Merge Records announces full Merge 25 Festival lineup

Merge Records has just unveiled the full lineup for its four-day 25th anniversary bonanza in Carrboro and Durham, adding some big acts to the already stellar bunch that was previously released.

The newly announced performers are Mount Moriah, William Tyler, Reigning Sound, Telekinesis, Eleanor Friedberger, Amor de Días, Hiss Golden Messenger (the newest addition to the Merge family), David Kilgour and the Heavy 8s, Imperial Teen, Hospitality, Saint Rich, Vertical Scratchers, Teenage Fanclub, Mikal Cronin and The Music Tapes. The day each artist is performing has also been announced and you can check out the day-by-day breakdown below.

A press release noted "We have plenty more surprises up our sleeves, so stay tuned as we celebrate Merge 25!"

Win tickets to The Music Tapes at Cat's Cradle

The Music Tapes will pitch their indoor circus tent at the Cat's Cradle for a very special show on Monday, January 28. The tour, dubbed The Traveling Imagery include an evening of "songs, stories, games, movies, magic, amusements, and more," according to the band.

For a chance to win a pair of tickets to this very special show, email trianglemusiccontests at gmail dot com no later than noon on Monday, January 21. We will randomly select and notify a winner that afternoon. One entry per person, please.

Tickets to the show are $12 and available via Etix.

The Music Tapes announces 'The Traveling Imaginary' tour

The eclectic, folksy, experimental Julian Koster, better known as The Music Tapes, will be taking his latest album, Mary's Voice, on the road in early 2013 as he embarks on The Traveling Imaginary Tour. This will be a unique tour to match Koster's unique music. The band will erect a circus tent for each show where the band will perform.

The Music Tapes will play three shows in the Triangle. There will be two shows at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on Monday, January 28 (one at 8 p.m. and one at 10:30 p.m.). Ticket information for these shows is not available yet. Tickets will go on sale soon via Etix for $12.

The following night, Tuesday, January 29, he'll play Duke Coffeehouse in Durham. Additional information for this show is not available yet either. We'll keep you posted when we know more.

Album Review: The Music Tapes - Mary's Voice

The Music Tapes’ Mary’s Voice, its first new album since 2008, is charming in its creation past times and imaginary places.

Mary’s Voice requires suspension of disbelief. Imaginary worlds tend to fall apart when their faults are picked apart, but the album can be transportive if listeners give it a chance. Thanks to the brilliant opening track, they're likely to.

Julian Koster, the main musician behind The Music Tapes, begins with an invitation. “The Dark Is Singing Songs (Sleepy Time Down South)” lulls listeners into a reflective state with weathered organ and weary horns. It primes the imagination by bringing it to a dream-like state.

New music from The Music Tapes - "The Dark is Singing Songs (Sleepy Time Down South)"

As we first mentioned in June, The Music Tapes has a new album coming out on September 4 titled Mary's Voice. Now you can check out the opening track from the album, "The Dark is Singing Songs (Sleepy Time Down South)," below. You can download the song by going to the Soundcloud page by clicking the logo in the bottom right corner of the widget.

There's no word yet on a tour to support the album, but Julian Koster will likely head out on another living room/caroling tour around the holidays. We'll let you know if he's planning to come back to the Triangle again.

Check out photos and a write up about his stop in Chapel Hill during the 2009 caroling tour HERE.

The Music Tapes releasing 'Mary's Voice' in September

Photo by Nusper Kek

Singer-songwriter Julian Koster, who records as The Music Tapes, is back with his first full-length album since 2008's Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes.

The new album is titled Mary's Voice. It will be released on September 4 by Merge Records, who says that the album is "the warmest and most accessible invitation yet into Julian Koster’s world." Check out the track list below.

There's no word on a tour yet but Koster has become known in recent years for his holiday carol tours late in the year. Check out photos of a 2009 stop in Chapel Hill HERE.

This week's Local Band Local Beer: The Music Tapes, The Toddlers, T0W3RS & Depressed Buttons

This week's free Local Band Local Beer show at Tir Na Nog on Thursday, December 2, is a special one. It's the celebration of the day that tickets go on sale for the 2012 Hopscotch Music Festival.

The evening will start earlier than usual, at 8 p.m. The Music Tapes, Julian Koster's group, will start things off, followed by The Toddlers, T0W3RS and Depressed Buttons.

Stream The Music Tapes new EP Purim's Shadows (The Dark Tours the World) HERE. Stream the song "OUR5!" by T0W3RS below.

The Olivia Tremor Control & The Music Tapes announce tour, coming to Durham

Athens bands The Olivia Tremor Control and The Music Tapes, both of which are Elephant 6 collective groups, are hitting the road this September and headed our way.

They'll wrap up the tour at the Casbah in Durham on Saturday, September 24. Tickets are available now via etix for $13.

The Music Tapes just released a new EP in June titled Purim's Shadows (The Dark Tours the World which you can stream in it's entirety HERE. Stream the song "I Have Been Floated" by The Olivia Tremor Control below.

