Moby gained attention in the early 1990s with his electronic dance music work, which dabbled in the techno and breakbeat hardcore (also known as "rave") genres. With his fifth studio album, the electronica and house-influenced ''Play'', he gained international success. Originally released in mid-1999 to an unflattering response, it re-entered the charts in early 2000 and slowly became an unexpected hit, producing eight singles and eventually selling over 10 million copies worldwide.

Moby followed the album in 2002 with ''18'', which was also successful, selling over 5 million copies worldwide and receiving mostly positive reviews, though some criticizing it for being too similar to ''Play''. His next offer, 2005's mostly upbeat ''Hotel'' was a stylistic departure, incorporating more alternative rock elements than previous albums, and received mixed reviews. However, it still sold around 2 million copies worldwide. After 2008's dance-influenced ''Last Night'' (2008), he returned to the downtempo electronica of ''Play'' and ''18'' with 2009's mostly-ambient ''Wait for Me'', finding higher critical acclaim and moderate sales. Moby's latest album, ''Destroyed.'', was released on May 13, 2011.

Moby has co-written, produced, and remixed music for The Smashing Pumpkins, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Mylène Farmer, Brian Eno, Pet Shop Boys, Britney Spears, New Order, Public Enemy, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, and others.

Worldwide, Moby has sold over 20 million albums. Allmusic considers him "one of the most important dance music figures of the early '90s, helping bring the music to a mainstream audience both in the UK and in America."

Biography

Early life and name

According to Hall, his middle name and the nickname "Moby" were given to him by his parents because of an ancestral relationship to ''Moby Dick'' author Herman Melville: "The basis for Richard Melville Hall—and for Moby—is that supposedly Herman Melville was my great-great-great-granduncle."

He has released music under the names "Voodoo Child", "Schaumgummi", and as a member of the bands Vatican Commandos, AWOL, Caeli Seoul, and Gin Train.

Music career

From 1982 to 1985, he played in a hardcore punk band called the Vatican Commandos, who released an EP called ''Hit Squad for God''. He also played in a Joy Division-inspired post-punk group called AWOL who released an eponymous album in 1983. Circa 1988, Moby performed briefly with Ultra Vivid Scene. He can be seen playing guitar in UVS' video for "Mercy Seat", which appears on the band's 1988 self-titled record.

After years of pursuing a record deal, he signed a recording contract with Instinct Records in 1989. During this time, Instinct Records "did not actually ''exist''", Moby stated in his 2005 iTunes Originals interviews. When he was signed, the company did not have a logo, name, or an office.

1991–1993: "Go" and rise to fame

His first single for Instinct was "Mobility", but it was the second single, "Go", a progressive house track using the string line from "Laura Palmer's Theme" from the TV drama ''Twin Peaks'', which was his first breakthrough, reaching the UK top ten in October 1991 and earning him his first appearance on ''Top of the Pops''. Some of his other singles in 1992 and 1993 were "Next Is the E", "Thousand", and "Voodoo Child". It was when Moby started releasing records in the UK that he paired up with local-based manager Eric Härle.

In 1991 and 1992 he remixed The B-52s, The Prodigy, Orbital, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, Michael Jackson, and Ten City.

In 1992 he toured with The Prodigy, Richie Hawtin, and John Acquaviva.

1993–1998: ''Everything Is Wrong'', ''Animal Rights'', and ''I Like to Score''

He then released his first album on Mute Records, ''Everything Is Wrong'', in 1995. Early copies (in the UK and Germany at least) came with a special bonus CD called ''Underwater''. This was a 43-minute five-track instrumental ambient CD. ''Everything Is Wrong'' earned early critical praise (''Spin'' magazine named it "Album of the Year") and some commercial success. He followed this up in early 1996 with the double album ''Everything Is Wrong—Mixed and Remixed''. In 1995, Moby headlined the second stage at Lollapalooza, playing alongside Beck, Sonic Youth, Hole, and Pavement.

