Dark Matter

Album review

The new British jazz scene seems to be an indefinite source of talent, maintaining its creative flow with this first solo album released by Moses Boyd. Fans of the movement will already know that this eclectic young drummer has played alongside Shabaka Hutchings, Zara McFarlane, Nubya Garcia, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross and Ashley Henry but also that he makes up one half of duo Binker & Moses, the wild project he pursues with saxophonist Binker Golding. The album Dark Matter sees Boyd as more of a producer than a drummer, with a wide narrative detailing who he is and what he represents: a musician dreaming of becoming the next Max Roach or Tony Williams, all while growing up listening to Dizzee Rascal and Wiley as well as more Caribbean style rhythms, reggae and electronic music. The power of Dark Matter comes from the way in which it brings together a huge cast of varied icons to create a single snapshot of today’s London. Rich in sound, the album’s DNA is made up of jazz but takes us on a journey from afrobeat (BTB) to dubstep (2 Far Gone) before a detour via post-rock (What Now?). With the voices of Poppy Ajudha, Obongjayar and Nonku Phiri and double bass from the ex-Jazz Warrior Gary Crosby, Moses Boyd has created an orgy of off-the-wall rhythms. An album even more unclassifiable than those made by his friends of the same UK jazz scene. Invigorating. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz