Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

considers him to be "among the most important

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

figures of the early 1990s, helping bring dance music to a mainstream audience both in the United States and the United Kingdom". After taking up guitar and piano at age nine, he played in several underground punk rock bands through the 1980s before turning to electronic dance music. In 1989, he moved to New York City and became a prolific figure as a DJ, producer and remixer. His 1991 single " Go" was his mainstream breakthrough, especially in Europe, where it peaked within the top ten of the charts in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Between 1992 and 1997 he scored eight top 10 hits on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart including " Move (You Make Me Feel So Good)", " Feeling So Real", and " James Bond Theme (Moby Re-Version)". Throughout the decade he also produced music under various pseudonyms, released the critically acclaimed '' Everything Is Wrong'' (1995), and composed music for films. His punk-oriented album ''

Animal Rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

'' (1996) alienated much of his fan base. Moby found commercial and critical success with his fifth album ''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

'' (1999) which, after receiving little recognition, became an unexpected global hit in 2000 after each track was licensed to films, television shows, and commercials. It remains his highest selling album with 12 million copies sold. Its seventh single, " South Side", featuring Gwen Stefani, remains his only one to appear on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 14. Moby followed ''Play'' with albums of varied styles including electronic, dance, rock, and

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

music, starting with '' 18'' (2002), ''

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

'' (2005), and '' Last Night'' (2008). His later albums saw him explore ambient music, including the almost four-hour release '' Long Ambients 1: Calm. Sleep.'' (2016). Moby continues to record and release albums; his nineteenth studio album, ''

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

'', was released in May 2021. In addition to his music career, Moby is known for his

veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet (nutrition), diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is kn ...

and support for animal rights and humanitarian aid. He was the owner of TeaNY, a vegan cafe in Manhattan, and Little Pine, a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles, and organized the vegan music and food festival Circle V. He is the author of four books, including a collection of his photography and two memoirs: '' Porcelain: A Memoir'' (2016) and '' Then It Fell Apart'' (2019).

Early life

Richard Melville Hall was born September 11, 1965, in the neighborhood of

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

in Manhattan, New York City. He is an only child of Elizabeth McBride (''née'' Warner), a medical secretary, and James Frederick Hall, a chemistry professor, who died in a car crash while drunk when Moby was two. His father gave him the nickname Moby three days after his birth as his parents considered the name Richard too large for a newborn baby. The name was also a reference to the family's ancestry; Hall says he is the great-great-great nephew of

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...

, author of ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler, whaling ship ''Pequod (Moby- ...

''. Moby was raised by his mother, first in San Francisco from 1969 for a short period. He recalled being sexually abused by a staff member at his daycare during this time. This was followed by a move to

Darien, Connecticut Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any ...

, living in a squat with "three or four other drug-addicted hippies, with bands playing in the basement." The two then moved to Stratford, Connecticut, for a brief time. His mother struggled to support her son, often relying on food stamps and government welfare. They occasionally stayed with Moby's grandparents in Darien, but the affluence of the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

suburb made him feel poor and ashamed. Shortly before his mother's death in 1997, Moby learned from her that he has a half brother. His first job was a caddy at a golf course. Moby took up music at the age of nine. He started on classical guitar and received piano lessons from his mother before studying jazz, music theory, and percussion. In 1983, he became the guitarist in a

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band, the Vatican Commandos, playing on their debut EP ''Hit Squad for God''. Around this time he was the lead vocalist for Flipper for two days; Moby played bass for their reunion shows in the 2000s. Moby formed a

post punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

group named AWOL around the time of his eighteenth birthday. He is credited on their only release, a self-titled EP, as Moby Hall. In 1983, Moby graduated from

Darien High School Darien High School is the single public high school serving the town of Darien, Connecticut, in the United States. Background In 2014, Darien High School had the highest SAT scores in the state. In the 2004–2005 school year, Darien had the s ...

and started a philosophy degree at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

in Storrs, Connecticut. Around this time he had found the instruments he had learned "sonically limiting" and moved to electronic music. He spun records at the campus radio station

WHUS WHUS is a Non-commercial educational station, non-commercial educational FM college radio station. It transmits with 4,400 watts on 91.7 MHz from the University of Connecticut (UConn) in Storrs, Connecticut, Storrs to audiences in Connecticut, sou ...

