FKJ: French Kiwi Juice (2LP) [ROCHE MUSIQUE]

Why you'll love it

This gatefold 2LP set comes with an insert carrying alternate artwork on one side and lyrics with photos on the other. Vincent Fenton wrote, played and sang nearly everything himself.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Gatefold jacket
• Alternate art and lyric insert

About the album

The name explains itself once you know the family: Vincent Fenton was born in Tours to a French mother and a father from New Zealand, and grew up on his parents' records, from Led Zeppelin and The Police to Nina Simone and Miles Davis. He trained in sound engineering for film before turning his bedroom into a one-man band.

French Kiwi Juice is the sound of that one-man band at full stretch: guitar, keys, bass, sax and voice, all layered into warm, sun-dappled grooves that sit somewhere between French house, neo-soul and jazz. "Skyline" shimmers, "Better Give U Up" glides on a lazy bassline, "Canggu" drifts in from a Bali beach, and "Vibin' Out" pairs him with June Marieezy, whom he later married. The whole record carries the same loose, after-hours warmth, like a long summer evening with the windows open.

His live shows, looping every part in real time, took him to Coachella and Lollapalooza. He makes it look so easy that every guitarist in the shop now owns a loop pedal, and so far none of us have married anyone over it.

Also at Kops: more FKJ on vinyl · browse Electronic

Tracklist

Listen

On Roche Musique (cat# RM039), the 2017 album.