MUMBAI: Artist/producer and multi-instrumentalist French Kiwi Juice (FKJ) has announced his second studio album ‘V I N C E N T’ and shares the first single from the album – “Greener”, a collaboration with legendary guitarist Santana. Fans can watch the music video for “Greener” here fkj.ffm.to/greenervideo and pre-order ‘V I N C E N T’ here: fkj.ffm.to/vincent
FKJ grew up listening to the guitar legend’s music and during the making of his new album, he wrote Santana a letter thanking him for his inspiration. “I told him I would listen to the radio as a young boy, in the days before Spotify, waiting for his song ‘Smooth’ to come on so I could tape it, and that he plays his instrument like it has its own language and it speaks to me,” he says. “I just didn’t think he’d end up saying he’d be happy to play on my track.”
The resulting “Greener” is a sultry neo-soul jam that in many ways exemplifies who FKJ is, a virtuosic multi-instrumentalist and producer with one foot in the new world and one in the old, making soulful, limitless music for a restless, genre-fluid generation. His songs blur jazz, soul, folk, rock and experimental beats with an intricacy and intimacy that puts him on a par with the likes of Tom Misch, James Blake and Jacob Collier.
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Speaking further on the track and Santana collaboration, FKJ adds, “’Greener’ was a song that wrote itself in a night. The theme is something I often think about – our tendency to compare our life with others and envy it, even though we have everything we need. Especially with social media making everyone’s life look so perfect.
“It started with me messing around with the fender bass VI late at night. I love this instrument so much. I then wrote to it, added live drums and a lead guitar which I was playing in the first version of the song. A friend who heard this first version was telling me he could hear the Santana influence from that lead guitar. It made sense. I grew up with his music and have many memories listening and learning guitar to it. So I wrote him a letter, thanking him for all the inspiration all these years. I added a “p.s if you like the song Greener you are of course more than welcome to join”. It was kind of a joke and I had no expectations, but Carlos Santana heard the music and said he wanted to be a part of it.”
Speaking on the collaboration, Santana adds, “It is a joy to collaborate and share music with my brother Vincent (FKJ) on ‘Greener.’ Together we have painted a canvas of color, texture and musicality that we know will bring you courage and a deep awareness of your own light and life. Once that happens, there’s no division, separation, or fear. It’s just joy.”
‘V I N C E N T’ is FKJ’s second album and signals a new dawn, not just as a go-to producer and remixer for artists like PinkPantheress and Moses Sumney but as an artist in his own right, continuously selling out headline tours across the globe with his acclaimed ‘one-man-band’ live shows, and having a billion plus streams across all platforms for his music.
The concept for ‘V I N C E N T’ came about during a solo trip to Los Angeles before 2020. “I just stayed in this house totally on my own, turned my phone off and had some time away from everything to figure out what I wanted to do.”
Back in his home studio in the Philippines, with no wifi and an impending global lockdown, FKJ was quite literally cut off from the world, able to explore music’s endless possibilities. “Sometimes I would get into it for the whole night and go to bed when the sun came up.” Out of this freedom comes an expressionistic, touching album that’s impossible to pin down. There’s no more hiding behind a branch of leaves, as he did on the cover of his 2017 debut: ‘V I N C E N T’ marks FKJ out as a crucial new voice. He’s redefining chillout music with his bursts of late-night jazz sax and piano, coupled with his wood-cabin whispery vocals, recalling Bon Iver’s early work, and those Santana-styled guitar flourishes.
‘V I N C E N T’ Tracklisting:
1. Way Out
2. Greener ft. Santana
3. Us
4. The Mission
5. Can’t Stop ft. Little Dragon
6. IHM
7. Brass Necklace ft. ((( O )))
8. Different Masks For Different Days
9. A Moment Of Mystery ft. Toro y Moi
10. Let’s Live
11. Once Again I Close My Eyes
12. New Life
13. Does It Exist
14. Stay A Child
