Following the release of their album ‘Bloom’ in December 2022, Jerk returns with their signature blend of hip-hop beats and jazz instrumentals.
‘Father Sky’ is an addictive introduction to the sound world of their forthcoming ‘Limina’ EP. Based around a dreamy, uplifting chordal loop, Jerk puts a four-to-the-floor groove and bopping bassline at the front and centre of the mix. Ever evolving to keep the listener on their toes, they put their full skill set as a multi-instrumentalist on display, opening up for a flowing saxophone solo, nodding to the jazz heritage of New York City.
Speaking on the track, Jerk said; “Father Sky was the first track written on this project, and I’ve come to think of it as a sort of sonic affirmation. I started with the chord progression, and it had this sort of addictive character where I could play it on repeat forever like a sort of constantly evolving spiral - I tried to make the rest of the instrumentation match that ever-evolving feeling, cascading until it reaches that final drop. The title, Father Sky, comes from that feeling of reaching out to the ethereal.”
The project's second single, 'Mother Earth', centres around an uplifting keyboard melody, and sees Jerk creates a serene atmosphere with decoration from synth pads, layered vocal harmonies and soulful sax tones that create a powerful wall of sound. Embracing the rawness at the centre of the music and the spirit of washy free jazz, the track opens up into a saxophone solo, allowing them to break free from the melody and embrace vulnerability in an improvisatory space.
“Mother Earth was written the day after Father Sky, and it was clear that they were meant to go together as contrasting pieces. This track felt like a deep meditation to make, grounding me in slow and deliberate harmony and melody. The title, Mother Earth, is rooted in that feeling of being grounded, honest, and vulnerable.”
Following the yin & yang singles ‘Mother Earth’ and ‘Father Sky’, ‘mmhmm’ completes the trilogy of tracks that make up ‘Limina’, capturing the space in between the other compositions.
Speaking on the track, Jerk said; “mmhmm was the final track written for this project and the simplest of the three. It captured the in-between of Father Sky and Mother Earth - reaching towards new things while focusing on the present moment. The title was a happy accident - not realizing the track was recording and responding to the engineer, “mmhmm.” The recording process really captured the feeling of duality I was trying to get across in the project, and that subtle accident caught on record.”
The ’Limina’ EP was created during an enforced period of isolation in December 2022, when Jerk was struck with COVID. The tracks across the project explore the meaning of liminal, thematically occupied with looking at different spaces and dualities that exist within day-to-day human existence. This focus carries through into the musicality of the project. Jerk delves into jazz and dreamy beats, combining lush synths, ambient keyboards and diverse grooves to bridge genres and influences, taking on a larger scope than the confines of the room it was created in.
On the EP, Jerk says: “Limina is the latin word that liminal is derived from - meaning a transverse, or a space between spaces. I wrote this music over 3 days in December of 2022 while I was locked in with COVID. My bedroom studio felt like space detached from reality, and the music became an exploration of the space between dualities we experience - the space between the spiritual and grounded, the space between masculine and feminine, the space between an idea and a complete work.”
Jerk is the brainchild of composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Kinney. Based in Brooklyn, NY, the project is an exploration of the connection between jazz and hip-hop with compositions blurring the lines between hip-hop beats and instrumental jazz compositions.
