interview with Moby

MOBY

By NEIL STRAUSS
Photography DAVID LACHAPELLE

Hail pounds brutally on the skylight of Moby's Nolita apartment, threatening to break the glass as we talk. His bookshelf, containing everything from Flannery O'Connor to Naguib Mahfouz to The MacHiavellian Guide to Womanizing, rattles from the storm. And Moby pauses every now and then to look worriedly around the room. His apartment is bare, wooden and sparsely furnished. It is the same place he lived when he recorded his first single, "Go," in 1991. Though his material circumstances don't seem to have changed, a lot has happened since then.

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When he moved in, Moby, a veteran of punk bands in Connecticut, had reinvented himself as a local club disc jockey. The success of his first singles and albums catapulted him to the forefront of the first wave of next-big-thing techno in America, and he was heralded as the face of a so-called faceless movement. But Moby refused to stand as a symbol for something he didn't belong to: He advertised his beliefs as a vegan, drug-free Christian and, in concert, was unafraid to strap on a guitar and return to his hardcore roots. Slowly, his star began to fade.

Moby - Porcelain

The Many Faces of Moby

Atrue musical chameleon, Moby has made a career out of defying categorizations and expectations. Is he techno? Punk? A rock 'n' roller? A glorified DJ? An ambient chill-out dude? Synth titan or guitar hero? Underground or mainstream? He sampled Twin Peaks composer Angelo Badalamenti on his first hit, “Go,” in 1991 and, as incongruously, blues singers from Alan Lomax field recordings on his multi-Platinum masterpiece Play in 1999. He's deconstructed the James Bond theme and covered songs by Mission of Burma and New Order. He's done remixes for Michael Jackson, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and others. His last two major tours, dubbed Area:One and Area:Two, were as eclectic as he is, with the artist topping bills including David Bowie, The Roots, Paul Oakenfold, OutKast, Incubus, Nelly Furtado, D.J. Tiesto and Busta Rhymes. He's been criticized for wearing his politics on his sleeve — what Moby article would be complete without mentioning that he's an outspoken left-wing vegan Christian peacenik animal rights activist? And don't forget the complaints about him selling every track on Playto various commercial interests — how dare he?



photo: Berry Behrendt

I don't care about any of that stuff. I think he consistently makes fascinating and varied albums that speak to the soul in beautiful and mysterious ways. His latest, Hotel (set for March 22 release), is no exception. The two-CD set features one disc that is dominated by relatively straightforward pop/rock tunes with electronica shadings, and a second disc of gorgeous, moody, ambient instrumentals. The pop songs pick up where the hit “We Are All Made of Stars” left off: After years of sampling singers and hiring others to do the heavy-lifting live, Moby has blossomed into a confident and distinctive vocalist, with an uncanny knack for writing soaring melodies and infectious hooks that he couches in smart, deceptively simple arrangements that are actually quite complex.

Moby - Lift Me Up

Moby

Biography

Moby is an American electronic musician and is also the name of his live band. Born Richard Melville Hall on September 11, 1965 in Harlem, New York. Moved to Darien, Connecticut at the age of two.

He has also released music under the names Voodoo Child, Barracuda, U.H.F., The Brotherhood, DJ Cake, Lopez, On the Rim of the Wheel a Nail, and Brainstorm/Mindstorm.

Moby plays keyboards, guitar and bass guitar. He took his performing name from the novel Moby-Dickby Herman Melville, who is his great-great-granduncle.

Early years

Moby used to be in a punk band called the Vatican Commandos, which was formed in 1980, but abandoned punk in 1989 for electronic music. He realized his music tastes and growth were going in a different direction than his previous band’s.

His first album “The Story So Far (aka Moby)” featured the single “Go”, which gained popularity in many discos, and earned a spot on the UK charts. The song is so popular that Moby still plays “Go” regularly in his sets. “Go” is a progressive track using the string line from “Laura Palmer’s Theme” from the TV drama Twin Peaks.