Metal Chaos Ensemble
Narration Performances
One Step Beyond Logic
Excerpt From Liner Notes by PEK
“For this set, the sextet welcomes special guest Chris Alford on guitar. Chris lives in New Orleans, but is originally from the Boston area… Chris is an excellent example of some great players who love to play on Evil Clown sessions, but who make relatively few sessions due to distance. We welcome these contributors when they can make it. Chris’ debut effort here with Metal Chaos Ensemble is excellent – along with a stellar performance by the ensemble regulars…”
Metal Chaos Ensemble
Evil Clown Headquarters, Waltham MA
8 July 2024
One Step Beyond Logic – 1:10:29
The Coffee Failed to Arrive – 5:47
PEK – clarinet, contralto & contrabass clarinets, alto & tenor saxophones, glissophone, tarota, bass tromboon, [d]ronin, 17 string bass, moog subsequent, novation peak, Linnstrument controllers, ms-20, rubber chicken, soma pipe, noise tower, Tibetan bowls, gongs, plate gong, almglocken, chimes, orchestral chimes & anvils, Englephone, danmo, brontosaurus & tank bells, log drums, wood & temple blocks, seed pod rattle, 5 hole wood flute, recitation
Michael Caglianone – soprano, alto & tenor saxophones, clarinet, flute, hulusi, rubber chicken, wind siren, ocarina, vuvuzela, moog subsequent, novation peak, Linnstrument controllers, brontosaurus & tank bells,flex-a-tone, shakers, slide whiste, tiny slide whistle, balafon, log drums, wood & temple blocks, cow bells, Tibetan bell
Bob Moores – Fretless baritone electric guitar played through Zoom multi-efx pedal, Electric trumpet with electric mouthpiece played through Zoom multi-efx pedal and additional efx chain, Donner Essential B1 Analog Bass Synthesizer and Sequencer, Vaux Flores Eyetron pocket synthesizer, Syntha-sette pocket synthesizer, Carry-on digital wind instrument, 2 LFO drone generator with eft, Signal generator with eft, Wobble box, Small wooden flute/whistle, Bamboo flute, Wooden flute, Animoog Z app on iPad, minielectric trumpet with effects, ocarina, nord stage 3, prophet, gongs, plate gong, wood blocks, temple blocks, cow bells
Eric Woods – analog synthesis, nord stage 3, moog subsequent, novation peak, ms-20, Linnstrument controllers, balafon, xylophone, almglocken, noise tower
Chris Alford – guitar, Tibetan bowls, wood blocks, cow bells, log drums, chimes, xylophone, balafon, almglocken
Mike Gruen – purple sparkles six string electric bass, signal processing
Steve Niemitz – drums, shakers, wood blocks, cow bells, brontosaurus & tank bells, chimes, log drums
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 nine 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 the same 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 Western 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. .
For this set, the sextet welcomes special guest Chris Alford on guitar. Chris lives in New Orleans, but is originally from the Boston area. Albey onBass, a long-time Evil Clown regular, played with many of the Evil Clown ensembles in 2015 and 2016 and then moved with his wife Jane to New Orleans. While there he met Chris and they played together. After a few years Albey moved back to New York, splitting his time between NYC and the Boston area. When Chris and his wife made a trip to the area a few years back Albey brought him over to Evil Clown Headquarters for a few sessions. I told Chris that he should let me know when he was going to be in town, and I would get him into the schedule. This is now his third trip here and this time he will be around for a month. In addition to this Metal Chaos Ensemble set I scheduled two Leap of Faith sets for next week – Albey will be coming up from New York for those.
Chris is an excellent example of some great players who love to play on Evil Clown sessions, but who make relatively few sessions due to distance. We welcome these contributors when they can make it. Chris’ debut effort here with Metal Chaos Ensemble is excellent – along with a stellar performance by the ensemble regulars.
I’m super happy with this album and I bet you like it too…
PEK – 7/9/2024
Paul Brennan Photos
and Video Grabs