, which led to DJ work in local clubs and bars. Moby grew increasingly unhappy at university, however, and transferred to State University of New York at Purchase, studying philosophy and photography, to try and renew his interest in studying. He dropped out in April 1984 to pursue DJing and music full-time, which started his interest in electronic dance music. For two years he lived in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

, where he DJ'd at The Cafe, an under-21 nightclub at the back of a church. In 1987, he started to send demos of his music to record labels in New York City; he failed to receive an offer, which led to a two-year period of "very fruitless labor". Around 1988, Moby moved into a semi-abandoned factory in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

, that had no bathroom or running water, but the free electricity supply allowed him to work on his music, using a 4-track recorder, synthesizer, and drum machine. Moby's formative musical influences include Nick Drake,

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic band formed in Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Co ...

(OMD),

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

Silver Apples Silver Apples were an American electronic rock group from New York, active between 1967 and 1970, before reforming in the mid-1990s. It was composed of Simeon (born Simeon Oliver Coxe III, June 4, 1938 – September 8, 2020), who performed ...

, Eric B. & Rakim, and

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

Career

1989–1993: Signing with Instinct, "Go", and breakthrough

In 1989, Moby relocated to New York City with his close friend, artist Damian Loeb. In addition to performing DJ sets in local bars and clubs, he played guitar in

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

group Ultra Vivid Scene and appeared in the video for their 1989 single "Mercy Seat". In 1990, Moby joined Shopwell and played on their album ''Peanuts''. Moby's first live electronic music gig followed in the summer of 1990 at Club MK; he wore a suit for the show. His future manager Eric Härle, who was in attendance, recalled Moby's set: "The music was amazing, but the show was riddled with technical mishaps. It left me very intrigued and impressed in a strange way." By mid-1990, Moby had signed a deal as the sole artist of

Instinct Records Instinct Records is a New York City electronic-music record label that first gained prominence in 1989. It is best known for releasing much of Moby's early work. Moby produced a number of tracks under various monikers so that in the early days, t ...

, an independent New York City-based dance label then still in its infancy. The three-man operation saw Moby answer incoming calls and make records in a studio he set up in the owner's lounge. To appear that Instinct had more artists, Moby's early singles were put out under several names such as Voodoo Child, Barracuda, Brainstorm, and UHF. The first, "Time's Up" as The Brotherhood, was co-written by Moby and vocalist Jimmy Mack. This was followed by "

Mobility Mobility may refer to: Social sciences and humanities * Economic mobility, ability of individuals or families to improve their economic status * Geographic mobility, the measure of how populations and goods move over time * Mobilities, a conte ...

", his first single released as Moby, in November 1990 which sold an initial 2,000 copies. He then scored a breakthrough hit with a remix of " Go", originally a B-side to "Mobility" with an added sample of "Laura Palmer's Theme" by Angelo Badalamenti from the television series ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cance ...

''. Released in March 1991, it peaked at No. 10 in the UK in October and earned him national exposure there with an appearance on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. Instinct capitalised on Moby's success with the late 1991 compilation ''

Instinct Dance ''Instinct Dance'' is a compilation album by Moby, collecting tracks previously released on singles under Moby's several pseudonyms. Two years later a similar compilation was released entitled '' Early Underground''. Track listing Onl ...

'' featuring tracks by Moby and his pseudonyms. The following year, Moby revealed that "Go" had earned him just $2,000 in royalties. The success of "Go" led to increased demand for Moby to produce more music and to remix other artists' songs. He often arranged for the artist and himself to trade remixes as opposed to being paid for his work, which was the case for his mixes for Billy Corgan and

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yama ...

. The increased mainstream exposure led Moby to request a release from his contract with Instinct for a bigger label. Instinct refused, so Moby retaliated by holding out on new material. However, Instinct continued to put out records, mostly from demos, without his consent having previously copied many of his tapes and had the master rights. This was the case for Moby's debut album, '' Moby'', released in July 1992 and formed mostly of previously unreleased demos that Moby considered old and unrepresentative of the musical direction he had taken since. Nonetheless, he claimed Instinct had insisted and had the legal right to put it out. It was re-titled ''The Story So Far'' and presented with a different track listing for its UK release. Four singles were released: "Go", "

Drop a Beat "Drop a Beat" is a song by American electronica musician Moby, released in May 1992 as the second single from his self-titled debut album. The single peaked at number six on the '' Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart ...

", "

Next Is the E "Next Is the E" (alternately known as "I Feel It") is a song by American electronica musician Moby, released in October 1992 as the third single from his self-titled debut album (1992). Release "Next Is the E" was released on October 28, 19 ...

", and a double A-side of "

I Feel It "I Feel It" is a song credited to DJ Darren Briais vs DJ Pee Wee Ferris The song was released in 1995 and peaked at number 20 on the Australian singles chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1996 The 10th Australian Recording Industry Assoc ...

" with "

Thousand 1000 or one thousand is the natural number following 999 and preceding 1001. In most English-speaking countries, it can be written with or without a comma or sometimes a period separating the thousands digit: 1,000. A group of one thousand th ...

". The latter was recognised by ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' as the fastest tempo in a recorded song at 1,015

beats-per-minute In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

. In 1992, Moby completed his first US tour as the opening act for

The Shamen The Shamen ( ) were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping British electronic dance music act by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie. Peter St ...

. In mid-1992, Moby estimated that he had earned between $8,000 to $11,000 a year for the past six years. At the 1992 ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'' awards, he smashed his keyboard after his set. After his second nationwide tour, this time with

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

and

Richie Hawtin Richard "Richie" Hawtin (born June 4, 1970) is a British-Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He became involved with Detroit techno's second wave in the early 1990s, and has been a leading exponent of minimal techno since the mid-1990s. He beca ...

, in early 1993, a second compilation of Moby's work for Instinct followed named ''

Early Underground ''Early Underground'' is a compilation album by American electronica musician Moby. It was released in March 1993 by Instinct Records. The album consists of tracks previously released by Moby under other pseudonyms such as Barracuda, Brainstor ...

''. His second and final album on Instinct, '' Ambient'', was released in August 1993. It is a collection of mostly

ambient techno Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, the Black Dog, ...

instrumentals of a more experimental style. By this time Instinct had agreed to release Moby who then took legal action, claiming that the label demanded "a ridiculous amount of money" that he did not have to leave. He also expressed disagreements over the way Instinct had packaged and handled his music. Moby was eventually released after he paid the label $10,000.

1993–1998: Signing with Elektra, ''Everything Is Wrong'', and ''Animal Rights''

In 1993, Moby signed with Elektra Records which lasted for five years. He secured a deal with Mute Records, a British label, to handle his European distribution. Moby's output for Elektra/Mute began with ''

Move Move may refer to: People * Daniil Move (born 1985), a Russian auto racing driver Brands and enterprises * Move (company), an online real estate company * Move (electronics store), a defunct Australian electronics retailer * Daihatsu Move Go ...

'', a four-track EP released in August 1993. He attempted to make it in a professional studio, but he disliked the results and re-recorded it at home. The song " All That I Need Is to Be Loved (MV)" is his first song to feature his own vocals. The first single, " Move (You Make Me Feel So Good)", reached No. 1 on the US '' Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and No. 21 in the UK. In 1993, Moby toured as the headlining act with Orbital and

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...

. A rift developed between Aphex Twin and himself, partly due to Moby's refusal to tolerate their cigarette smoke, so he travelled to each gig by plane, leaving the rest on the tour bus. In 1994, Moby put out ''Demons/Horses'', an electronic album of two 20-minute tracks under the name Voodoo Child. Moby's contract with Elektra allowed the opportunity to make his third full-length album, which was underway in 1994. He chose to include a variety of musical styles on the album that he either liked or had been influenced by, including electronic dance, ambient, rock, and industrial music. '' Everything Is Wrong'' was released in March 1995 to critical praise; '' Spin'' magazine named it Album of the Year and some commentators considered it to be an album ahead of its time as it failed to crack the ''Billboard'' 200 or have an impact on the dance charts. In the UK, the album reached No. 25 and the singles "

Hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

" and " Feeling So Real" went to Nos. 31 and 30, respectively. Elektra took advantage of its diverse sound by distributing tracks of the same style to corresponding radio stations nationwide. Early copies put out in the UK and Germany included a bonus CD of ambient music entitled ''Underwater''. Moby toured the album with some headline spots on the second stage at the 1995

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

festival. He followed it with a double remix album, '' Everything Is Wrong—Mixed and Remixed''. The success of ''Everything Is Wrong'' had Moby reach a new peak in critical acclaim. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' thought the 29-year-old Moby was "poised for greatness ..to make that big crossover" from a respected underground artist to a mainstream dance and rock musician. '' Billboard'' declared him "King of techno" and ''Spin'' named him "the closest techno comes to a complete artist." In 1995, Moby was approached by

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as ...

