and just who is this moby character?
Richard Melville Hall, the great-great-grand-nephew of Moby Dick
author Herman Melville, was born on September 11, 1965 in New York
City. Nicknamed 'Moby' since infancy, he was raised in Darien, CT.
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 punk 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. He quickly became well
known in the techno world with world-wide dance hit songs such as
"Go" (a UK top 10), "Drop A Beat", and "Next Is The E". Three albums,
"Moby",
"Early Underground", and "Ambient", were released by Instinct
Records during this period, but not necessarily with Moby's
'consent or involvement'.
Moby moved on to the major labels Mute (UK/Europe) and Elektra
(USA). Given free artistic reign, he released "Everything Is
Wrong", an album spanning several radically different genres --
an eclectic mix showcasing his versatility as a musician. Though
it drew fire from techno purists, EIW won widespread acclaim among
critics and fans alike.
The following album, "Animal Rights", was even more controversial.
At a time when pop artists were jumping on the 'electronica'
bandwagon in droves, Moby became disinterested in what he felt
was a stagnating, elitist DJ culture, and put out a hard rock
record instead. For years, his music had featured female singers.
But on "Animal Rights", Moby did the vocals himself, shouting semi-
intelligible lyrics over a backdrop of heavy guitar fury. "Little
Idiot", a limited edition UK bonus disc of very simple 'symphonic
instrumental' music, served as an extreme counterbalance to AR's
loud rock. Some of these reflective ambient tracks appeared on
the US version of AR, which had been delayed for several months.
A compilation of Moby's film-related songs, wittily entitled
"I Like To Score", was released in late 1997, featuring Moby's
're-version' of the famous James Bond Theme.
The release of "Play" heralds yet more musical exploration from the Moby.
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.
(adapted from the bios on the discography and on mute's uk
site)
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