Chaos Shrine Reveal “Vapula” Single from Forthcoming Album ‘Mirror Division’

“Duality describes humanity’s usual condition. All phenomena must be paired, as the senses are only equipped to perceive differences,” says Peter J. Carroll in his book Liber Null. In fact, duality, along with many of the other fundamentals of chaos magic, is a central concept of Chaos Shrine, the collaborative project between Paul Beauchamp and Andrea Cauduro.

Today, they unveil “Vapula,” the first single off Mirror Division, their upcoming album due for release on Erototox Decodings on April 5th in LP and all digital platforms.

As a duo, Chaos Shrine’s music evolves and devolves in intricate sonic rituals carried out in the studio where the two artists seamlessly change and interchange roles mid-stream, moving effortlessly from composer to musician to engineer to producer, in many cases without a word being said between the two. Often, one will be at the studio controls or working with an instrument but will suddenly step back, and the other will instinctively move in and take over. This process will go on for minutes or even hours until a moment is reached when one will look at the other, who will respond with little more than a silent nod, at which point the two will move on in unison to the next element of the composition or the next piece.

Raised on a farm in North Carolina, Beauchamp began his sonic research as a teen using tape loops and field recordings before moving on to becoming a professional studio engineer and continuing his work as a solo ambient/drone musician focusing on research music and the use of both traditional and non-traditional instruments. Among others, Beauchamp has collaborated with Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo (Larsen), Julia Kent (Rasputina, Anthony and the Johnsons), Jochen Arbeit (Automat, Einsturzende Neubauten), Lydia Lunch, Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance), Paolo Spaccamonti, Johann Johannsson, Colin Potter, and Steve Stapleton (Nurse With Wound).

Cauduro obtained his master’s in 2018 with a thesis on the guitar works of John Zorn. Cauduro specializes in the practice of contemporary music through his work in various festivals across Europe, such as Sonology Showlab (Den Haag), Noiseberg (Berlin), and Sirga Festival di Flix (Barcelona) as part of an ensemble directed by Mats Gustafsson. His solo work, on the other hand, focuses on the rediscovery of the ancestral form of guitar through loops and effects that evoke sonic visions of dark ambient, drone and echoes of ancient ritual music.

Chaos Shrine ‘Mirror Division’ album artwork