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. Boyd was born and raised in the district of Catford in south London, England. 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. 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. In March 2026, Boyd was announced by Tomorrow's Warriors as one of the organisation's inaugural patrons, alongside Baroness Amos, Margaret Busby, Guy Chambers, Robert Elms, Nick Hornby, Lizzie Ridding and John Ridding, Michael Watt, Richard Wyatt, Femi Koleoso, Eska. 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. 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." Boyd has cited Miles Davis's Kind of Blue (1959) and Dizzee Rascal's Boy in Da Corner (2003) 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". Absolute Zero (2017) Footsteps Of Our Fathers (with Moses Boyd Exodus) (2015) Time and Space (with Moses Boyd Exodus) (2016) Adapted from Discogs, Tidal, and AllMusic. Boyd has received primary credit, despite the album being a collaborative project. Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible. Moses Boyd [@MosesBoyd_] (30 April 2018). "Also my bday too. Hows that for coincednce?" (Tweet) – via Twitter. Lewis, John (21 February 2020). "Electronic jazz with a distinctly London accent: Dark Matter by Moses Boyd". Uncut. ISSN 1368-0722. Retrieved 23 July 2020. Rogers, Jude (18 July 2020). "On my radar: Moses Boyd on his cultural highlights". The Guardian. ISSN 1756-3224. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020. Davies, Nicola (4 April 2018). "The art of jazz: A conversation with Moses Boyd". Dummy. ISSN 2567-7594. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020. Reed, Davy (5 September 2018). "Displaced Diaspora: Moses Boyd is taking UK jazz on new adventures". Red Bull. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020. Kilpatrick, Ruth (1 March 2020). "Moses Boyd: Shades of Blue". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020. Todd, Bella (7 April 2017). "Discover Moses Boyd's passion for percussion". Red Bull. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020. "Alumni - Moses Boyd". Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020. Thomas, Andy (10 August 2017). "Moses Boyd Is An Old Soul At The Forefront of U.K. Jazz". Bandcamp Daily. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020. Bulut, Selim (21 February 2020). "Dazed Mix: Moses Boyd". Dazed. ISSN 0961-9704. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020. "1Xtra Residency - Moses Boyd". Radio Times. ISSN 0033-8060. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020. "Moses Boyd sits in with Oscar Jerome, Send The Stems and Covco in the Shakedown Mix". BBC. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) "About | Our Patrons". Tomorrow's Warriors. Retrieved 17 March 2026. Stevenson, John (3 March 2026). "Tomorrow's Warriors – 35 years…12 inaugural Patrons…new Foyles partnership". UK Jazz News. Retrieved 17 March 2026. "Tomorrow's Warriors names three artist alumni among the organisation's 12 inaugural patrons". Music Week. 3 March 2026. Retrieved 17 March 2026. Campbell, Joel (3 March 2026). "Tomorrow's Warriors reveals 12 inaugural Patrons". The Voice. Retrieved 6 March 2026. Dredge, Stuart (5 March 2026). "Tomorrow's Warriors turns 35 and appoints its first 12 patrons". musicall.com. Retrieved 17 March 2026. Williams, Phillip (4 August 2019). "A new wave of jazz musicians in the US and UK are blending genres and pushing the sound forward". Red Bull. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020. Hahn, Bryan (20 February 2020). "Moses Boyd on the cross-genre wonder of Dark Matter". The Fader. ISSN 1533-5194. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020. Coldicutt, Elena Richards (20 January 2020). "Musician Moses Boyd aims to fuse musical genres in his radical take on jazz". The Northern Quota. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020. Ottewill, Jim (13 May 2020). "Nu-jazz sensation Moses Boyd on intense drums, self-production and tearing up the rulebook". MusicTech. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020. Cliff, Aimee (3 August 2017). "U.K. Producer Moses Boyd Blends Jazz With Grime On "Square Up"". The Fader. ISSN 1533-5194. Retrieved 24 July 2020. Hutchinson, Kate; Olmos, Antonio (8 April 2018). "The British jazz explosion: meet the musicians rewriting the rulebook". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020. Monger, Timothy. "Moses Boyd | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 July 2020. "Binker and Moses — the new sound of London jazz". Financial Times. 4 November 2016. ISSN 0307-1766. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020. Lewis, John (21 February 2020). "Moses Boyd – Dark Matter". uncut.co.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2021. Embley, Jochan (30 April 2019). "London's jazz scene: A guide to the best artists and venues". Evening Standard. ISSN 2041-4404. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020. Vinti, Mike. "Moses Boyd: Keep up the pace". Crack Magazine. ISSN 2229-0397. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020. Boyd is best known as one of the leading lights in the new London jazz circuit Empire, Kitty (16 February 2020). "Moses Boyd: Dark Matter review – party-facing solo