Biography
One of London's standout jazz talents to emerge in the 21st century, drummer Moses Boyd rose to prominence during the mid-2010s through his multifaceted work as a composer, bandleader, and collaborator whose integration of grime and electronica set his sound apart. In addition to co-leading the sax-and-drums duo Binker & Moses alongside tenor saxophonist Binker Golding, Boyd guided his own Exodus ensemble; together these projects yielded the widely praised 2015 release Dem Ones and the 2016 Time and Space EP, both of which laid the groundwork for the more ambitious 2018 album Displaced Diaspora and the internationally celebrated, award-winning Dark Matter that followed in 2020.
Boyd, born in South London, first took up the drums at age 13, drawing equal influence from Miles Davis and the grime recordings of Dizzee Rascal. After receiving early guidance from jazz drummer Bobby Dodsworth, he joined the Tomorrow's Warriors education program while enrolled at Trinity Laban College, sharpening his skills through regular appearances at neighborhood jam sessions. The duo Binker & Moses was formed during this period, and their 2015 debut Dem Ones received the Best Jazz Act honor at the urban MOBO Awards; that same year Boyd issued the Footsteps of Our Fathers EP under the Exodus banner, a recording that paid tribute to his jazz forebears. Over the ensuing two years he maintained an active schedule with both Binker & Moses and Exodus, occasionally performing solo material as Solo Exodus that fused jazz, grime, and electronica elements.
A pair of 2016 Exodus projects—the single “Rye Lane Shuffle” and the four-track Time and Space EP—preceded Boyd’s receipt of the John Peel Play More Jazz Award at the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards. The following year brought the expansive double album Journey to the Mountain of Forever from Binker & Moses as well as the Absolute Zero EP from Exodus, while Boyd’s collaborative reach widened to include electronic producers Four Tet and Floating Points alongside jazz and soul figures Lonnie Liston Smith and singer Zara McFarlane. Early 2018 saw the release of the Brownswood Recordings compilation We Out Here, which spotlighted Boyd alongside fellow rising London jazz artists Nubya Garcia and Shabaka Hutchings; that year also delivered the live Binker & Moses set Alive in the East? and the expansive Exodus full-length Displaced Diaspora, featuring contributions from Kevin Haynes Grupo Elegua and Terri Walker.
Following an already substantial body of work, Boyd issued his first proper solo album, Dark Matter, in 2020. The record highlighted the breadth of his musical interests—spanning jazz, electronica, and grime—and featured guest appearances by Poppy Ajudha, Obongjayar, and longtime associate Joe Armon-Jones. That July the album earned a place on the shortlist for the 2020 Hyundai Mercury Prize, a selection determined by an independent panel and announced on Lauren Laverne’s BBC Radio 6 Music program.
Boyd, born in South London, first took up the drums at age 13, drawing equal influence from Miles Davis and the grime recordings of Dizzee Rascal. After receiving early guidance from jazz drummer Bobby Dodsworth, he joined the Tomorrow's Warriors education program while enrolled at Trinity Laban College, sharpening his skills through regular appearances at neighborhood jam sessions. The duo Binker & Moses was formed during this period, and their 2015 debut Dem Ones received the Best Jazz Act honor at the urban MOBO Awards; that same year Boyd issued the Footsteps of Our Fathers EP under the Exodus banner, a recording that paid tribute to his jazz forebears. Over the ensuing two years he maintained an active schedule with both Binker & Moses and Exodus, occasionally performing solo material as Solo Exodus that fused jazz, grime, and electronica elements.
A pair of 2016 Exodus projects—the single “Rye Lane Shuffle” and the four-track Time and Space EP—preceded Boyd’s receipt of the John Peel Play More Jazz Award at the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards. The following year brought the expansive double album Journey to the Mountain of Forever from Binker & Moses as well as the Absolute Zero EP from Exodus, while Boyd’s collaborative reach widened to include electronic producers Four Tet and Floating Points alongside jazz and soul figures Lonnie Liston Smith and singer Zara McFarlane. Early 2018 saw the release of the Brownswood Recordings compilation We Out Here, which spotlighted Boyd alongside fellow rising London jazz artists Nubya Garcia and Shabaka Hutchings; that year also delivered the live Binker & Moses set Alive in the East? and the expansive Exodus full-length Displaced Diaspora, featuring contributions from Kevin Haynes Grupo Elegua and Terri Walker.
Following an already substantial body of work, Boyd issued his first proper solo album, Dark Matter, in 2020. The record highlighted the breadth of his musical interests—spanning jazz, electronica, and grime—and featured guest appearances by Poppy Ajudha, Obongjayar, and longtime associate Joe Armon-Jones. That July the album earned a place on the shortlist for the 2020 Hyundai Mercury Prize, a selection determined by an independent panel and announced on Lauren Laverne’s BBC Radio 6 Music program.
Albums
Singles