to produce the next

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

album, but he declined. He directed the music video for "Young Man's Stride" by

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York.
Original personnel were In 1996, Moby contributed "Republican Party" to the AIDS benefit album '' Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip'' produced by the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

and released his second Voodoo Child album, '' The End of Everything''. While touring ''Everything Is Wrong'', Moby had grown bored with the electronic scene and felt the press had failed to understand his records and take them seriously. This marked a major stylistic change for his next album, ''

'', combining guitar-driven rock songs with Moby on lead vocals and softer ambient tracks. Upon completing the album Moby said that it was "weird, long, self-indulgent and difficult". Its lead single is a cover version of "

That's When I Reach for My Revolver "That's When I Reach for My Revolver" is a song by Mission of Burma that was written and sung by band member Clint Conley. It appears on their 1981 EP '' Signals, Calls and Marches''. Moby covered the song in 1996 and released it as a single, r ...

" by post-punk group

Mission of Burma Mission of Burma was an American post-punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. The group formed in 1979 with Roger Miller on guitar, Clint Conley on bass, Peter Prescott on drums, and Martin Swope contributing audiotape manipulation and acting a ...

. ''Animal Rights'' was released in September 1996 in the UK, where it peaked at No. 38, and in February 1997 in the US. It was poorly received by his dance fan base who felt Moby had abandoned them, creating doubts as to what kind of artist Moby really was. Moby pointed out that he had not abandoned his electronic music completely and had worked on dance and house mixes and film scores while making ''Animal Rights''. After ''Animal Rights'', Moby's manager recalled: "We found ourselves struggling for even the slightest bit of recognition. He became a has-been in the eyes of a lot of people in the industry". Despite the hit in sales and critical response, Moby promoted the album with a European tour with

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

and

, and headlined the Big Top tour with other dance and electronic DJs. He returned to the genre after liking the

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

that a friend and DJ had played at a party. In October 1997, Moby displayed his range of music styles with the release of ''

I Like to Score ''I Like to Score'' is a compilation album by American electronica musician Moby. It was released on October 10, 1997 by Mute Records in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records in the United States. The album primarily consists of music recorded b ...

'', a compilation of his film soundtrack work with some re-recorded tracks. Among them are updated version of the "

James Bond Theme The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme music of the James Bond films and has featured in every Eon Productions Bond film since '' Dr. No'', released in 1962. Composed by Monty Norman (with arrangements for film provided by John Bar ...

" used for ''

Tomorrow Never Dies ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' is a 1997 spy film, the eighteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode from a screenplay ...

'', music used in ''

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

'', and a cover of "New Dawn Fades" by

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

, an instrumental version of which appeared in ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

''. Late 1997 saw Moby start his first US tour in two years. In 1998, Elektra granted Moby's request to be released from his deal on the condition that he paid to leave, which amounted to "quite a lot". He felt Elektra did little to capitalise on the critical success of ''Everything Is Wrong'', and that it was only interested in radio friendly hits. Left without an American distributor, his only deal remained with the UK-based Mute Records. Moby considered himself an artist that did not belong to a major label as his music did not fit with the genres that they promoted.

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

Moby's fifth album, ''

'', was released by Mute and

V2 Records V2 Records (or V2 Music; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007 and sold to IASin 2013. In the Benelux, V2 operates separately from PIAS, as the label bought itself out from ...

, founded by

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...

three years prior, in May 1999. The project originated when a music journalist introduced Moby to the

field recordings Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside a recording studio, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It also applies to sound recordings like electromagnetic fields or vibrat ...

of Alan Lomax from the compilation album ''Sounds of the South: A Musical Journey From the Georgia Sea Islands to the Mississippi Delta''. Moby took an interest in the songs and formed samples from various tracks which he used to base new tracks of his own. Upon release in May 1999, ''Play'' had moderate sales but eventually sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Moby toured worldwide in support of the album which lasted 22 months. Every track on ''Play'' was licensed to various films, advertisements, and television shows, as well as independent films and non-profit groups. The move was criticised and led to some to consider that Moby had become a sellout, but he later maintained that the licenses were granted mostly to independent films and non-profit projects, and agreed to them due to the difficulty of getting his music heard on the radio and television in the past. In 2007, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' published an article about a mathematical equation dubbed the "Moby quotient" that determined to what degree had a musical artist sold out. It was named in reference to his decision to license music from ''Play''. Moby, Area One

In 2000, Moby contributed "Flower" to '' Gone in 60 Seconds''. He co-wrote "Is It Any Wonder" with

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded Ellis-Bextor went solo and ach ...

for her debut solo album, '' Read My Lips''. ''Moby: Play - The DVD'', released in 2001, features the music videos produced for the album, live performances, and other bonus features. It was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Long Form Music Video. In 2001, Moby founded the Area:One Festival which toured the US and Canada across 17 shows that summer with a range of artists. The set included Outkast, New Order,

Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired deb ...

