photo by Andrew T. Jansen
P.E. doesn’t sound a whole heck of a lot like Public Enemy but they do make music “designed to fill your mind” with a unique assemblage of far-out sounds for in the in-crowd and deep grooves in heavy syrup, equal parts Chuck D cerebral and Flavor Flav flamboyant. In other words, this five-piece makes contemplative head music that still knows how to get your booty moving, mashing up dub, funk, ambient music, new wave and No Wave, into the musical equivalent of a potent 50-50 blend of indica and sativa strains of sonic reefer madness.
And if you don’t believe me you can just check out their sophomore LP, The Leather Lemon, released on the always-compelling Greenpoint, Brooklyn-based Wharf Cat label, or check them out playing live tonight (06/05/22) at the also always-compelling Sultan Room appearing with Gold Dime and Personal Space, the latter of whom are celebrating the release of their Still Life EP (Good Eye Records).
And just in case you were wondering PE is made up of Jonathan Schenke (synths, beats, bass, percussion, voice, production), Veronica Torres (voice, lyrics), Jonny Campolo (piano, synths, bass, percussion, voice, artwork), Bob Jones (beats, samples, synths, bass, voice), and Benjamin Jaffe (saxophone, synths, voice), three of whom will be familiar to eagle-eyed readers as members of Pill and two of whom comprise the band Eaters (Pill + Eaters = Pill Eaters, hmmmm) ergo the snappy P.E. moniker and so The Deli says check it out, yo. (Jason Lee)
Recommended for fans of: Tom Tom Club, Liquid Liquid, ESG, MSG, Lydia Lunch, beat poetry,saxophones played outside on rain-slicked city streets reflecting the neon lights of nearby drinking establishments, Vangelis, Henri Matisse, Massive Attack, Portishead, ParquetCourts