Jupiter Black
Animation by Megan Easterling
Did you miss us?? We missed you! And honestly, we’ve been missing those juicy, unfiltered conversations, because who really tells it like it is if not artists? And when we say artists, we mean anyone who treats life like a canvas. The ones who move a little differently, think a little sideways, and somehow always say the thing you didn’t even realize you needed to hear. The freest among us—the ones who don’t just follow culture, they stretch it, bend it, and occasionally set it on fire (in a good way). So yes, we’ve been craving that energy. Jupiter Black first caught our attention years ago in i-D Magazine, and clearly, the universe took its time, because… we finally connected:
Do you create to be understood or to avoid being understood?
I create to create freely to feel what’s there and interpret the space honestly. Mixed in my intentions brew is connection and resonance without force. My aim is to cultivate sound that activates and inspires feeling... With that, finding ways to intersect my individual experience with common themes of reality feels genuine and a natural process that forms on its own. Creation for me is about discovery, play and liberation so sometimes, in that, I’ll be misunderstood and that’s ok.
At what price point does something become “profound”?
For me, the two may not be relative... How a price point doesn’t directly determine the value or depth of what has been created and all it took. It is what it is regardless and is up to whoever is consuming the art to, in their own right, decide if it hit like that for them.
When someone says, “I don’t get it,” do you think they’re wrong — or that you failed?
It’s ok:: I don’t mind the disconnect. I try not to entertain any expectations because it feels too heavy and not mines…. To not “get it” just indicates we are in two different rooms naturally which I got respect for. As long as I feel like I’m stretching//evolving, present and true to what I got goin in the space I’m crafting it’s all good.
Is music supposed to reflect reality, escape it, or gaslight it?
Music can do whatever it wants... It has as much range as we do to exist which plays into the role we bare in creation with it..It’s a free spirit. Ive utilized music to do all three. I guess it depends on how it shows up through the individual and what their relationship with music looks like. There’s no need to restrict…
What is beauty to you?
Beauty can also be anything. In my life it has been the space that pulls me in to recognize the magnitude of my being and its interaction with this place we in. It can be hidden or obvious..It has depth and a figure that is formless and refreshing. It is vast and can create a real feelin::hard to describe intoxicating to experience.
Is originality real, or are we all just remixing trauma?
What is an original thought?… From where I see; originality is still a thing. We all influenced by something. The ones we view as originators cultivated they own thing while more than likely being inspired by their environment and each other. We are doing the same thing. I think there are patterns that are recognizable when folks are trying to find themselves through someone else but there are also creatives who are in tune with their own rhythm and you can feel that in how they carry.
What’s the most pretentious sentence you’ve ever said — and fully meant?
I’m just experimenting//engaging with the language.. seein what feels good or translates most accurate and goin with that.
If you could meet anyone for a cup of tea or coffee (or what beverage??), who would it be? And what would you ask?
Sunra for some tea and discussion… I’d hit him with questions like:: Does the other side resemble how he felt here? … Where did the inspiration for his sound come from & how did he gain the access and reach** what was his methods of translating the design...
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