Experimental Pop Act JPTR Uses Rhythm & Melody To Full Effect

Pop is a funny word.

In reality it only means popular, as in a lot of people agree to like something. Yet it’s often used to denote something fabricated, without any artistic merit and disposable by design. But popular music wasn’t always aiming at the lowest common denominator. Jazz at its prime was pop music. Coltrane, for example, sold truckloads of records at a time when his music demanded the most work from the listener.

Darkside of the Moon is also a pop record.

In the 1980s, the Talking Heads ventured out and used popular music (the syrupy kind) as a canvas and a space to smuggle conceptual art. They sold millions of records, even if most of their fans didn’t really understand what was really going on under the hood. And that’s the point; you don’t have to get it to enjoy it, and, on the other hand, what seems to be easy to swallow doesn’t necessarily always have to be refined sugar. And what if that sweet thing you just ingested was a sugar cube spiked with a healthy dose of LSD?

JPTR, an art collective based in Zurich, Switzerland, loves to twist the idea of what we think pop is, or for that matter, what art could be. In a way, they are a hit of lysergic acid and, at the least, they are a mind-altering audio-visual substance of sorts. (BTW, LSD was synthesized for the first time in this lovely country which is usually associated with cheese, chocolate, and the unsavoury politics of its banks).

Now that you know what you are getting into, are you still ready to take on the JPTR experience? And this is not only a question, but also a very serious caveat. Because after taking a trip with JPTR, there really is no way back. Neither you, nor your ideas about pop music and art, will ever be the same again. Or, just maybe, you’ll love the comforting sweet sensation you will are left with.

The self-titled debut LP of this psychotropic trio known as KIU, IKARU, and IO will finally sees the light of day April 7th via the Bern-based imprint known as Mouthwatering Records. Note: Technically benign acids, such as those found in lemons, will make your mouth water. LSD is also technically benign. But what if you took a dose so large that you could actually feel it rippling the surface of your tongue like a citrus fruit and making those tiny muscles in the outer corners of your eyes twitch?

JPTR is the sonic form and a perfect fit for this forward-thinking/sounding label.