, and

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mas ...

, with Moby headlining. Moby started on the follow-up to ''Play'' in late 2000. Prior to working on tracks for '' 18'', he got friends to search for records with vocals that he could use and make samples from and went on to write over 140 songs for the album. At the same time, Moby familiarised himself with the

ProTools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-product ...

software and made ''18'' with it. Released in May 2002, ''18'' went to No. 1 in the UK and eleven other countries, and No. 4 in the US. It went on to sell over four million copies worldwide. Moby toured extensively for both ''Play'' and ''18'', playing over 500 shows in the next four years. The tour included the Area2 Festival in the summer of 2002, featuring a line-up of Moby,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Blue Man Group Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, bot ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

, and

Carl Cox Carl Cox (born 29 July 1962) is a British house and techno club DJ, as well as radio DJ and record producer. He is based in Hove, Sussex, England. Cox has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has performed at numerous clubs and e ...

. In December 2002, during a tour stop at

Paradise Rock Club The Paradise Rock Club (formerly known as the Paradise Theater) is a 933-capacity music venue in Boston, Massachusetts. Due to its relatively small size, it appeals to top local alternative rock performers as well as American and British bands vi ...

in Boston, Moby was punched in the face and sprayed with mace by two or three assailants while signing autographs outside the venue. The incident left him with multiple bruises and cuts. In February 2002, Moby performed at the closing ceremony of the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

. That month he hosted the half-hour

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

series ''Señor Moby's House of Music'', presenting a selection of electronic and dance music videos. His song "

Extreme Ways "Extreme Ways" is a song by American electronica musician Moby. It was released as the second single from his sixth studio album '' 18'' on . The track is notably used at the conclusion of all five of the ''Bourne'' films. New versions of th ...

" was used in all five of the ''

Bourne Bourne may refer to: Places UK * Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town ** Bourne Abbey ** Bourne railway station * Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex * Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset * Bourne ...

'' films, from 2002 to 2016. Moby said that after it was used for the first, the producers originally sought a different artist for the second but they had too little time to secure someone, leading them to pick "Extreme Ways" for the entire series. In 2002, rapper

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

mocked Moby in his song " Without Me" and its music video, dressing up like him and calling him an "old baldheaded fag" and his techno music outdated. Eminem had also shot a mock figure of Moby on stage. Moby put the attack down to Eminem having "this unrequited crush on me." In 2003, Moby headlined the Glastonbury Festival on the final day. He co-wrote and produced "Early Mornin'" for

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

' album ''

In the Zone ''In the Zone'' is the fourth studio album by American pop singer Britney Spears. It was released on November 12, 2003, through Jive Records. With the conclusion of her Dream Within a Dream Tour in July 2002 and the end of her relationship with ...

'' released that year. Moby returned to his dance and rave roots with the release of ''

Baby Monkey ''Baby Monkey'' is the second studio album by Voodoo Child, an alternate pseudonym of American electronica musician Moby. It was released in January 2004 by record labels V2 and Mute. Release ''Baby Monkey'' was released on January 27, 2004, b ...

'', the third album under his Voodoo Child moniker, in 2004. Later that year, he collaborated with

on " Make Love Fuck War", a protest song against the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

2004–2010: ''Hotel'', ''Last Night'', and ''Wait for Me''

Moby's seventh album, ''

'', was released in March 2005. The album contains little use of samples, which Moby reasoned to using different audio recording software which had a sampling function that was too difficult to learn, "so it was me just being lazy". He nonetheless said that ''Hotel'' is a more satisfying album as a result. The instruments were recorded live by Moby except for the drums, for which he enlisted his longtime live drummer Scott Frassetto. The album features vocals from six other performers, including

Laura Dawn Laura Dawn is an American political activist and singer-songwriter. She has been the cultural director for MoveOn.org from 2003 to 2011 and was named the organization's national creative director in 2007. In 2019 she helped to found progressive ...

and

Shayna Steele Shayna Steele (born September 23, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter and a Broadway stage actress. Career Steele's Broadway credits include ''Rent'' at the Nederlander Theatre, the revival of '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' at the Foxwoods The ...

