''The 2nd Imaginary Symphony For Cloudmaking'' is a story album by The Music Tapes, consisting of the story of a boy named Nigh (named for Jeff Nye Mangum), who lives with his blind grandmother. The album also features instrumentation by

Julian Koster Julian Koster (born July 26, 1972) 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 act ...

to back the spoken word recording by

Brian Dewan Brian Dewan (born 14 June 1963) is an American multi-media artist, who produces music, audio-visual performances, decorative painting, furniture, poetry, filmstrips, illustrations, and musical instruments. He has released three albums of songs ...

. Koster was under contract with

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

to produce another album of music, but wanted to produce a concept album focused more on story and sound effects than necessarily music, inspired by ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...

''. It never received an official mass-release ''

per se Per se may refer to: * ''per se'', a Latin phrase meaning "by itself" or "in itself". * Illegal ''per se'', the legal usage in criminal and antitrust law * Negligence ''per se'', legal use in tort law *Per Se (restaurant) Per Se is a New Ameri ...

'', as Koster felt the material could not be released through his regular record label. Instead, he put the album through two self-released CD-R circulations by traveling and delivering it to various record stores himself, only to later hear it on WNYC's Spinning on Air after a DJ discovered the album. The last copy to sell on

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went for over $125. Koster said that "an official release shall be arranged for, but it's not yet as, in truth, I've been too wrapped up in making new things." Koster's podcast ''

The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) ''The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air)'' is a fictional radio drama podcast written and created by Julian Koster, and published by Night Vale Presents. It is the fourth podcast to be released under the Night Vale Presents name. The podcast st ...

'' announced in May 2017 that they would be releasing a four-part special beginning on May 10, 2017 titled "The 2nd Imaginary Symphony", which was revealed to be the entire Music Tapes album divided into four parts, with the context being it is a mysterious record found in Paris that is broadcast on "Platypus Eve." The production was described as "A story about one who disappeared, one who ran away, and the secret of how clouds are born." The full album, uncut, was released on the podcast on July 5, essentially giving the album its official wide-release 15 years after it was recorded.

Track listing

#"Nigh" – 2:39 #"Mr. Ackerman I"# – 2:48 #"Mr. Ackerman II"# – 2:01 #"Story of the Factory"# – 9:27 #"Raincoat I"# – 2:48 #"Secret"# – 3:59 #"Briefcase"# – 6:51 #"Raincoat II"# – 4:17 #"Factory I"# – 8:38 #"City"# – 3:59 #"Morning"# – 9:10 #"Factory II"# – 4:57 #"Outro Music"# – 4:10 Note: On most versions of the album available on the internet the whole album is a single track.

References

External links

Spinning on Air stream
{{DEFAULTSORT:2nd Imaginary Symphony for Cloudmaking 2002 albums The Music Tapes albums