The Squid's Ear Magazine


Metal Chaos Ensemble: Nexus 6 (Evil Clown)

One of Evil Clown's most prolific groupings, Metal Chaos Ensemble was formed in 2015 by David Peck and Yuri Zbitnov as a working project to explore chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments, here in a live performance with real time signal processing by Joel Simches, performed with saxophonist Michael Caglianone, bassist Mike Gruen, analog synthesist Eric Woods and percussionist Steve Niemitz.
 

Price: $11.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 3.00 units


EU & UK Customers:
Discogs.com can handle your VAT payments
So please order through Discogs

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



David Peck (PEK)-clarinet, contralto clarinet, contrabass clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, piccolo oboe, alto flute, goat horn, tarota, novation peak, moog subsequent, syntrix, prophet, Linnstrument controllers, [d]ronin, 17 string bass, spring box, chime rod boxes, brontosaurus bells, tank bells, gongs, plate gong, Tibetan bowls, almglocken, crotales, glockenspiel, orchestral chimes, chimes, wood blocks, temple blocks, balafon, xylophone, log drums, narration

Bob Moores-guitar, soft synths, computer

Michael Caglianone-soprano, alto saxophone, tenor saxophones, spring & chime boxes, [d]ronin, balafon, glockenspiel, brontosaurus bells, tank bells, crotales

Mike Gruen-bass guitar, 17 string bass

Eric Woods-modular analog synthesis, novation peak, moog subsequent, Linnstrument controllers

Steve Niemitz-drums, gongs

Joel Simches-real time signal processing


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




Label: Evil Clown
Catalog ID: 9308
Squidco Product Code: 33822

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2022
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack
Recorded at Evil Clown Headquarters, in Waltham, Massachusetts, on May 21th, 2022.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"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 seven 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.

Since the pandemic has let up, we have started to do LIVESTREAMING sessions from Evil Clown Headquarters to YouTube... This set is the regular sextet version of MCE which has not played since 2021. The last session, Project Wildfire, from May was missing Eric Woods at the analog synth and had Evil Clown regular Albey onBass subbing for Mike Gruen. Another set was repurposed to Simulacrum - Semblance in February when Steve Niemitz couldn't make it in from Western Mass. Generally, I don't often cancel any Evil Clown session due to conflicts like these, since all the bands are highly modular and not strictly dependent on a specific set of musicians. Sometimes I do change the name of the Ensemble and the planned Album Title if the available players no longer match the general description for a particular band.

This session is a bit different than other MCE albums. The sextet has played a lot of times now and we are very comfortable with the format and the ensemble. Usually, MCE is by far the most rambunctious of the Evil Clown bands, playing at a louder dynamic and with more aggression than typical of the other bands, Nexus 6 is a bit quieter and has more melodic elements and more spoken word interludes than typical. Which is not to say that there isn't plenty of over the top chaos for your enjoyment!

When Yuri withdrew from Evil Clown a few years back, I was worried that the MCE format would not survive his departure. I have found, however, that the strength of the concept and the development that happened up until that time has meant that the MCE concept can continue in a new way."-David Peck, from the liner notes


Artist Biographies

"PEK (aka David Peck) is a multi-instrument improviser who plays all kinds of instruments including saxophones, clarinets, double reeds, percussion, electronics and auxiliary sound making devices of all kinds.

PEK was born in 1964 and started playing clarinet and piano in elementary school. In 7th grade he started saxophones, first on alto, then switching to tenor in high school. He spent 10 years playing in rock bands and studying classical and jazz saxophone with Kurt Heisig in the San Jose CA area before moving to Boston in 1989 to attend Berklee where he studied performance with George Garzone. While Berklee was an excellent place to study harmony, voice training and other important aspects of a conventional formal music training course of study, it was not a very good environment for learning contemporary (or pure) improvisation (apart from his work with George). PEK did find, however, that Boston had a thriving improvisation scene, and it was here that he developed his mature pure improvisation language.