. In 2013, Moby looked back on the album as his least favourite of his career, pointing out that it was the only one not recorded at his home studio. The singles " Lift Me Up" and " Slipping Away" became top-10 hits across Europe. Early copies of the album included a bonus CD of remixes and ambient music entitled ''Hotel: Ambient'' that was released on its own in 2014. In 2006, he accepted an offer to score the soundtrack for Richard Kelly's 2007 movie ''

Southland Tales ''Southland Tales'' is a 2006 American dystopian comedy thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly. The film features an ensemble cast including Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mandy Moore, and Justin ...

'', because he was a fan of Kelly's previous film, ''

Donnie Darko ''Donnie Darko'' is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and produced by Flower Films. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katha ...

''. In 2007, Moby also started a rock band, The Little Death with his friends

Daron Murphy Daron Murphy is co-founder of the creative agency and Art Not War. As a writer, producer, director, and creative director, Murphy has produced videos for social justice organizations. He has written and directed dozens of pieces. Murphy is also ...

, and Aaron A. Brooks. Following the dissolution of V2 Records in 2007, Moby signed a new deal with Mute Records to handle his American distribution. In 2007 Moby produced and performed on a remake of "The Bulrushes" by

The Bongos The Bongos were a power pop band from Hoboken, New Jersey that emerged from the New York City arts scene, primarily active in the 1980s, led by Richard Barone. With their unique musical style, they were major progenitors of the Hoboken indie-pop ...

that appeared on the special anniversary edition of the group's debut album ''Drums Along the Hudson'', on

Cooking Vinyl Records Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairman ...

. From 2007 to 2008 he ran a series of New York club events titled "Degenerates". In 2008, Moby released '' Last Night'', an electronic dance album inspired by a night out in his New York City neighborhood. The album was recorded in Moby's home studio and features various guest vocalists, including Wendy Starland, MC Grandmaster Caz, Sylvia of Kudu, MC Aynzli, and the Nigerian 419 Squad. The singles from ''Last Night'' include " Alice" and "

Disco Lies "Disco Lies" is a song by American electronica musician Moby. It was released as the first single from his eighth studio album '' Last Night'' on January 21, 2008. The female vocals are provided by Shayna Steele. Release "Disco Lies" was rel ...

Moby performing at the David Lynch Weekend, Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, Saturday evening, April 26, 08

Moby wished for the follow-up to ''Last Night'' to be emotional, personal, and melodic. He felt creatively inspired by a David Lynch speech at the

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

ceremony in the UK which prompted him to write new material that he liked with little regard to its mainstream commercial success. He decided against recording in a professional studio as he wanted to record the entire album at home, and chose to have the album mixed using analogue equipment. '' Wait for Me'' was released on June 30, 2009. Moby and Lynch discussed the recording process of ''Wait for Me'' on Lynch's online channel, David Lynch Foundation Television Beta. The video to the first single, "

Shot in the Back of the Head "Shot in the Back of the Head" is a song by American electronica musician Moby. It was released as the first single from his ninth studio album ''Wait for Me'' as a free download on his website on April 14, 2009. The song is notable for its rever ...

", offered as a free download, was directed by Lynch. Moby held a

user-generated content User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), is any form of content, such as images, videos, text, testimonials, and audio, that has been posted by users on online platforms such as social media, discussion f ...

competition to have fans create a video for "Wait for Me", the last single from the album, which was to be used as the official video. The winning entry was written and directed by Nimrod Shapira of Israel, and 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, A Guide for Dummies'', putting herself through bizarre and comical steps, each is a tribute to a different Moby video. The single was released in May 2010. The ''Wait for Me'' tour featured a full band. Moby raised over $75,000 from three shows in California to help those affected by domestic violence after funding for the state's domestic violence program had been cut. The tour also saw Moby headline the

Falls Festival Falls Music & Arts Festival (commonly known as Falls) is a multi-day music festival held annually in Lorne (Victoria), Marion Bay (Tasmania), Byron Bay (New South Wales) and Fremantle (Western Australia), Australia over the New Year's Eve ...

in Australia and various Sunset Sounds festivals. An ambient version ''Wait for Me'' was released in late 2009 as '' Wait for Me: Ambient'', which Moby did not produce. In 2010, Moby enlisted vocalist Phil Costello as a songwriting partner for a new heavy metal band, Diamondsnake. After writing 13 songs, they recruited guitarist Dave Hill and a drummer named Tomato to complete the line-up. They recorded their self-titled debut album in one day and released it for free on their website. It was promoted with a series of gigs in New York City and Los Angeles. Moby contributed four songs to the soundtrack of ''

The Next Three Days ''The Next Three Days'' is a 2010 American action thriller film written and directed by Paul Haggis and starring Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks. It was released in the United States on November 19, 2010, and was filmed on location in Pitt ...

