On Metal Chaos Ensemble: "... using unique strategies to yield densely active and eerily surreal music, an incredible excursion through experimental improvisation." - Squidco website staff
Main Sequence
1. Natal Clouds 19:40
2. Core 04:32
3. Gas & Dust 15:27
4. Main Sequence 05:12
5. Life Cycle 18:10
PEK - clarinet & contrabass clarinet, alto, tenor & bass saxophones, guanzi, contrabassoon, sheng, melodica, game calls, gongs, brontosaurus & tank bells, rattles, crotales, windsiren, wood blocks, balafon, orchestral chimes, glockenspiel
Michael Knoblach - frame drum, vintage gypsy tambourine, basket of rocks, dan mo, waterfilled mason jar, vintage billiards triangle, abacuses, gong, temple blocks, antique sheep shears, antique glass leg rest furniture carpet protectors, African circumcision rattles, Spooky World noise makers, LP udder, sistrum, vintage fisher price bumble bee, Asian palm frond rattles, assorted other percussion
Audio CD Evil Clown 9240
Sub-Unit No. 1 - Main Sequence
Evil Clown Headquarters, Waltham MA
16 February 2020
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Composer and multi-instrumentalist, PEK, set his sights on something bigger with the Leap of Faith Orchestra's Supernovae. The previous incarnation of the LOFO expands from the fifteen musicians on The Expanding Universe (Evil Clown, 2016) to twenty-one players on this new outing. Another noteworthy element of this project is PEK's use of Frame Notation where the score is seen in written descriptions and straight-forward symbols within Duration Bars. The system provides the musicians with immediate understanding of their own parts and the higher-level arrangement of the music.
Supernovae consists of a single track composition running just under eighty minutes. The digital download includes a bonus track. Though the extended piece is not broken out by formal movements, there are clear delineations within the score. PEK's ensemble—not surprisingly—includes enough non-traditional and weird instruments to compete with a Dr. Seuss orchestra. Though they are not playing in a vacuum, that group of instruments dominates the first ten minutes before strings and reeds make themselves more clearly heard. Forty-five minutes in, we have the first case of prolonged melody, darker and more subdued than the overall tone of the first half.
Supernovae gives way to free improvisation overlaying the melody. Eventually the piece introduces a brilliant percussion passage before it reintroduces the non-traditional music elements, but here in a more refined manner. As with all of PEK's compositions, there is—behind the scenes—a painstaking amount of organization that is not always evident in the listening. That is part of the beauty of this album; the non-traditional approach to instrumentation and the lack of adherence to Western structure continue to make the various iterations of Leap of Faith consistently interesting. And interesting look at the written score can be viewed at http://www.evilclown.rocks/lofo-supernovae-score.html.
Audio CD Evil Clown 9330
LIVESTREAMED from Evil Clown Headquarters
Waltham MA
11 March 2023
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Swathe - 1:09:56
PEK - clarinet, contralto & contrabass clarinets, alto, & bass saxophones, tarota, bass flute, melodica, theremin with moogerfooger, syntrx, nord stage 3, prophet, korg mini , novation peak, moog subsequent, lfo synths, Linnstrument controllers, [d]ronin, 17 string bass, guqin, nagoya, spring & chime rod boxes, bowed cymbal, crotales, glockenspiel, gongs, plate gong, brontosaurs & tank bells, cow bells, orchestral chimes, chimes, Englephone, Tibetan bowls, danmo, wood blocks, voice
DNA Girl - gold tone octave mandolin, gokeys keyboard, tongue drum, Tibetan bowl, electric kalimba, spring & chime rod boxes, vocals, “A hurricane” by Emily Dickenson
Count Robot - weird sound generator, stylophone, thera synth, fx, voice, novation peak, moog subsequent, Korg mini, Linnstrument controllers, chime rod & spring boxes
Tim Mungenast - laguna electric guitar, homemade sprint instruments, bells, overtone singing & cubist blather, effects pedals by ibanez, zoom, electro harmonix, behringer & schaller, spring & chime rod boxes, electric kalimba, rocks, Englephone, orchcestral chimes
Michael Knoblach - frame drum, busy box drum, tank drum, enamel bowls, devil chasers axatse, abacuses, African rattles, Fischer Price toys, sheep shears, wooden billiards triangle, tit-fer, bells, sand blocks, antique child rattles, horses-ass-a-phone, basket of rocks, spooky world noise makers, spinning toy, acme siren whistle, mortar & pestle, lobster pot claps
Audio CD Evil Clown 9291
LIVESTREAMED from Evil Clown Headquarters
Waltham MA
26 November 2021
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Breadth - 1:10:21
On Leap of Faith: "Alien yet familiar, bizarre yet completely fascinating. Expanding, contracting, erupting, settling down, always as one force..." - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
2
