FKJ releases painstakingly mesmerizing ‘Ylang Ylang’ EP

FKJ is an artistic rarity these days. The multi-instrumentalist, producer, and R&B/soul artist, whose acronym means French Kiwi Juice, has a sort of talent and approach that goes unmatched in the music industry. His live sets are a soulful, one-man display of impressive talent that utilizes guitars, piano, saxophone, synthesizers, and more.

Now FKJ has managed to dig even deep into his mind with a new six-track EP, Yang Ylang. The final product is every bit as personal as it is enchanting, painstakingly heart-wrenching, and mesmerizing.

“It’s the name of the place I stayed isolated for months in the jungle,” FKJ is quoted in a press release. “I want to present it a more like a conceptual one, like a film scoring of that time and place.”

The soulful EP was birth during a tumultous time in the artist’s life. For six months in 2019, FKJ escaped the pressures of his daily life by isolating himself in a jungle in Southeast Asia.

“There is almost no one there,” he says. “No electricity. I was making music out of a generator that was running only by night. The most beautiful landscapes, mountains, beaches. It’s one of my favourite places in the world. When I made music there it felt kind of like a dream state.”

To celebrate the full EP release, out now on Mom + Pop, FKJ has shared a music video for the project’s title track. The clip was filmed in the jungle, where FKJ erected his make-shift studio.

Watch the video for “Ylang Ylang” and listen to the full EP below.

Photo credit: Jack McKain.