Videos — Pascal Le Boeuf

"All Consuming (Video Edit)" from the album "Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?" released April 26, 2024 on Bright Shiny Things.

A reflection of the chaos of consumerism in America, "All Consuming" was the initial thread that grew into a larger work about American identity culminating in "Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?" Consumerism affects the environment, housing, superfund sites, ethnic groups, and the recording industry. "All Consuming" asks the question: What happens when you are not responsible about your consumerism/usage?

AKROPOLIS REED QUINTET
Tim Gocklin, oboe
Kari Landry, clarinet
Matt Landry, saxophone
Andrew Koeppe, bass clarinet
Ryan Reynolds, bassoon

PASCAL LE BOEUF - piano/composition

CHRISTIAN EUMAN - drums

RECORDING CREDITS

Music Recorded October 14 and 16, 2020 by Mike Richelle (Rittenhouse SoundWorks). Mixed and Mastered by Dave Darlington (Bass Hit Studios). Edited and Produced by Pascal Le Boeuf. Video Concept by Pascal Le Boeuf, Akropolis, and Four/Ten Media. Video Directed by Four/Ten Media.

"Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?" (Pt. 1) is a medley containing the first six tracks from the album "Are We Dreaming the Same Dream?" released April 26, 2024 on Bright Shiny Things.

Akropolis Reed Quintet, composer/pianist Pascal Le Boeuf, and drummer Christian Euman join forces on the electrifying album Are We Dreaming The Same Dream? Le Boeuf’s album-length composition examines what Ralph Ellison calls “the unity of American experience” by recognizing his musical ancestors — Geri Allen, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, Bill T. Jones, and Leonard Bernstein. His composition asks: Are we really dreaming the same American dream, or is our consumer culture overshadowing our own sense of belonging?

AKROPOLIS REED QUINTET
Tim Gocklin, oboe
Kari Landry, clarinet
Matt Landry, saxophone
Andrew Koeppe, bass clarinet
Ryan Reynolds, bassoon

PASCAL LE BOEUF - piano/composition

CHRISTIAN EUMAN - drums

RECORDING CREDITS

"Ritual Being" composed by Pascal Le Boeuf

Friction Quartet:
Kevin Rogers - violin
Otis Harriel - violin
Taija Warbelow - viola
Doug Machiz - cello

Remy Le Boeuf - alto sax
Ben Wendel - tenor sax
Pascal Le Boeuf - piano
Linda May Han Oh - bass
Justin Brown - drums

Zach Miley - Recording Engineer; Gabriel Shepard - Assistant Engineer 25th Street Recording: May 23, 2018 (strings)
Andy Taub - Recording Engineer; Samuel Wahl - Assistant Engineer Brooklyn Recording: March 5-6, 2019 (saxophones, piano, bass, drums)
Pascal Le Boeuf - Recording Engineer Princeton University: May 14-16, 2018 (piano) June 14, 2019 (additional saxophone)
Mixed and Mastered at Bass Hit Studios by Dave Darlington
Produced by Pascal Le Boeuf
Video by Four/Ten Media (saxophones, piano, bass, drums) and Zach Miley (strings)

“Ritual Being” was made possible with support from Chamber Music America’s 2015 New Jazz Works program funded through the generosity of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

"Transition Behavior" composed by Pascal Le Boeuf

Shattered Glass:
Katherine Liccardo - violin
Ravenna Lipchik - violin
Michael Davis - viola
Luke Krafka - cello
Max Jacob - bass

Remy Le Boeuf - alto sax
Ben Wendel - tenor sax
Pascal Le Boeuf - piano
Linda May Han Oh - bass
Justin Brown - drums

Myles Rodenhouse - Recording Engineer; Douglass Recording: Feb. 24, 2019.
Andy Taub - Recording Engineer; Samuel Wahl - Assistant Engineer, Brooklyn Recording: March 5-6, 2019 (saxophones, piano, bass, drums).
Mixed and Mastered at Bass Hit Studios by Dave Darlington.
Produced by Pascal Le Boeuf

Video shot by Four/Ten Media (saxophones, piano, bass, drums) and Simon Yu (strings).

