fesssi k.

fesssi k.

booking na: vivi@intranet-agency.com
booking row: info@intranet-agency.com
live sundays @ 6pm on sector.fm fesssi.k.music@gmail.com youtube ig

projects:

jock
humidity
tenderverse
tender, iii
tender, ii
tender, i

shows ‘26:

10.4 - girl noise @ bowery ballroom (ny)
10.2 - tba
9.13 _ the backyard (gville, fl)
8.28 - jock album release + show (st. pete, fl)
8.16 - books & beats (tampa, fl)
7.31 - salon on kingston (brooklyn, ny)
7.18 - learning (clearwater, fl)
7.3 - SWEAT (st. pete, fl)
6.19 - beatsnchill (tampa,fl)
6.6 - emo night, crowbar (tampa, fl)
6.4 - dyke nite thicker than g.r.i.t.s, crowbar (tampa fl)
5.29 - house party (tampa, fl)
5.23 - booty bounce (st. pete, fl)
4.19 - oscrura (bradenton, fl)
4.11 - big caaf (gainesville, fl)
3.6 - the bends (st, pete, fl)
2.28 - punk black (tampa, fl)
2.7 - deep bite ep release, S.P.O.T (tampa, fl)
1.1 - hawthorne bottle (st. pete, fl)

outlets:

learning x fesssi k. interview
start track x “southern trees” write up
live @ pulp arts x fesssi k.
cltampa x fesssi k jock album write-up
cltampa x fesssi k. @ punk black
the gabber x wsg
wfla x wsg
arkive media x fesssi k.

Last Updated 24.10.31

9.7.26

https://amandaldn.substack.com/p/is-your-work-cool-or-does-it-just

such an excellent read, tap in

<333

southern trees music video :)

9.2.26

i’m still processing the entirety of last week bruh...truly..incredible...
i couldn’t have asked for better really.. and that’s not to say there weren’t things because believe me there were things, not least of which these obtuse fuckos i work with (why must insecure, older, fake bosses attempt to make their problems ours..) but like alll the good totally outweighed everything else. eclipsed it, down (did anyone catch that the other night? it looked like a giant eyeball in the sky looking into the beyond imo). the release show was crazyy..thank you so much if you came, i appreciate you SO much. and of course my friends playing that night too was just..well, how i want it to always be/feel-us playing shows for + with one another. the jock merch came out sooo tea jeeeez, many o’ thanks to mia for the buttons and salad for the ribbons + custom jock tee :,, my mom and sister slid too which was a real treat. AND SUNDAY the aunties threw down and cooked me a properrr traditional feast that complettely revitaluzed me. foofoo, crain crain, jollof + stew, scotch eggs...i cried. i needed that hug in the form of food for some time lol<3

8.28.26

“jock” out now!!!! today my debut lp, my baby for the past year or so, is yours :,,). thank you so much to micah, noel, vonne, and clay for helping me make this album and bring it’s vision forward in the best possible way. thank you sol + valentina for lending a kind listening ear throughout it’s many lives and thank you jeff buckley <3

one of the very first times we played “her words” at clay’s we were just messing around, sort of warming up a bit before recording it. micah had stepped out for some water and i didn’t know it in that moment but it was clay’s favorite on the record. as we’re playing he runs behind the drums just in time for the drop and starts wailing on ‘em. me, noel + vonne were hysterical because that was probably the fastest we’ve ever seen that man move loll. i hope “jock” moves everyone who listens🤎

“fesssi k. is never one to do things half-heartedly. The Gulf Coast of Florida native grew up as a gymnast, and would later become a star cheerleader, fully leaning into the conditioning, training and rigorous study that goes into being the best you can be. It’s a discipline that was instilled from an early age by her parents––originally from Sierra Leone––that has cemented her approach to anything she sets her mind to. Towards the end of high school, her mind moved to music, where she met the crate-diggers who would grow into her community and her creative inspirations.

As the years continued, she devoured the likes of Dipset, Big Tymers and Outkast with the slacker rock of Pavement and Duster and the neo-soul of Solange and Tirzah; she picked up Ableton and started making her own beats; she produced the songs of her friends and attended show after show after show; she picked up a guitar; she started a radio show and, after noticing the lack of female representation, formed the beloved DIY collective We’re Sweet Girls. A true immersion that quickly blossomed into a craft: jock, her first full-length, is an ode to her truest form and an accumulation of the hard work it takes to make something completely authentic.

2020 saw the beginning of a string of releases, focused around fesssi k.’s love for composing on her computer but in 2024, during the onset of Hurricane Helene, her laptop broke, and the power went off in her place for the better part of a week. Bored, lonely, uncomfortable and scared, she turned to the guitar that she’d been learning over the past year. What started as a hindrance turned into a gift, and the guitar led to 30+ songs in a matter of days. Gorgeous, glacial tempos and celestial finger picking dance alongside delicate vocals, merging into the kaleidoscopic, drifting atmosphere that would cement the direction she’d be searching for. After a trio of EPs: tender,i , tender,ii and tender,iii, fesssi.k’s debut LP jock celebrates the fruition of taking chances.

It’s an album deeply rooted in the south, observing the characters found in coffee shops, dive bars, the local scene and fesssi k’s beloved neighborhood. After learning about Demartravion “Trey” Reed’s lynching and murder on Delta State University campus in Mississippi, fesssi turned to Nina Simone’s “Strange Fruit” and channeled her rage and tears into “southern trees,” a distorted hymn that transforms grief into joy, pointing towards soft childhood memories. “stargirl” centers itself in the belly of a creep, who uses his privilege to house his eyes as arrows, piercing through the safety those in the service industry deserve. Fuzzed strums and trip-hop tendencies anchor the irritation.

fesssi k. turns her attention to country-rock on “sleep better knowing,” using an old, looped Alesis drum machine and a meaty chord progression to voice her frustration with the choices some of her friends make. The guitar picks on “you’re no hero” mimic the north star reference, while fesssi k. navigates the reality of folks containing complex, sometimes disappointing multitudes, even those we consider our heroes.

The artwork for jock features a seven-year-old fesssi k., doing a push up in the middle of a family function. This is the crux of the album: someone determined to be themselves, to be their best and to feel it all, surprising those around her with resolve and vigor. It takes up space and celebrates the euphoria of fully leaning into sincerity, while her community surrounds her with nourishment and motivation. Written by fesssi k. and built upon in part by her bandmates, Micah Jno Baptiste (Drums), Noel Colon (Lead guitarist) and Vonne Parks (Bass), jock is the result of coaching yourself to go the distance.” — bio by the wonderful sammy maine

8.24.26

minutes until birthday<3
hosting an intimate lil album wrap dinner for the band + clay at the house; vonne has roasted 2, count ‘em 2, whole chickens :’’ and my spleen is fully split from laughter...clay may be the funniest man alive loll
it’s gonna be a really good/emo week and i’m gonna gift myself a new moleskine, graddddayyy

8.21.26

because i wasn’t able to come home that day (sunday) it sort of felt like i was out of town or something. like it reminded me of how i have to move and plan when i’m in ny. i thought it’d be a lot more stressful because i knew from jump i wasn’t crossing that bridge before the end of the day but it was actually a really nice day. i was just galavanting, hopping from one thing to the next, nothing wild or out of the ordinary, and that may have been what made it feel so nice and freeing even. these bigger bits and killing time in between them. i dont really spend a whole lot of time over there either so in a lot of ways i was out of town. after practice the other night i was talking with a friend who is moving to a new city and they were describing how it’d be a little weird having to find a new grocery store and post office and stuff, which so true. it’s funny, its like just enough of a change to have all this newness, but familiar enough to not feel like your totally starting over.
somehow only one week away from jock, whichhh<33 really excited to be back in gainesville next month too...other bits tba for the rest of the year as far as fk, yayay.
also birday next week which did not plan lol...but very cool that that and my first album are happening in the same week. thank you if you’ve ever supported me as a person or an arteest.
the charlie show was everythingg, literal medicine. grateful to experience their music, always.
bishop is easily becomimg one of my favorite friends to talk to about like... art shit. it’s nothing too headass we just be having major critiques on the state of things and explore them in our conversations + pick one anothers brains, it’s nice. thank you friend.
the learning media swap was soo cool +++ found a bday gift for a friend that i cannottt wait to give them :D

8.15.26

had a hang with one of my favorite people in the world thursday, super chill just at the house. it’d been a little since we saw each other so we had some bits to catch up on. somehow, some way, no matter how much time has passed we’re completely and totally in sync...it’s freaky lol. we just share so many lessons and parallels. a circling topic we - and honestly a few friends of mine - were discussing was the stark realization that we can’t make a goal of ours befreinding artists who’s work we look up to. they are not their art, which sounds super simple or obvious but like...yea it kind of was glossed over a taste, somehow. nothing crazy just like, “oh yeah i just feel like we’d really get on” or “can’t wait to act up with that person” and as harmless as that is or whatever it’s just ultimately irrelevant. an extreme example is there’s this pretty poppin dj my friend had been reallyy into for a minute that reached out to her, wanting to perform at one of her parties. the next day she’s scrolling and see’s them going on this crazy, homophobic, racist, rant...surprising? no because nothings off limits when it comes to people showing their ass but it immediatly snapped her out of it. she was like “ohhh righttt someone making cool ass mixes or music doesn’t meen that they’re a cool person haha..our community and circle here is like that but it’s truly a rarity. the rest of yall have to get vetted before being brought around my people. definitely before any “friendship” can happen.” and i couldnt agree more friend. i had a much less egregious instance of my own. this summer i went to a concert and the band was talking in between tunings n such, regular shit. oh also let me be sure to mention i did some shit that like i neverr do which is brought a tape with me. i think my thought process was like ya know what if a cool convo gets going at the merch table or the bathroom even (lol) anddd it comes up, i’ll have one to give them (?). anyway,the front person said something - that to be clear, genuinely wasn’t even anything wilddd - but was enough for me to get turned off and taken out of whatever enchantmenet i was kinda under...it literally felt like a legitimate bubble was popped or like i’d just been thumped square in the center of my forehead by my paternal grandma (much more of lucile’s thing, festina was a loyal subscriber of “the look”, just as painful). the rest of that night i just kept saying to myself, ohhhh it literally can’t be about anyone else...not they’re cosign/approval....not their love....nothingggg...just myself. it’s futile and actually kind of the most surefire way to sabatoge yourself and your art. i love these aha moments bruh, thank god fr.
++boom, the album has been officially annoucenced heeee
i’m just so excited to not be 1 of 5 people who know about it’s existance anymore. cd’s also came in!!
very grateful folks are fucking with the southern trees music video, i put a whole lot into that editing dude<3
*ooo n shout out to kelly for helping me with location scouting!*

8.13.26

southern trees + music video + “jock” announcement out friday gahhh
*no spotyy, yall knew that though<3*8.13.26

(cont.)

last couple days were exactlyy what i needed
played some pool + darts + caught up with my sweet bbs zuri + jalynn<3 - missing junie too of course but .5 will be reunited soon and it willl feel so good. happy to see her thriving and growing, it’s somehow better than hanging out lol...which is saying a whole lot bc junie as we all know is a hoot n a half. i’m excited by everything they do...very inspiring young women that i love to love + support.
brought (+)feedback back and that was such a sweet time. god i love music.
i’m so grateful to everyone that popped out last night (ik i say that a lot..that “i’m grateful”...and i swearrr i mean it every single time, highkey blessed as hell). stuff like this is part of my purpose. met a guy for the first time last night (well a few people actually, yay!) and we have mutuals fs, kind person. he told me i have vision and that...really touched me, thank you young man :,, and thank you johnny, kingsley + aj for cutting up during nino superior’s set lmao, those moves will neverrr leave my mind...tried my hand at some as well and nearly ate concrete :D the gulf coast is sooo unmatched bruh, it’s actually not even funny (the next time you’re in another city pay attention - no shade - and you’ll see what i mean)...
i also caught up with my grams - my artist namesake in fact - on the way home the other day, just catching her up on like the last couple/few weeks of my life and she was cracking me up as per, talm bout “you’re going places girl!!” haaa...she’s so inquisitive when it comes to my art + life. she wants all the details and immediately afterwords she brags to my aunties and mom about how we be talking regulary lol... in a lot of ways i feel sooo much like her. we even *almost* share the same birthday (2 days apart). i needed to hear her say that though, especially right now. stg sometimes a particulare moment in time can feel simultaniously like the best/most exciting time and kinda the worst...multitudes, ebs & flows, ikik<3

missing this apartment + paprika :,,
*fullyyyy, agressively allergic to cats btw haa...but she and her mint eyed, jet black sister were just too purfect.
my eyes were swolennnn shut that first night but it was highkey worth it..plus bbgirl (the apt owner) had the loud pack of benadryl in the medicine cabinet so i was just peachy the next morning..

my lovely friends being smiley + cute

(verse 2 of “you’re no hero”)

i like doo and don’t pay attention to the lil animations on the screen at the bowling alley lol...regardless, these felt actually insane and i couldn’t stop laughing...just very very silly + absurd for no reason

pt.192844738 of why my living room is my favorite place in the world<3

introducing learning to the gang :)
i still am in awe of the fact that we did this...we own and operate a diy venue/community space in the mf gulf coast....sector has a home inside (naturally), and there’s nothing but love that exists here...that is let inside of here...that is evergrowing here...gratefulgratefulGRATEFULLLL

took a trip to pains prairie this spring, the last morning of big caaf:)

something to scratch your brain...

home away from home (gville) - pulp arts live session
micah went so hard he snapped his drumstick...not pictured is peanut, noel and mia’s new doggo. he’s the size of junie’s head and beautiful, they shall meet soon.

2. you’re no hero :)

final day of recording the album, **** :,,,,)))
so so so grateful for these wonderful people...i love them so much, and this project wouldn’t have been possible without them...they brought it to life in a major way...i owe dem forever<333

before we left for new york - well really, the whole trip/reason for planning a show was on the back of this festival (lol)...noel told us about it and immediatelyyy had to get tickets...precious, samba, ml, slauson, tlf, PLSSSS...and once we did i was like well shit we should also try and play a show while we’re up there and we were able to which was awesome. made some new pals and saw some sweet old ones. i’m sorry noel and coletrane for putting us an hour out the way *sighhhhhh* thankfully we made it just in time for tlf and allll was well....was absolutely horrified though....hate hate hateeee being late. bless their patience wid me.

“southern trees” still
very pround of the writing on this song (instrumental and lyrically). i felt soo connected to everything i was doing. everything that influeneced me. it was also of course heartbreaking...but cathartic...that’s something(?)...natural even

nurk ‘26 >> kindaaaa beat my ass lol...or more so getting there did-not pictured is me balling in the airport bc i missed my flight (first for everything) anddd they were saying yeaa so $1500 to get there tmrw night plus $100 cancellation fee if you wanna cancel the whole thing (it was a round trip)...it was humbling and horrifying, cannot lie. like i said once we got their though it was easy peasy; got to chat + hang with some pals, got lost on the train once which was irritating bc we were like now an hour late to outline fest but we made it THANK GOD :,,)

when your friend asks you to go to the show, goooo to the show.
there’s still sm processing to do with this one too...novely + their fans are like this whirlwind of concetrated, tender, rapturous, devoted love. and it’s not so much that you see it amongst them on stage as much as it is that that feeling inhabits you. inescabably...i’ve got a real love for this music and this...expression....universe...etc

<’,,’>

lindsey + vonne, selectors open deck ‘25

pal practice around christmas (??) last year-heee
playing in this band is genuinely a gift.

<333

em n junieee<3

early november ‘25 when zion came to visit..yayy 4 aussie pals<3

a kitten with no ears, a vampire, and avril lavigne, oct ‘25