# Moses Boyd

Moses Boyd (born 30 April 1991) is a British jazz drummer, composer, record producer, bandleader and radio host. His debut solo studio album Dark Matter (2020) was nominated for the 2020 Mercury Prize.
In 2014, Boyd and saxophonist Binker Golding formed the duo Binker & Moses and released three consecutive albums, with accolades including one MOBO Award, two Jazz FM Awards and a Parliamentary Jazz Award. In 2022, Binker & Moses released their fourth album, Feeding the Machine, to critical acclaim.
Boyd's self-titled jazz band Moses Boyd Exodus (also known as the Exodus) released several mixtapes in the mid-2010s and together have recorded most of Boyd's solo releases. The group consists of Theon Cross (tubist), Artie Zaitz (guitarist), Binker Golding (saxophonist) and Nathaniel Cross (trombonist).
Under his own label, Exodus Records, Boyd made his solo debut with the extended play Absolute Zero in 2017, and followed it up with Displaced Diaspora in 2018. He has additionally collaborated with musicians such as Beyoncé, Little Simz, Lonnie Liston Smith, Zara McFarlane, Obongjayar, Ed Motta, Sons of Kemet, Soweto Kinch, Floating Points, Four Tet and Theon Cross.

## Early life

Boyd was born and raised in the district of Catford in south London. He describes himself as a "second-generation West Indian" with Dominican descent from his father and Jamaican descent from his mother. He attended Sedgehill School, which was where he began learning drums. Boyd claims that at one point he was taught drums by Bobby Worth. In 2016, he graduated from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance with a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz drums. While at Trinity Laban, he took part of the jazz education programme Tomorrow's Warriors.

## Other ventures

In addition to music, Boyd was a resident host throughout 2019 on BBC Radio 1Xtra. He also performed a few stints filling in for Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio 6 Music in mid 2020.

## Artistry and reception
### Musical style

Boyd is popularly known for blending multiple genres into jazz to create various new sub-genres. He has been noted to perform and write in the styles of nu-jazz, and fusion, additionally incorporating elements of grime, electronica, highlife and broken beat. Boyd has described his own music as "an extension of black music, the diaspora" that draws influence from afrobeats, soca, reggae, drum and bass and jungle music.

### Critical reception

Boyd is known as a prominent figure within the modern London jazz scene. He has been described by The Guardian as "a progenitor of the current London jazz scene", and "a poster boy of the London jazz revival."

### Influences

Boyd has cited Miles Davis's Kind of Blue and Dizzee Rascal's Boy in Da Corner as major influences. Boyd is closely associated with jazz personality and DJ Gilles Peterson, whom he cites as an influence in learning how to "use jazz in club culture".

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Details | UK Jazz | UK Indie | UK Breakers | SCO |
| Dark Matter | Released: 14 February 2020 Label: Exodus Records Formats: LP, digital download, streaming | 2 | 7 | 1 | 52 |

### Collaborative albums

| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Details | UK Jazz | UK Indie | UK Breakers |
| Safe and Sound (as part of The Peter Edwards Trio) | Released: 31 March 2014 Label: Self-released Compact disc, digital download, streaming | — | — | — |
| Dem Ones (as Binker & Moses) | Released: 31 May 2015 Label: Gearbox Formats: LP, digital download, streaming | — | — | — |
| A Matter of Instinct (as part of The Peter Edwards Trio) | Released: 17 June 2016 Label: Self-released Compact disc, digital download, streaming | — | — | — |
| Journey To The Mountain Of Forever (as Binker & Moses) | Released: 2 June 2017 Label: Gearbox Formats: LP, digital download, streaming | 3 | 42 | 11 |
| Alive In The East? (as Binker & Moses) | Released: 22 June 2018 Label: Gearbox Formats: LP, digital download, streaming | 15 | — | 17 |
| Displaced Diaspora (with Moses Boyd Exodus) | Released: 28 September 2018 Label: Exodus Formats: LP, digital download, streaming | — | — | — |
| Feeding the Machine (as Binker & Moses) | Released: 25 February 2022 Label: Gearbox Formats: LP, digital download, streaming | — | — | — |

### Extended plays

* Absolute Zero (2017)

### Mixtapes

* Footsteps Of Our Fathers (with Moses Boyd Exodus) (2015)
* Time and Space (with Moses Boyd Exodus) (2016)

