Excerpt from Nick Ostrum Review

“… PEK, the mastermind behind the Leap of Faith collective, produces a lot of music. Each release is not necessarily the definitive release, but, as I have written before, each is an incremental expansion on the greater project which is PEK’s oeuvre. Per the man himself, each seeks to find “solutions to aesthetic problems posed by big ideas,” through focusing one dimension of musical inquiry or configuration of musical forces. Each is therefore a statement in its own right, but also inseparable from the greater picture, which is the relentless drive to create strange beauty out of chaos, or sometimes just to embrace that chaos as a wonderful disorder in and of itself.…”

Nick Ostrum, Squid’s Ear

Squidco Blurb

This Boston-area collective ensemble explores chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments, heard in this 2019 recordings with three horns, doubled percussion and electronics, analog synthesis, and driving drum and bass work from Yuri Zbitnov and Mike Gruen, leveraging the Evil Clown arsenal of percussive devices as they perform an extended improvisations covering a wide scope of sonority and concept.

Nick Ostrum Review

PEK, the mastermind behind the Leap of Faith collective, produces a lot of music. Each release is not necessarily the definitive release, but, as I have written before, each is an incremental expansion on the greater project which is PEK’s oeuvre. Per the man himself, each seeks to find “solutions to aesthetic problems posed by big ideas,” through focusing one dimension of musical inquiry or configuration of musical forces. Each is therefore a statement in its own right, but also inseparable from the greater picture, which is the relentless drive to create strange beauty out of chaos, or sometimes just to embrace that chaos as a wonderful disorder in and of itself.

The Riddle of Steel rests firmly in PEK’s characteristic heavy free jazz aesthetic but is still a deviation from much of the rest of his catalog. The riddle (or ritual) commences with gongs, chimes, and various other metallic instruments and this unsteady exploration of resonance maintains for the first couple of minutes. Gradually, layers of synth, guitar (I think) and other manipulated sounds intermingle with the percussive clangor. Then like that of a shofar, the sounding of an unrecognized horn over warped electronics awakens the listener as PEK barks out an epic of creation and destruction (really, a series of spontaneously chosen excerpts from the Conan films and novels) in a guttural voice reminiscent of Oderus Urungus. (And, yes, there is something heavily metal about the way this odd and pounding piece is shaped by a reworked Conan narrative.) Then, the steel, horns, guitar, and electronics swell in affirmation and fade as the ceremony enters its second of numerous stages.

What follows is the peak-trough dynamic that PEK has spent so many years mapping, even if it is somewhat tempered here. Notable about this ensemble and, really, this specific recording is the underlying plodding rock rhythms laid by Mike Gruen on bass, Yuri Zbitnov on drums, and Bob Moores on guitar. Sure, PEK and Mike Caglianone’s arsenal of horns and Eric Woods’ and Joel Simches electronic contortions fill this trio out. PEK, of course, is aware of this direction and notes it several times on the release website, but the precise permutation of elements and inspirations remains somewhat elusive. At the risk playing the sounds-like game, Riddle of Steel evokes manic Zorn-inspired fusion, or contemporary Acid Mothers Temple with all the trippy spaciness and freak-rock proclivities but minus the relentless dance-hall drive. The periodic recitations, moreover, seem as much ritual as radio play that crosses Ornette’s Science Fiction, Beefheart’s absurdism, Zappa’s strange musical theatrics and, as always, the Arkestra at their least melodic. The result is spirited but somewhat dark and perplexing.

I am still trying to figure out what this “riddle” actually means. Given the deep chthonic pretensions and the cut-and-paste approach to the sprawling Conan saga, however, I am not sure the riddle is really meant to be solved. Or, maybe I just need to listen more closely to the narrative. Anyway, somehow, like any good postmodern work, The Riddle of Steel is rewarding in its peculiarities and inscrutability rather than despite them, an album of good music. It is bizarre but oddly coherent in its ritualistic flow. And, it is gripping, through and through.

Nick Ostrum, Squid’s Ear

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 three years has been one of the most prolific Evil Clown ensembles. We have produced a bunch of 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. All Metal Chaos Ensemble sessions include at least me and Yuri, along with a whole bunch of different guests.

MCE has always contained more rock elements that the other Evil Clown projects. This aspect of the project has really come into focus in the sessions over the last year or two. Recently, the group has stabilized a bit, with the same sextet doing a string of albums (a bit unusual for an Evil Clown ensemble) … This band has three horns doubling percussion and electronics, analog synthesis, and the killer driving drums and bass of Yuri Zbitnov and Mike Gruen. Leveraging the Evil Clown Arsenal, we craft concert length improvisations that cover a sonority scope of huge extent… See The Call of Cthulhu (12/19), The Nameless City (8/19), and Proteus IV (7/19) for the earlier work by this sextet.

I like the power and flexibility of this ensemble and plan to continue to schedule sessions for this exact band. I expect we will get even tighter and more unpredictable as we continue performing as a fixed unit. One thing I really like in this version of MCE, fundamentally absent in all the other Evil Clown projects, is the combination of a deep groove in the rhythm section with chaotic accompaniment from the electronics, guitar, horns & percussion. Leap of Faith and the other bands do not have this rock-oriented element, and while sharing generally the same improvisation technique, occupy a completely different sound-world.

We now LIVESTREAM to YouTube all of the Evil Clown Headquarters recording sessions. With the help of Joel Simches at the audio mixing console and Raffi at the video mixing console, we’re pushing a real quality 8 channel Stream! Subscribe to my YouTube for notifications.

PEK 3/7/2020