John Gerrit Welmers is the keyboardist and programmer of synth-pop band Future Islands, and considered by the other band members as the musical brain behind it. Since 2006, he also has had an instrumental solo project called Moss of Aura.
Welmers met Samuel T. Herring in high school and they would become best friends. Herring was into hip-hop, Welmers was a Slayer fan, so making music together was not something they thought they’d ever do.
When in 2003, Samuel T. Herring met William H. Cashion while attending the East Carolina University and they formed the art performance band Art Lord & the Self-Portraits, Welmers ended up joining them on keyboards (despite only knowing how to play guitar).
In 2005 Art Lord & the Self-Portraits would disband and in early 2006, Welmers, Cashion and Herring, along with drummer Erick Murillo would form Future Islands. Murillo left in late 2007, and the band had Samuel Ortiz as drummer during the first half of 2008.
Welmers had already been doing some programming with an Akai Midi Keyboard controling Reason. When Future Islands' second drummer left the band, Welmers became in charge of the electronic drums. Despite using live drums when recording albums, it’s only from 2013 that the band would again have a drummer for live performances.