During the 90s, PEK performed with many notable improvisers including Masashi Harada, Glynis Lomon, William Parker, Laurence Cooke, Eric Zinman, Glenn Spearman, Raqib Hassan, Charlie Kohlhase, Steve Norton, Keith Hedger, Mark McGrain, Sydney Smart, Matt Samolis, Martha Ritchey, Larry Roland, Dennis Warren, Yuri Zbitnov, Craig Schildhauer, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Leslie Ross, Rob Bethel, Wayne Rogers, Eric Rosenthal, Taylor Ho Bynum, Tatsuya Nakatani, James Coleman, B'hob Rainey and George Garzone.

PEK met cellist Glynis Lomon when they played together in the Masashi Harada Sextet which existed between 1990 and 1992. They developed a deep musical connection which they continued following the MHS; first with the Leaping Water Trio for a few years and then with the first version of Leap of Faith in 1994. Leap of Faith was very active in Boston from that time until 2001 and went through a series of several core ensembles which always included both PEK and Glynis. Other key Leap of Faith core members during this period were Mark McGrain (trombone), Craig Schildhauer (double bass), Sydney Smart (drums), Yuri Zbitnov (drums) and James Coleman (theremin). Leap of Faith was always a very modular unit with constantly shifting personnel and many different guests. The early Leap of Faith period concluded in 2001 with a dual bill at an excellent room at MIT called Killian Hall with George Garzone's seminal trio the Fringe.

At this time, PEK changed careers for his day gig, returning to college for a computer science degree and beginning to work in the structural engineering industry at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger. He became far too busy to continue the heavy music schedule, and preferring not to do music casually, he entered a long musically dormant period.

Flash forward to early 2014. PEK was a regular mail order customer of Downtown Music Gallery, the premiere specialty shop in Manhattan for free jazz, contemporary classical and other new music. While in New York on SGH business, he went down to DMG and had a lengthy conversation with proprietor Bruce Lee Gallanter about the early Leap of Faith period. He then sent Bruce a package of about 15 CD titles from the 90s and was pleasantly surprised when Bruce managed to sell nearly all of it. This public interest in the old catalog spurred PEK into getting back into performance. He reformed Leap of Faith with Glynis Lomon (cello, voice, aquasonic), Yuri Zbitnov (drums) and newcomer Steve Norton (clarinets and saxophones) and started to record and perform in early 2015.

Now having access to financial resources always absent in the early period, PEK began to accumulate a huge collection of instruments both for himself and also to expand the palate of Leap of Faith and the other projects soon to follow. He acquired new recording equipment and many new saxophones, clarinets, double reeds, metal and wooden percussion instruments, electronic instruments, signal processing equipment and other sound-making devices from many cultures. He revived his old record label, Evil Clown, and created reissues and new releases for much of the early period work by Leap of Faith and many of his other projects to sell at shows, DMG and the internet (around 100 archival titles).

The Arsenal of equipment has a grand purpose: To establish a large scale aesthetic problem to use the instruments to make long form broad palate improvisations with dramatic transformation and development. The very broad palate enables the long improvisations to evolve with very different movements and pronounced development over their length. PEK started the Leap of Faith Orchestra, a greatly expanded Leap of Faith, to achieve this purpose along with a number of smaller ensembles which are sub-units of the full orchestra including String Theory (focusing on orchestral strings), Metal Chaos Ensemble (focusing on metallic percussion), Turbulence (horn players), Mekaniks (electronics) and Chicxulub (space rock). In all, the Evil Clown roster includes over 40 musicians who contribute to one or more of the various projects, with PEK participating in all of them. Leap of Faith has also had some special guests like Steve Swell (trombone), Thomas Heberer (trumpet), Jeremiah Cymerman (clarinet) and Jim Hobbs (alto sax). The Leap of Faith Orchestra happens whenever several of these groups play together at the same time, or the ensemble exceeds 7 or 8 players. The Full Orchestra is a special case discussed below.

