Turbulence: Vortex Generation Mechanisms
ByTurbulencelike many of the Evil Clown staple groupshas a rotational lineup where PEK himself is the one constant. Their first album, Flow Regimes, Volume 1 (2015), a joint outing with Leap of Faith, featured the group as a quintet. Vortex Generation Mechanisms, however, is a duet with the focus on PEK and fellow mulit-reedist Steve Norton. But the saxophone/clarinet central point is still surrounded by a total of eighteen "instruments" of far-flung origins.
The title tracka fifty-plus minute sonic voyageis the sole piece on Vortex Generation Mechanisms. It seamlessly move across terrains that greatly vary in texture. At times PEK and Norton lose each other in a tangle of notes but find their way back to a quasi-center. In other phases of the piece, languid lines, sometimes ominous, from the bass clarinet mix with rasping metal and other odd sounds. One can imagine air being let out of a balloon in the midst of bells and gongs and yet a musical quality incorporates these outlying elements as part of the imagery.
Vortex Generation Mechanisms veers between minimalism and an air-driven calliope coming off the rails. Despite employing a plethora of non-conventional tools, the music always has a sense of meaningfulness; it can be calming and disconnected at the same time. As a result, it is always more provoking than pacifying. Like much Evil Clown's output, this is a project that organically grows with each listening.
Track Listing
Vortex Generation Mechanisms.
Personnel
PEK: tenor, alto, sopranino saxophone, contra-alto clarinet, sheng, gaunzi, daxophone, theremin, Korg ms-20, metal, whistles, electronics; Steve Norton: bartione, alto, sopranino saxophone, alto, contra-alto clarinets, metal.
Album information
Title: Vortex Generation Mechanisms | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Evil Clown
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