Hieroglyphic Being
Chicago-based avant-garde House, sound, noise artist Jamal Moss aka Hieroglyphic Being has recorded for a variety of labels including Sony Europe, Jeff Mills' Axis, Ghostly International, Soul Jazz and his own innovative Mathematics Recordings. Moss is one of the last of the line of producers directly influenced by Ron Hardy's legendary DJ sets at the club that put house music into the limelight worldwide – the Music Box. He is also equally influenced by Sun Ra, John Cage and free jazz / experimental noise visionaries of the past. This unusual confluence of inspirations led to The Wire magazine calling him "perhaps House's only card-carrying Afro-Futurist." Moss himself see's it all in a much simpler frame noting in the same article to The Wire "There is not blackness or whiteness in music so I don't have to consciously do anything to transcend stereotypes and just enjoy and celebrate creation as a whole."
Moss’s first creative endeavors were as part of a crew that created industrial soundscapes / Art Noise for the Liquid Love parties held at the famed Powerplant in Chicago from 1989 to 1990. When Powerplant closed, Moss and his cohorts started Liquid Sex, which became a magnet for many well-known house artists including Steve Poindexter, who put Moss in touch with future collaborators the Chicago Bad Boys collective.
From the autumn of 1993 to the summer of 1996 he was host and DJ for 89.3 WNUR's radio program StreetBeat, showcasing a segment named Jack-FM. He was also taken under the wing of house legend Adonis, who became a key mentor figure in Moss’s life. From these varied experiences and connections, Moss has created a unique sound universe of his own.
Over the last decade, his music has slowly risen to broader acclaim, especially in Europe were his distinct abstractions have found a wide range of supporters and led to him not only performing live and as a DJ but also composing Sound Art Installations in Spain and Italy and performing at events like the recent Rotterdam International Film Festival 2012.
Under the alias Hieroglyphic Being he has released a staggering 22 solo albums since 2008, many of them as limited edition CDRs on his own Mathematics imprints. These showcase a rapidly evolving artist whose music is yet to reach a static point. His label Mathematics has also become home to a broader range of talent from established artists like Pointdexter to a new wave of producers including Marcello Napoletano, John Heckle and Kuba Sojka. His appearances in New York in the last decade have been rare and often in smaller venues so this opportunity to hear him on a larger system in a context suited to his sound should be a special experience for fans and newcomers alike.
