The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience, later renamed JPS Experience after the estate of

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

threatened a

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

, were an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band on

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Flying Nun Records Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringin ...

History

The band was formed in 1984 by Dave Yetton (vocals, bass guitar), Gary Sullivan (drums), and Dave Mulcahy (guitar).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 382 They were later joined by a second vocalist and guitarist, Jim Laing. Their first crudely recorded demo tape was supplied to university radio stations around the country in a can. It contained early versions of the songs "Einstein" and "Crap Rap" that would appear on subsequent releases. In 1986 they were asked to record a track for the "Weird Culture, Weird Custom" compilation produced by the student radio network. Their track was "Let That Good Thing Grow", which was re-released on their first album. They were subsequently signed by Flying Nun, who issued their eponymous début EP in January 1987, and début album ''Love Songs'' the same year, described by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

as "an exceptional - if short - affair".Jansen, Skip " ''Love Songs'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-10-09 After two further albums for the label, they added keyboard player Russell Baillie and abbreviated their name to the JPS experience after being threatened with legal action by Sartre's estate. After three EPs, Baillie departed in 1993, and the band released their fourth (and final) album, ''Bleeding Star'', which took a noisier approach than their earlier recordings, drawing comparisons with

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

and My Bloody Valentine.Jansen, Skip " ''Bleeding Star'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-10-09 Mulcahy had left during the album's recording, forming Monster and later

Superette A superette is an alternative name for a compact supermarket or "mini-mart". Etymology In French, the ''ette'' ending conveys the idea of a smaller version of a supermarket ('). However, supermarket has been shortened to ''super'' - leaving ...

and Eskimo, who released one album before shortening their name to

Kimo KIMO (107.3 FM, "The Mighty Mo 107FM") is a commercial radio station located in Townsend, Montana and serves the Helena area. KIMO airs a country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated i ...

. He was replaced by Matt Heine, formerly of Solid Gold Hell. The band continued until their split in 1994. After the demise of JPS Experience, David Yetton recorded two albums with

The Stereo Bus The Stereo Bus are a New Zealand band, formed by David Yetton, formerly of the Jean-Paul Sartre Experience. The band recorded two albums: ''The Stereo Bus'' in 1997 and ''Brand New'' in 1999 and were originally active between 1997 and 2000. I ...

and one solo album, as well as playing with

The Mutton Birds The Mutton Birds were a New Zealand rock music group formed in Auckland in 1991 by Ross Burge, David Long and Don McGlashan, with Alan Gregg joining a year later. Four of their albums reached the top 10 on the New Zealand Albums Chart ...

. James Laing released one solo album and Gary Sullivan performed on the first Stereo Bus album and on early

Dimmer A dimmer is a device connected to a light fixture and used to lower the brightness of the lighting, light. By changing the voltage waveform applied to the lamp, it is possible to lower the luminous intensity, intensity of the light output. Alt ...

releases. Sullivan joined Solid Gold Hell. Jim Laing died on 12 April 2016 of natural causes. Before his death the band had been in talks to reunite and write new material. The band later played a one off-show, on 22 April 2016 at the newly refurbished Hollywood Theatre in Avondale to commemorate their friend and bandmate Jim Laing.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Compilations

Singles

Compilation appearances

The group have appeared on some compilations and soundtracks both in New Zealand and in Australia. The following is a list of these albums: * (1999) - ''

Scarfies ''Scarfies'' (released as ''Crime 101'' in the United States) is a 1999 New Zealand black comedy film set in the southern university city of Dunedin. The film's original title comes from the local nickname for university students, scarfie, so ...

'' (

) - "Let There Be Love" & "Grey Parade" * (1987) - Weird Culture, Weird Custom "Let That Good Thing Grow" National Student Radio

References

External links

* AMG entrybr>Jean-Paul Sartre Experience at Flying NunAudioCulture profile
{{Authority control Flying Nun Records artists New Zealand indie rock groups Dunedin Sound musical groups