### Singles
#### As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, with year and album :
| Title | Year | Album |
| As Moses Boyd |||
| "Rye Lane Shuffle" | 2016 | Non-album singles |
| "Drum Dance" | 2016 | Non-album singles |
| "Frontline" (featuring Kevin Haynes Grupo Elegua) | 2018 | Displaced Diaspora |
| "Stranger than Fiction" | 2019 | Dark Matter |
| "Only You" | 2019 | Dark Matter |
| "Shades of You" (featuring Poppy Ajudha) | 2020 | Dark Matter |
| As Binker & Moses |||
| "Intoxication from the Jahvmonisi Leaves" | 2017 | Journey to the Mountain of Forever |
| "The Valley of the Ultra Blacks" | 2017 | Journey to the Mountain of Forever |
| "Trees on Fire" | 2017 | Journey to the Mountain of Forever |
| "Echoes from the Other Side of the Mountain" | 2017 | Journey to the Mountain of Forever |
| "Fete by the River" | 2017 | Alive in the East? |
| "Children of the Ultra Blacks" | 2018 | Alive in the East? |
| "The Birth of Light" | 2018 | Alive in the East? |
| "How Land Learnt to Be Still" | 2018 | Alive in the East? |
| "The River's Tale" | 2018 | Alive in the East? |

#### As featured artist

List of singles as featured artist, with year and album :
| Title | Year | Album |
| As Moses Boyd |||
| "Untitled" (Mura Masa featuring Moses Boyd) | 2017 | Non-album single |
| "Pineapple" (Blue Lab Beats featuring Moses Boyd and Nerija) | 2017 | Xover |
| "Drumming" (DJ Lag featuring Moses Boyd) | 2018 | Stampit - EP |
| As Binker & Moses |||
| "Village of the Sun" (Village Of The Sun featuring Binker & Moses and Simon Ratcliffe) | 2020 | Non-album singles |
| "Ted" (Village Of The Sun featuring Binker & Moses and Simon Ratcliffe) | 2020 | Non-album singles |

### Guest appearances

| Title | Year | Other performer(s) | Album/EP |
| "Mãos À Obra" | 2016 | Sonzeira | Tam Tam Tam Reimagined |
| "Nana Nada" | 2016 | Sonzeira | Tam Tam Tam Reimagined |
| "Nós Precisamos De Você" | 2016 | Sonzeira | Tam Tam Tam Reimagined |
| "The Balance" | 2018 | Various Artists | We Out Here (comp.) |
| "Dawn" | 2018 | DJ Khalab | Black Noise 2084 |
| "Black Opus" | 2018 | Louis VI, Pete Johnson | Sugar Like Salt |
| "Track 7-ish" | 2018 | Louis VI, Pete Johnson | Sugar Like Salt |
| "Battle" (as part of Binker & Moses) | 2019 | Ashley Henry | Beautiful Vinyl Hunter |

