My third review for the Swiss based EeeE run by Vasco Viviani (alongside his DDDD sister label), comes courtesy of a recently formed duo by the name of Chaos Shrine whose membership consists of Paul Beauchamp and Andrea Cauduro.
Based in Turin, both of Chaos Shrine's members were involved in music for many years before uniting; Cauduro as a classically trained Guitarist who has composed for theatre, contemporary dance, performance and installations while North Carolina, U.S. born Beauchamp is a Electro-acoustic ambient musician active in the projects Blind Cave Salamander, Almagest! and Coypu, as well as own solo albums. Their prior works include the 2023 Prologomenon EP as well as the Mirror Division full-length debut album from earlier this year. Shadows of the Invisible, then, can be viewed as a stopgap EP before the band unleashes their next 'proper' sophomore record. Beauchamp's artwork recalls that which can be found on Godflesh's Pure, though whether the music is anywhere as crushingly heavy remains to be seen. The fact that James Plotkin (OLD, Khanate, Phantomsmasher, Khlyst, solo) was involved in the mixing of two of the EP's tracks bodes well for all future listening experiences, and provides as it does a major incentive behind my decision to cover it for Clean Sheets.
'Furcas' is the longest track on the EP at nearly nine minutes and there is an omnipresent darkness to behold which recalls the vibe created on the aforementioned Birmingham duo's finest output (though not necessarily directly) as well as the kind of Dub influences that can be traced to Kevin Richard Martin aka The Bug's work. Despite the sound's bleak overall denseness, there's nonetheless a dreamy Shoegaze influence present which makes the whole thing feel strangely comforting. A superb effort. 'Ose' is a good deal shorter at 3:13 and Cauduro's contributions more directly attributable with his absolutely sublime Psychedelic Guitar work cutting sharply through Beauchamp's wall of dub and Ambient atmospheric goodness. This is two artists at the top of their game, comfortable enough in each other's company to let the other shine as and when necessary; yet another sonic gem. N.B. Both track titles refer to a knight and great president of hell respectively, indicative of a keen interest in demonology, which may go some way to explaining the music's otherworldly nature. Finally, 'Scox' is a reworking by Laura Agnusdei, (a composer based in Bologna), of a track that can be found on Mirror Division as well as being the name of a short film directed by Erika Errante Baruffaldi that the band contributed to. That film's plot according to IMDB centres around the character of Y who unearths bones, brings them to her laboratory, attaches them to an antenna, subsequently creating Hector. The rest of the movie proceeds to follow this evolving relationship. The original music from the duo was as you'd expect, mysterious, melodious and eerie with their trademark Ambient, Psych and Dub soundscapes. Agnusdei adds layers of Saxophone to this musical stew which helps give it a filmic noir quality and which as a Jazz fan I was more than content with. An exquisite conclusion to Shadows of the Invisible.
As a newbie to Chaos Shrine I wasn't sure what to expect really and its for this reason I was so impressed. As much as I love the Ambient genre, it can at times prove somewhat impenetrable, at others frankly self-indulgent with ill-advised forays into New Age noodling. Fortunately this wasn't the case here, instead proving a wonderfully diverse, soul-enriching experience well worthy of your time and hard-earned money.
Comments