Savan DePaul’s “Pisstopian Juke” is an anti-capitalist fever dream

Following a couple exploratory releases by their glam-tinged, surreal pop persona Ishtar Sr., Philadelphia producer and vocalist Savan DePaul returns to their own name for a hard-hitting hip-hop single that’s equal parts cutting, cosmic, and politically conscious.

“Pisstopian Juke” presents a fast and rattling beat that mixes robust low-end kick beats with brittle gong sounds; a touch of pulsing keyboards gives this track the vibe of a melancholic fever dream, while DePaul and featured vocalist Benny Francis deliver state-of-the-world observations.

The lyrics are packed with images of division and violence, greed and betrayal, and a lack of empathy from the powers that be. In one of their verses, DePaul delivers the pointed lyric “Maybe for a yuppie things are cool / While the rest waddle with our tools / And our leaders all take us for fools / Currency means you can bend the rules.”

Subsumed in a inequitable and toxic system, DePaul and Francis find a powerful release in art, sound, and poetry; listen below. “Pisstopian Juke” will appear on Savan DePaul’s next album, grays ferry hollowed, which can be pre-ordered at Bandcamp.