The Genre-Bending Jersey Devil

By Nolan Locke

Gordon Conner, better known by his stage moniker CALYPSO, is a senior who makes genre-bending music that tells a compelling and emotional story.

CALPYSO performing in one of their many unique looks. (Photo via @chamber.mutant on Instagram)

Conner often describes their stage persona as “demonic,” and their music tackles and explores dark themes in an extremely nuanced manner. Conner is currently working on their senior project, and it has taken on the form of a concept album, which Conner describes as “rock opera” esque.

“The Jersey Devil” is the telling of a story of a woman on trial for witchcraft in the Puritan era. However, it is much more than a simple scary story; it is a tale of misogyny, struggling for equality, femininity, religion and a challenge of societal norms.

So I’d like to start from the beginning. Who is CALYPSO as an artist?

"I like to say that CALYPSO is a shapeshifter, [who is] millions of years old [and] makes music that is weird and ugly and gorgeous and beautiful."

Where are you from?

"I am from Trenton, New Jersey, so not too far from here."

So, being a senior here at Purchase and a music major, what has your experience been so far?

"Coming here is the best decision I’ve ever made in regards to music. I’m in such a nurturing environment for doing whatever the fuck you want, because everybody is in completely different lanes here. The professors are so encouraging of just being a fucking freak. Everyone's really experimental, and I think that's really cool. Everyone is so encouraging, at least in terms of, you know, being so experimental but also being real with you. This is an incredibly competitive industry that all of us are going into, and if you want to be commercially successful, there are, you know, ways to do it. We’re sort of being taught those ways of how to be authentic and true to yourself but still make money when you’re out of here [Purchase]."

So you yourself have built up a bit of a following already, so how does it feel having people know your name and know your work?

"It’s cool, but at the same time, when I see accounts on Instagram that have me as their profile picture and they follow my friends, I get freaked out."

I totally get that. My band’s nothing big, and there are times I get recognized at work, and it's always so surreal. How do you feel about stuff like that?

"I got recognized at Asbury Pride once, and that was crazy."

Well, I mean, it makes sense that’s not too far from your hometown. Speaking of your hometown, how did that influence your upcoming album?

"Oh dude, I mean my hometown and sort of like where I grew up was such a huge part of this project because my soundscape for the longest time has either been exclusively darkpop or like all electronic with some classically composed stuff thrown in here and there. The first song is like a choir, sort of like a coral hymn. Which then immediately goes into a country song. I have never written a country song, and I think I did okay with this one. I was hugely inspired by my mom, who has been a country singer for the longest time, so as I grew up, I listened to a lot of country music. I also listened to a lot of punk, hip hop and trap. Like that's all from living in Trenton. So the fifth track on the album “Eyewitness” is basically me taking the punk I grew up with and the hip hop I grew up with and like combining those two things into one. Growing up where I grew up always encouraged me not to stay in one lane."

Is that kind of combination of influences something that really fuels your creative process?

"That's the most fun part of writing music! Like you don't have to just stay in one particular lane, and you don’t have to just have one sound. You can just sort of do whatever you want because, again, especially being here surrounded by people from so many different backgrounds. You know half of my friends are in the world of classical music, you know, and used to being sort of prim and proper and arriving on time. Where the other half are city kids who have been going to basement shows their whole life and are much more laid back and like, what if we tried this out? Being involved in both scenes is just so liberating."

So this album is going to be a concept album. What is sort of the overall story that it's trying to tell?

"The album itself tells the story of a woman in a Puritan village during the Salem witch trials and sort of like her journey."

So, with this being set in such a specific historic time period, did you do any research to sort of help you write the album?

"So I actually didn't go too crazy on research because I don’t want the album to be like a retelling of something that already happened. I am sort of using that [historical setting] as a basis for a fictional story that I am trying to tell. The thing I did the most research on was what the actual trials were, and they are so stupid. So there are five trials, and five of the tracks represent each one. So the first track is called 'The Lord's Prayer' because for the first trial, they would make you recite the Lord’s Prayer. The second one [trial] is the grossest, they would inspect you for birthmarks because they were seen as like the mark of the devil. So that song is called 'Deadly Blessing' because the things that make her [the main character] different are gonna be her downfall. The third trial is a witness statement from somebody. So for this track, I had two of my friends featured, and the whole song is kind of us being like, I didn’t see anything; this is a witch hunt. Then the fourth trial, the accuser would look at the accused and then see like spectres and spirits. So that track is 'Phantasmagoria' and the idea is that the accuser is looking at someone who they presume to be a witch and is literally seeing things. Like clearly, they are going insane. Then the fifth trial is just confessing which is really fucked up because like no matter what you do you’ll be found guilty. That track, I just simply called 'Confession.' That’s sort of like the midpoint before the main character gets executed. Then, from there, the plot is kind of just based around her revenge."

The single cover for CALYPSO’s 'Phantasmagoria.' (Photo via Gordon Conner)

So what ultimately is the main character's revenge? 

"So essentially, after she is executed, she comes back as the Jersey Devil and takes revenge on everyone who harmed her. So that’s also where the album gets its title, 'The Jersey Devil.'"

So, one final question for you: when is this album gonna be released, and where can people find you and your music?

So the music video for 'Phantasmagoria' [has been released], and you can find that on my YouTube. As for 'The Jersey Devil,' that is to be announced.