Disillusioned by the lack of feedback he was receiving from the music media, who struggled to comprehend the artist's new electronic music and refused to take it very seriously, Moby decided to release a punk rock album. Released in 1996 ''Animal Rights'' included a cover version of Mission of Burma's "That's When I Reach for My Revolver" and was followed by a tour of Europe with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Soundgarden. The single "Come on Baby" from ''Animal Rights'' was Moby's third ''Top of the Pops'' performance. It was notable for its very aggressive look and sound. Ironically, just as Moby decided to change direction, the electronic music he had moved away from started to gain recognition and popularity through artists like The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy. Also in 1996, Moby contributed the song "Republican Party" to the AIDS benefit album ''Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip'' produced by the Red Hot Organization.

According to manager Eric Härle, the album almost ruined his career, because the new direction not only left audiences cold—with music media uninterested and his existing fan base largely alienated—but led to people being confused as to what kind of artist Moby really was. Having wiped out all his early good work in establishing himself, Moby was left struggling for any kind of recognition and quickly became seen as a "has-been" in the eyes of a lot of people in the industry.

In 1997, he released ''I Like to Score'', a collection of his music that had been used in movies. Among those tracks were an updated version of "The James Bond Theme" used for the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', and "New Dawn Fades" (a cover of Joy Division's original) which had appeared without vocals in Michael Mann's film ''Heat''.

1999–2004: ''Play'', ''18'', and worldwide success

In July 2001, ''Moby: PlaytheDVD'' was released. Produced by Moby and Jeff Rogers (Swell), the DVD was nominated for a 2002 Grammy award. The DVD included various sections: "Live on TV", most of the music videos from the album (excluding "South Side" with Gwen Stefani), "Give An Idiot a Camcorder" (Moby was given a camcorder and the tape was later edited by Tara Bethune-Leaman), and an 88-minute "Mega Mix" of all the remixes created for the album. The "Mega Mix" was accompanied by visuals created in Toronto at Crush, led by director Kathi Prosser.

In 2002 Moby released the follow-up to ''Play'', ''18'', which earned gold and platinum awards in over 30 countries, and sold more than four million copies. Moby toured extensively for both ''Play'' and ''18'', playing well over 500 shows in the course of four years.

He founded the Area:One Festival in 2001, a popular touring festival that features an eclectic range of musical genres. The Area:One tour featured Outkast, New Order, Incubus, Nelly Furtado, Paul Oakenfold, and Moby himself. Area2 tour (2002) featured David Bowie, Moby, Blue Man Group, Busta Rhymes, and Carl Cox.

In the next few years, Moby co-wrote "Is It Any Wonder" with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, remixed the Beastie Boys, David Bowie, Nas and Metallica, produced and co-wrote the track "Early Mornin'" for Britney Spears' fourth studio album ''In the Zone'', and collaborated with Public Enemy on "Make Love, Fuck War", which was released prior to the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Moby also had his song "Extreme Ways" used in the ''Bourne'' movies. Although not a hit when it was released, "Extreme Ways" has gone on to become one of Moby's most-downloaded songs.

In 2003, Moby headlined the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury. In 2004, he worked on the John Kerry presidential campaign, and also worked extensively with Liberal group MoveOn.org.

2005–2008: ''Hotel'', ''Last Night'', and other work

In 2005, Moby released ''Hotel'' under the label Pacha. Instead of his relying on samples for vocals, all of the vocals and instruments were performed live in the studio, by Moby and vocalist Laura Dawn.

''Hotel'' spawned two of Moby's biggest European hits, "Lift Me Up" and "Slipping Away", both of which were number 1 European singles. ''Hotel'' went on to earn gold and platinum awards in over twenty countries, with global sales of over two million copies.

In the UK, ITV used a specially remixed version of "Lift Me Up" as its Formula 1 coverage theme music.

In 2006, Moby also starred in the movie ''Pittsburgh'', with Jeff Goldblum and Illeana Douglas.

In 2006, he accepted an offer to score the soundtrack for Richard Kelly's 2007 movie ''Southland Tales'' because he was a fan of Kelly's previous film, ''Donnie Darko''.

