FKJ: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

Nisha Venkat | July 7, 2022
Watching FKJ build a song is like watching him play a game of musical tetris. One second he's coaxing a rasping rhythm out of a drum set — the next, he's clambering over instruments to get to the mic before the beat kicks in.

The process might make you want to tape your eyes open. This is not Live Production 101, and FKJ (short for French Kiwi Juice, the stage name of Vincent Fenton) is not here to explain his genius. The French producer and multi-instrumentalist is perhaps best known for his assist on Masego's sultry, rollicking "Tadow," but there's only remnants of that energy here. This is new jazz: a synthy spectacle that's a treat for the ears and the eyes.

You get the sense – and Fenton confirms it – that he could spend all day tinkering in his studio. There's an ease to his motions when he grabs his guitar adding wah-wah sounds to his bassline on "IHM," and something very relatable about how even the cameraman struggles to keep up with his motions, sending Fenton in and out of focus.

Sometimes, he grimaces (with effort or with ecstasy, who knows) when he plucks a string just right. And you might be similarly moved. This has all the shivers of ASMR with all the emotive joy of a warehouse electronic fête. Maybe you'll even feel what I did when the music ended — a silence so large, so full, you'll want to tear down the screen and dance in the jungle with him.

SET LIST
"New Life"
"TUI"
"Improvised Jam Sesh"
"IHM"
"Ylang Ylang"

MUSICIANS
FKJ: vocals, electronics, guitar, keyboards

CREDITS
Video: Terence Ver Angsioco
Audio: FKJ

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Abby O'Neill
Video Editor: Joshua Bryant
Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
Tiny Production Team: Bob Boilen, Bobby Carter, Kara Frame, Michael Zamora, Maia Stern, Ashley Pointer
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

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