Kush Jones - Sleep

New York DJ & Producer Kush Jones release from last year is a joyous thing of funk’an’soul’and life affirming footwork.

Whether these tracks are orphans from a larger project or a standalone gift. There is an eclectic funkaplicity going on here that’s masterful. Sampling the Crowns of Glory 1976 track ‘I’m So Grateful (Keep in Touch)’ from ‘God Save the Children’ (Peacock), ‘Grateful’ holds a old school gospel soul funk to it that gains a modern inner city grit that helps elevate the original into a song for the times.

You have to hope Kush Jones does not fall to the same clearance pitfalls as; “Rick Ross and and his “3 Kings” cohorts — Jay Z, Dr. Dre, Jake One, and Universal Music who were or are being sued by the group for a list of copyright hits as well as the belief that “3 kings” “destroys the commercial value of the song in gospel circles” as well as the original’s “overall integrity and longevity”*(read more on Spin here)”

If only because Kush Jones manages to such celebratory justice to the original.

At first listening the club bounce that is ‘Bang’ cops it as the stand out track of the release. I only wonder if it will age well due to the addictive candy nature of it. At 2.25, I wonder if there’s other edits and find it hard not to fall into the trap of playing it to death. I’ve been sample digging this since I heard it, the only half brain thing I can come up with is Kush has sampled a variety of tracks with bang. I hurtle along from Sam Moore ‘Soul Bang’ to Arsenie ‘Bang Bang’ to Jessie J and on to ‘Creation BANG’ (Feat. Kush Jones & Scatta) with its old rave synth samples

to this nugget by The Young Disciplines Co -

I might not be able to find the tracks sample roots, but it doesn’t matter. As a DJ Kush’s job is to introduce us to new tracks and from his production ‘Bang’ he has led me down an interesting and funky rabbit hole. I regret nothing and I’m going to let these samples slip from the fingers of OCD…

…for now…

Although Shuffle the Archivist sweeps in to “pretty sure he’s sampled Lil Mama” and Disco Inferno too… so it goes on…

Delicately sampling ‘Freio Aerodinâmico’ Brazilian singer, instrumentalist Marcos Valle’s eponymous 1970 Bossa Nova essential. Horn has the echoes of St. Germain where the house and nu jazz mingles in with the footwork fidget. This track feels like it is something that will never go away and pop up again and again and is only begging to be used in a retro New York Thriller with Friedkin and Cohen homages.

At €7 dollars for the EP it’s comparatively pricey for an EP, but, in my opinion worth it. What’s music worth these days anyway? With Youtube, Spotify, iTunes and Amazon coring out the value and worth of creative work with diligence, I’m pretty sure it’s worth what Kush says it’s worth.

The tracks are also available individually at a sweetheart deal.

Check out Marcos Valle below

And here’s one more Kush Jones for the road…