SoundWaves: French Kiwi Juice

by J D June 01, 2017

THE SHORT:

French Kiwi Juice (or FKJ for short) is a genre-bending and multi-talented French musician who has recently released his funky/soulful/electronic self-titled debut album, French Kiwi Juice. And although this is his first official release, there’s a good chance you’re already familiar with one of his tracks, Lying Together, which actually released in 2012, but still made it on the album.

Aside from being a DJ and producer (borrring!), FKJ also happens to play guitar, bass, piano, and sax on top of the standard electronic production drum machines and keyboards, as well as laying down his own vocals. To get an idea of this versatility in action, check out these real time Red Bull jam session where he busts out an entire track instrument by instrument in minutes. (FKJ in Tokyo session // FKJ with Masego session). Yeah pretty nutty.

Video for FKJ's single, Skyline...

We’ve only been listening to FKJ for a few weeks, but the verdicts are in on his funky electronic vibes...

JOHN SAN:

To be real, I kind of had an unfair transcendental experience discovering FKJ at a vinyl only speakeasy in Tokyo, so I may be kind of partial… But this dude is amazing! After listening to the album in full at home I still couldn’t get enough, perfect morning vibes and work flow. It's also great how the music catches you by surprise every now and then when you think it’s about to be a predictable "beat". After doing some more research and finding out that he is playing all of these instruments himself everything made so much more sense. There is no way to imitate the improvisation of a jam session, and he is able to bring some elements of that to a few tracks.

The Ups: Sonically refreshing, love the jazz and funk vibes. I would love an album full of 8 minute epic jam out tracks from this guy. (Canguu, We Ain't Feeling Time,

The Downs: At times a little too R&B for my personal taste, but I do get that it ads to a more well rounded album. (Vibin' Out with (((O))), )

Final Words: Can we get FKJ and Anderson Paak in the studio together please?? Sheesh.

Chrissi:

If I had to choose one word to describe French Kiwi Juice’s debut album… exceptional. It’s been years since I’ve been inspired by the Electronic genre, mainly because I’m sick of hearing overly compressed songs with tasteless lyrics. However, FKJ offers versatility to another degree. I feel like it’s difficult to tie his music with a specific genre and that’s what makes him great. I’d say that my favorite song from this album is ‘Why Are There Boundaries”, the guitar riff in that song is impeccable, it’s so good that it makes my knees weak and has me questioning why more songs can’t possess this ability.

I also appreciate his song-writing abilities, the lyrics are a reflection of our social consciousness. It inspires you to be more inquisitive and ask more questions about the current state of affairs. The rest of the album is filled with a lot of layers, feel good tunes, amazing saxophone solos, unique samples, and raspy vocals. I’d definitely recommend it to someone that is striving to hear something truly different. Press play.

More of FKJ's music....

https://soundcloud.com/fkj-2

IG - @frenchkiwijuice

Let us know if you've had a chance to listen to FKJ, and share your thoughts with us here or on twitter ...

J D

Author

1 Response

Jon Moore

June 14, 2019

Hey what’s up? I stumbled upon your music on youtube a few months ago and I absolutely fell in love with it! Especially your piano bits! Could you maybe make loops of your piano solos available for download? Especially from Amsterjam, that’s my favorite one haha!