'', including the single " Mistake".

2010–2015: ''Destroyed'' and ''Innocents''

In January 2010, Moby announced that he had started work on a new album. He later summarised its style as: "Broken down melodic electronic music for empty cities at 2 a.m." The album was promoted with an EP containing three tracks from the album, given free to those who had signed up to Moby's mailing list, entitled '' Be the One'', in February 2011. The album, ''

Destroyed Destroyed may refer to: * ''Destroyed'' (Sloppy Seconds album), a 1989 album by Sloppy Seconds * ''Destroyed'' (Moby album), a 2011 album by Moby See also * Destruction (disambiguation) Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a ...

'', was released in May 2011. A same-titled book of Moby's photography was released around the time of the album. Moby took to an online poll to decide the next single from ''Destroyed''; the fans picked " Lie Down in Darkness". This was followed by "After" and "The Right Thing", both influenced as to what fans had picked. A limited edition remixed version of ''Destroyed'' was released in 2012 as ''Destroyed Remixed'' and includes new remixes by David Lynch,

Holy Ghost! Holy Ghost! is an American synthpop duo from Brooklyn, New York City. Founded in 2007, the duo consists of Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel. History Millhiser and Frankel both grew up on the Upper West Side of New York City and attended Trevor D ...

and System Divine, and a new 30-minute ambient track named "All Sides Gone". Moby toured worldwide throughout 2013, completing acoustic and DJ sets at various concerts and festivals. His DJ set at

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey See also

* Coachell ...

was produced in collaboration with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

with various images from space projected onto screens during the performance. On

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

in 2013, Moby released a 7-inch record, ''The Lonely Night'', featuring

Screaming Trees Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin by the time ...

vocalist Mark Lanegan. The track was subsequently released as a download with remixes by Moby,

Photek Rupert Parkes (born 6 September 1971), known as Photek, is a Los Angeles-based British electronic music DJ/record producer, and TV and film score composer. Photek was born and raised in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Photek has contributed music ...

, Gregor Tresher, and

Freescha Freescha is the musical collaboration of Nick Huntington and Mike McGroarty, based in the San Fernando Valley, California. Huntington and McGroarty have been friends and partners since they met in high school. The duo has released most of their m ...

. In October 2013, Moby released '' Innocents''. He had worked on the album for the previous 18 months and hired

Spike Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sh ...

to produce it. Moby used several guest vocalists on the album, and picked

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

and "Broken English" by

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

as the biggest influences to the musical style on the album. As with ''Destroyed'', the photography used for the artwork were all shot by Moby. The first single from the album was "

A Case for Shame "A Case for Shame" is a song by American electronica musician Moby. It was released as the first official single from his eleventh studio album '' Innocents'' on July 1, 2013. The track is a collaboration with Canadian singer-songwriter Cold Speck ...

", followed by "The Perfect Life", which featured

Wayne Coyne Wayne Michael Coyne (born January 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the lead singer, guitarist, keyboardist, theremin player and songwriter for the band the Flaming Lips. Early life Coyne was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United Stat ...

. A casting call for its video asked "for obese Speedo-sporting bikers, nude rollerskating ghosts, and an S&M gimp proficient in rhythmic gymnastics". Moby promoted the album with three shows at the

Fonda Theatre The Fonda Theatre (formerly Music Box Theatre, Guild Theatre, Fox Theatre, and Pix Theatre) is a concert venue located on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style, the theater has hosted li ...

in Los Angeles, following his decision to undergo little touring from 2014. He wrote: "Pretty much all I want to do in life is stay home and make music. So, thus: a 3 date world tour." Six of Moby's songs are feature in ''

Charlie Countryman ''Charlie Countryman'' (originally titled ''The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman'' as well as ''Kill Charlie Countryman'') is a 2013 romantic drama film directed by Fredrik Bond in his directorial debut, written by Matt Drake, and starring Sh ...

'' (2013). His music set the tone to ''Cathedrals of Culture'' (2014), a 3D documentary film about the soul of buildings, directed by Wim Wenders. In December 2014, Moby performed three shows of ambient music at the Masonic Lodge in

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angel ...

to support the release of '' Hotel: Ambient''. The performances were accompanied by visuals created by himself and with David Lynch.

