Simulacrum
Synesthesia
Excerpt from Darren Bergstein Review
“…Dave PEK, Bob Moores, and Eric Woods (aided and abetted by recording engineer Joel Simches, whose real-time signal processing provides the icing on the cake), performing on their usual armament of instrumentation both acoustic and electronic, guide us across a scorched earth of noises, tones, and sequences that burst like iridescent fireworks for the mind, leaving after-images permanently burned on our retinas…”
Darren Bergstein, Downtown Music Gallery
“…In a killer Space Jazz line influenced by the great composers of the 70s, Simulacrum blends an incredibly innovative formula that should top Bandcamp’s experimental and ambient music charts with its instant acoustic instrument composition and live electronics processing…”
Noisy Goat
Excerpt From Liner Notes by PEK
“… There was a first set for this band on the book which was cancelled for the virus. The basic idea of this band is to increase the amount of electronics, to keep the ancillary percussion and loose the drum set, along with PEK and Bob holding down the horn parts. Even without the drums, this set tilts more in the noise direction than typical of Metal Chaos Ensemble. I am interested to see where this project goes as we continue. I like this session and I think you may too……”
Synesthesia:
Simulacrum
Evil Clown Headquarters, Waltham MA – 2 September 2021
1) Synesthesia – 1:10:16
PEK – clarinet, contralto & contrabass clarinets, alto & tenor saxophones, piccolo oboe, bass flute, sheng, fog horn, glockenspiel, crotales, orchestral castanets, gongs, plate gong, finger cymbal, brontosaurus & tank bells, brake drums, Tibetan Bowls, log drums, wood blocks, almglocken, cowbells, daiko, spring boxes, chime rod boxes, electric chimes, [d]ronin, electric upright bass, lfo & frankenstein synths, moog subsequent, prophet, syntrix, novation peak, LinnStrument midi controllers, loop station, voice
Bob Moores – large bell pocket trumpet through zoom multi-effects pedal, electric guitar with various effects, MainStage soft-synths on Mac laptop, Moog D emulator on iPad, crackle box, contact microphone with effects, crank siren, electric upright bass, moog subsequent, prophet, syntrix, novation peak, LinnStrument midi controllers, voice
Eric Woods – analog synthesis
Joel Simches – real-time signal processing, live to 2-track recording
Bandcamp | YouTube | Soundcloud | Noisy Goat
Review by Darren Bergstein
SIMULACRUM – Synesthesia (Evil Clown 9282; USA) Synesthesia is loosely defined as a phenomenon wherein you hear music but see shapes and/or colors. The word translates as “perceive together”, a strange and aberrant twisting of perception wherein one sensory stimulus is seen through the prism of a different stimulus. The Simulacrum collective knows this condition only too well, and comes about as close as anyone can to making synesthetes out of us all. Dave PEK, Bob Moores, and Eric Woods (aided and abetted by recording engineer Joel Simches, whose real-time signal processing provides the icing on the cake), performing on their usual armament of instrumentation both acoustic and electronic, guide us across a scorched earth of noises, tones, and sequences that burst like iridescent fireworks for the mind, leaving after-images permanently burned on our retinas. At roughly the ten-minute mark of this hour-long improv opus, spurts of random-access synth give way to morse-code beeps and telex arcana while tinkling percussives enter the airspace sideways amidst dive-bombing flares of horn. What seems like flagrant chaos and barely-controlled noise reveals layers of expertly telegraphed pulse that mitigates the idea these blokes are simply blowing in to the wind; the torrent of ideas leaping out at you from all angles paint a portrait of mad geniuses at play who know how to expertly navigate the complex soundfields they instantly devise. It almost sounds devilishly composed at points, but so much is happening at any one moment you realize all three musicians are in a veritable frenzy trying to get a grip on the landrush of ideas they’ve unleashed. As the music waxes and wanes, a plucking of guitar here, a tsunamic-rush of electronics there, the listener is so swept up in this galvanic ecosystem there’s barely time to catch a breath. Couldn’t imagine any other collective you’d prefer to be willingly asphyxiated by.
Darren Bergstein, Downtown Music Gallery
Hello listeners!
Listen today on The Church of Noisy Goat to acclaimed Free Jazz and Free Improv group Simulacrum on this special edition of their Synesthesia album, kindly provided by their producer David Peck aka Sparkles Pek, the incredible saxophonist who masters his instrument with drones and extended technique that lead to the sound to other languages, in addition to lavishing talent on other metal objects.
In a killer Space Jazz line influenced by the great composers of the 70s, Simulacrum blends an incredibly innovative formula that should top Bandcamp’s experimental and ambient music charts with its instant acoustic instrument composition and live electronics processing in a sound journey avant-garde musical provided by David Peck (clarinet, contralto & contrabass clarinets, alto & tenor saxophones, piccolo oboe, bass flute, sheng, fog horn, glockenspiel, crotales, orchestral castanets, gongs, plate gong, finger cymbal, brontosaurus & tank bells , brake drums, Tibetan Bowls, log drums, wood blocks, almglocken, cowbells, daiko, spring boxes, chime rod boxes, electric chimes, [d]ronin, electric upright bass, lfo & frankenstein synths, moog subsequent, prophet, syntrix, novation peak, LinnStrument midi controllers, loop station, voice), Bob Moores (large bell pocket trumpet through zoom multi-effects pedal, electric guitar with various effects, MainStage soft-synths on Mac laptop, Moog D emulator on iPad, crackle box, contact microphone with effects, crank siren, electric upright bass, moog subsequent, prophet, syntrix, novation peak, LinnStrument midi controlers, voice), Eric Woods (analog synthesis) and Joel Simches (real-time singal processing, live to 2-track recording).
Enjoy!
Noisy Goat
Liner Notes by PEK
The pandemic forced me to focus on solo works for its duration. It was fun to explore the world of overdubbing and multichannel recording for a year or so, but I am more than ready to resume ensemble playing. When the hammer came down in March of 2020, Evil Clown had some great momentum recording a number of great projects in a few short months: Leap of Faith had just recorded Principles of an Open Future for Relative Pitch, Metal Chaos Ensemble had just recorded The Riddle of Steel, Turbulence had just recorded Friction Coefficients, and new ensemble Expanse had just recorded Main Sequence. All of these projects would have made great music during the last year. Now that we are coming back to a more normal world and I have started LIVESTREAMING shows from Evil Clown Headquarters, all of these projects are picking up again.
Another new project that was conceived at this time was Simulacrum. This new band is an offshoot of Metal Chaos Ensemble featuring 3 the core members PEK on all my stuff, Eric Woods on analog synth, and Bob Moores on space trumpet, guitar, and electronics. Our debut set, Hyperreality, from a few months back included a few special guests, like many Evil Clown albums do, but this new set is stripped down to just the core trio.
There was a first set for this band on the book which was cancelled for the virus. The basic idea of this band is to increase the amount of electronics, to keep the ancillary percussion and loose the drum set, along with PEK and Bob holding down the horn parts. Even without the drums, this set tilts more in the noise direction than typical of Metal Chaos Ensemble. I am interested to see where this project goes as we continue. I like this session and I think you may too…
PEK Out – 9/4/2021
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