Jordan Moss is more than a musician. To label him as just such would simply be incorrect. He’s the quintessence of the modern-day creative; a poet, filmmaker, producer, writer, artist, multimedia cognoscente. He’s not just an “experimental” beatmaker, as is so often the broad characterization of an artist whose work isn’t readily describable by one or two genres. He’s The Rhetorician, the Black Ranger, a self-described “global multidimensional creator.” Moss doesn’t create for our approval. He creates, and we’re the lucky ones for getting to experience it.
As is the case for Fluid Associates, the sophomore record from Moss in collaboration with Black Noise labelmate Slap Serif. The roughly twenty-minute project is not a mixtape of freestyle rhymes and shoddily manufactured beats; it is careful, intentional. It’s a reflection of the complicated nature of creation within existence, of navigating independence and relationships with those around us. “We aren’t friends,” reads the record’s Bandcamp notes. “You are deff closer than a stranger but in the realm of less than a friend … Fluid Associate.”
From the first thirty seconds of “Trailer,” the album’s opener, we’re fed that characteristic, eccentric quality of Moss’ use of sampling — Serif doesn’t lean into pre-made backing beats. The sampled audio bites are just a part of the overall storyline as Moss’ lyricism; a deep, cinematic narration introduces Moss as the Black Ranger, the protagonist of the next twenty minutes. “Although his reputation was legendary,” booms out the voice, as the beats underneath are scratched to a pause, “his identity remained a secret.” Before the track fades out entirely, we’re given a PG rating, an ironic notion considering the (non-explicit) heaviness of the album’s subject matter — are we better off alone, or distracting ourselves with those around us? What’s going to happen when all we’ve worked for fades away, and all we’ve got is who we are?
Fluid Associates is a commentary on the temporary nature of just about everything in life. We’re constantly moving, constantly changing, and those around us come and go, fluidly entering and leaving our worlds at a speed that never really slows down. Here, we really get to see Moss, isolated, living across the country from his family, working at an art that is persistently threatened by the unpredictability of consumption. “Every day I wake up and I realize this ain’t going nowhere,” Moss sings on “Composition Page.” “Shows ain’t comin’ back dog, and I gotta get better somehow.”
Moss partnered with Serif — otherwise known as Andrew Valdez — to engineer the foundation of the album; the brilliantly used samples, chime-y staccato synthesizer, and brassy orchestral melodies are all products of Valdez’s genius. Both artists’ influences are definitely apparent on the record, but they gel together so smoothly that it’s almost difficult to tell where Valdez ends and Moss begins. It’s truly a commendable collaboration, the seamlessness between the two individuals is not an easy feat. Yet we’d expect nothing less from the Black Ranger himself, who constantly wows us with his ability to create above and beyond the status quo for experimental artists. There is nothing casual with Moss — everything is a careful product of his genius. Fluid Associates is no exception.
Fluid Associates is available on streaming platforms. Limited cassette tapes are available for purchase at Black Noise Records starting Friday, April 22.