Cooper is a self-made, self-taught musician who manages to exist effortlessly within two scenes generally considered to be at varying ends of the sonic spectrum. Learning his craft on the Indie Rock scene, but later connecting with the Sing Out Gospel Gospel Choir, Cooper’s exquisite vocal and adroitly played guitar seamlessly encompasses the best of both worlds. It’s Indie with soul, soul with heart. This is meaningful music from the mind of a man who’s lived life, loss and longing. He defines the idea of what it is to be a truly singular artist who both defies convention and resists comparison. “I don’t want to be seen as a singer/ songwriter because people lump you into that sulky troubadour box,” points out JP with a quick laugh. “I want to be a bit more than that. I want to make great music and grow. I’ve always loved and admired artists that evolve; people like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Björk. Hopefully I can be an artist who will explore and transform in a similar way.”
Though it might seem like music is in his DNA, JP wasn’t bought up in a particularly musical household. However, his Granddad, a commercial artist and dad, also an artist, taught him something that would prove invaluable to his own artistic endeavors in years to come. “My dad went to study at art school and my Granddad told him, ‘Never get a job in art ‘cause it’ll be something that you don’t love anymore. It’ll be a job not a hobby’. That really stuck with me years later when I began to teach myself guitar. You need to know your a,b,c’s, but the main thing is to have fun with it, to play with it like a child would, ignore the rules. The fact I’m completely clueless about what chords I’m playing works in my favour. I’m a complete blagger! But that’s really nice I think; I can stay wide-eyed about it.”
Bought up during the guitar-laden years of Britpop, like many young Manchester teens, JP played in various bands throughout school. Broadening his musical tastes beyond Oasis by regularly visiting eponymous record store, the Vinyl Exchange, it was there the young music enthusiast discovered everything from Björk to Aphex Twin, Donny Hathaway and Rufus Wainwright. Deciding to go solo while at college, JP was finally able to fully draw on his various influences and begin to experiment with the sort of artist he wanted to be. “I realised that I didn’t want to have to rely on anybody – as long as I could play and I could write then I’d be pretty self-sufficient. And I could make the music I wanted to make without having to compromise.” Teaching himself guitar, JP began testing his sound out at Open Mic nights and quickly started getting booked to play all over Manchester. Within a year he rose to selling out 250 capacity venue, the Deaf Institute. However, because he was a white guy with a guitar, he found himself increasingly booked at folk / indie / band nights. Ill at ease in a scene into which he was thrust, slowly his audience began to diversify as the subtleties in his music began to emerge. He joined Manchester’s Sing Out Gospel Choir and released a series of three mixtapes, noticing a growing fanbase within the urban world. Soon he was not only selling out venues like the Gorilla in Manchester, but he was hitting capacity at shows in London too. “As soon I found an outlet into the soul and urban world, everything changed overnight. Since then it’s grown and grown and I’ve found my audience. It’s really nice to be embraced by that world.”
Three years ago, he became a dad for the first time and a year later faced a difficult decision. Supporting himself by working in a bar so he could be with his son every morning and night, when Island Records offered him a development deal, he knew it would mean a lot of travel to London. “I didn’t want to miss any of my son growing up, but I also had to build a future for us both. It got to the point where I’d had this massive dream of doing music and all this amazing stuff was happening, but at the same time I was away from all of the things that are home to me.”
It’s a subject he covers on Closer, found on his 2015 EP, When The Darkness Comes. After signing to Island Records 18 months ago, JP released two EP’s, which combined have had over 5 million plays. The first, Keep The Quiet Out, was produced by the Confectionary [Bonkaz, Jacob Banks]. The most recent (When The Darkness Comes), produced by the duo One-Bit, features six perfectly executed vignettes. The EP is deeply personable yet utterly relatable. “It’s about relationships, people’s struggles, family and the human mind, the weirdness of it, the complexities of it,” explains JP.
He not only has a large online following, but he has a large and loyal live fanbase too. Last year, he sold out four headline shows in London, including the The Scala the Village Underground and Koko. The EP’s, along with his engaging live performances, have won JP a legion of fans as disparate as his sounds; the likes of Boy George, The Cast Of EastEnders, Maverick Sabre, Sean Mendez and Stormzy have all sung his praises, while recent collaborations with the likes of George the Poet have seen Cooper diversify a little into the spoken world arena. “It’s not my world at all but it’s taught me loads,” he muses. “The whole imagination behind it all inspires me to want to be better.”
Next up is JP’s debut album proper which promises to be bigger and bolder affair, while retaining a sense of simplicity and honesty. Featuring elements of Hip Hop, stand-up soul and Country-inflected guitar, there will also be some unexpected twists and turns. JP isn’t an artist that deals in the formulaic, the predictable or the conventional. “It’s going to be bold,” he decides. “I’ve enjoyed some spot plays on Radio and I know I’m lucky to have those because what I do really doesn’t sound like anything else on there. I’d like to carry on down that route. I don’t want my music to sound like everything else that’s being put out at the minute.”
