Julian Koster
{{Short description|American musician (born 1972)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Julian Koster
| background = person
| image = Julian06.JPG
| caption = Koster playing the banjo at ArthurFest 2005 (signature lamb-lamp seen in background)
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|07|26}}
| genre = Psychedelic folk, indie folk, lo-fi
| occupation = Musician, songwriter, storyteller
| instrument = Musical saw, banjo, bass guitar, accordion, keyboards, vocals
| years_active = 1989–present
| label = {{hlist|Elephant Six|Merge|Orange Twin|Bar/None|Kindercore}}
| current_member_of = {{hlist|Major Organ and the Adding Machine|The Music Tapes}}
| past_member_of = {{hlist|Neutral Milk Hotel|Chocolate USA|of Montreal}}
}}
Julian Koster (born July 26, 1972){{cite web|url=http://e6townhall.com/archive/index.php/t-14456.html|title=happy birthday julian! Archive|publisher=E6 Townhall|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032214/http://e6townhall.com/archive/index.php/t-14456.html|archive-date=March 4, 2016|access-date=2018-09-17}} {{cite web|url=http://www.bar-none.com/chocolate-usa/|title=Chocolate U.S.A.|website=Bar/None Records|publisher=Bar-none.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907004227/http://www.bar-none.com/chocolate-usa|archive-date=September 7, 2015|access-date=2018-09-17}} is an American multidisciplinary artist. As a musician, he is a member of the Elephant 6 Collective, the leader of The Music Tapes, and a member of Neutral Milk Hotel. He is known for writing, directing, and acting in audio fiction The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air), and for performing with the theatrical troupe of the same name. He is also known for his heavy use of the musical saw in recordings, even releasing The Singing Saw at Christmastime, his only solo album released under his own name, in 2008.
Early career: Chocolate USA
{{further|Chocolate USA}}
In 1989, Koster formed Miss America with Liza Wakeman, Alan Edwards, Paul Wells and Keith Block. After legal threats from Miss America, they became Chocolate USA. Chocolate USA released two albums on Bar/None before disbanding to follow other projects.
Neutral Milk Hotel
{{further|Neutral Milk Hotel}}
Koster joined Jeff Mangum, Scott Spillane and Jeremy Barnes to record the second Neutral Milk Hotel album, In the Aeroplane over the Sea, on which he played banjo and singing saw. Koster also played bass guitar in the live band. The success of the album, however, took its toll on Mangum, and the band went on hiatus shortly after its release. They reunited in 2013 for a worldwide tour.
The Music Tapes and other projects
After Neutral Milk Hotel, Koster began to concentrate on his own solo project, The Music Tapes, for which he contributed banjo, singing saw, chord organ, and vocals, among other instruments. 1st Imaginary Symphony For Nomad was released in 1999. Koster, together with Brian Dewan, recorded the story album The 2nd Imaginary Symphony for Cloudmaking, which was distributed by Koster on CD but never officially released for 15 years. After this, nothing was released by The Music Tapes until 2008, when Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes arrived, followed by extensive touring (including the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour) and an unprecedented level of public appearance by the formerly reclusive Koster.
Koster was a founding member of Major Organ and the Adding Machine. He appeared in the Major Organ and the Adding Machine film which was shown on the Holiday Surprise tour and was later released with an expanded edition of the 2001 album in 2009.{{cite web|url=http://opticalatlas.com/?cat=34|title=Major Organ and the Adding Machine|date=19 June 2009|website=Optical Atlas|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714032518/http://opticalatlas.com/?cat=34|archive-date=14 July 2009|access-date=2018-09-17}}
In 2008, Koster released The Singing Saw at Christmastime, a collection of Christmas carols played on the singing saw. This was followed by a caroling tour, on which he played songs from The Singing Saw at Christmastime and selected tracks from Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes for free wherever fans invited him to play.{{Cite web |url=http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/atoz/2008/11/julian_koster_holiday_cheer_caroling_tour_st_louis_2008_november_17_elephant_6_jeff_mangum.php |title=St. Louis - A to Z - Julian Koster Brings Holiday Cheer Caroling Tour to St. Louis, Monday, November 17 |access-date=2008-12-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111102722/http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/atoz/2008/11/julian_koster_holiday_cheer_caroling_tour_st_louis_2008_november_17_elephant_6_jeff_mangum.php |archive-date=2009-01-11 |url-status=dead }} This evolved into an annual caroling tradition, which transformed into the "Lullabies at Bedsides" house tour of 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 which in turn gave way to the long-planned Traveling Imaginary of 2012–2013. After the EP Purim's Shadows in 2011, in 2012, The Music Tapes released their third full-length LP, Mary's Voice.
