Moses Boyd's second album, Songs for Sinners, blends jazz, gospel and dance music in a project that questions faith while restoring it in community, humanity and the future. The drummer, a key figure in London's collective jazz renaissance, presents the record as a universal work reflecting relationships and ideas.
A Personal and Collective Project
Created over three years, the album features nearly 30 singers and musicians, including alt-gospel singer Shantéh and bass guitarist Ezekiel Ajie. Boyd contributes vocals and wrote the lyrics himself, aside from guest spots by US rapper Chuck Strangers and spoken word artist Rarely Always on "I Surrender." On some tracks, he steps away from the drum kit entirely.
The album's title nods to a theological notion that all are sinners, which Boyd calls "a bit of rage bait." He said he wanted the music to be universal, about relationships and ideas.
Roots in Church and Community
Boyd's musical identity was forged in collective London spaces, including the West Indian church. In the 1980s, his paternal grandparents, from Dominica, ran a Pentecostal congregation from their house in Brockley. His earliest memories include going to services and prayer meetings there with his brothers and sisters.
He started drums at 13 and later joined Tomorrow's Warriors, the jazz incubator. Alongside friends including tuba player Theon Cross, saxophonist Nubya Garcia and drummer Femi Koleoso, he became part of a community that jammed in pop-up clubs and pub back rooms, bringing Afrobeat, highlife and grime to jazz.
A Long-Awaited Album
Boyd said he had the desire to mix the two worlds but did not know how. "I didn't have enough life lived to do it," he said. "Now I'm 35. I've loved, lost, married, had a child, been down, had success, whatever. My relationship with faith has changed."
His 2016 single "Rye Lane Shuffle" is widely considered a blueprint for the London jazz renaissance, and his 2020 album Dark Matter was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. Songs for Sinners is out now; Boyd plays Koko on April 1, 2027.