"Transition Behavior” for string orchestra was commissioned by “Shattered Glass” and first released in 2017. This alternative arrangement for hybrid ensemble (string quintet + jazz quintet) features additional elements of improvisation.

composed // produced by Pascal Le Boeuf

performed by
Charles Yang - violin
Nicholas Photinos - cello
Pascal Le Boeuf - piano

recorded by
Andy Taub - Brooklyn Recording
Rollin Weary - I.V. Lab Studios
Mike Sportiello - assistant engineer

mixed // mastered by Dave Darlington - Bass Hit Studios

directed // shot // edited by Michael McQuilken

special thanks to David Lang, Evan Runyon, Sabina Torosjan, Dmitri Tymoczko, Donnacha Dennehy, Ralph Crispino, Jr. and the I-Park Foundation, Phillippa Thompson and everyone at Bang On A Can

release date: July 28, 2023

“Snapshots”

composed by Pascal Le Boeuf
video by Continuous Motion (Josh Weinfeld & Kenneth Swartout)

Tasha Warren // bass clarinet
Dave Eggar // cello
Pascal Le Boeuf // piano

Composed for my dear friends Tasha Warren and Dave Eggar, “Snapshots” is a collection of musical impressions. I started composing “Snapshots'' while in residence at the historic home of Aaron Copland. While there, I thought about Copland's generosity towards other artists in his community (particularly Leonard Bernstein), about my place in my own musical community, and about those who had been kind to me as a young musician—specifically Geri Allen, Chick Corea, Kenny Barron, and Marin Alsop. As “Snapshots” developed, it revealed itself to be a jumble of impressions of these individuals (short phrases or textures that reminded me of them) accompanied by mental images of Dave and Tasha rocking out. To paraphrase Copland, the compositional process that followed involved assembling materials consisting of these impressions.

Generous acts, like those of Copland, pass from person to person reaching from past to present and forming the foundations of musical communities along the way. The reach of this network is profound: My presence at Copland's piano, composing “Snapshots,'' was a direct result of these acts of kindness. The same can be said of Dave Eggar, who took piano lessons with Copland (as a kid) in that very same house on that very same piano. Our music and artistic identities are a product of these generous acts. “Snapshots” is a celebration of those individuals whose acts of kindness brought us together.

This work was begun while in residence at Copland House, Cortlandt Manor, New York, as a recipient of the Copland House Residency Award. Commisioned through Michigan State University’s HARP Grant for Tasha Warren and Dave Eggar.

Released April 1, 2022 (Bright Shiny Things)

Composed and Produced by Pascal Le Boeuf
Directed by Four/Ten Media
Video concept by Pascal Le Boeuf, Evan Monroe Chapman, Kevin Eikenberg, Evan Runyon

Music performed by Real Loud:
Evan Runyon & Tristan Kasten-Krause // basses
Brendon Randall-Myers & James Moore // guitars
Clara Warnaar, Mark Utley & Joe Tucker // drums

Tim O’Sullivan // recording engineer (Greenpoint Recording Collective)
Nate Jasensky // assistant engineer
Pascal Le Boeuf // audio editor
Dave Darlington // mixing/mastering (Bass Hit Recording)

(Note: Full credits in youtube comments)

By marketing to children, companies plant seeds in their minds that tell them how to act and what is normal. "Forbidden Subject" explores abstract/creative interpretations of how these seeds might grow by re-enacting a series of standard commercial situations.

Composed by Pascal Le Boeuf and performed by Real Loud, the music is a dedication to dutch composer Louis Andriessen and is based on "hocketing" between left and right subsets of the ensemble. The title refers to three subjects Andriessen discussed as low profile feelings that are not good for art: sex, violence, and horror.

