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Schism

by PEK Solo

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    -----Review by Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
    .
    PEK - Solo - Schism (Evil Clown 9246; USA) Featuring PEK on clarinets, piccolo, saxes, guanzi, mussette, flutes, melodica, accordion, Korg, theremin, daxophone, balafon, game calls, mallet kat, Abelon mixes and a ton of assorted percussion. Last year PEK’s label Evil Clown passed the 100 mark of compact discs and is now closer to 125 releases. While most of the releases are varied versions of his ongoing ensemble, Leap of Faith, there are many offshoot projects as well. One of the infrequent discs are PEK’s solo discs. Like most his previous solo discs, this was recorded at Evil Clown Headquarters. Mr. PEK is known to be a collector of many different reeds, percussion, synths and other odd instruments and here he plays nearly 60 different sound making items. Although this is a solo project, PEK loves to add layers of sounds with synths, resonating percussion and overdubbing (Abelon mix?). This disc opens with suspense-filled gongs, other throbbing percussion and a double reed of some sort (mussette perhaps). PEK does a fine job of looping certain sounds, bari or bass sax, gongs, rubbed percussion surfaces, synths and creating a hypnotic blend. There seems to be a few looped lines of parts going on at once while PEK plays a solo on top. PEK does a marvelous job throughout this disc of keeping things interesting and engaging, whether dense or calm, cool or agitated, noisy or beyond noisy into some more extreme areas. This disc is 79 minutes long and I listened to the entire thing today (9/3/20). It is pretty amazing for the entire length. A solo effort par excellence. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
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    .
    -----Liner Notes by PEK
    .
    The other night I did the solo tracks for the new PEK Solo - Schism album I worked on during March and the first week of April....
    .
    I did all the solos in a massive 5 hour session last Thursday. The whole structure of this work is fundamentally different than my previous solo albums and other pieces performed in larger ensembles with computer accompaniment...
    .
    In the past I have taken samples from the Evil Clown catalog and specially recorded samples. I have then taken those samples and subjected them to digital transformations with audio editing software. I then combine those samples in the Ableton software. Once I have built these up into long album length mixes, I take several of them and create a full length Ableton program with multiple channels. In performance, I ride the faders and alternate between no prerecorded elements, one element, several elements or all the elements. Those decisions are made during the performance.
    .
    The decision making during the performance is essentially the same as regular improvisation, with the shape of the piece determined in real time. I've been using Ableton to make these mixes for the last 3 years or so and I've become pretty proficient with the software. I like this process which is very efficient.
    .
    When the corona virus fired up and I cancelled all of my planned sessions for March and April, it opened up a lot of time in the Evil Clown calendar... I decided to make a completely different structured solo work with Ableton. I have never really used traditional studio overdubbing as a means for creating my music.
    .
    I started by making 9 different approximately 5 minute premixes, each featuring a different group of similar instruments and containing between 4 and 8 channels. I arranged them in a 79 minute sequence with plenty of space in between. Next I did two passes through the entire piece with different groups of instruments: the first pass with gongs, electronics and the [d]ronin, and the second pass with aquasonic, guzhen, yangqin and bass guitar. I added two recent full length Ableton mixes: one predominantly from contrabassoon samples and one predominantly from contrabass clarinet samples. I made a mix with all of these sources and then I used that as the accompaniment track for the solos.
    .
    I made a list of all the different sections earlier in the week. I assigned different instruments in groups to the different parts of the work in the small (less than 5 minutes) sections. Thursday, I used this map to record 5 minutes or so at a time, setting up the instruments and adjusting the recording settings between takes.
    .
    As a consequence of the recording being spread across many occasions, I was free to draw on many more of the Evil Clown Arsenal of instruments than I typically use for a single performance. Here is the list of instruments (about 60) I played:
    .
    PEK - clarinet, piccolo, contralto & contrabass clarinets, sopranino, soprano, bamboo soprano, alto, tenor, baritone & bass saxophones, tarota, guanzi, mussette, English horn, bassoon & contrabassoon, bass tromboon, recorders, C flute, alto flute, bamboo flute, Christmas flute, sheng, melodica, accordian, [d]ronin, bass guitar, mallet kat, moog subsequent, arp odyssey, Korg MS-20, theremin with moogerfooger, prophet synth, daxophone, guzheng, yangqin, aquasonic, crank siren, game calls, Englephone, gongs, Tibetan bowls, brontosaurus & tank bells, crotatles, glockenspiel, thunder sheet, orchestral chimes, gongs, cymbells, trine, chimes, log drums, wood blocks, temple blocks, castenets, seed pod rattles, balafon, Ableton mixes
    .
    I found the experience strangely between my ordinary practice of pure improvisation (all recorded in real time) and my compositional practice when composing Frame Notation Scores for the Leap of Faith Orchestra. Both formats use time and texture as the principal organizational elements and involved transformations through a broad range of sonorites. Since I did not make multiple attempts for any of the many tracks and sections, all of the recorded material is used in the final product.
    .
    I found several advantages to recording with this method:
    .
    1) For me, free improvisation is primarily structured by the phrasing and texture of sound produced by the musicians. When playing against previous tracks recorded by me, I am phrasing with myself, far simpler than reading phrasing cues from the other performers.
    .
    2) I know what I performed on previous tracks, and make my decisions on instrumentation and general approach prior to each take, rather than in real time during performance.
    .
    3) I can watch the wav forms on the monitor and see in advance when big events occur, guiding decisions on each overdub on lining up with previously performed events. There is a lot of this kind of coordination in the Frame Notation Scores.
    .
    One odd consequence of this methodology is that unlike nearly every other Evil Clown project, the final steps are not done in a continuous fashion, but rather overdubbed. Therefore, I will not have a regular video of the performance. I decided to video record with my 4k camera and extract stills. The YouTube video with be sequences of these stills arranged with the music....
    .
    I selected some of the extracted images to include with this post.
    .
    Look for bandcamp and YouTube sometime over this weekend!
    .
    PEK, 4/10/20
    ... more
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about