The current roster is comprised in part of: - Core Leap of Faith: PEK, Glynis Lomon, Yuri Zbitnov (Steve Norton has since left to go to Graduate School) - Percussion: Andria Nicodemou (vibes), Kevin Dacey (perc), Joe Hartigan (perc), Syd Smart (drums) - Strings: Jane Wang (cello), Clara Kebabian (violin), Tony Leva (bass), Mimi Rabson (violin), Kirsten Lamb (bass), Brendan Higgins (bass), Silvain Castellano (bass), Rob Bethel (cello), Kit Demos (bass), Matt Scutchfield (violin), Helen Sherrah-Davies (violin) - Piano: Eric Zinman, Peter Cassino, Emilio Gonzales - Horns: Dave Harris (tuba, trombone), Charlie Kohlhase (saxes), Bob Moores (trumpet), Sara Honeywell (trombone), Forbes Graham (trumpet), John Baylies (tuba), Dan O'Brien (woodwinds), Zack Bartolomei (woodwinds), Kat Dobbins (trombone), Steve Provizer (trumpet, baritone horn), Matt Samolis (flute) - Electronics: Greg Grinnell, Jason Adams (electric bass, electronics) - Guitar: Dru Wesely, Grant Beale, Chris Florio - Voice: Dei Xhrist

Evil Clown is documenting the ongoing solutions to this aesthetic challenge by creating limited CD editions and digital download albums of every performance and studio session by this array of ensembles. Interested audience can track the development of the grand scale project over the many releases - over 80 albums recorded and released so far between Jan of 2015 and March of 2017. All of the bands are highly modular, changing personnel and instrumentation with each meeting. The result is an enormous amount of music that shares the same fundamental improvisational language but differs from event to event greatly both in sonority (overall sound) and specific detail.

For the full Leap of Faith Orchestra, PEK composes a graphic notation score to guide the improvisation. The full Orchestra is comprised of roughly 20 players from the roster and performs twice a year. Two performances have occurred to date - The Expanding Universe in June of 2016 and Supernovae in November of 2016. Composition for Possible Universes is completed and the work will be performed on May 28, 2017 with another performance (score not yet begun) scheduled for November.

The scores use a device called Frame Notation where written English descriptions of the overall sonority desired and simple graphic symbols are given durations for each player on their part along with direction on when to play and when not to play. The directions are put in little boxes called frames which are arranged on a timeline and are simple enough to be immediately understood by the performers. Horizontal lines, called Duration Bars, extend across the page indicating when each Event (the Frame + the Duration Bar) begins and ends. An Event can be intended for the full ensemble, a defined group within the ensemble (for example, Metal Chaos Ensemble), a custom group (for example, Tubas), or an individual (for example, Andria Feature).

Parts are the full score annotated with Hiliters so that each player's instructions stand out. They can clearly see their individual instructions, but can also see the big picture, enabling far more knowledge about the pending actions of the rest of the ensemble than typical in pure improvisation. The players track the elapsed time on a very large sports clock. There is no melodic, harmonic or rhythmic information specified. This system allows PEK to compose detailed Ensemble Events without having to notate pitches or rhythms which would require significant rehearsal to accurately achieve."

-All About Jazz (https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/pek)
11/20/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Bob Moores Having spent most of his life flying under the radar working on obscure projects that may some day come to the light of day, trumpeter/guitarist/composer/improviser/artist/photographer/poet/conceptualist Bob Moores has finally started to emerge into the light playing in the free improvisation collective Fable Grazer and through his solo project Resonator.

Having played every kind of music imaginable on trumpet in every kind of setting from classical to funk to blues to R&B to pop punk and metal to jazz, in small and large ensembles, Bob has settled on playing only freely improvised music at this stage of his evolution, both in group situations and as a solo artist. Moores is an exponent of what he calls unschooled primitive coloristic guitar having started to play in earnest with Fable Grazer.