Released June 18, 2021 (New Focus Recordings)

“Mirror Image”

video by Four/Ten Media (Kevin Eikenberg & Evan Monroe Chapman)
concept by Pascal Le Boeuf & Bec Plexus

music & lyrics // Pascal Le Boeuf
production // Pascal Le Boeuf, Ian Chang & Rafiq Bhatia (appearing courtesy of Anti Records)
vocals // Bec Plexus
synths // Pascal Le Boeuf
drums // Ian Chang
strings // JACK Quartet (Christopher Otto, Ari Streisfeld, John Pickford Richards & Kevin McFarland)

drummer in video // Nicole Patrick

mixing // Dave Darlington / Bass Hit Studios
mastering // Wouter Brandenburg
recording engineers:
vocals & synths // Pascal Le Boeuf at Princeton University
drums // Nathan Fox & Blake Hoffman (appearing courtesy of Elevator Music Company)
additional vocals // Bec Plexus
strings // Andrew Taub at Brooklyn Recording

The making of “Mirror Image”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRJwHrkuGzI&ab

"Imp in Impulse"

I. Shoes 0:00-2:51
II. Tomato Caprice 2:51-5:13
III. Perverse Chaconne 5:13-8:18
IV. “… thus meditates a plunge” 8:18-10:01
V. Imp in Impulse 10:10-12:32

composed // produced by Pascal Le Boeuf
performed by Barbora Kolářová
video by Four/Ten Media (Evan Chapman Kevin Eikenberg)
recording engineer: Andres Villalta, Princeton University
editing engineer: Pascal Le Boeuf
mixing engineer: Dave Darlington, Bass Hit Studios
mastering engineer: Mishan Padiak, Jan Martínek - Little m studio

Imp in Impulse is a caprice written for Barbora Kolářová by American composer Pascal Le Boeuf. The title is a phrase used by American philosopher Dr. Paul A. Lee — a metaphor describing a spirit that tempts a person to do things without inhibition. Perhaps a precursor to Lee’s metaphor, is the colloquialism “The Imp of the Perverse” popularized by Edgar Allan Poe’s 1845 short story of the same title. In either case, this imp has come to be associated with what Harvard psychologist Daniel M. Wegner describes as ironic processes of mental control: “These monitoring processes keep us watchful for errors of thought, speech, and action and enable us to avoid the worst thing in most situations, but they also increase the likelihood of such errors.” Following Dr. Wegner’s research, such impulses arise due to a focused intention on avoiding specific errors or actions. According to Poe, “that single thought is enough. […] There is no passion in nature so demonically impatient, as that of him who, shuddering upon the edge of a precipice, thus meditates a plunge.” This impulse is present at various levels throughout this composition from the performer’s shoes and bowing directions, to the cheeky juxtapositions of traditional and unorthodox compositional devices. Special thanks to Garth Knox, Andrew Norman, Casey Driessen, Steve Mackey, and Barbora Kolářová whose kindness and artistry inspired this work.

Learn more: www.barborakolarova.com

"Media Control" (Quartet Version)

composed // produced by Pascal Le Boeuf
video by Four/Ten Media (Evan Chapman Kevin Eikenberg)
performed by Hub New Music: Michael Avitabile - Flute // David Dziardziel - Clarinet // Alyssa Wang - Violin // Jesse Christeson - Cello)
recorded by Chris Gilroy at Douglass Recording
mixed // mastered by Dave Darlington at Bass Hit Recording

In the age of post-truth politics and alternative facts, it is hard to deny that mass media plays a role in manipulating our collective imagined reality. To quote the New York Times, “How can we still be speaking of “facts” when they no longer provide us with a reality that we all agree on? The problem is that the experts and agencies involved in producing facts have multiplied, and many are now for hire. If you really want to find an expert willing to endorse a fact, and have sufficient money or political clout behind you, you probably can.” In reaction to the 2016 election I found catharsis in watching Noam Chomsky interviews connected to a book he published in 2002 called Media Control. According to the audio liner notes:

“[Media Control] addresses wartime propaganda and opinion control by asserting two models of democracy—one in which the public actively participates, and one in which the public is manipulated and controlled. According to Chomsky, […] the mass media is the primary vehicle for delivering propaganda in the United States. [...] Chomsky further touches on how the modern public relations industry has been influenced by Walter Lippmann’s theory of “spectator democracy,” in which the public is seen as a “bewildered herd” that needs to be directed, not empowered; and how the public relations industry in the United States focuses on “controlling the public mind,” and not on informing it. Media Control is an invaluable primer on the secret workings of disinformation in democratic societies."