Evil Clown 9246
Evil Clown Headquarters
Intermediate mixes March and April 2020
Solos - 8 April 2020

credits

released April 11, 2020

PEK - clarinet, piccolo, contralto & contrabass clarinets, sopranino, soprano, bamboosoprano, alto, tenor, baritone & bass saxophones, guanzi, mussette, English horn, tarota, bassoon & contrabassoon, bass tromboon, recorders, C flute, alto flute, bamboo flute, Christmas flute, sheng, melodica, accordian, [d]ronin, bass guitar, mallet kat, moog subsequent, arp odyssey, Korg MS-20, theremin with moogerfooger, prophet synth, daxophone guzheng, yangqin, aquasonic, crank siren, game calls, Englephone, gongs, Tibentan bowls, brontosaurus & tank bells, crotatles, glockenspiel, thunder sheet, orchestral chimes, gongs, cymbells, trine, chimes, log drums, wood blocks, temple blocks, castenets, seed pod rattles, balafon, Ableton mixes
.
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YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo760Cpvvpc&t=442s
Evil Clown album page: evilclown.rocks/peksolor-schism/
Evil Clown Facebook site: www.facebook.com/GiantEvilClown/
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Other PEK Solo Releases
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Fundamental Units – Complete Solo Works from Jan 2020 to May 2021
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/peksolobox/
Bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/pek-solo-fundamental-units-complete-solo-works-from-jan-2020-to-may-2021-box-set-over-29-hours
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PEK Solo, An Orchestra of PEKs - Prisms (2021)
Bandcamp peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/prisms
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/pekorchr-prisms/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKYwsBNig04
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PEK Solo – Complex and Real Dimensions (2021)
Bandcamp peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/complex-and-real-dimensions
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/peksolor-complex/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8otufTFMrw
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PEK Solo, A Quartet of PEKs – Strange Beauty Out of Chaos (2021)
Bandcamp peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/strange-beauty-out-of-chaos
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/pekquarr-strange-beauty/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUB7QLaT9kQ
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PEK Solo, An Orchestra of PEKs - Electrolysis (2021)
Bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/electrolysis
Evil Clown Album Page: evilclown.rocks/pekorchr-electrolysis/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cXsfmFJwoo
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PEK Solo - Decision Boundary (2021)
Bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/decision-boundary
Evil Clown Album Page: evilclown.rocks/peksolor-decision/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RMv-teUXtM
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PEK Solo, An Orchestra of PEKs - Stretching the Fabric of Space (2021)
Bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/stretching-the-fabric-of-space
Evil Clown Album Page: evilclown.rocks/pekorchr-stretching/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ9o3xgTlzU
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PEK Solo, An Orchestra of PEKs– Semantic Notions (3 CDs) (2021)
Bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/semantic-notions-triple-length
Evil Clown Album Page: evilclown.rocks/pekorchr-semantic-notions/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3vC0ruw7Pk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxh7udXt2Yk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_H6LFoJQig
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PEK Solo – Elaborations (2021)
Bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/elaborations
Evil Clown Album Page: evilclown.rocks/peksolor-elaborations/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz75JyTLAQY
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PEK Solo, A Quartet of PEKs – For Ed’s Mom (2020)
Bandcamp peksolo.bandcamp.com/track/for-eds-mom
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/pekquarr-for-eds-mom/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrNmvnYcXQ4
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PEK Solo – For Alto (for Anthony Braxton) (2020)
Bandcamp peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/for-alto
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/peksolor-for-alto/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD9CYCxGFyI
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PEK Solo, A Quartet of PEKs – Completeness for Flutes and Double Reeds (2020)
Bandcamp peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/completeness-for-flutes-and-double-reeds
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/pekquarr-completeness/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oDoIkFUC1E
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PEK Solo, A Quartet of PEKs – Unifications (2020)
Bandcamp peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/unifications
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/pekquarr-unifications/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAQESbhT0Yc
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PEK Solo – Requiem for Raymond (2020)