JP Cooper isn’t the sort of artist to list his ambitions as being awards and accolades. That’s not why he makes music. He’s isn’t here to make cookie-cutter sounds that cynically appeal to a mass market. Rather he wants to challenge the idea’s of what music people should – and shouldn’t – be making. “There’s no façade. I’m just somebody who lives life and writes about it. It’s a human experience. I’m not untouchable,” he points out. “I think people trust what I do because of the way that I am; there’s no front. I think that makes people want to find out more. Hopefully when they do find out more, they’ll like what they hear. I know nothing’s promised, and I know I’ve been doing this for a few years now, but it feels just like the beginning. And that’s really exciting.”
However, he was hailed as ‘Future Sound of 2015’ by BBC Radio One’s Zane Lowe, supported soul singer Angie Stone, sold out a UK tour of his own, and had a coveted slot at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas.
His EP 'When The Darkness Comes' was reviewed in 2015 as "combining folk, blues, soul and gospel, ... [showcasing] Cooper’s talent for both songwriting and lyricism which releases true emotion – not only for himself but also the listener."
Sources:
This info was taken from when he was featured in The Telegraph and listed for his gig at The Cluny in Newcastle upon Tyne.
September Song
JP Cooper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Soft as the cotton you lie in
Times we got hot like an iron
You and I
Our hearts had never been broken
We were so innocent darling
We used to talk 'til the morning
You and I
We had the mixtape on every weekend
Had it repeating, had it repeating
You were my September song, summer lasted too long
Time moves so slowly, when you're only fifteen
You were my September song, tell me where have you gone?
Do you remember me, we were only fifteen
And I, I remember the chorus, they were singing it for us
You were my September song, tell me where have you gone?
Do you remember me, we were only fifteen
Sometimes I think that I see her
Face in the strangest of places
Down on the underground station
Passing by
I get a mild sense of danger
Feel like my heart couldn't take it
'Cause if we met we'd be strangers
You and I
Still I play that mixtape every weekend
Got it repeating, got it repeating
You were my September Song summer lasted too long
Ooh, time moves so slowly (so slowly) when you're only fifteen
You were my September song, tell me where have you gone?
Do you remember me, we were only fifteen
And I, I remember the chorus, they were singing it for us
I hear that September Song and I'm singing along
Thinking 'bout you and me, oh what a melody
And as the years go by, you will still be mine
Be my (September song)
You are my (September song)
You were my September Song summer lasted too long
Time moves so slowly when you're only fifteen
You were my September song, tell me where have you gone?
Do you remember me, we were only fifteen
And I, I remember the chorus, they were singing it for us
You were my September Song
I remember the chorus, they were singing it for us
In "September Song" by JP Cooper, the singer reminisces about a past love that he had when he was 15 years old. The song opens with a description of how strong their love was, using the metaphor "strong as a lion" and how they experienced intense moments together that sometimes got "hot like an iron." The singer recalls how they never experienced heartbreak before and how they talked until morning.
As the song continues, the singer sadly reflects on how their relationship ended and how he still thinks about his past love. He describes how he sometimes thinks he sees her face in the strangest places and how he gets a mild sense of danger when he thinks about seeing her again. The song ends with the singer singing about how he still listens to the mixtape they made together, repeating it every weekend and crooning that she, his lover, was his September Song.
The song's power comes from the sense of nostalgia and sadness it conveys, evoking feelings of longing and yearning for a past love. The use of the metaphor "September Song" is meant to imply a fleeting moment in time that serves as a reminder of the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Our love was strong as a lion
Our love was fierce and intense like that of a lion.
Soft as the cotton you lie in
Our love was gentle and soft like the cotton material you lay on.
Times we got hot like an iron
There were times when our passion and emotion burned bright like a hot iron.
You and I
It was just the two of us in our love story.
Our hearts had never been broken
We were innocent in love, unscarred by any heartbreaks.
We were so innocent darling
We were pure and naïve in our love affair.
We used to talk 'til the morning
We spent countless nights talking to each other till dawn.
You were my September song, summer lasted too long
You were the melody of my September, but the season seemed to drag on because I missed you.
Time moves so slowly, when you're only fifteen
When you are young, time feels like it passes by slowly.
Do you remember me, we were only fifteen
Do you recall our times together when we were both fifteen years old?
And I, I remember the chorus, they were singing it for us
I recall the chorus of the song that was playing, and it felt like it was meant for just the two of us.
Sometimes I think that I see her
I occasionally see her face in unexpected places.
Face in the strangest of places
I see her lovely face in unlikely locations.
Down on the underground station
I saw her at the subway station.
Passing by
She hurried past me.
I get a mild sense of danger
I feel slightly nervous about the thought of encountering her.
Feel like my heart couldn't take it
I am afraid my heart wouldn't be able to handle the emotions of seeing her again.
'Cause if we met we'd be strangers
If we were to meet, we would be like strangers because too much has passed since our last encounter.
Still I play that mixtape every weekend
Even though it's been a while, I still play our mixtape every weekend.
Got it repeating, got it repeating
I listen to it on repeat.
Thinking 'bout you and me, oh what a melody
I often think about our time together and how our love was like a beautiful melody.
And as the years go by, you will still be mine
As time passes, I will still hold onto the memory of you and our love.
Be my (September song)
Be the melody of my September, just like before.
You are my (September song)
You will always be the melody of my September.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN PAUL COOPER, JON COBBE HUME, BEN HUDSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind