John Kiran Fernandes
II
Cloud Recordings

John K. Fernandes (JKF) is one of the core members within the Elephant 6 collective, as he joined the superb psychedelic poppers The Olivia Tremor Control in 1994 (as well as the OTC side-project Black Swan Network). When OTC took on hiatus around 2000, JKF went on with the super-duper Circulatory System along with 'the remains' of OTC (R.I.P. Bill Doss, 1968-2012). John has played/performed with numerous E6 bands (and related), such as The Apples in Stereo, The Music Tapes, Elf Power, A Hawk And A Hacksaw, The Instruments, Calvin, Don't Jump!, Major Organ and the Adding Machine (?), The Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour Band, and others.

Fernandes is also the co-founder of the Cloud Recordings label, and he has performed with numerous E6 related acts/bands/artists such as Nesey Gallons, Old Smokey, The New Sound of Numbers, Supercluster, Dream Boat, Ham1, Jacob Morris, to name a few. Yes, he is a major player around the Athens, GA indie music scene (he's also a staff member at the legendary Wuxtry record store in Athens).

His new album II is a different cup of tea. JKF is a multi-instrumentalist (violins, clarinets, bass guitar, +) who put out his self-titled solo debut album (on Cloud Recordings) in 2011. II holds five experimental instrumentals created and performed with (or with appearances by) various people of the art sound/noise area: Alec Livaditis; Courtney CJ Parker; Charlie Key; plus his two sons, Ravi Calhoun-Fernandes and Jeremy Kiran Fernandes. The two opening tracks are collaborations with electroacoustician Alec Livaditis (cello), who recently put out an album called Clear and Cloud (Kye Records) on which JKF appears. "Sleepy Hollow" is a spooky, eerie number of a minimalist sound and tones experiment. The second track is an untitled (?), 12-minutes-4o-seconds-long live recording with the gents improvising/duelling with violin and cello. On "Kalimba & Marimba" Parker steps in on... his Marimba (sort of a wooden Xylophone) and Kalimba (a thumb piano), right, for a soft and gentle Marimba/Kalimba meets Fernandes' Clarinet. This is quite a comfortable listen. "My Sons" is another short, melodic track presented by father and sons, while the closing "Freehand" along with guitarist Charlie Key is a longer (22'36") journey with the pair of gents' Freehand improv project. All in all, this is a challenging album far from the poppy and catchy path of many of the E6 bands. The project album is tagged 'experimental pop world ambient', which is quite a precise labelling. Nevertheless, you should dive in for a listening round yourself, but personally, this is music I prefer to hear live in concert. However, check your 'local' Bandcamp. II will also be available (soon) on cassette tape through the label Hope For The Tape Deck, and probably on vinyl (via Cloud) as well.

Copyright © 2015 H. Oppøyen