In 2007, he produced and performed on The Bongos' remake of "The Bulrushes", for the Special Edition re-issue of their debut album, ''Drums Along the Hudson'' (Cooking Vinyl Records), and appeared in the promo video of the song.

In 2007, Moby launched a website entitled mobygratis.com. mobygratis provides free music for film students and independent and non-profit filmmakers. It is a non-profit venture, with any/all revenue earned by mobygratis.com going to the Humane Society/HSUS.

In 2007, Moby also started a rock band, The Little Death, NYC, with his friends Laura Dawn, Daron Murphy, and Aaron A. Brooks. In 2008, Moby released ''Last Night'', an eclectic album of electronic dance music inspired by a night out in his New York neighborhood (the Lower East Side). The singles from ''Last Night'' include "Alice", "Disco Lies", "I Love to Move in Here", and "Ooh Yeah". The album was recorded in Moby's home studio in Manhattan, New York and features a number of guest vocalists, including Wendy Starland, MC Grandmaster Caz (one of the writers of "Rapper's Delight"), Sylvia from the band Kudu, British MC Aynzli, and the Nigerian 419 Squad.

From 2007 to 2008 he ran a series of New York club events titled "Degenerates".

In collaboration with ''The Sunday Times'', Moby released an exclusive mix album titled ''A Night in NYC'', which appeared on the newspaper's cover. It was a compilation of Moby tracks spanning his career and included videos from his new album ''Last Night''.

2009–2010: ''Wait for Me''

I recorded the album here in my studio on the lower east side (although 'studio' always seems like an overly grand word for a bunch of equipment set up in a small bedroom). In the past I've worked in large and small studios, but for this record I wanted to record everything at home by myself", Moby said on his journal. "I started working on the album about a year ago, and the creative impetus behind the record was hearing a David Lynch speech at BAFTA, in the UK. David was talking about creativity, and to paraphrase, about how creativity in and of itself, and without market pressures, is fine and good. It seems as if too often an artist's, musician's or writer's creative output is judged by how well it accommodates the marketplace, and how much market share it commands and how much money it generates. In making this record I wanted to focus on making something that I loved, without really being concerned about how it might be received by the marketplace. As a result it's a quieter and more melodic and more mournful and more personal record than some of the records I've made in the past.

The album, titled ''Wait for Me'', was released in June 2009.

Moby and David Lynch discussed the recording process of the album on Lynch's online channel, David Lynch Foundation Television Beta. The first single off the album was "Shot in the Back of the Head", and the video was directed David Lynch. The single was available for free download from Moby's website.

Ken Thomas, who had previously produced some Sigur Rós albums, mixed ''Wait for Me''. According to Moby,

mixing the record with him [Thomas] was really nice, as he's creatively open to trying anything (like recording an old broken bakelite radio and running it through some broken old effects pedals to see what it would sound like. It's on the record as a 45 second long track called "Stock Radio"). And as a geeky technical aside, we mixed the record using purely analog equipment in true stereo, akin to how records were mixed in the late '60s, some of the songs sound pretty amazing in headphones, if I do say so myself...

Moby toured for the album with a full band, something that occurred rarely during Moby's ''Last Night'' promotion, except for selected festival performances. Moby raised between $75,000 and $100,000 to help those affected by domestic violence after all funding for the state's domestic violence program was cut in July. To do this, he donated the profits from his upcoming shows in California (San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles). Moby headlined the Australian 2009 Falls Festival, as well as the other Sunset Sounds festivals.

Moby played a minor role in Canadian black comedy film Suck, released in September 2009.

On February 22, 2010, Moby announced a UGC competition with Genero.TV asking his fans to create a videoclip, that will be serviced worldwide as the official videoclip for his upcoming single "Wait for Me", the last single from the album. On April 19, Moby chose the winning videoclip out of 500 entries, "based on its creativity, production value, concept, and humor." The chosen videoclip, written and directed by Nimrod Shapira from Israel, portrays the story of a girl who decides to invite Moby into her life. She attempts to do so by using a book called ''How to Summon Moby Guide for Dummies'', putting herself through 10 bizarre and comical steps (each is a tribute to a different Moby videoclip). The single was released on May 4, 2010.