He has been composing music since he was a child and composes and arranges for a variety of ensembles types, instrumentations and genres."

-Evil Clown Website (http://www.giantevilclown.com/bio-bob-moores.html)
11/20/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Michael Anthony Caglianone is an American sax player, producer, recording, mixing & mastering engineer, voice-over actor, co-founder of Studio 7A West. Based out of Boston, MA. He is known for the band Zen Bastards.

-Discogs (https://www.discogs.com/artist/378779-Michael-Caglianone)
11/20/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Mike Gruen is a Boston-area bassist, known for the band Red Tail Hawk, and Metal Chaos Ensemble.

-Squidco 11/20/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Originally trained as an electric bassist in funk and jazz in high school, Eric's interest in new music began after studying at Northeastern's Music Technology program, composing acousmatic music on the computer, with an interest in mixed electronic works for live performance, as well as algorithmic and chance operations. While at Northeastern, Eric honed his improvisation skills in the Electronic Music Ensemble, performing pieces such as John Zorn's "Cobra" and Stockhausen's "From the Seven Days".

After college, Eric began playing mandolin as a founding member of the improv collective Fable Grazer. Craving more of the sonic flexibility of his earlier computer music work, Eric was drawn to modular synthesizers in 2012, which has became his primary instrument. He records and performs solo work under the moniker Machine Machine that are largely unedited, improvised recordings. Last year, Eric went on his first nation-wide tour as the synth player in the psychedelic electronic folk trio Vilicon Sally."

-Evil Clown (http://www.evilclown.rocks/bio-eric-woods.html)
11/20/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Steve Niemitz is a percussionist and pianist with over 15 years of performing experience, 12+ years of recording experience, and 5 years of teaching experience. Well versed in a variety of musical styles including jazz, rock, punk, metal, classical, and experimental/avant-garde, Steve's teaching philosophy emphasizes creativity and independence as well as a solid foundation in practical skills such as music reading, drum rudiments, and technique.

Steve has studied drumset with Jerome Deupree (Morphine, Either/Orchestra, Bourbon Princess), Luther Gray (Tsunami, Ida, Jenny Toomey) and Jeff 'Siege' Siegel (Sir Roland Hanna Trio, Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, Ravi Coltrane), and has been playing piano/keyboards for over a decade."

-Bearclaw's Academy of Music (https://bearclawsacademyofmusic.com/team/steve-niemitz/)
11/20/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Joel Simches: A multi-instrumentalist born 10/18/65, Joel Simches has been an active member of the Boston music scene for 35 years, played in well over 40 bands, traveling the world as a musician, audio engineer, tour manager and record producer. He has worked with a diverse array of bands including Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys, DeVotchKa, Bang Camaro, Dresden Dolls and Big Dipper, to name a few. He has also written for The Noise and Boston Soundcheck Magazine. Currently a staff engineer at Watch City Studios, Joel also plays in Count Zero, Joe Turner and the Seven Levels, Butterscott, Nisi Period, Didactics, Curious Ritual and is executive producer/talent booker of On The Town with Mikey Dee on WMFO."

-Evil Clown (http://www.giantevilclown.com/bio-joel-simches.html)
11/20/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Nexus 6 1:10:26

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Boston Area Improvisers
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
Septet recordings
Spoken Word
Percussion & Drums

