Ukulele Loki’s Gadabout Orchestra

Ukulele Loki’s Gadabout Orchestra is a Denver-based, six-piece chamber-pop band that weaves the lyrical cleverness and melodic considerations of Tin Pan Alley; the chamber-pop and harmonic arrangements of Sgt. Pepper era psychedelia; the brooding melancholy
of ‘80s post-punk; and the DIY ethos of contemporary indie bands into an unclassifiable genre of its own invention. Attempts to describe their music have resulted in terms like “indie pan alley,” “melancholy circus rock,” and “Sepiachord.”

As Jason Heller wrote in The Onion, “Ukulele Loki’s Gadabout Orchestra reaches backward, forward and into deep pockets of timeless pop weirdness, leading tuba, clarinet, trombone, glockenspiel and melodica
on a motley march through lush and bright-eyed melancholy. Threads of Tin Pan Alley whimsy and Kurt Weil-esque menace run through the
album.”

Having played with countless contemporaries, including The Dresden Dolls, the group has also collaborated with members of the Elephant Six collectives: The Apples in Stereo and Neutral Milk Hotel.

As a pioneer of the current ukulele revival, Loki has been
Johnny-Appleseeding the instrument across the U.S. and to Japan since 2000. Additionally, his jobs as a sideshow talker, free-form radio DJ, neo-vaudevillian, and burlesque emcee have afforded him unusual outlets for his anachronistic take on song writing. Live performances
often feature appearances from aerialists, burlesque dancers, sideshow oddities, and more. The band’s newest material incorporates even more
modern production, including electric effects, and synthesizers. If the steampunk aesthetic had a time-traveling musical counterpart, it would sound like The Gadabout Orchestra.