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When Moby first erupted onto the rave arena
with the Twin Peaks-sampling "Go",
little did the world realise just how far this New Yorker would go to
confound
the public. From house innovator to techno punk originator, thrash metal
rocker to inadvertent soundtracker and composer, Moby has travelled
disparate
musical terrains with an insatiable thirst for fresh sounds and spiritual
energy. It's been a long and varied journey, and one which laughs in the
face
of the accepted take on eclecticism. Not for Moby the safe bet. Moby, you
see,
is one of music's true mavericks. Something to be cherished in the current
climate of rampant mediocrity.
And yet, unlike so many artists who map out their shape shifts with a
marketing executive's eye for demographics, the genre-bending that Richard
Hall (as Moby's mom called him) has explored has been nothing if not
passionate, heartfelt and honest. Far from aiming to deliberately confound
his
friends and fans, Moby has simply followed the signposts laid out by his
own
creative mind, inspired by the world he lives in.
The story of Moby we all now know. Unfortunately, most of the cliches
attached
to Moby - strident environmentalist, Christian, non-drinker, non-drug
taker -
have kind of fallen by the wayside over the last few years as his take on
the
world has become more and more ambiguous. He is as engaging a
conversationalist as you're likely to meet; neither po-faced nor dogmatic
in
his
beliefs, he is quite unlike the vast majority of the stars from the entire
lexicon of rock'n'pop'n'techno. In other words, he is genuinely
interesting.
But then he could hardly fail to be when you consider his background.
Born in New York and raised in Connecticut, Moby's father died when he was
only two. Subsequently he was brought up by his mother, an open-minded
woman
who encouraged Moby to pursue whatever creative avenues appealed to him.
By
the time Moby was ten he was actively learning classical guitar, something
which held him in good stead for the punk explosion which attracted him in
his
teens. By his twenties he had been involved in bands as disparate as speed
metal kids The Vatican Commandos, anarchist noise combo Flipper and
critically
acclaimed 4AD band Ultra Vivid Scene.
With Moby's love of new in music it was inevitable that he would be drawn
to
the house scene in the late 80s. His early singles were staples of the
rave
scene, with "Go" storming the top ten in the UK. With 1995's "Everything
is
Wrong" album - his first true long player, the previous releases being
little
more than collections - he could be found pouring the styles that he'd
grown
up with into a hybrid of house, rock, hardcore, thrash and jungle, all
laced
with more than a touch of drama. The singles "Hymn", "Feeling So Real" and
"Everytime You Touch Me" revealed Moby's ability to create uniquely moving
music
With Moby's appearance playing on 1995's Lollapallooza came the
realisation
that he had eschewed his dance roots and gone back to the hardcore thrash
punk
of his youth. A triptych composed of industrial punk, speedcore and
heartbreaking instrumentals, the following year's "Animal Rights" album
was a
stab in the back for purism of any kind. "It was an intentionally
abrasive,
misanthropic record." he recalls. Around the same time he also released
"The
End Of Everything", an album of breathtaking synthetic orchestrations,
under
the pseudonym Voodoo Child.
In 1997 Moby released "I Like to Score", a compilation of some of the many
of
his tracks which have been used in movies. Among these was the
breakbeat-driven version of the universally recognisable "James Bond
Theme", a
single which not only represented Moby's return to the dance arena but
also
hinted at a new-found love of hip hop, a genre explored in a little more
relaxed way on his latest opus "Play".
As you would expect, the release of "Play" heralds yet more musical
exploration from the man who gained his moniker thanks to being a direct
descendant of "Moby Dick" author Herman Melville. Almost twelve months in
the
making, "Play" is a downtempo affair which is perhaps his most cohesive
album
to date.
"I suppose the genesis of this record can be found on the downtempo tracks
on
'Everything is Wrong'" he explains. "With 'Everything is Wrong' it was me
bringing in all of the styles and sounds that I was into in a wildly
eclectic
way. With this album I wanted things to hang together far more naturally."
If "Play" were a theatrical performance it would be in three acts. Act one
finds Moby building his music around field recordings of indigenous black
music from the early 20th century. Act two features Moby himself on vocal
duties. The final act is represented by the quietly reflective
instrumental
tracks. The glue that holds the entire performance together is provided by
the
breaks of hip hop ("I listen to a lot of commercial hip hop like Jay-Z,
Noriega, Timbaland, and Busta Rhymes"). Fear not because the overall
effect is
often moving, occasionally spooky and always breathtaking.
"The field recordings were made by a folk historian called Alan Lomax who,
along with his father, amassed a huge catalogue of indigenous field
recordings
in the early part of the twentieth century. When I first heard these
recordings I was so moved by them. These wonderful vocals became the
starting
points for my music."
Interesting that, at a time when millennial fever has so many people
running
to their 70s and 80s records for inspiration, Moby has found it lurking in
obscure recordings from the beginning of the century. These tapes held all
of
the energy that originally drew him to both punk and rave.
Moby's use of these field recordings was heralded by the release of
"Honey" in
September '98. A swaggering slice of b-boy swamp blues, "Honey" received
accolades throughout the media with NME calling it "a sparkling diamond"
while
The Guardian described it as "joyous, hypnotic, romping blues".
With "Honey" Moby set the scene for the astonishing bride-stripped-bare
minimalist blues of "Play". And, as is the norm for the man who is
occasionally known as Little Idiot, he plays all of the instruments
himself.
"I was playing the album to one of my friends and he asked me who the
drummer
was. When I said it was me he was amazed."
He plays everything from classical guitar to Roland 303, he's played
everything from thrash metal to hands in the air techno, he's remixed
everyone
from Michael Jackson to Metallica, and he's turned down production offers
from
Hole and Guns 'n' Roses. One thing is certain about Moby: he can still
surprise. With "Play" Moby has delivered another stunning head turner. And
the
best bit is, you get the feeling that there's still so much more to come
from
NYC's favourite maverick
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