Bandcamp peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/requiem-for-raymond
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/peksolor-requiem/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahsnu50twEE
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PEK Solo, A Quartet of PEKs – Fixed Intentions for the Saxophone Family (2020)
Bandcamp peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/fixed-intentions-for-the-saxophone-family
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/pekquarr-fixed-intentions/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=81r4VG44Tk0
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PEK Solo, A Quartet of PEKs – Schematic Abstractions for the Clarinet Family (2020)
Bandcamp peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/schematic-abstractions-for-the-clarinet-family
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/pekquarr-schematic-abstractions/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHD44VVI1F0
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PEK Solo - Pursuing the Ideal Limit of Inquiry (2020)
bandcamp peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/pursuing-the-ideal-limit-of-inquiry
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/peksolor-pursuing/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd0_GcSDLBI
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PEK Solo, A Quartet of PEKs - The Strange Theory of Light & Matter (2020)
bandcamp peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/the-strange-theory-of-light-matter
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/pekquarr-strange-theory/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_6GFUvy9Zk
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PEK Solo, An Orchestra of PEKs - Some Truths are Known (2020)
bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/pek-solo-an-orchestra-of-peks-some-truths-are-known-triple-album
Evil Clown Album Page evilclown.rocks/pekorchr-some-truths/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRlsC97zmtM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxLrcy6JLKA
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD1-ZnMbm4E
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PEK Solo – Schisms (2020)
bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/schism
Evil Clown album page: evilclown.rocks/peksolor-schism/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo760Cpvvpc
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PEK Solo – Precedents (2021)
Bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/precedents
Evil Clown Album Page: evilclown.rocks/peksolor-precedents/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucYQViiPGSU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-7ttl4Md1U
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XecNOjbYXU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-38ryXRXlHI
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Coefficient of Unity (2019)
bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/coefficient-of-unity
Evil Clown album page: evilclown.rocks/peksolor-coefficient/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lOWBCe9SFE
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Indexical Utterance (2019)
bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/indexical-utterance
Evil Clown album page: evilclown.rocks/peksolor-indexical/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKwvZF_ku0U
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Closed & Open Universes (2019)
bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/closed-open-universes-double-length
Evil Clown album page: evilclown.rocks/peksolor-closed/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlseeFz_peE
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The Unreality of Time (2018)
bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/the-unreality-of-time
Evil Clown album page: evilclown.rocks/peksolor-unreality-of-time/
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Non-Local Causality (2018)
bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/non-local-causality
Evil Clown album page: evilclown.rocks/peksolor-non-local/
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Fulcrum (2018)
bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/fulcrum
Evil Clown album page: evilclown.rocks/peksolor-fulcrum/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_tn8ioCDRo
---------------------
Thulsa Doom (2017)
bandcamp: peksolo.bandcamp.com/album/thulsa-doom
Evil Clown album page: evilclown.rocks/peksolor-thulsa-doom/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?si=zyy8q4YOcATM7dZv&v=r13kPRooDuU&feature=youtu.be
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r13kPRooDuU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubHHRDluU4Q
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug9bYaqLkms

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PEK Solo Boston, Massachusetts

PEK Solo albums fall into 4 groups
1) One continuous track (no overdubbing) of PEK playing one or many instruments
2) One continuous track of PEK playing one or many instruments with a prerecorded mix of samples
3) A Quartet of PEKs – Four continuous tracks of one PEK each playing many instruments on each pass.
4) An Orchestra of PEKs – Many tracks of PEKs on a broad section of the Arsenal.
... more

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