Media Control is both a nod to Chomsky’s ideas and a critique of post-truth culture. The musical content was developed through the intuitive expansion of process-oriented approaches to composition, and the structure is derived from the use of themes to represent ideas and politicians in an abstract story.

There are a lot of people I want to thank who were involved in developing this music and bringing it to light. Big thanks to composers Alyssa Weinberg, Steven Mackey, Dan Trueman, Barbara White, and Donnacha Dennehy for their feedback and kind suggestions, and to Robert Honstein for introducing me to the Hubs. Also, thanks to the many performers who helped me revise the music through performances and recordings. The first experimental draft of Media Control was workshopped with the help of Moon Young HA and ensemble mise-en in February 2017. It was then revised and expanded to include piano at the behest of my dear friend, clarinetist Meighan Stoops, who officially premiered the quintet version at Merkin Hall on Sept 18, 2017 with the Da Capo Chamber Players. After being further developed in a production environment (by Kelli Kathman, Vasko Dukovski, Todd Reynolds, and Nick Photinos) the full sextet version was premiered by Eighth Blackbird at Princeton University on February 26, 2018. This video represents the core quartet version which was premiered by Hub New Music in January 2019.

Learn more: http://www.hubnewmusic.org/

"Wanderlust"

composed // produced by Pascal Le Boeuf
video by Kevin Eikenberg (Four/Ten Media)
performed by Todd Reynolds - violin // Sara Caswell - violin // Jessica Meyer - viola // Nick Photinos - cello // Kenneth Salters - drums // Pascal Le Boeuf - piano
recorded by Andy Taub at Brooklyn Recording
mixed // mastered by mixed // mastered by Dave Darlington at Bass Hit Recording

Traveling can be an exhilarating experience and frequently leads to creative expression. Perhaps we are motivated by an urge to explore the unknown, a desire for personal growth, or a respite from the routine pressures of daily life. Traveling certainly provides us with the freedom to escape social expectations, explore who we are, and present our true selves to the world. This feeling is the foundation of Wanderlust.

Wanderlust was commissioned by Holland America Line in collaboration with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for piano quintet. This version is an expanded arrangement that incorporates the addition of a drum set and elements of improvisation. Each of the members of this ensemble share a common link: a dual participation in both conventionally notated and improvisation oriented idioms.

"Transition Behavior"

composed // produced by Pascal Le Boeuf
video // lighting design by Four/Ten Media
performed by Shattered Glass String Orchestra
mixed // mastered by Myles Rodenhouse at Douglass Recording

Written for the "Shattered Glass" string orchestra, the title "Transition Behavior" is a reference to the structural properties of glass as a substance. One interesting thing about glass is that, even through it’s a solid, it still retains liquid properties. Like the members of an orchestra, the atoms or molecules that form a solid are held together by bonds. The atoms that form a solid are tightly bound to together either in a repeating geometric pattern (crystals), or in a disordered arrangement to form something in between a liquid and a sold: an amorphous solid. When crystalline structures are shattered, their structure causes them to "break along fixed planes to produce new facets that intersect at the same angles as those in the original crystal" [1] . This is not the case with "Shattered Glass". Glass is in fact an amorphous solid with the liquid ability to flow at an incredibly slow pace, and when an amorphous solid such as glass is shattered it produces jagged fragments, often with curved surfaces. As a conductor-less orchestra, the members of "Shattered Glass" have no unifying leader but perform as an amorphous solid despite their outward appearance as a traditional ensemble. This allows for certain freedoms that would not otherwise be available to a string orchestra. "Transition Behavior" utilizes these freedoms to highlight the autonomy of the many individuals that form the larger structure of the ensemble -- the rich sound of many simultaneous amorphous gestures that combine to reflect a musical representation of "Shattered Glass".

