Dark Matter

Riding on the crest of London's wave of young jazz musicians, Moses Boyd represents everything great about jazz crossing over into the realms of pop and club music. Cool, relevant, and vital in pulling together the threads of London's often disparate musical communities. Boyd has ascended from the status of jazz drummer to tastemaker and keen-eared curator. Dark Matter has its finger on the pulse, shifting through eclectic sound palettes and pushing intricacy to maintain a distinct identity. His early output had a foot firmly in the jazz camp, with a more laid-back sax-led vibe, but he quickly veered into electronic territory, with his percussion taking charge on 2016's Rye Lane Shuffle before going full wonky on 2017's Absolute Zero. For his debut album, Boyd married both sides of that spectrum, with the bulk of the instrumentation organic rather than synthesized, as demonstrated on the outrageously bouncy opener "Stranger Than Fiction," which is practically begging for someone to remix it with added bars overlaid. There's a brief pause for a spoken word field recording, mentioning food as a vehicle for bring people together, but more importantly, it smacks of authenticity, almost as if the subject was being recorded in secret or the mikes were left running. Before venturing into guest musician territory, Boyd lets loose some serious funk and groove on "BTB" and "Y.O.Y.O.," proving his aptitude from captivating rhythm that doesn’t rely on a feature to carry it. That said, the features that follow, namely Poppy Ajudha on "Shades of You" and Obongjayar on "Dancing in the Dark," display a masterful willingness to give guest vocalists the space needed make their imprint upon the music; they both own their respective tracks and seamlessly mingle with the complex percussion laid down by Boyd. The closing numbers prove to be the most varied on the record, flickering between the moody electronics of "Only You" and the exquisite piano on "2 Far Gone", the latter courtesy of Joe Armon-Jones. For all the bombast found at the opening of Dark Matter, it closes on a more serene and contemplative note in the form of "What Now?," which glides along until another spoken recording kicks in, concentrating on spiritual and religious ideas of engaging with a higher energy; it gives a little insight into Boyd's mind set as he searches for his place in the universe. Dark Matter cements him as one of the most exciting jazz musicians of his generation. ~ Liam Martin