Search for other titles on the label:
Evil Clown.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Perturbations
Asymptotic Series
(Evil Clown)
Evil Clown's most recent ensemble led by PEK and Joel Simches focuses on trio configurations to highlight Simches' real-time signal processing; this session features PEK, Michael Caglianone, and John Fugarino on horns, auxiliary percussion, and electronics, delivering dynamic transformations across sonorities under the influence of Simches' manipulations.
Turbulence
Principles of Complementarity
(Evil Clown)
Extending the horn section of the Leap of Faith Orchestra and operating independently with varied ensembles under the name Turbulence when horn players dominate, this session saw a planned 9-member Turbulence Orchestra reduced to seven, blending a large horn section, jazz-leaning bass and diverse percussion, delivering a dynamic set exemplifying Evil Clown's broad improvisational palette.
Simulacrum
Replacing Reality with Representation
(Evil Clown)
A Metal Chaos Ensemble offshoot featuring PEK, Eric Woods, and Bob Moores, focuses on heightened electronic elements while omitting drums, typically expanding to larger groups; this quintet session included a rhythm section using extensive instrumental doubling across brass, reeds, percussion, and electronics, resulting in a slower-moving yet richly textured exploration.
Metal Chaos Ensemble
One Step Beyond Logic
(Evil Clown)
Exploring chaotic metallic rhythms, this ensemble has become one of Evil Clown's most prolific groups, blending gongs, chimes, Tibetan bowls, and horns spanning a dynamic range of sounds, here in a sextet configuration with drummer Steve Niemitz and special guest Chris Alford on guitar, offering a powerful fusion of rock elements within the ensemble's electroacoustic approach.
Expanse
Bailiwick
(Evil Clown)
This session at Evil Clown Headquarters brings together a sextet featuring PEK, Michael Knoblach, Robin Amos, Bob Moores, Tony Leva, and Jonathan LaMaster, blending horns, strings, electronics, and percussion to create a richly textured improvisational journey, highlighting deep connections within the Boston improvisation scene and showcasing dynamic interactions shaped by both past collaborations and new encounters.
Leap of Faith
Logical Consequences
(Evil Clown)
Originally planned as an Axioms session, this Leap of Faith performance features PEK, Glynis Lomon, Chris Alford, Albey onBass, Vance Provey, Jose Arroyo, and Michael Knoblach, who transformed a dynamic sextet improvisation into a rich exploration of sonorities, blending wind, strings, percussion, and electronics to create a spontaneous, evolving soundscape marked by deep listening and adaptability.
Axioms
Extensions To Infinity
(Evil Clown)
Axioms is based around the core trio of Boston multi-reedist, percussionist and composer David Peck, and Cecil Taylor associates Albey onBass (on bass) and poet Jane SpokenWord, here in a performance with collective core cellist & aquasonic performer Glynis Lomon, and guest improviser from New Orleans, Chris Alford on guitar, stomp box and percussion.
Metal Chaos Ensemble
Insanity Is Contagious
(Evil Clown)
Metal Chaos Ensemble was formed in 2015 by reedist & percussionist David Peck and drummer Yuri Zbitnov as a working project to explore chaotic rhythms on metallic instruments with a rock sensibility; drummer Steve Niemitz now holds the drum chair, and the band is a prolific sextet with saxophonist Michael Caglione, trumpeter Bob Moores, synth player Eric Woods and guitarist Mike Gruen.
Leap of Faith
Spooky Action at a Distance
(Evil Clown)
An acoustic septet edition of the Leap of Faith, the core duet of David Peck on clarinets, saxophones, double reeds & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, joined by Michael Caglianone on saxophones, flute, clarinet, melodica & water bottle, John Fugarino on trumpet, slide trumpet & flugelhorn, Tom Swafford on violin, Kit Demos on bass, and Eric Rosenthal on drums.
Expanse
Reach
(Evil Clown)
CORNER CUT PROMO
Evil Clown Shorties
Volume 2 (2023-2024)
(Evil Clown)
CORNER CUT PROMO
Perturbations
That's Where the Unknown Is
(Evil Clown)
CORNER CUT ON SLEEVE
Leap Of Faith
Emergent Spacetime