In March 2010, Moby released a new single "Wait for Me", the title track from the album. It was released on May 3, 2010.

2010–present: ''Destroyed.''

On February 15, 2011, Moby announced the release of his new album, ''Destroyed.''. It was released on May 16, 2011. A photography book with the same name was also released around the time of the album. "Musically", he said, "it's very melodic and atmospheric and electronic, and if i had to sum it up i would describe it as: 'broken down melodic electronic music for empty cities at 2 a.m'." The album cover, which was released with the new information, was taken in LaGuardia Airport. It is a picture of a sign that reads 'destroyed', it's used in the airport to notify passengers when the unclaimed baggage has been disposed of. The album consists of 15 tracks, one of them previously featured on the compilation ''A Night in NYC'', titled "Rockets". Along with the album's announcement came the release of the EP ''Be the One'', which contains 3 of the tracks from ''Destroyed.'' The EP was released for free for those who signed up for Moby's mailing list. "The Day" is an English cover of "Bleu Noir" by Mylène Farmer. For the next single, Moby put a poll on his website for fans to choose which single should be released next, and it came to be "Lie Down in Darkness". So far, it has proved to be the most successful single from the album, charting on various dance charts and in Belgium. On August 30, Moby posted another request for the third official single, this time asking fans to say which should be next, without a poll. After this, he announced the following day through his Twitter that the next singles are "After" and "The Right Thing".

Collaborations

He made two duets with the French singer Mylène Farmer ("Slipping Away (Crier la vie)" in 2006 and "Looking for My Name" in 2008). He also produced seven songs for her eighth album, ''Bleu Noir'', published on December 6, 2010.

In 2007, he became one of the few well-known commercial artists to produce work for a video game, collaborating with DJ Oscar the Punk on all three tracks of ''The BioShock EP'', included with limited edition copies of the Xbox 360 and PC game ''BioShock''.

Personal life

In an interview with ''Psychology Today'', Moby admitted that when he was 19, he tried LSD and began suffering from panic attacks. He claims that he no longer experiences them as frequently as he used to, but occasionally he will "have too much caffeine, be stressed out about work and be in a relationship that's not going well, and it will happen again." He is very open about this in an attempt to help fans who suffer from similar panic disorders.

When asked about drugs, he responded: "I'm sort of a libertarian. People should be able to do what they want. I ultimately defer the wisdom to an adult to make their own choices. If someone wants to do drugs, I think it's their own business and not the business of the state." In a 2003 BBC interview, Moby spoke about his encounter with the Gospels: "In about 1985 I read the teachings of Christ and was instantly struck by the idea that Christ was somehow divine. When I say I love Christ and love the teachings of Christ, I mean that in the most simple and naïve and subjective way. I'm not saying I'm right, and I certainly wouldn't criticize anyone else's beliefs." In an interview with Amazon.com, Moby said, "I can't really know anything. Having said that, though, on a very subjective level I love Christ. I perceive Christ to be God, but I predicate that with the knowledge that I'm small and not nearly as old as the universe that I live in. I take my beliefs seriously for myself, but I would be very uncomfortable trying to tell anyone that I was right."

In a 20 September 2006 audio interview with ''Sojourners'' magazine, he says, "I read the New Testament, specifically the gospels and I was struck at their divinity, feeling that humans could not have figured this out on their own. We're just not bright enough." He also discusses his faith on his own blog. On January 19, 2007, in his reaction to seeing Alexandra Pelosi's ''Friends of God'', a film about evangelicalism in the United States, Moby writes, "The movie reminded me just how utterly disconnected the agenda of the evangelical Christian right is from the teachings of Christ." At times, he has been reluctant to use the word "Christian" to define himself, due to its ambiguity, but has self-identified as a Christian in interviews related to his faith.

In March 2008, after Gary Gygax's death, Moby was one of several celebrities identifying themselves as former ''Dungeons & Dragons'' players.

In March 2010, Moby made his debut as an author when ''Gristle: From Factory Farms to Food Safety (Thinking Twice About the Meat We Eat)'', a collection of essays from people in the food industry, was published.

