Dark Matter cements him as one of the most exciting jazz musicians of his generation.
Moses Boyd’s Dark Matter proves once again that London is a hotbed for a new, exciting era in jazz.
It is, after all, Dark Matter’s lack of regard for traditional boundaries that makes it so engaging.
This is a record that tries to bottle the intricate energy of jazz improvisation into an orchestrated studio production when it has always been the freedom of live performance that has marked out Boyd as an artist.
Dark Matter beautifully showcases the crossover and nuance Boyd has squeezed into the album through recorded swatches of rhythms, creating a tapestry of grime, Afrobeat and sounds of the London underground, combined with his years of training in jazz.
Dark Matter ultimately succeeds in combining the contemporary and electronic while remaining deeply indebted to a background in jazz.
Despite the gloomy references on the dark matter that surrounds us, this debut of expanded jazz is a solid light carrier, so groovy and so spiritual that it will be kept active for a long, long time.
I’ve just begun to explore the “nu-jazz” genre, and this was a great project for me to begin with. I enjoyed the mixture of house music with jazz instrumentals. This record had a good balance of lively, upbeat tracks and slower, hypnotic ones. I’ll definitely be exploring more of his work.
Favorites: BTB, Y.O.Y.O, 2 Far Gone
I've been playing through this album quite a few times since its release, and even through multiple listens I find that the majority of this album fades into the background. It's incredibly well produced, the featured vocals are strong, and the experimental jazz is always a welcome sound from my perspective. Much of the style of this jazz resembles the sound of a modern act like The Comet Is Coming, but perhaps with tracks more readily capable of incorporating guest vocalists.
I think the ... read more
If the track "sranger than fiction" isnt the next james bond intro song then weve failed as a society
Despite the gloomy references on the dark matter that surrounds us, this debut of expanded jazz is a solid light carrier, so groovy and so spiritual that it will be kept active for a long, long time.
A fantastic debut album that is a regular go to for me on a Sunday morning. I believe the term is Nu Jazz, but this seems like jazz jazz to me with a more modern production. Terminology aside, this is an excellent album that I highly recommend.
Essential Track - What Now?
1 | Stranger Than Fiction 4:55 | |
2 | Hard Food (Interlude) 1:00 | |
3 | BTB 6:00 | |
4 | Y.O.Y.O 5:31 | |
5 | Shades of You 4:20 feat. Poppy Ajudha | |
6 | Dancing in the Dark 4:47 feat. Obongjayar | |
7 | Only You 4:46 | |
8 | 2 Far Gone 5:43 feat. Joe Armon-Jones | |
9 | Nommos Descent 4:36 | |
10 | What Now? 8:40 |
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#21 | / | Piccadilly Records |
#22 | / | The Vinyl Factory |
#24 | / | Crack Magazine |
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#25 | / | musicOMH |