Learn more: http://shattered-glass.org/store

"Alpha"

directed // shot // edited by Michael McQuilken
composed // produced by Pascal Le Boeuf
performed by Nicholas Photinos - cello & Doug Perkins - drums
additional strings by Jeffrey Zeigler, Charles Yang, JACK Quartet (Christopher Otto, Ari Streisfeld, John Pickford Richards, Kevin McFarland)
recorded by Rollin Weary, John Kilgore, & Andy Taub
mixed // mastered by Dave Darlington - Bass Hit Studios
consultants: Louis Andriessen, Dave Eggar, & Jason Treuting

Eighth Blackbird founding cellist Nick Photinos and drummer Doug Perkins perform "Alpha", written by Pascal Le Boeuf. The video was created by Michael McQuilken and the piece is featured on Nick Photinos's debut solo recording, "Petits Artéfacts", out August 25 on New Amsterdam Records.

Learn more: https://www.newamrecords.com/albums/petits-artefacts-nick-photinos

"Empty Promise"

Music Composed, Performed, Recorded and Programmed by Pascal Le Boeuf, Sarah Goldfeather, and Robby Bowen
Additional Bass by Tristan Kasten-Krause
Mixed and Produced by Pascal Le Boeuf
Mastered by Dave Darlington
Video by Four/Ten Media

Empty Promise is a social critique that uses human relationship metaphors to highlight our emotional dependence on technology. After working together at the 2015 Bang On A Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA, musicians Pascal Le Boeuf, Sarah Goldfeather, and Robby Bowen met one fateful night in Brooklyn and decided to create a project by merging their collective interests. Rather than construct music to be performed live, they retreated into a bedroom studio with a two microphones, a digital sampler, and a collection of analog synths resulting in a sonic Frankenstein that explores the empty promise of technology and the way it prevents us from interacting IRL (in real life) by taking us AFRL (away from real life).

Similarly, rather than adapt their music for the stage, they engaged the video production team Four/Ten Media (comprised of Evan Chapman and Kevin Eikenberg) to bring their music to the screen. Empty Promise features all the above as well as cameo appearances by a variety of notable musicians from the New York creative community. Inspired by the work of visual artist Alex Da Corte, each scenario involves the juxtaposition of tech equipment to create dissonance in a series of normal situations.

"Variations On Breathing"

Pascal Le Boeuf - pianist, composer, music production
JeanCarlo Ramirez - cinematographer, video production
Kate Vrijmoet - painter
Katy Short - improvised movement

How can we embrace our true selves amid an ocean of false social constructs and unconscious biases? Borrowing from Vrijmoet’s “Non-Ordinary Reality” painting series and Le Boeuf's compositions for prepared piano, “Variations on Breathing” leads the viewer from the deep sleep of unknowing through a physical and moral struggle to free the self. Metaphors for transformation are explored through the lens of Ramirez's immersive maximalist cinematography, improvised movement, the shedding of aqueous skin, and the transition from full immersion in water to surfacing for air.

Produced by the National YoungArts Foundation

"Alkaline"

feat. Le Boeuf Brothers + JACK Quartet

Pascal Le Boeuf - Piano/Composer
Remy Le Boeuf - Alto Sax
Ben Wendel - Tenor Sax
Ben Street - Bass
Justin Brown - Drums
Ari Streisfeld - Violin
Christopher Otto - Violin
John Pickford Richards- Viola
Kevin McFarland - Cello

Produced by Pascal & Remy Le Boeuf
Recorded by Andy Taub at Brooklyn Recording
Mixed by Dave Darlington & Pascal Le Boeuf
Mastered by Dave Darlington
Video by Simon Yu

www.LeBoeufBrothers.com

"GIRLS"

"GIRLS" is the opening track on the RighteousGIRLS debut album "gathering blue," released July 10, 2015 on Panoramic/New Focus Recordings.

Gina Izzo - Flute
Erika Dohi - Piano
Pascal Le Boeuf - Composer
Michael McQuilken - Video

"W.A.I.T.T." (We're All in This Together)

Written, Produced, recorded, and mixed by Pascal Le Boeuf
Drums by Justin Brown
Words by Jane Resnick
Additional drums recorded and mixed at The Bunker Studio by John Davis
Video by Simon C.F. Yu

"Get Home Safely"

Music by Kissy Girls (Pascal Le Boeuf & Emily Greene)
Video by Noah Lagin
www.kissy-girls.com

"Calgary Clouds"

A collaborative music video between Animator Elliot Lobell and Le Boeuf Brothers.

For more info: LeBoeufBrothers.com vimeo.com/elliotlobell