PEK Solo – An Orchestra of PEKS
Prisms
Excerpt from Darren Bergstein Review
“… PEK eventually mutes the earthbound cavities of his rustic brass to probe the Mariana trenches of the blackened cosmos as this powerful sonic architecture widens and defines itself further, to the point where, as it finally concludes, we’re situated in some fifth world hybrid where synthetic fauna bungle in the jungle and androids dream of electric sheep. Yowza.”
– Darren Bergstein, Downtown Music Gallery
The first “Orchestra of PEKS” album to feature Tim Kaiser’s recent electro-acoustic instrument, this multi-track solo recording also introduces multi-wind / multi-instrumentalist David Peck’s new West African Kora, in a wild electroacoustic set performed on a dizzying array of reeds, winds, strings, electronics, metallic percussion, wood percussion, sirens and thunder tube.
Squidco Staff
Excerpt From Liner Notes by PEK
“… Prisms is a category 4 work with one intermediate mix made with percussion and the new Tim Kaiser electro-acoustic instruments and one intermediate mix made with the new West African Kora. This is the first Orchestra of PEKs set with the Tim Kaiser axes, although the last PEK Solo set and the last Quartet of PEKs featured these instruments. The electro-acoustic instruments really are complemented by both the percussion and the electronics, even more so in the larger setting… These instruments will be great in Metal Chaos Ensemble and the other bands and I look forward to using them in all the settings.…”
Prisms:
PEK Solo, An Orchestra of PEKS
Evil Clown Headquarters, Waltham MA – 19 April, 2 May 2021
1) Prisms – 1:18:07
2) Mirror Manifolds – 40:58 (download bonus track)
PEK – all instruments, recording & mixing
– clarinets (B flat, alto, contralto, contrabass)
– saxophones (soprano, alto, tenor)
– double reeds (piccolo oboe, oboe, english horn, contrabassoon, tarota, medieval pipe, bass tromboon)
– flutes (piccolo, c, alto, 5 hole russian wood, ocarinas)
– free reed aerophones (sheng, melodica, concertina)
– strings (guqin, kora, electric upright bass)
– electronics (novation peak, moogerfoorger, Prophet synth, Korg MS-20, Imperium LFO Synth, digital delay, loop station)
– metal (gongs, plate gongs, brontosaurus & tank bells, Tibetan bells and bowls, cowbells, orchestral chimes, glockenspiel, Englephone, chimes, temple bells, almglocken, Tibentan finger cymbals, bells, bell tree)
– wood (xylophone, wood blocks, temple blocks, log drums, seed pod rattle, maracas)
– electro-acoustic ([d]ronin, spring harp, electric kalimba, box bells, meager empire chime box, cyclops circular harp, telstar, electric chimes, cymbalum, hedgehog chime box, chime rod box, spring boxes with looping delay, melodica)
– other (crank & wind sirens, thunder tube)
Darren Bergstein Review
PEK SOLO / AN ORCHESTRA OF PEKS – Prisms (Evil Clown 9270; USA) When let loose in his studio unencumbered, Dave PEK can make one helluva brave noise. In the company of other like-minded souls in the loose affiliation that is the Evil Clown contingent, PEK and his cohorts often rain their sounds down upon us from the heavens like so much angry manna; solo, PEK opens the floodgates so to speak, and what makes each of his realizations so utterly enthralling is the sheer wonder and awe of it all. On this outing, PEK strives to wrench order out of the disparate strands of the universe, to physically wrestle with his variegated motifs and make sense of the individual components. Hah! As the Borg say, resistance is futile, so we’re again swept up in the PEK solo maelstrom, mere whipping boys to his acid-tongued reflexes and gift for paranormal gab. He expresses himself in ways that often defy belief, whether it’s the alien sax wailings that parry with the spastic electronic choreography bursting out around the seventeen minute index, or when he revisits hues colored dark and dusky and arching out of space forty energizing minutes in. Speaking of space, PEK eventually mutes the earthbound cavities of his rustic brass to probe the Mariana trenches of the blackened cosmos as this powerful sonic architecture widens and defines itself further, to the point where, as it finally concludes, we’re situated in some fifth world hybrid where synthetic fauna bungle in the jungle and androids dream of electric sheep. Yowza.
– Darren Bergstein, Downtown Music Gallery
Liner Notes by PEK
Every once in a while, there is a break in the crazy schedule here at Evil Clown and I have some time to do a solo album. Our grand olde pal, the Corona Virus has provided such a break in spades…. At the beginning of the 2020, it appeared that the year would be our busiest yet… We did a bunch of albums in January, February and the first weeks of March, and then I was forced to cancel a bunch of wonderful performances scheduled for the months that followed. So, I caught up all my old business: web site, social media, distribution, and the other non-musical activity required to drive the enterprise. Then I took a month off… my biggest rest since I started up in 2015 after my long hiatus. In mid-May I started up again, conceiving some new means of producing some of the enormous output normally achieved by Evil Clown. In the Fall I did a huge series of solo works along with a few Metal Chaos Ensemble sets with Yuri and Mike Gruen.
Now entering the second calendar year to be affected by the Stupid Virus, I really miss playing with others… For obvious reasons, I have been producing a lot more PEK Solo albums than I do typically. I conceived a structural schema for producing solo works while we wait for the virus to be over. As with larger ensemble Evil Clown sessions, the planning involves selecting sound resources from the massive Evil Clown Arsenal and setting up the studio with these instruments to allow rapid changes in instrumentation and therefore in sonority. This system provides a framework to create solo works that are sufficiently different from each other that I can continue to produce new work at something close to my usual rate even while I can’t perform with others.
The PEK Solo albums fall into four categories:
- One continuous track (no overdubbing) of PEK playing one or many instruments with or without signal processing.
- One continuous track of PEK playing one or many instruments with a prerecorded mix of samples drawn from the Evil Clown Catalog or specially recorded at Evil Clown Headquarters. Solo albums from before 2020 fall into the categories 1 & 2.
- A Quartet of PEKs – Four continuous tracks of one PEK each playing many instruments on each pass. Some of these use broad pallets and some use very focused pallets.
- An Orchestra of PEKs – Many tracks of PEKs performing on a broad section of the Arsenal.
As of this writing (8 May 2021), we are in the process of starting up recording sessions at Evil Clown Headquarters for LIVESTREAMING TO YOUTUBE. There are currently 5 sets on the book for May and June from 4 different Evil Clown Ensembles. I have been dying to start ensemble work again, and my production of solo works will slow way down right away. So, this will be the last of the rapid fire PEK Solo sets for a while.
Prisms is a category 4 work with one intermediate mix made with percussion and the new Tim Kaiser electro-acoustic instruments and one intermediate mix made with the new West African Kora. This is the first Orchestra of PEKs set with the Tim Kaiser axes, although the last PEK Solo set and the last Quartet of PEKs featured these instruments. The electro-acoustic instruments really are complemented by both the percussion and the electronics, even more so in the larger setting… These instruments will be great in Metal Chaos Ensemble and the other bands and I look forward to using them in all the settings.
As usual, the chaos of the universe throws out problems which require our attention. Expression must be expressed. Music must be made. The chaos of the universe demands it.
PEK – 5/8/21
Video Screen Grabs