Charity

He also actively engages in nonpartisan activism and serves on the Board of Directors of Amend.org, a nonprofit organization that implements injury prevention programs in Africa.

Moby is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing scientific inquiry on music and the brain and to developing clinical treatments to benefit people of all ages. He has also performed on various benefit concerts to help increase awareness for music therapy and raise funds for the Institute. In 2004, he was honored with the IMNF's Music Has Power Award for his advocacy of music therapy and for his dedication and support to its recording studio program..

He is an advocate of network neutrality and he testified before United States House of Representatives committee debating the issue in 2006.

In 2008, he participated in ''Songs for Tibet'', an album to support Tibet and the current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso.

In 2009, after hearing about California cutting its funding to domestic violence programs, Moby decided to donate the fees from his tour shows in L.A. and San Francisco to the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence Salement.

RIAA criticism

Essays

He was interviewed by Lucy Walker for a chapter in ''Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture'' (The MIT Press, 2008) edited by Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky.

Photography

In 2011, Moby released a book of photography entitled ''Destroyed.'' The books features the artist's own images from his international tours. An album with the same name was released in the same year.

; Photography exhibitions

Moby's ''Destroyed.'' exhibition is currently being shown at the Samuel Owen Gallery in Connecticut.

Discography

; Studio albums

; Videography

Awards

{| class=wikitable |- ! Year !! Awards !! Category !! Work !! Result |- | rowspan=8 | 2000 | VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards | Visionary Video | | |- | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Male Video | | |- | rowspan=2 | Grammy Awards | Best Alternative Music Performance | Play | |- | Best Rock Instrumental Performance | Bodyrock | |- | rowspan=3 | MTV Europe Music | Best Video | Natural Blues | |- | Best Album | Play | |- | Best Dance | | |- | BRIT Awards | Best International Male | | |- | rowspan=8 | 2001 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Male Video | | |- | Grammy Awards | Best Dance Recording | Natural Blues | |- | NRJ Music Awards | International Male Artist of the Year | | |- | NRJ Music Awards | International Album of the Year | Play | |- | IFPI Platinum Europe Awards | Album Title | Play | |- | NME Awards | Best Live | | |- | rowspan=3 | My VH1 Music Awards | Best Male | | |- | Best Collaboration | South Side | |- | Favorite Video | South Side | |- | rowspan=10 | 2002 | Q Awards | Best Producer | | |- | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Cinematography | | |- | IFPI Platinum Europe Awards | Album Title | Play | |- | BMI Pop Songs Awards | Pop Songs | South Side | |- | BMI Film & TV Awards | Certificate of Achievement | | |- | Grammy Awards | Best Music Video, Long Form | Play | |- | rowspan=2 | MTV Europe Music | Web Awards | | |- | Best Dance | | |- | rowspan=2 | Billboard Music Awards | Electronic Artist of the Year | | |- | Electronic Album of the Year | 18 | |- | rowspan=6 | 2003 | Grammy Awards | Best Pop Instrumental Performance | 18 | |- | MTV Europe Music | Best Dance | | |- | MTV Video Music Japan Music | Best Dance Video | | |- | IFPI Platinum Europe Awards | Album Title | 18 | |- | BRIT Awards | Best International Male | | |- | MTV Asia Awards | Best Male | | |- | 2005 | MTV Europe Music | Best Male | | |- | 2006 | ECHO Awards | International Pop/Rock Male Artist of the Year | | |- | 2009 | Grammy Awards | Best Electronic/Dance Album | Last Night | |}

Further reading

References

External links

Category:Living people Category:1965 births Category:Ambient musicians Category:American activists Category:American bloggers Category:American businesspeople Category:American techno musicians Category:American dance musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:American house musicians Category:American vegans Category:American libertarians Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Electronica musicians Category:Musicians from New York City Category:People from Manhattan Category:State University of New York at Purchase alumni Category:V2 Records artists Category:Mute Records artists Category:American punk rock guitarists Category:Pseudonymous musicians Category:People from Darien, Connecticut Category:Musicians from Connecticut Category:American record producers Category:American Christians