On October 12, 2016, The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) podcast was released, with Koster starring as Julian the Janitor.{{cite web |author=Hannah Verdier |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/oct/20/orbiting-human-circus-air-carousel-weirdness-welcome-night-vale |title=The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air): for those who like their podcasts strange | Television & radio |work=The Guardian |date=October 20, 2016 |access-date=2018-09-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029180530/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/oct/20/orbiting-human-circus-air-carousel-weirdness-welcome-night-vale |archive-date=October 29, 2016 |url-status=live }}
Koster voiced Slime Boy in the animated series High Guardian Spice.{{cite web|url=https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2021/10/10-1/high-guardian-spice-soars-to-crunchyroll-with-new-trailer-and-premiere-date|last=Luster|first=Joseph|title=High Guardian Spice Soars to Crunchyroll with New Trailer and Premiere Date|website=Crunchyroll|date=October 10, 2021|access-date=October 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010182237/https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2021/10/10-1/high-guardian-spice-soars-to-crunchyroll-with-new-trailer-and-premiere-date|archive-date=October 10, 2021|url-status=live}}
In 2023, Koster started a new band, also called Orbiting Human Circus. They released their debut album, Quartet Plus Two, on November 17. The album featured contributions from Robbie Cucchiaro and Thomas Hughes, Koster's bandmates in The Music Tapes.
Personal life
Koster's father is noted flamenco guitarist Dennis Koster.{{Cite news|last=Hughes|first=Allen|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/08/arts/music-dennis-koster-guitar.html|title=Music: Dennis Koster, Guitar|date=1985-06-08|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-02-15|url-status=live|page=30|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616215837/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/08/arts/music-dennis-koster-guitar.html|archive-date=June 16, 2018}}
Koster is close friends with Hedwig and the Angry Inch co-creator John Cameron Mitchell, having contributed to early readings of the production and featured the character of Hedwig in some early tours with The Music Tapes. Mitchell is a cast member on Koster's Orbiting Human Circus podcast.{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/orbitinghumancircus/episodes/season-one-episode-1-reissue|title=(Of the Air): Firstly!|date=May 14, 2018|last=The Orbiting Human Circus|type=Podcast|publisher=WNYC Studios|access-date=February 15, 2020}}
=Sexual assault allegations=
On July 9, 2024, Koster was accused by fellow Elephant 6 musician Nesey Gallons of grooming and sexual assault. Gallons alleged that the grooming began via email contact when Gallons was fifteen years old and turned physical in April 2001 when Gallons was sixteen. Gallons further alleges that Koster sexually assaulted them twice in the summer of 2005.{{Cite Instagram |postid=C9MyUlvJACS |last=Gallons |first=Nesey |author-link=Nesey Gallons |user=neseygallons | date=July 9, 2024 |title=I began to communicate by telephone and correspond via email with Julian Koster routinely in early Y2K at age 15, each exchange gradually... | access-date=July 10, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2271209/neutral-milk-hotels-julian-koster-accused-of-grooming-and-sexual-assault-by-elephant-6-musician-nesey-gallons/news/ |last=DeVille |first=Chris |title=Neutral Milk Hotel's Julian Koster Accused of Grooming and Sexual Assault by Elephant 6 Musician Nesey Gallons |publisher=Stereogum |date=July 11, 2024 |access-date=July 12, 2024}}
In his own statement on Instagram, Koster confirms the relationship transpired but denies Gallons' other allegations, writing that Gallons and her spouse have been trying to coerce him into entering into a romantic relationship with them. “I have been the victim of intimidation, manipulation, and abuse by Nesey Gallons for many years,” he writes. "When the relationship began I was 28 and Nesey was 16, just before her 17th birthday," Koster continued. "Though this put her over Georgia's legal age of consent when our relationship began, it was wrong to allow the relationship to happen at all and I've apologized to Nesey many times for that. I should have been more responsible about the age gap, but I deny all the other accusations she's made." Koster wrote in his statement, "Anyone who knows me now or knew me then understands that I always try with all my heart to approach people with empathy and love, including Nesey, and over the last few years I've been working hard to build a friendship and to listen to her and acknowledge the pain that she feels. My efforts have been met with increasingly disturbing behavior on the part of both Nesey and (spouse Paul Gallons), including thousands of threatening and manipulative messages, which are meant to punish me for not agreeing to what they want."{{cite web |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/07/11/neutral-milk-hotel-julian-koster-grooming-sexual-assault/74372198007/ |last=Goldberg |first=Alyssa |title=Neutral Milk Hotel's Julian Koster denies grooming, sexual assault accusations |publisher=USA Today |date=July 11, 2024 |access-date=July 14, 2024}}
Discography
As Julian Koster
:*The Singing Saw at Christmastime (Merge; CD/LP/FLAC; 2008)
With Chocolate USA
:* All Jets Are Gonna Fall Today (Bar/None; Cassette/CD; 1992) (Originally released as Miss America. Re-released as Chocolate USA.)
