Metal Chaos Ensemble
Narration Performances
Insanity is Contagious
Excerpt From Liner Notes by PEK
“… More recently, MCE has been a recurring sextet unit with most of the sessions having exactly these six performers. With drums and electric bass and electronics, this unit contains the most rock elements of any of the Evil Clown ensembles. Since Yuri retired from Evil Clown, drummer Steve Niemitz has been holding down the drum chair.…”
Insanity is Contagious
Metal Chaos Ensemble
Evil Clown Headquarters – Waltham MA – 26 June 2023
1) Insanity is Contagious – 1:10:09
2) A Morbid Aversion to Dying – 5:22
PEK – clarinet & contralto clarinets, sopranino, alto, tenor & bass saxophones, tarota, melodica, [d]ronin, 17 string bass, theremin with moogerfooger, log drums, danmo, wood blocks, gongs, plate gong, crotales, brontosaurus bell, orchestral chimes, Englephone, prophet, novation peak, moog subsequent, syntrx, ms-20, soma pipe, game calls, chimes, Linnstrument controllers, recitation
Michael Caglianone – soprano, alto & tenor saxophones, spring & chime rod boxes, brontosaurus bell, Englephone, prophet, nord stage 3, danmo, gong, cow bells
Bob Moores – Electric trumpet, electric guitar, softsynths on iPad, drone generator, all through various efx pedals and wah pedal. nord stage 3, log drums, wood blocks, temple blocks
Eric Woods – analog synthesis, novation peak, moog subsequent, Linnstrument controllers
Mike Gruen – six string bass guitar, Tibetan bowls
Steve Niemitz – drums, log drums, wood & temple blocks, brontosaurus bell, gongs, Englephone, danmo, [d]ronin, 17 string bass, orchestral chimes
Joel Simches – real time signal processing and live to 2-track mix
Full Video
Video Shorties
Liner Notes by PEK
Metal Chaos Ensemble was formed in early 2015 by PEK and Yuri Zbitnov as a working project to explore chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments. I had started to amass the Evil Clown Arsenal of percussion, electronic and wind instruments and we needed a workshop to develop this universe of sounds for the Leap of Faith Orchestra. It was immediately obvious that Metal Chaos Ensemble had a sound to itself and over the last eight years has been one of the most prolific Evil Clown ensembles. We have produced over 50 albums covering a wide range of sonority sets, but always with the presence of gongs, chimes, glockenspiel, Tibetan bowls and many other metallic sounds and the horns of PEK.
More recently, MCE has been a recurring sextet unit with most of the sessions having exactly these six performers. With drums and electric bass and electronics, this unit contains the most rock elements of any of the Evil Clown ensembles. Since Yuri retired from Evil Clown, drummer Steve Niemitz has been holding down the drum chair. He drives into Boston from Eastern Mass, so we don’t do quite as many sets as we did back in the day, but it tends to make them a bit special.
I’m super happy with this album and I bet you like it too…
PEK – 6/27/2023
Paul Brennan Photos and
Video Screen Grabs
