Perturbations
Asymptotic Series
Excerpt From Liner Notes by PEK
“… The combination of strong improvisors with deep broad palate doubling and Joel’s perturbations resulted in an extraordinary improvisation. There is a bit more space than usual, and a lot of very interesting sounds from the auxiliary instruments. With Joel at the controls of the signal processing, we essentially have real-time decision making as a performance unit, and we get the full-time attention of a master engineer on the electronic Perturbations of the instrumental expressions…”
Perturbations
Evil Clown Headquarters – Waltham MA
20 August 2024
1) Asymptotic Series – 1:10:11
2) Good Approximation to the True Solution – 5:10
PEK – clarinet, contralto & contrabass clarinets, alto & tenor saxophones, glissophone, piccolo oboe, tarota, bass flute, tiny slide whistle, melodica, prophet, novation peak, moog subsequent, Linnstrument controllers, daxophone, noise tower, theremin with moogerfooger, [d]ronin, 17 string bass, lfo violin, lfo percolator, baby bomb piano, spiny norman, tank cello, spring & chime rod boxes, Englephone, crotales, glockenspiel, gongs, brontosaurus & tank bells, cow bells, orchestral chimes & anvils, chimes, almglocken, temple & wood blocks, log drums, balafon, xylophone, orchestral castanets, seed pod rattles, Tibetan bells & bowls, taxi horn, rubber chicken
Michael Caglianone – soprano, alto & tenor saxophones, clarinet, flute, melodica, slide whistle, tiny slide whistle, soma pipe, lfo violin, novation peak, moog subsequent, Linnstrument controllers, noise tower, Englephone, gongs, Tibetan bowls, orchestral chimes, gongs, rattle, orchestral castanets, balafon, xylophone, almglocken, temple bells, baby bomb piano, water bottle, rubber chicken
John Fugarino – trumpet, piccolo trumpet, slide trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, valve trombone, melodica, lfo violin, novation peak, moog subsequent, Linnstrument controllers, nord stage 3, spring & chime rod boxes, log drums, wood & temple blocks, seed pod rattles, shakers, orchestral castanets, orchestral anvils & chimes, almglocken, temple bells, Tibetan bowls, rattle, crotales, glockenspeil, Englephone
Joel Simches – Live to 2-track recording, perturbations (D-Seed Delay, Boss DD-550, Alesis WDGE, TC Electronics M300, echoplex, Lexicon MPX500 & vortex, Roland SDE3000, Sony DPS-07, Electrix warpfactory)
Full Video
Video Shorties
Liner Notes by PEK
Every once in a while, a new Evil Clown Project emerges. Mostly, the new ensembles are based on a small core group and a basic aesthetic problem which we solve in performance. For example, Turbulence is the band with mostly horn players, but the ensemble makeup is different each performance.
Perturbations is the newest Evil Clown Ensemble. The core unit is PEK and Joel Simches… Joel is the Evil Clown house engineer who comes to nearly all the recording sessions at Evil Clown Headquarters. Some of the bands (for example, Metal Chaos Ensemble and Simulacrum) feature Joel’s real time signal processing in addition to his role as the recording engineer. Now that the Studio has been updated with new equipment (board and effects) Joel’s Perturbation options have increased and improved.
To feature Joel’s electronic manipulations, we keep the instrumental unit to no more than 3 players. To date, the 7 Perturbation sets have all had different lineups drawn from the Evil Clown Roster. For this set I scheduled three of our strongest horn players, me (reeds), Michael Caglianone (reeds), and John Fugarino (brass). All three of us also double the percussion, electronics, electro-acoustic and other instruments from the studio. The broad palate concept works best when all the players change instruments frequently through the performance, creating a steady flow of transformations across sonorities over the duration.
The combination of strong improvisors with deep broad palate doubling and Joel’s perturbations resulted in an extraordinary improvisation. There is a bit more space than usual, and a lot of very interesting sounds from the auxiliary instruments. With Joel at the controls of the signal processing, we essentially have real-time decision making as a performance unit, and we get the full-time attention of a master engineer on the electronic Perturbations of the instrumental expressions. I really like this combination of live playing and over-the top signal processing. Now having addressed this particular aesthetic problem 7 times, I can see that this will be an ongoing Evil Clown project with at least several LIVESTREAM’s per year.
I really like this performance and I bet you will too!! Check it out…
PEK, 8/21/2024
Paul Brennan Photos
and Video Screen Grabs
