The Brooklyn-based music collective Every Us has officially released their debut EP, Some Kind of We, a genre-fluid exploration of what it means to find “your people” in the modern world. Led by singer-songwriter Ryan Jones, the project is a defiant return to music as a communal act, blending indie soul, R&B, and folk into a “lived-in” sound that feels like a pact between the artists and the listener.
Listen to Some Kind of We here
The Sound of “Us”
Born from Jones’s time living in Brooklyn, London, Shanghai, and Chiang Mai, Every Us draws inspiration from global vocal traditions and the way people sing outside of traditional stages. The EP features a massive collaborative web, including mixing by Ian Kimmel (BTS, Anderson .Paak) and songwriting with Charlie Klarsfield (Clean Bandit).
💿 Track-by-Track Breakdown:
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- “Cavalry”: A physical eruption of celebration featuring bluesy piano and uplifting synths. It’s an anthem for the support systems that carry us.
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- “B-Train”: Featuring Chynna Sherrod, this sample-forward track is a warm ode to the friends who make sure you get home safe.
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- “Stuck With”: The EP’s emotional center of gravity, complete with the sound of actual laughter and conversation embedded in the mix.
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- “The Motions”: An indie groove driven by Connor Sandstrom’s guitar, urging the listener to break free from monotony.
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- “Fake It”: A lush closing track exploring the complicated “push and pull” of running from love.
A Community, Not a Solo Act
Every Us is more than a band; it is a creative engine that has united over 200 artists and 500 live event attendees across NYC and Brooklyn. By reintroducing group vocals and sampled “everyday moments” into contemporary production, Jones has created a space where individuality takes a backseat to collective emotion.
“Music was never meant to be done alone. Some Kind of We assumes you were already part of the room.”
The “Every Us” Concept: The name suggests a shift away from the individual artist toward a shared identity. In a music industry that usually obsesses over a “frontman” or a single face, how do you protect that communal spirit during the creative process?
We just wanted to try something different; we thought building the music around a feeling could be, dare we say, even more interesting. It also offered us a different kind of creative box to play in and a more meaningful way for the fans, musicians, and creatives to be a part of it. Whenever we start talking about the communal aspect, it starts sounding pretty corny, so we try to just show it through the music and content.
As we grow, we’ve been seeing more where everyone likes to plug into the process. Since everyone has their own projects as well, it’s about getting as much of their special sauces as we can.
From Global to Local: Ryan, you spent years immersing yourself in global vocal traditions and sampling non-traditional moments. What was the specific “spark” or field recording that made you realize these everyday rituals needed to be translated into the NYC music scene?
I’ve always been so fascinated by how unfamiliar sounds may seem more dissonant or not emotive at first, yet they serve the same role for the same kinds of moments and feelings that are universal across humanity. Think family gatherings, girls’ nights out, community celebrations. Learning to enjoy music that you haven’t been exposed to and the process of retraining your ear to move or groove to these new patterns, styles, and sounds–I think it allows you to feel closer to someone else’s culture or lived experience in a way few other things can. Genres also blend with national traditions in a way that people can feel a part of deeply; it’s a special way to feel closer to someone.
I love building music around a certain part of the NYC identity. I have no clue how to translate it to the NYC scene, but I’m nonetheless enamored by it.
On the Creative Process
Capturing the “Unpolished”: You’ve mentioned that Some Kind of We is meant to sound less like a “polished release” and more like a “feeling you forgot you were missing.” How do you balance high-end production (working with folks like Ian Kimmel and Soular) while keeping that raw, “lived-in” human texture?
The tip rope we’re constantly tiptoeing is messy chaos and big, rich ideas. You can be the judge if we’ve got it yet, cause we have no clue. We’re essentially trying to just constantly tighten that last 10% to make sure it’s clear, and each part is complementary while still keeping it rich and layered. Controlled looseness. You constantly hear the greats saying strip it down to the bare parts, simplify…but our problem is we like that big mushy—at times messy—wall of sound. Get over it. Maybe one day our preferences will change, but for right now, we think it gives us something different. You also just have to be clear about what you’re protecting going in. Ian and the team get that the goal isn’t to make it sound expensive—it’s to make it sound like people. If it still has the feeling, then we’re good here.
The Art of the Sample: You use voices from non-traditional, everyday moments. When you are out in the world, what are you listening for? Is it a specific frequency of joy, a certain rhythm in a prayer, or just the sound of people being together?
It’s really just when people are sharing a moment, those times when you know both people are feeling the same thing. Music is a hack for that. Communal music in the broadest sense has mastered that cause it forces you into that headspace, that’s when you feel the most seen and together. I’m not saying we’re playing drum circles or hymns; we’re just exploring how else we can get that into modern pop music.
The 200-Artist Network: You’ve collaborated with over 200 artists across NYC and Brooklyn. When bringing such a diverse range of genres—from jazz to electronic—into one room, what is the “common thread” you look for in a collaborator?
They’re available.
Bridging the Gap: Some Kind of We features a powerhouse lineup, including Olivia Reid and Michael Tighe. How do these seasoned professionals adapt to the “Every Us” ethos of music as a communal act rather than a performance?
I think most artists—especially those in the trenches of their own projects—feel like it’s a breath of fresh air getting to explore a different sound palette or set of rules. Some people engage with the idea behind it more, and some more so with the music. It’s all about finding where their heads are at, then digging into their secret sauce.
On the NYC Scene
The Brooklyn Ritual: New York can often feel like a place of “hustle” and isolation. How do your live events in Brooklyn work to transform a standard concert-goer experience into a collective ritual?
It’s probably availability bias, but NY is in a great moment for music right now; there are so many different worlds and music scenes within the city. For the Backyard series, the goal is to have a place to try to combine those scenes and let different artists hang out. It also helps that under the trees, behind the brownstones, right next to a rollable life-sized horse statue–of which no one knows how it got back there–feels as cliche Brooklyn as it gets.
Finding “Your People”: Your music explores the sound of finding your community. For someone moving to a big city feeling disconnected, which track on the upcoming EP do you think serves as the best “open door” into the Every Us world?
“B-Train” and “Cavalry” both get at the sound we’ve been trying to make for a while now and are perhaps the most on the nose with articulating it. We’re excited to explore what other stories fit within the sound and juxtaposing the individual more with the “Us”. But there feels like a specific kind of kinship in this city; you rely more on your chosen family to get through it all.
The Visual Language: Working with filmmakers like Talia Light Rake and Frank Sun suggests a strong visual component. How do you translate the “sound of togetherness” into a visual medium without losing that intimacy?
We see the project as multiple mediums coming together to reinforce the concept. We think it’s ridiculous that modern artists rely so much on visuals and content, yet filmmakers aren’t part of the band. We’ve loved exploring which mediums or styles can best get that energy. This go around, we brought in 6 street photographers from 6 different places around the world, including Lagos, Taipei, Kashmir, and New York, to try to shoot moments of “Us”, we’ve tried more motion blur styles to get at people’s energy blurring together. We love using this as an excuse to commission amazing artists to make more art or try different styles and forms that we wouldn’t get to sink our teeth into otherwise.
The Legacy of the EP: With the release on March 20th, what is the one thing you hope a listener feels in their chest the moment the final track of Some Kind of We fades out?
Hungry for a chopped cheese.
Website: https://www.everyus.world/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/everyusmusic/
Live Date: EP Release Show @ Pianos NYC on Ap
