Brooklyn resident Oliver Chapoy has roots in the Florida hardcore/metal scene, having at one time been a member of the long-running group Shai Hulud. From there, he went on to collaborate with Warm Ghost and Saxon Shore, and was one of the guitarists chosen by Rhys Chatham to perform on the composer's A Crimson Grail piece in New York in 2009. Chapoy surfaced again in 2013 under the Certain Creatures moniker, with a 12-inch for the Bangers & Ash series curated by the Styles Upon Styles imprint. That release saw him turn toward solo electronics, smearing dank techno across the vinyl grooves.
Vipassana, named for the Buddhist term that speaks to the true nature of reality, is his first full-length release, and it is a truly transcendent piece of music. The 11 tracks borrow from the deep and varied career trajectories that Chapoy has experienced; it's a lighter take on power electronics, combined with a more menacing set of techno rhythms in dark urban environments. Tracks like "Colour Me In" and "Nothing Changes" — both of which feature Chapoy's own vocals — might have been heard in a goth/industrial club in the 1990s had they not been created two decades too late. Vipassana is creative anachronism at its finest.
(Styles Upon Styles)Vipassana, named for the Buddhist term that speaks to the true nature of reality, is his first full-length release, and it is a truly transcendent piece of music. The 11 tracks borrow from the deep and varied career trajectories that Chapoy has experienced; it's a lighter take on power electronics, combined with a more menacing set of techno rhythms in dark urban environments. Tracks like "Colour Me In" and "Nothing Changes" — both of which feature Chapoy's own vocals — might have been heard in a goth/industrial club in the 1990s had they not been created two decades too late. Vipassana is creative anachronism at its finest.
