FKJ

In the wake of his second album, ‘V I N C E N T’, the genre voyager FKJ’s career was in the midst of a period of non-stop momentum, defined by a relentless world touring schedule that included stops at Coachella, Red Rocks, London’s Hammersmith Apollo & Paris’ Le Zenith. Yet in contrast, his personal life - the things that gave him meaning - was floundering. He stumbled across a video that piqued his interest as to why: the Hinduistic belief that being 33-years-old is a tumultuous time when life can either surge onwards or sink into a downward spiral. Diving deeper into the theory, conversations with many of his friends revealed that they had gone through similar troubles at that same age. All of those issues were the result of another contrast. He had made the majority of ‘Vincent’ during lockdown alone in his remote home studio in East Asia. But as the world opened up and show offers rolled in, FKJ went full-throttle - without realising the personal price he would pay. While his life was unravelling, fate dictated that the transcendent powers of nature and friendship could reverse its trajectory. When a trusted friend guided him to a retreat, FKJ had no idea what it would involve: he simply trusted their guidance and embraced the experience. During a deeply transformative state of consciousness, aided by the powers of nature, he encountered a tree-like figure named Tyber—an experience that, in its profound depth, felt as though it lasted for an intangible duration. “It’s what closed that chapter of my life” recalls FKJ. “That experience changed everything, it all just fell back into place”. FKJ had been documenting his journey in songs as he wrote material for his upcoming third album, originally titled ‘Shift’ in recognition of the changes he was enduring. Buoyed by a new-found positivity, he dropped some of the more melancholic songs while also reworking others. It evolved into a very different sonic experience, a record now named - what else? -…