"Strange Beauty Out of Chaos, is A Quartet of PEKs - four continuous tracks of one PEK each playing many instruments on each pass. I'd like to thank Nick Ostrum for the title. Nick used this phrase in a recent Squid's Ear review of Metal Chaos Ensemble - The Riddle of Steel and so I stole it for this work.

I recently became aware of the unique and distinctive instruments made by Tim Kaiser. I would classify these instruments as electro-acoustic rather than electronic since they amplify quiet acoustic sounds made on guitar strings, springs, rods and other metal materials. He also makes some homemade synths which are electronic. I bought 6 of these instruments (telstar, 2 electric chimes, hedgehog chime box, large spring box, cymbalum, cyclops harp) to add to the daxophone, [d]ronin and Ozzam Bells mpa-019 which I have had for some time. Tracks 1 and 2 use the new and older instruments from this category along with percussion and a couple of synthesizers. Tracks 3 and 4 have the horn solos and more percussion and electro-acoustic instruments.

The [d]ronin and the daxophone have been important instruments in the Arsenal, adding to the broad palate alien sounds that help us avoid sounding like other more conventional music. This new recording shows the power of extending this collections of sounds to a much bigger set. I will end up using these instruments a lot for this reason, and I will buy some more over time including a few of the homemade synths.

While I have enjoyed the process of creating Quartet of PEKs and Orchestra of PEKs recordings during our collective CV incarceration, I am looking forward to resuming performance with other musicians in the very near future. My housemate, Raffi, and I have both received first vaccine shots. I'll be able to open Evil Clown Headquarters to sessions probably by mid-May to players in the roster who have also been fully vaccinated. That date is about 5 or 6 weeks from the date of this writing. My current plan is to do several category 1-3 sessions during that time, but perhaps I will squeeze in one more Orchestra of PEKs set before I can start doing sets with other players."-David Peck, from the liner notes