klarpo
Amazing combination of electronics and acoustic orchestration. Mark Clifford leads an immense cast of bay area...and beyond...talent through otherworldly compositions! Well worth the time....
Favorite track: Undertow.
Tell us in perfect prose, you showmen
When will you be
found standing bathed in bright light?
Rep up your shows in our cans, we will hear you
Join you inside
Appointed places in time
Pushin' old spice on the factory
Strangers all nice on an actor's fee
Oh, you comment on the afterburn
But boy you gotta learn to wait to go to let them down
Be good to yourself when you feel things slow
acknowledge your lies and know what they show
Oh, you end up in the undertow
But your the one who knows, it takes a smile to shake a frown
Dredging these streams you will find a trace
A past for which you need not save face
Go now, live as everything you know
You'll show a thousand dreams to them and never make a sound
Let your hands clasp you will feel them hold
Metal and flesh and the promise told
Those who revel in the afterglow
They're the ones who know to dip their head and take the crown
You Would Do Well is the second full length record by from vibraphonist, percussionist, pianist, and composer, Mark Pascucci-Clifford and his Dirty Snacks Ensemble. The recording fully crystallizes Clifford’s intrepid compositional voice – connecting his affinities to post-jazz, indie rock, modern classical music, and hip hop. “For this band, I often start with a beat – just keys and a drum machine played on my MPC or Juno,” notes Clifford. “I record and loop all the parts, and then I break these sketches down into arrangements for the ensemble that allow the players to be individualistic, while still following a tight, through-composed roadmap.” The ensemble’s eclectic instrumentation includes Mark Clifford on vibraphone, keyboards, and vocals, Crystal Pascucci-Clifford on cello, Robert Woods-Ladue on guitar, percussion, and spoken word, Geneva Harrison on drums, Steve Blum on keyboards, Scott Brown on electric bass, Cory Wright on reeds, and Karl Evangelista on guitar, with production and synth programming from Rob Shelton and Quinn Theis on additional vocals.
At the core of this music is Clifford’s fascination with the desert landscape – indeed, the name “Dirty Snacks” was conceived of while listening to hip-hop royalty, A Tribe Called Quest’s classic, Midnight Marauders in Utah’s Goblin Valley State Park. You Would Do Well harkens to distant corners, conjuring masters’ influences that are reimagined throughout the album, notably on tracks: “No Awareness” and “You Would Do Well”, which showcase Clifford’s compositional breadth, featuring an integration of through-composed composition and free improvisation.
You Would Do Well has themes of the struggles of being an independent artist today, but Clifford still lets his sense of humor shine through as can be heard in “One Must Plan For Success” and “Rise of the Sentient Beez. And then on tracks such as “Showmen'' and “Undertow”, the Snacks Ensemble seemingly morphs into an art-indie-rock band, with Clifford singing as well as playing vibraphone.
The Snacks Ensemble really spreads its wings on You Would Do Well, showing its full range, in a polished studio setting (the album was engineered by Rob Shelton at Tiny Telephone’s former San Francisco studios). “I wrote much of the music in a transitory, and trying time of my life,” shares Clifford. You Would Do Well vividly captures a journey, always best taken in its entirety. “But the through line is a devotion to craft, and a love for synths, beat machines, and the beauty of the desert.”
credits
released September 16, 2022
Mark Pascucci-Clifford - composition, vibraphone, keyboards, synths, vocals
Crystal Pascucci-Clifford - cello
Robert Woods-Ladue - percussion, guitar, spoken word on “I Want To Be A Wave”, Renoise magician on “One Must Plan For Success”
Geneva Harrison - drums
Cory Wright - Bb and bass clarinet
Steve Blum - piano and synths
Scott Brown - bass
Karl Evangelista - guitar on “Monsterbot Lullaby”
Quinn Theis - spoken word on “I Want To Be A Wave”
Will Norwich-Redmond - motivational voice-memos
Robert Shelton - TR-808 programming, additional synth programming
Produced by Robert Shelton and Mark Pascucci-Clifford
Mastered by Myles Boisen at Headless Buddha Mastering Lab
Cover art by Austin Matthews
Graphic Design by Shane McAllister
--A THOUSAND THANKS TO--
All of the players in this ensemble, past and present, who bring the music to life.
Everyone who contributed to this record in any way
Austin Matthews and Shane McAllister for the good looks
Steven Lugerner and Ross Eustis at Slow & Steady Records
Robert Shelton and Myles Boisen for the sounds and the ears
My teachers and my students
Chad, Caesar and Rhea
My amazing family, I love you all so much
My wife, Crystal, for endless support, guidance, and amazing musicianship
Additional thanks and shouts to -
Patrick Roth, Colin Stranahan, Danny Meyer, Andrew Maguire, Tim Mendoza, Sam Stone, Doug Owings, Neon Brown, Jason Morgado, Christian Carpenter, Conrad Kehn, Quinn and Mickey Theis, Scott Beck, Safa Shokrai, Rent Romus, Rick & Mary Pascucci, Derek Barber, Chris Alerie, Alexis Faulkner, and The Chat
This album was made possible by the generous support of InterMusic SF, Tim Mendoza, Lauren Habenicht, and Walter Harley.
In loving memory of our recently departed friends who left us too soon -
Tivnan Webb
John Finkbeiner
Jeremy Joel
Ron Miles
& John Rapson
The Dirty Snacks Ensemble is a project led by Oakland based vibraphonist, composer, and percussionist Mark Pascucci-
Clifford. Tidy Universe is their first release. Their second full length, You Would Do Well will be available 9/16/22 on Slow and Steady records...more