In the defense of French groove, Roche Musique might be the only label truly protecting and pushing a genre currently being watered down by some of the more popular players. It’s easy to beg and borrow from the classically routed sound, but this crew of producers have made it their focus to embrace its entire essence. Founded by Cezaire back in 2012, RM’s roster bolsters a stellar array of talent like Kartell, Darius, Zimmer and Dabeill to name a few, but there’s one artist we haven’t stopped listening to since his live show at the Velvet Underground a few months back.
French Kiwi Juice (or FKJ for short) marries the down-under tropical vibe from his home continent of New Zealand with the Parisian disco groove from his now-home of France. Inspired by surroundings, his funk feel can be explained by the contradicting dichotomy of futuristically retro. For anyone who’s been lucky enough to take in his live show, you know the dude sweats talent as he juggles between beat machines, keyboards, bass and rhythm guitars, and of course, the crowd-pleasing saxophone. Don’t believe us? Take a look.
Artists often aspire to one day craft their own unmistakably authentic sound, this 25-year-old has somehow managed to do in that just a couple of years. You can spot a FKJ remix or original from miles away from his signature progressive basslines and guitar licks.
Dig in, follow along and feel comfort in knowing you now have an answer to that “desert island” artist question. Because if we could be left on a tropical paradise with these vibes, feel free to leave us there.
On The Rise is our spotlight series on new and emerging artists. We last featured Oshi. Follow our series to find out who’s our next On The Rise artist!