 2nd Imaginary Symphony and the Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air), followed by entirety of the 2nd Imaginary Symphony as it is intended to be heard, in one swell, fell swoop!

And there’s only one more day to snag yourself a 2nd Imaginary shirt, so don’t delay!

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The fourth episode of the Orbiting Human Circus Special, the 2nd Imaginary Symphony, has entered orbit!

As mentioned in this episode, the Orbiting Human Circus will be answering listener submitted questions for a bonus episode! You can email your questions in to podcast@orbitinghumancircus.com! There was no deadline given, so if you’re not following them already (which I strongly recommend doing), keep an eye on the Official Tumblr of the Orbiting Human Circus and the Music Tapes, @orbitinghumancircus, as I imagine they might specify when questions are due in!

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The third installment of the Orbiting Human Circus Special, The 2nd Imaginary Symphony, has entered orbit!

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The second episode of the Orbiting Human Circus Special, The 2nd Imaginary Symphony, has entered orbit!

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The first installment of The 2nd Imaginary Symphony is live!

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In honor of tomorrow’s premiere of The 2nd Imaginary Symphony for Cloudmaking, two new t-shirts (in creme and light blue) are available to pre-order on Topatoco!

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👋 Greetings and good morning/afternoon/evening/infinities to you all, dear symphonettes! A few updates of note:

💭 🎶 ☁️ The Orbiting Human Circus will be airing The 2nd Imaginary Symphony for Cloudmaking in four parts (with a bonus fifth episode), every other Wednesday, starting May 10th! My ears, who have wiled away many an hour with the original version of the 2nd Imaginary Symphony, believe that this version is different than the version that has been floating around the ether for years and years and has been updated for broadcasting purposes. You will be able to listen in all the same places that the Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) is broadcast, all which can be found here. You can read a little more information on the 2nd Imaginary Symphony for Cloudmaking here.

💫 👤 🎪 The tour is underway and, if you dwell within the United States (or don’t mind traveling) perhaps coming to a town near-ish you! Since last transmission, shows have been added in Boston and Brooklyn, June 3rd and 4th, respectively. A full list of dates and venues can be found on the Orbiting Human Circus website here.

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The Orbiting Human Circus feat. The Music Tapes 2017 Spring Tour Dates!

Tickets on sale at noon tomorrow!

More Info from Merge Records:

Julian Koster (The Music Tapes, Neutral Milk Hotel) and Night Vale Presents invite you into the world of popular new podcast The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) with an enchanting live immersive evening of songs, stories, games, magic, and more by the Music Tapes beginning in May. This fictional narrative podcast, created by Koster and presented by the creative team behind Welcome to Night Vale, has reached the top ten in the iTunes U.S. podcast charts and built a loving cult fandom around the world.

The audience is invited to walk into the world of the Orbiting Human Circus and spend an evening with the show’s lead character—the hapless Janitor of the Eiffel Tower, played by Koster—who will attempt, and fail, to clean each evening’s venue, as surreal events, songs, and magic simply happen all around him and the audience in the most unexpected ways.

The podcast—a combination of cinematic audio narrative, song, and sound collage—featured roles performed by Mandy Patinkin, Charlie Day, Tim Robbins, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch’s John Cameron Mitchell and new songs by the Music Tapes. This tour supports both the podcast and the Music Tapes’ new EP The Orbiting Human Circus, a collection of songs from the podcast and the Music Tapes’ sixth release.

The Music Tapes—founded by Koster and Robbie Cucchiaro, and featuring co-composer and collaborator Thomas Hughes (Spinto Band, Carol Cleveland Sings)—are seminal members of the beloved Elephant 6 Collective and are known for creating unique and extraordinary live events in spaces ranging from opera houses to living rooms. Their most recent show, 2012’s The Traveling Imaginary, toured in a circus tent with its own carnival of surreal games. This tour may be the Music Tapes’ most ambitious offering to date.