:* Smoke Machine (Bar/None; CD; 1994)
With Major Organ and the Adding Machine
:*Christmas in Stereo (Kindercore; CD; 1997)
:*Major Organ and the Adding Machine (Orange Twin; CD; 2001)
With The Music Tapes
:* Please Hear Mr. Flight Control (Elephant Six; 7"; 1997)
:* The Television Tells Us (Elephant Six; 7"; 1998)
:* 1st Imaginary Symphony For Nomad (Merge; CD/LP; 1999)
:* The Music Tapes and Dad (Given free with 'Stop Smiling Magazine' #8; 7"; 2000)
:* 2nd Imaginary Symphony For Cloudmaking (Self-released; CD; 2002)
:* Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes (Merge; CD/LP; 2008)
:* Purim's Shadows: The Dark Tours the World (Merge; MP3/kazoo; 2011)
:* Mary's Voice (Merge; CD/LP; 2012)
:* The Orbiting Human Circus (Merge; MP3; 2017)
:* The Sea of Tranquility (Merge; MP3/FLAC; 2019)
:* Quartet Plus Two (Merge; CD/LP; 2023)
With Neutral Milk Hotel
:* In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Merge; CD; 1998)
:* Ferris Wheel on Fire (Neutral Milk Hotel Records; 10" EP; 2011)
Other Appearances
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Artist
! Album ! Label ! Format ! Date ! Instruments |
|---|
| Kevin Ayers
| LO-MAX | CD | 2007 |
| Black Swan Network
| CD | 1998 | |
| Circulatory System
| LP | 2001 | |
| Elf Power
| Vainly Clutching at Phantom Limbs | CD | 1995 |
| Elf Power
| Arena Rock Recording Co./Elephant 6 | CD/LP | 1997 | |
| Elk City
| CD | 2001 |
| Fablefactory
| | CD | 1999 |
| Quannnic
| DeadAir | LP | 2023 | Singing saw, vocals, arrangement of ghosts |
| The Instruments
| CD | 2002 | |
| Of Montreal
| The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy | CD | 1998 | |
| Of Montreal
| Bar/None | CD | 1999 | Singing; Jumping on the furnace |
| The Olivia Tremor Control
| Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle | Flydaddy | LP | 1996 | |
| The Olivia Tremor Control
| Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One | Flydaddy | LP | 1999 | |
| They Might Be Giants
| CD | 1996 |
| Various Artists
| CD | 1998 |
| Nesey Gallons
| LP | 2009 | Singing |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- The Music Tapes – [http://orbitinghumancircus.com/ "All Official Announcements"]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20121204083458/http://www.talkrocktome.com/julian-koster-some-other-very-lovely-reality-intruding-into-ours/ An interview with Julian Koster: Some other lovely reality intruding into ours] August 31, 2012 via Talk Rock To Me
Sources
- Cooper, Kim "Neutral Milk Hotel's in the Aeroplane Over the Sea (33{{fraction|1|3}})", 2005
{{Neutral Milk Hotel}}
{{E6}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koster, Julian}}
Category:American mandolinists
Category:American rock guitarists
Category:American male guitarists
Category:21st-century American accordionists
Category:21st-century American guitarists
Category:21st-century American male musicians
Category:Neutral Milk Hotel members
Category:Major Organ and the Adding Machine members