### Songwriting, production and performance credits

Adapted from Discogs, Tidal, and AllMusic.
| Year | Album | Artist | Title(s) | Role |
| 2014 | If You Know Her | Zara McFarlane | "Move" | Drummer |
| 2015 | Stories & Rhymes | Jasmine Powers | — | Drummer |
| 2015 | Aspirations - EP | Theon Cross | — | Drummer, mixer |
| 2015 | Arise | Zara McFarlane | All tracks | Composer, percussionist, vocalist |
| 2016 | Tam Tam Tam Reimagined | Sonzeira | "Mãos À Obra"; "Nós Precisamos De Você" and "Nana Nada" | Drummer |
| 2016 | Oscar Jerome | Oscar Jerome | All tracks | Drummer |
| 2017 | Escapee | Daniel Casimir | — | Drummer |
| 2017 | — | Zara McFarlane | "All Africa" | Bassist, producer |
| 2017 | Nubya's 5ive | Nubya Garcia | "Fly Free"; "Contemplation" and "Free Sun" | Drummer |
| 2017 | Peace Begins Within | Zara McFarlane | "Peace Begins Within" (both original and reggae versions) | Arranger |
| 2018 | Your Queen Is a Reptile | Sons of Kemet | "My Queen Is Harriet Tubman"; ""My Queen Is Yaa Asantewaa" and "My Queen Is Albertina Sisulu" | Drummer |
| 2018 | Xover | Blue Lab Beats | "Pineapple" and "Xover" | Composer and producer |
| 2018 | Starting Today | Joe Armon-Jones | "Starting Today"; "Almost Went Too Far"; "Mollison Dub"; "London's Face"; "Ragify" and "Outro (Forrow)" | Drummer |
| 2018 | Where Are Your Branches? | Oscar Jerome, James Massiah | "Smile On A Screen" | Drummer |
| 2018 | Sugar Like Salt | Louis VI | "Black Opus" and "Track 7-ish" | Drummer |
| 2018 | Fyah | Theon Cross | "Panda Village" | Drummer, producer |
| 2019 | The Mage | Greg Foat | "Of My Hands"; "Endless Love" and "The Magic Radish" | Drummer |
| 2019 | — | Zara McFarlane, Dennis Bovell | "East of the River Nile" (both original and alt. takes and their respective dub mixes) | Drummer |
| 2019 | Kolmar | Max de Wardener | All tracks | Drummer |
| 2019 | Turn to Clear View | Joe Armon-Jones, Asheber, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Jehst, Obongjayar | "Try To Walk With Me"; "Yellow Dandelion"; "The Leo & Aquarius" and "Self:Love" | Drummer |
| 2019 | Beautiful Vinyl Hunter | Ashley Henry | "Realisations" and "Battle" | Drummer |
| 2019 | The Lion King: The Gift | Beyoncé, Tierra Whack, Moonchild Sanelly, Nija, Busiswa, Yemi Alade | "My Power" | Producer |
| 2020 | Symphonie Pacifique | Greg Foat | "Prelude"; "Symphonie Pacifique"; "Undulation"; "Anticipation"; "Mu"; "Yonaguni"; "Island Life"; "Nikinakinu" and "Man Vs. Machine" | Drummer, composer |
| 2020 | let all the poisons that lurk in the mud seep out | Yves Tumor, Kelsey Lu, and Kelly Moran | "let all the poisons that lurk in the mud seep out" | Drummer, composer |
| 2020 | As we stand | Tori Handlsey | All tracks | Drummer |
| 2020 | Morning Matters | Yazmin Lacey | "Morning Sunrise" and "Lately (Interlude)" | Producer |
| 2021 | Boxed In | Daniel Casimir | All tracks | Drummer |

## Awards and nominations

| Organization | Year | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Award | Result |
| AIM Independent Music Awards | 2020 | Himself | UK Breakthrough of the Year | Won |
| AIM Independent Music Awards | 2020 | Dark Matter | Best Independent Album | Nominated |
| AIM Independent Music Awards | 2020 | Dark Matter Vinyl (Dinked Edition) | Best Creative Packaging | Nominated |
| Jazz FM Awards | 2016 | Binker & Moses | Breakthrough Act of the Year | Won |
| Jazz FM Awards | 2016 | Binker & Moses | UK Jazz Act of the Year | Won |
| Jazz FM Awards | 2019 | Himself (credited for 1Xtra residency) | Digital Award | Nominated |
| Jazz FM Awards | 2020 | Himself | Innovator Award | Nominated |
| MOBO Awards | 2015 | Binker & Moses | Best Jazz Act | Won |
| MOBO Awards | 2017 | Himself | Best Jazz Act | Won |
| MOBO Awards | 2020 | Himself | Best Jazz Act | Pending |
| Mercury Prize | 2020 | Dark Matter | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| Parliamentary Jazz Awards | 2016 | Binker & Moses | Jazz Newcomer of the Year | Won |
| PRS for Music Foundation | 2015 | Himself | Steve Reid InNOVAtion Award | Won |
| UK Music Video Awards | 2020 | "Stranger Than Fiction" | Best Alternative Video - UK | Nominated |
| Worldwide Awards | 2016 | Himself | John Peel Award | Won |
| Worldwide Awards | 2017 | "Rye Lane Shuffle" | Track of the Year | Nominated |
| Worldwide Awards | 2017 | Journey To The Mountain Of Forever | Jazz Album of the Year | Nominated |
| Worldwide Awards | 2018 | Displaced Diaspora | Jazz Album of the Year | Nominated |
| Worshipful Company of Musicians | 2014 | Himself | Jazz Young Musician Medal | Won |