05/02/2017 - Baltimore, MD / Metro Gallery - Buy Tickets

05/03/2017 - Pittsburgh, PA / Mr. Smalls Theatre - Buy Tickets

05/04/2017 - Cincinnati, OH / Woodward Theater - Buy Tickets

05/06/2017 - Chicago, IL / Subterranean - Buy Tickets

05/07/2017 - Minneapolis, MN / Cedar Cultural Center - Buy Tickets

05/09/2017 - Omaha, NE / The Waiting Room - Buy Tickets

05/10/2017 - Denver, CO / Larimer Lounge - Buy Tickets

05/11/2017 - Salt Lake City, UT / Metro Bar - Buy Tickets

05/12/2017 - Boise, ID / The Olympic

05/13/2017 - Portland, OR / Wonder Ballroom

05/14/2017 - Seattle, WA / The Vera Project

05/16/2017 - San Francisco, CA / Great American Music Hall - Buy Tickets

05/18/2017 - Los Angeles, CA / Bootleg Theater - Buy Tickets

05/20/2017 - Phoenix, AZ / The Trunk Space - Buy Tickets

05/22/2017 - Dallas, TX / Club Dada

05/23/2017 - Austin, TX / The North Door

05/24/2017 - Houston, TX / White Oak Music Hall - Buy Tickets

05/25/2017 - New Orleans, LA / Gasa Gasa - Buy Tickets

05/26/2017 - Atlanta, GA / Drunken Unicorn - Buy Tickets

05/27/2017 - Athens, GA / 40 Watt Club - Buy Tickets

05/30/2017 - Asheville, NC / The Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall

05/31/2017 - Durham, NC / Motorco Music Hall

ETA: And per the Orbiting Human Circus’ website, Northeastern dates to come!

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The bonus episode, wherein Julian answers listener questions, is in the air!

And a few things of note:

The Music Tapes’ new EP of songs from the show, entitled The Orbiting Human Circus, is being released by Merge Records tomorrow, February 10th. You can pre-order/order it here. There are rumblings that there may be a vinyl pressing sometime in the future, but you should buy it now, because now is the time we currently exist in.

Tour dates still forthcoming!

AND there are now links on the Orbiting Human Circus’ website to donate directly to the show! This will help defer the costs of recording, and assumedly, help with the cost of touring as well! If you have enjoyed season one and it is within your means, please consider contributing. There’s even an option to set up a recurring donation if you are fiducially capable and desire to do such a thing!

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The narrative finale of Season One has entered the orbit!

@orbitinghumancircus recently shared that there will be an additional episode, answering questions and telling the story behind the story in two weeks, so stay tuned for that AND forthcoming tour dates!

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Episode seven has entered the orbit!

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Happy Winter and Happy Summer, Northern and Southern Hemispherical Symphonettes!

Season one, episode six starts its very festive orbit today!

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Prepare to be hypnotized by episode five!

Otherly:

To help spark your holiday spirit and festive feelings, Merge Records has posted some older videos of live performances from The Singing Saw at Christmastime to YouTube, including one from Julian’s Caroling Travels of 2008. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and O Christmas Tree!

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Happy Thanksgiving, Symphonettes whom celebrate such a day!

Season one, Episode 4 (The Janitor’s Nights) is in the air!

Some additional listening, for when you need a break from the festivities.

Julian was interviewed in this episode of RiYL.

And did an interview with the CBC recently.

Non-audible relevancy;

Merge has a lovely new Music Tapes shirt available for preorder.

Make sure to follow the Orbiting Human Circus/Music Tapes official accounts on Facebook and Tumblr, as the janitor has lately been saving up spare change and searching through phone books to find strangers to call and tell them jokes!

Help support the show and take part in the Orbiting Human Circus Survey! Additionally, take a screen cap of the last page of the completed survey and email it to podcast@orbitinghumancircus.com for a chance to win a pillowcase that has been autographed by the janitor himself!

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Season one, episode three of the Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) is now in rotation and in the air!

AND! The Orbiting Human Circus tour starts tonight at the BSP Lounge in Kingston, New York! Click here to see if the janitor will be cleaning a venue in a town near you! If not, never fear; new tour dates to be announced sometime in the not-so-distant future!

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A small selection of the Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) merchandise is available through TopatoCo!