PREMIERE: Ottawa artist Pter P releases his highly anticipated debut LIT album

 Ottawa artist Pter P Releases His Highly Anticipated Debut LIT Album

Ottawa, ON – We’re very excited to announce that we’ve teamed up with Ottawa artist Pter P for the premiere of his highly anticipated debut EP LIT.

“LIT” is an acronym for “Lost In Translation” and serves as a very humbling reminder to listen. Because wires get crossed and communication gets misinterpreted. According to Pter, our generation is so overly reliant on texting and social media that we often misinterpret the messages people are trying to convey. Instead of relying on subliminals or allusions, Pter P gives us a straight-up, easily digestible account of his life story up until this point.

The album’s cover art features the Egyptian god of craftsmen and architects, Ptah, whose name bears a striking similarity to “Pter.” Pter was searching for hieroglyphic images to accompany the “Lost In Translation” concept when he came across an image of Ptah and knew he had to incorporate it into his artwork. This album serves as an introduction to the Ottawa artist (currently based in Toronto) and his signature brand of dark-edged, introspective bars.

Pter has a distinct heaviness to his flow; and a penchant for working with international producers (including Mississippi-based Nikko Bunkin and Italy-based Lytton Scott). Check out the premiere for LIT below, and scope our in-depth interview with Pter P after the jump.

“People need to speak in person more often and recapture the essence of what it means to communicate human-to-human. If you listen to my music, you’ll find this message behind the theme.”

– Pter P

HipHopCanada: Start off by telling how this project all came together for you, and what the significance of it is to you.

Pter P: Man… completing this album was a war of attrition. It truly captured an era of my life including all the ups and downs I’ve been through this past year. It’s hard to define the significance in words and for that reason I would encourage anyone who wants to know more about me to give this album a listen. I poured my heart and soul into this project and in many ways my music will tell my story better then I ever could through words alone.

HipHopCanada: I found it very interesting that you opened up the project with “Go Home.” Explain why you opted to have that record as the opening track. I’d see it as more of a last-track kind of thing.

Pter P: Part of the rational was simple… I had shot a video for the record (available on YouTube now) which got me some recognition. And so logically I wanted people who’ve heard my sound to immediately recognize the single and feel prompted to give the rest of my album a listen. I put a lot of significant emotion into writing the record. The record brought out two different types of styles that best represent me: high-tone singing and monotone rapping. At first when I got the production from Lytton, I almost felt the production was beyond my capabilities. I had the instrumental for two months; doing trial-and-error references to see how I wanted to present myself. It was going to be my first big record. I couldn’t let the producer down… or myself especially. The other reason is because in many ways my journey with this project began when I left home and began coming to Toronto to work with my team at Bøta House. I knew this was start of a very important journey for me and my professional career. And so for chronological purposes I felt like it made sense to have “Go Home” as track numero uno.

HipHopCanada: I don’t know if it’s an intentional thing, but there’s a very distinct heaviness to your sound. I think part of it is the way you sing-rap a lot of your lyrics and use slower BPMs. It weighs heavy.

Pter P: It’s just … well.. haha… that’s just my sound, I guess. There was never a strategy to sound a certain type of way or fit any kind of mould. The beats I’ve chosen and my delivery is a direct reflection of my vibe at the time. I try to let the whole process occur as organically as possible. I started emphasizing more & using my diaphragm more often. Some records will sound dark and some will sound upbeat and that will almost always reflect what’s going on in my life at that time. I always want my music to be a raw and unfiltered glance into the life of Pter P.

HipHopCanada: Talk to me about the significance of the title “LIT” (i.e.: Lost In Translation).

Pter P: If you ask my friends they’ll say it’s ’cause they don’t understand half the shit I’m sayin’. Literally… lost in translation. When I’m excited I tend to talk too fast and rush my words. My friends would always be like “The f**k you sayin?”. But to be honest, it’s much deeper then that. The true significance of the album name is that in many ways – relating to personal relationships – so much of our communication is not interpreted in its true context. Mostly because our generation stays texting, DMing and tweeting. And so real conversations don’t naturally occur the way they supposed to. I’ve had fall-outs with women and friends as a result of miscommunication, and more generally speaking I feel like this whole generation is literally lost in translation. People need to speak in person more often and recapture the essence of what it means to communicate human-to-human. If you listen to my music, you’ll find this message behind the theme.

HipHopCanada: Which song on the project means the most to you, and why?

Pter P: Very tough… They all have a special significance to me but if I had to pick one I’d say “Mission.” “Mission” embodies my journey as well as my motivation. Every choice I’ve made – whether if it’s good or bad – my moms always supported me throughout my whole life and I wouldn’t be anything without her. Success is the only option, for her sake. She just wanted me to follow my heart. And most importantly, to be happy.

HipHopCanada: Tell me the story behind your cover art.

Pter P: The cover came together in a super trippy way. I was looking for a good image from Egyptian era of hieroglyphics to represent the title “Lost In Translation” when I found the Egyptian god of craftsmen and architects – Ptah! I couldn’t believe it. I’m like… I’m a craftsman and architect in my own light and my name is Pter so this meant to be. This Egyptian god would be the perfect embodiment of Pter P and LIT.

HipHopCanada: I’m curious as to who you worked with on the production side of things for LIT. Tell me more about that, and how those collaborations came about.

Pter P: This album has no features but I definitely leaned on my production team to help bring this thing to life. I wanted the first project to have no features so the listeners could better understand who I am and my lane. I’m proud to say I always write all my own lyrics. But on occasion I bounce ideas off my team. If something sounded good, they would tell me. What I loved about my team was that they weren’t hesitant to tell me what I shouldn’t do. Big shout out to the most hardworking producers I know – Lytton Scott ([from] Rome, Italy) and Nikko Bunkin ([from] Mississippi) – that helped me on my path towards the creation of LIT.

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