The Music Tapes releases 'Purim’s Shadows' EP & kazoo

The quirky, experimental songwriter Julian Koster, who records under the moniker The Music Tapes, surprised fans by releasing a new digital EP today, June 14, titled Purim's Shadows (The Dark Tours of the World).

The EP is available to download via the usual digital outlets, but if you order it from Merge Records, you have the option of getting a special Music Tapes kazoo. The special kazoo package includes an extra song not included on the standard version of the EP.

Stream the entire EP now via Merge's website. Check out photos and review of The Music Tapes sets in 2009 at XX Merge and on the caroling tour HERE and HERE.

The Music Tapes caroling again, coming to Raleigh

Photo by Kevin Norris

Julian Koster's merry band of carolers, better known as The Music Tapes, are hitting the road again this year on an impressively long stretch of dates extending from November 4 to January 15. Like last year, the group will be playing at people's homes in each town.

While most of the dates will feature both holiday songs and non-holiday song, the Raleigh, NC date of the tour won't happen until January 9, so the holiday songs will likely be sparse to non-existent. There will be older Music Tapes songs, as well as songs from his forthcoming album due out in 2011.

If you want the group to consider your home on their route, email lullabyedeliveries@gmail.com or send a letter to The Minister of Lullabies at 450 N Harris St, Athens, GA 30601. You have to be willing to host other local guests in your home.

Julian Koster shares songs, stories in Chapel Hill

Julian Koster rolled into Chapel Hill on Monday night around 9:30 p.m. with two friends in tow as well as a plethora of instruments including a stack of singing saws, two banjos, a chord organ, a guitar, a tape machine, a pair of light up toy soldiers and a pair of light up sheep. It's safe to say that from the get go, the crowd of about 20 who gathered in the small living room knew they were in for a treat.

Koster regaled the mesmerized crowd with charmingly bizarre stories about his saws, railroad cake, his grandfather and a number of other subjects. I won't try to recap it because I can't do it justice. Check out the video below of the beginning of the set where Koster introduces the saw named "North" and plays "O Christmas Tree."

[UPDATE: Added video of "Freeing Song For Reindeer" with the railroad cake story below.]

XX Merge day 4 at Orange County Social Club: The Music Tapes and Portastatic

It was a warm humid day outside Orange County Social Club on Saturday, but six XX Merge artists marched through the heat to play great sets.

First up for the afternoon show was New York performer Julian Koster, aka The Music Tapes. He came with his giant metronome and some other odd contraptions that accompanied him as he played some songs on the banjo, the "singing saw" and other instruments. The short set included the song "Big Beautiful Shops" and as well as a new song. As a whole, it was a fantastically quirky performance.

Next up was Merge co-founder Mac McCaughan and violinist Margaret White as Portastatic. The six-song set opened with a Caetano Veloso cover of "Baby" from the 2000 EP De Mel, De Melão. Also included was a great version of "San Andreas" which Mac noted was the first time they had played it with a violin. Check out the complete set list below and check out a video of the performance of "Noisy Night" here.

Merge video retrospective: The Music Tapes - "The Minister of Longitude"

Here's the next video of our Merge Video Retrospective series. This is for "The Minister of Longitude" from The Music Tapes' 2008 album Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes. The video follows the journey of giant metronome, interspersed with some random performance shots among other random things.

Click here for the rest of the Merge Video Retrospective series.

New XX Merge events announced in Durham, Carrboro

Two new events have just been announced as part of the big XX Merge Festival coming up in July.

First, on the Saturday, July 17, prior to the big event, the Triangle Youth Ballet will present "Merge With Motion" at the Carolina Theatre in Durham. The event will be the world premiere of dance performance set to Merge Records music. The dancers will dance to recorded music by Arcade Fire, Caribou, Destroyer, The Magnetic Fields, Polvo, Richard Buckner, Spaceheads and Spoon, but will also feature a live performance by The Rosebuds. They will play an old song as well as a brand new song composed specifically for "Merge With Motion."

Tickets for "Merge With Motion" are $17 or $15 in advance, depending upon the seats. Tickets are available here and at the box office. It sounds like a pretty cool event.

Second, Merge will host a free show on Saturday, July 25 at 1pm at Orange County Social Club in Carrboro (it's right up the street from the Cat's Cradle). The show will be outside and feature sets by Portastatic, Tenement Halls, The Music Tapes, Matt Suggs and Radar Bros. The OCSC is a private club, but you only need to buy a membership for this event if you plan to drink. This will be a good chance for folks who were not able to get tickets to the main event to enjoy some great Merge music.

Tickets are still available for final night (July 26) of XX Merge at Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill featuring She & Him, American Music Club and Wye Oak. Tickets are available via etix.com, at CD Alley, Bull City Records and Schoolkids Records and at the Memorial Hall box office.

We're only a little over a month away now. It's going to be fun.