(Evil Clown)
CORNER CUT ON SLEEVE
Leap Of Faith
Scrying
(Evil Clown)
CORNER CUT ON SLEEVE
Leap of Faith / Kane Loggia Hypothesis
Interconnected by Testable Relations
(Evil Clown)
CORNER CUT ON SLEEVE
Turbulence Orchestra
Gust Loads
(Evil Clown)
Turbulence, the extended horn section for the Boston-based collective Leap of Faith Orchestra using label leader David Peck's Broad Palate Concept for large interactive improvisations, here in a 2023 session with three trumpets, trombone, two flutes, two saxophones, the Evil clown percussion arsenal, and two performers using real time signal processing.
Leap Of Faith
Graviton Propagates
(Evil Clown)
With two trumpeters--space trumpeter Bob Moores and slide trumpeter John Fugarino — and the exotic guzheng work of Jiaxin Wan — this edition of the Boston Based collective Leap of Faith with David Peck on reeds, winds, synth and percussion and Glynis Lomon on cello and aquasonic, hearkens to their Leap of Faith Chinese Orchestra as the quintet pursues Peck's broad palette improv concept.
Leap Of Faith
Scrying
(Evil Clown)
Turbulence Orchestra
Jet Stream
(Evil Clown)
One of the largest ensembles in the Boston collective roster, this exotic Turbulence Orchestra set is orchestrated with 4 brass horns--Bob Moores, Eric Dahlman & John Fugarino on trumpets, Duane Reed on double bell euphonium; two winds--David Peck on clarinets, saxophones & flute and Dennis Livingston on flute & recorders-- plus the rhythm section of Scott Samenfeld on bass & Michael Knoblach on drums.
Simulacrum
Archetypes
(Evil Clown)
One of the more electronic/ea ensembles from the Boston area collective led by David Peck, Simulacrum is an offshoot of Metal Chaos Ensemble, the core being Peck on reeds, percussion & electronics, Eric Wood on analog synth and Bob Moores on space trumpet & guitar, joined by Michael Caglianone (sax), Faruq Hassan (sampler), and Michael Knoblach (percussion).
Leap Of Faith
Cyclic Models
(Evil Clown)
A larger ensemble for the Boston-area collective Leap of Faith of David Peck on clarinets, saxophones & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, here extended with two horns, three strings, and drums including Cecil Taylor bassist Albey OnBass, plus John Fugarino on trumpets & brass, Tor Snyder on guitar and Eric Rosenthal on drums & percussion.
Leap of Faith / Kane Loggia Hypothesis
Interconnected by Testable Relations
(Evil Clown)
A split release between two essential duos from the Boston-area Evil Clown collective: first, the core duo of Leap of Faith — David Peck on reeds & percussion and Glynis Lomon on cellos, aquasonic & voice — in a trio with trumpeter John Fugarino; second, the Kane Loggia Hypothesis duo of Bonnie Kane on sax, flute & electronics and John Loggia on drums, in a trio with drummer Ben James.
Perturbations
That's Where the Unknown Is
(Evil Clown)
"Perturbed" by the sonic intervention of sound engineer and performer Joel Simches, who applies various effect processes to the continually morphing free improvisations of Boston collective players David Peck on reeds, percussion and synthetics, Michael Caglianone on soprano, alto & tenor saxophones, clarinet, flute & percussion, and Albey onBass on bass and percussion.
Evil Clown Shorties
Volume 2 (2023-2024)
(Evil Clown)
While typically performing and releasing extended improvisations that last an hour or more, before each of the Evil Clown's Livestreamed performances they record a short improvisation, referred to as "Shorties", taking approaches that yield unique character to the longer works, collected here in 15 recordings with permutations of regular collective members.
Leap Of Faith Chinese Orchestra
Magic Squares
(Evil Clown)
A unique and fascinating edition of the Leap of Faith Orchestra, bringing special guests Jimmy Zhao, Yazhi Gao, Jiaxin Winky Wan, Ziya Gao, and Kaixin Hou performing on Chinese instruments to join with the core duo of David Peck on clarinets, saxophones, clarinets & flutes, Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, along with percussionist/drummer Michael Knoblach and bassist Scott Samenfeld.
Turbulence Orchestra
Dynamos
(Evil Clown)
PROMO W/ CUT CORNER



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC