Julian Koster is the ringleader of the half-human, half-machine imagination-fueled group called The Music Tapes. Over a decade ago he was an integral member of Neutral Milk Hotel and today he still embodies the undying spirit of the Elephant 6 collective. But all of this is just a subsidiary of an increasingly rare and purist attitude towards the making and sharing of music. He spends more time on the road than in any permanent home, a necessary evil to fulfill his creative addiction. Julian is an alchemist of illusion and invention, drawing from his wide palette of instrumentation to invite listeners to his sonic habitat, foreign but warming.
In recent years, Julian established a tradition of embarking on a caroling tour around Christmastime. He, along with a revolving cast of characters, will visit homes that are willing to play host to this unconventional group of carolers. Julian took time to talk to me amidst his initial travels for this year’s edition of the caroling route.
[Mexican Summer, 2010] words//stephanie cafarella Best Coast – Boyfriend Weed, boys and an increasingly famous orange tabby are indisputably the lyrical mainstays of Californian surf/garage-pop duo Best Coast’s debut full-length, appropriately titled, Crazy for You. The album consists of sunny, refreshingly simple lo-fi jams that sound as though they were stolen directly from the pages [...]
Andrew Reynolds is from Lakeland, Florida and now lives in Hollywood, California. Andrew is a rad, creative human being and is one of the most influential street skaters of all time. He owns Baker Skateboards and Brigada Eyewear, and is the Creative Director of Altamont Apparel. Besides being a sick skater, Andrew has a beautiful daughter named Stella and plays guitar in the skate rock band
“The Goat”. I met Andrew when asked to write out “AC” text that he and a bro got tattooed on their arms. Since I met Andrew, he has sent me some of the funniest and most amazing photos, YouTube videos, and music I have ever received. Because of that I asked him to answer these questions.
Abigail Portner is a great artist, friend, and head of the “All I See” series here at Artist Advocacy. She recently moved from coast to coast and is currently selling one of a kind drawings. You can contact her as well to get your own custom drawing. Go check it out at her BLOG!
Noel Sinclair Boyt is a visual artist, skateboarder, and a great friend. When we first met, Noel was visiting Boston during the reign of Coliseum. We didn’t get to hang around for too long, but we have been in touch for many years. I knew Noel first for his skating–the kind of creative style you can see in his video parts are easily reflective of the personality in his artistic pieces. All things considered, anything Noel’s involved in creating is worth checking out.
[Burning Mill Records, 2010] words//stephanie cafarella DOM – Jesus I don’t know whether it’s the painfully blatant and somewhat tasteless references to all things Americana or irony of the allusion to Jesus, or maybe both, but Worcester band, Dom really know how to draw attention. Whether that attention is positive or negative I’m not totally [...]
Niamh Corcoran’s music strikes me as something is something special for the Dublin underground music scene. Her half-dreamscape, half-electronic sounds are so chillingly awesome that I really wish she was instead here in the US. Though relatively unknown in these parts, Niamh has been playing plenty of great shows and certainly has a lot on her mind. I hope her solo endeavor Angkorwat is able to permeate foreign boundaries and put people everywhere into an infectious daze. Take a listen to her jams and thoughts here and you’ll get why I’m such a fan.