PEK - contralto & contrabass clarinets, alto & tenor saxophones, piccolo oboe, sheng, alto & bass flutes, occarinas, wood flute, bass dizi, bass recorder, concertina, aquasonic, [d]ronin, spring boxes, chime boxes, electric chimes, Tibetal bell, guqin, guyzeng, balafon, brontosaurus & tank bells, almglocken, glockenspiel, Englephone, crotales, wood blocks, temple blocks, log drums, orchestral castanets
Jimmy Zhao – erhu, hulusi, bawu, dizi, xiao, xun, tao di
Michael Knoblach - basket of rocks, seed pod shakers, shakers and rattles, water filled mason jars, billiards triangle, abacus, vibratones, frame drum, copper bowl, lp udder, sandpaper blocks, glass furniture leg carpet protector, slinky, horses-ass-a-phone, Christmas ornaments, clock chime, toys
David Welans – flutes, piccolo
Eric Dahlman – trumpet, gong
Expanse - Recordings
Audio CD Evil Clown 9305
LIVESTREAMED from Evil Clown Headquarters
Waltham MA
26 April 2022
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Chromatic Spectrum - 1:10:36
PEK - clarinet, contralto & contrabass clarinets, sopranino, alto, & tenor saxophones, tarota, bawu, guanzi, alto flute, sheng, accordion, [d]ronin, 17 string bass, spring & chime rod boxes, crotales, glockenspiel, cymbells, gongs, plate gong, hand chimes, orchestral castanets
Jimmy Zhao – erhu, violin, viola, dizi, hulusi, bawu, matoqin, xiao
Michael Knoblach - frame drum, busy box drum, tank drum, enamel bowls, devil chasers axatse, abacuses, African rattles, Fischer Price toys, sheep shears, wooden billiards triangle, tit-fer, bells, sand blocks, antique child rattles, horses-ass-a-phone, basket of rocks, spooky world, noise makers, spinning toy, acme siren whistle, mortar & pestle, lobster pot, gongs, udu drum, hand chimes, hand claps
David Welans – C flute, piccolo, dizi flute, log drums, brontosaurus bell, wood blocks, Englephone
Eric Dahlman – trumpet, overtone voice, 17 string bass, brontosaurus bell, almglocken
Audio CD Evil Clown 9272
LIVESTREAMED from Evil Clown Headquarters
Waltham MA - 21 May 2021
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Vacuum Energy - 1:07:51
Audio CD Evil Clown 9319
LIVESTREAMED from Evil Clown Headquarters
Waltham MA
14 August 2021
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Span - 1:09:08
Evil Clown
PEK - contrabass clarinet, alto & tenor saxophones, piccolo oboe, alto flute, medieval pipe, sheng, wind siren, gongs, plate gong, brontosaurus & tank bells, almglocken, chimes, woodblocks, temple blocks, orchestral chimes, Tibetan bowls, xylophone, glockenspiel, daiko, flex-a-tone, [d]ronin, spring harp, electric kalimba, empire chime box, telstar, hedgehog chime box, electric chimes, chime rod box, spring boxes, log drums, cow bells, Englephone
Michael Caglianone- soprano, alto & tenor saxophones, seed pod rattles, orchestral chimes, Tibetan bowls, xylophone, glockenspiel, daiko, flex-a-tone
Michael Knoblach - basket of rocks, bowl of leaves, seed pod shakers, African split drums, African bell, shakers and rattles, water filled lobster pot & mason jars, billiards triangle, gypsy and busybox tambourines, abacus, rattlesnake drum, vibratones, frame drum, copper bowl, lp udder, sandpaper blocks, glass furniture leg carpet protector, slinky, horses-ass-a-phone, Christmas ornaments, clock chime, wind siren, egg beater, toys
PEK - clarinet, contralto & contrabass clarinets, alto, tenor & bass saxophones, mussette, shenai, sheng, bawu, bass flute, spring & chime boxes, electric chimes, chimes, flex-a-tone, fog horns, Englephone, almglocken, brontosaurus & tank bells, gongs, plate gong, Tibetan bells, crotales, glockenspiel, log drums, wood blocks, temple blocks. orchestral castanets, flex-a-tone
Eric Woods - analog synthesis, gong, cymbells, chimes, Englephone, cowbells, wood blocks, log drums, brontosaurus & tank bells
Michael Knoblach - frame drum, busy box drum, tank drum, enamel bowls, devil chasers axatse, abacuses, African rattles, Fischer Price toys, sheep shears, slinky, wooden billiards triangle, tit-fer, bells, antique child rattles, sand blocks, horses-ass-a-phone, basket of rocks, spooky world noise makers, spinning toy, acme siren whistle, mortar & pestle, large American percussion riq with wooden zils, lobster pot, Atlantis gong
PEK - clarinet, contralto & contrabass clarinets, alto, tenor & bass saxophones, piccolo oboe, dulzaina, shenai, alto & bass flutes, bass recorder, bass ocarinas, gongs, plate gong, melodica, chromatic harmonica, crank siren, brontosaurus & tank bells, almglocken, chimes, Englephone, crotales, cow bells, Tibetan bowl, hand chimes, bells, woodblocks, temple blocks, castanets, seed pod rattle, rachet, log drums, [d]ronin, spring and chime rod boxes, electric chimes, voice
Michael Knoblach - 36 in. bass drum, frame drum, busy box drum, tank drum, enamel bowls, crystal singing bowls, devil chasers axatse, African rattles, Fischer Price toys, sheep shears, slinky, wooden billiards triangle. titfer bells, antique child rattles, sand blocks, horses-ass-a-phone, basket of rocks, spooky world noise makers, spinning toy, acme siren whistle, mortar & pestle
Audio CD Evil Clown 9281
LIVESTREAMED from Evil Clown Headquarters
Waltham MA
8 August 2021
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Scope - 1:10:45