South London jazz drummer Moses Boyd is one of a growing handful of edgy young jazz musicians in the UK doing similar things to the form as Kamasi Washington and Thundercat have in the US – "taking jazz out of the academy" as he likes to describe it. His 2016 single Rye Lane Shuffle was mixed by Four Tet and Floating Points, and became a much-revisited part of the former's DJ sets. Boyd's latest record, Absolute Zero, is out now on Vinyl Factory. To mark the release, we asked him to tell us about the five tracks he can't stop listening to right now.
Janet Kay – Silly Games
Maybe it’s because we’re close to carnival season here in London, but I’ve been revisiting a lot of roots, reggae, dub and lovers’ rock music lately, and this is one of the most famous songs in the lover’s rock genre. I remember hearing this at functions all the time as a kid but it was only by chance a couple of weeks ago that I listened to it again, and I heard it in a way I never have before. It’s a brilliantly crafted song in every way.
Gil Scott Heron – B Movie
I’m a massive fan of Gil Scott Heron and his music. This song for me is so interesting because of how accurate and prophetic it is about what’s going on in our world and politics today, particularly in the UK. Considering it was written in the 1970s it’s sad to see how little progress we’ve made in some ways. Despite that it’s also a good reminder that art should reflect life.
Yusef Lateef – Live Humble
I admire Yusef Lateef so much. His output as an artist in incredible, I feel he was constantly open to try new things and ideas. I came across this record while digging for vinyl in London and couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It quickly became a staple in any DJ set I do. It’s got every element I want in a song.
Milford Graves / Andrew Cyrille – Dialogue Of The Drums
Milford Graves is a hero of mine. My friend the great drummer Yussef Dayes put me onto this record. It’s not the most accessible and it requires some time to get into, but I’d urge anyone interested in music to research Milford Graves. This record was also a great reminder to me of a fact that I love: that once it’s recorded, music doesn’t change, but instead it’s us who changes and can overtime hear things differently to what we may of initially not understood or even enjoyed.
Jon Bap – Born Into This
This track for me is so cool. The drumming is incredible. There’s a lot of risk in the track. It would be easy with all the musicianship Jon Bap clearly has to just sing over a steady beat. But I love hearing singers do stuff over odd time signatures and crazy rhythms. As I drummer I feel not many people explore that enough. Listen here.
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