JP Cooper is a British singer-songwriter, whom I have followed and listened to his music since 2016. He has two albums produced, Raised Under Grey Skies and She, that depicts heavily over relationships. A lot of these are through the revelations of Cooper’s own personal experience that he has witnessed or gone through and placed them into melodies. One song, Need You Tonight, for example, was influenced by his own past relationship with a woman that he had an off and on again relationship with as he shared at his concert at The Sinclair in Cambridge- Harvard Square. His music, that follows the genre of pop and soul, equivocally entices the movement of emotions and relationships we have with the world around us and the people that have or haven’t met in our lives. Similar to the song, If the World Should Ever Stop, that came out during the years of COVID Pandemic and exposing the connectivity that we should have amongst one another when the times are rough.
His stylistic choices in producing albums incorporates into threes. 1. the real version, 2. the acoustic, and 3. the choir version. Each melody, and each note that is placed throughout the vibrations and tones of the music elicits emotions and feelings at different times in many different ways. In my own personal experience listening to his music, I have been able to connect to his music on a multitude of ways. Each version allows me to form the emotion that not only the song is producing but also discover how I feel and respond to that version. The choir and acoustic, typically, are my favorite styles. I am able to feel every word, look back and understand how the songs made me feel.
In March of 2023, He performed a set of songs ranging from both albums and singles that he has released. In Boston, he performed the song, Perfect Strangers, that expresses the connectivity between two people meeting for the first time. Even with the thought that they may no longer be in touch or contact, they take the moments they have together. The performance, not only casted the emotional bond that was built between music, tone, audience, and performer but it also connected the people who listen to the music. The relationships and the understandings were interlocked in those moments, for one night.
I remember standing in the front, leaning on the taped-up lining of the stage. I felt the vibrations of the electric guitar, the drums, and the overall flow of the concert and how it illuminated the happiness within me. As this song began, Cooper stood in the back, wrapping his arms around his chest and closing his eyes. He began to sway with each step he took side to side and smile that began to grow. The emotions that grew in him also grew in his audience. I felt the overwhelmingly joy of the witnessing performance we were back to experience.
His performance didn’t derive for the artificial stereotype of typical concerts. Instead, he spoke stories, the meaning behind the songs, and spoke on how he originally was scared to go on tour. The authenticity that was presented in his character was presented, too, in the music. As the beats and vibrations began to course through my body, I felt the weight of the meaning of the song.
I began to create my own “Perfect Strangers” with the women that were standing in the front row with me. We didn’t know each other before and I have not spoken to them since; yet, in that moment we shared a bond and understood each other similar to what the song was speaking to.
” Who knows the secret tomorrow will hold?
We don’t really need to know
‘Cause you’re here with me now, I don’t want you to go
You’re here with me now, I don’t want you to go.”
(JP Cooper performing Perfect Strangers)
At the beginning of the song, as Cooper stood in the back of the stage, his electric guitarist opened up the song with the first several cords. Immediately did the music radiant beyond the surface. As the music grew, the realization that the studio version will never authenticate, truly, the impact that this performance had to each song, especially Perfect Strangers. This performance became a view that there doesn’t need to be a grand gesture of the concert environment( big scenes, stages, dance breaks, and crowd surfing). If anything, having a genuine, stand-still performance could elicit more appreciation and understanding of the words and the music.
Once the electrical introduction began to subside awaiting for the words to be told, Cooper uncrossed his arms and wrapped his hands around the microphone. Throughout the entire performance of the song, and overall the performance of the song he stood in that content behavior. For the majority of the time, he closed his eyes. In the most vulnerable state, in a performance that breaks away from the consistent engagement of dances, and movements the stand-still act creates more of an emotional connection like this song brought.
Perfect Strangers has always been one of my favorite songs that JP Cooper has released. Even though he is featured in this song, and each time it is in a rendition, Cooper allows the greatness through the words and sounds of the performance rather than what he does specifically. I think that is what separates him from most artists. He performs through the verses, each word, and the crowd’s reaction rather than presenting this grandiose concert where there is constant motion. And, in some retrospect the small venue adds to the nostalgia of what music can encompass. I appreciate music where I can feel through the soul and vibrations of the tunes.
Experiencing multitude of variations with concerts, Pop, Country, and rock bands like Queen, for me, brings out intimate emotions that are shared equivocally between artist, the song, and the audience. To this day I still remanence of that night.