For Jupe Jupe’s Bryan Manzo, synthesis isn’t just about electricity—it’s about texture and sound. “What if Marc Bolan played guitar on Depeche Mode’s Black Celebration or Trent Reznor programed synths on Echo & The Bunnymen’s Heaven Up Here? That’s the sonic firmament we tried to build for ‘Kill Your Darlings,’” says Manzo, who mixes it up on guitar, bass and sax for the Seattle quartet.
“Kill Your Darlings” is the latest focus track from Jupe Jupe’s upcoming self-released LP, King Of Sorrows, due in February. For the past 15 years, the darkwave stalwarts have been refining and redefining their cinematic collision of post-punk melodies, dense synths, angular guitars and pumping grooves. Among their eight albums and EPs, perhaps the most notable is a bracing 2014 remix collection, Cut-Up Kisses, which features collaborations with Lusine, Rick G. Nelson (Afghan Whigs), Mike Simonetti, Erik Blood and other cutting-edge producers.
For “Kill Your Darlings,” Jupe Jupe was targeting a specific vibe. “We wanted to drive a pulsing bass, tribal drums and post-punk rhythmic-guitar jangle,” says Manzo. “Our lyrics often arrive more as a process of channeling than grinding. Here they tell a tale of something every artist struggles with: what to keep and what to kill.”
We’re proud to premiere Jupe Jupe’s “Kill Your Darlings.”
—Hobart Rowland
See Jupe Jupe live.