2016–present: Recent albums and documentary

After ''Innocents'', Moby proceeded to make a new wave dance album with a choir, but realised the difficulty in recording a full choir in his home studio and resorted to multi-tracking vocals performed by himself and guests. He then decided against the new wave album and opted for one made by himself and seven guest vocalists he named the Void Pacific Choir. ''

These Systems Are Failing ''These Systems Are Failing'' is the thirteenth studio album by American electronica musician Moby and the debut studio album by Moby & The Void Pacific Choir, a musical project formed by Moby with musicians Mindy Jones, Julie Mintz, Joel Nesvad ...

'' was announced in September 2016 and coincided with the first single release, "Are You Lost In The World Like Me?". Its video, by animator

Steve Cutts Steve Cutts is an illustrator and animator based in London, England. His artwork satirises the flaws of modern society. His style is inspired by 1920s cartoons, as well as modern comic books and graphic novels. Animations Before becoming a ...

, addresses smartphone addiction which won a

Webby Award The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories includ ...

. ''These Systems Are Failing'' was released on October 14, 2016. Moby's sole live performance of 2016 was at Circle V, a vegan food and music festival that he founded that took place on October 23 at the

in Los Angeles. A second album with the Void Pacific Choir name followed in June 2017, entitled '' More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse'', influenced by the results of the

2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

. Released for free online, it was marketed from a spoof website using elected President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

's alleged PR alter-ego, John Miller. Alskfdvhaeirghmie rgaerg26849849df8ga

Moby announced his fifteenth studio album, '' Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt'', in December 2017. The announcement coincided with the release of the first single, "Like a Motherless Child". In contrast to the politically inspired and punk nature of the two Void Pacific Choir records, the album explores themes of spirituality, individuality, and humanity. The album was released on March 2, 2018. The second single, "Mere Anarchy", was described by Moby as "post apocalypse, people are gone, and my friend Julie and I are time traveling aliens visiting the empty Earth." "This Wild Darkness" was the third single, released in February 2018. Moby described the song as "an existential dialog between me and the gospel choir: me talking about my confusion, the choir answering with longing and hope." Moby promoted the album with three live shows in March 2018 with a full band, one at The Echo in Los Angeles and two at Rough Trade in New York City. All profits from the album and gigs were donated to animal rights organizations. In 2018, Moby was a guest performer on "A$AP Forever" by American rapper A$AP Rocky which samples "Porcelain". This resulted in Moby's second ever appearance on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, having previously charted for "Southside", 17 years prior. Moby contributed several songs to the comedy '' Half Magic'' (2018) directed by

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy '' License to Drive'' (1988), followed by the critically acclaime ...

. In March 2019, Moby released a follow-up to his first long ambient album, '' Long Ambients 2''. In January 2020, Moby announced that his new studio album '' All Visible Objects'' will be released on May 15. The first single, "Power is Taken" featuring D. H. Peligro, was released on the same day as the announcement. All profits from the album will be given to charity. In December 2020, Moby released another ambient album, '' Live Ambients – Improvised Recordings Vol. 1''. It features tracks recorded under three conditions that he set himself: improvise with nothing written beforehand, no editing of the pieces after recording, and that every part of the process was to be "calming". The album was released on digital streaming platforms, followed by videos of Moby performing each track on December 30 on his YouTube channel. A documentary titled '' Moby Doc'' on Moby's life and career was released digitally and theatrically in May 2021. The film was produced by his production company Little Walnut. Moby's latest album, ''

'', was also released that month on

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

. It features orchestral versions of his greatest hits with multiple guest artists. The album charted in 16 countries and includes vocals by

Gregory Porter Gregory Porter (born November 4, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He has twice won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album: first in 2014 for ''Liquid Spirit'' and then again in 2017 for '' Take Me to the Alley''. Early l ...

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are " Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", " Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and " Help Me Make It Through the ...

Jim James James Edward Olliges Jr. (born April 27, 1978), professionally known as Jim James or Yim Yames, is an American vocalist, guitarist, producer, and primary songwriter of the rock band My Morning Jacket. He has also released several solo albums. ...

and more. Although he no longer owns Little Pine, the vegan restaurant he opened in Los Angeles in 2015, he released “The Little Pine Cookbook,” featuring recipes from the award-winning restaurant in September 2021. In May, 2022, Moby released “Reprise Remixes” via

, featuring remixes of tracks from the “Reprise” album from Topic, Anfisa Letyago,

Planningtorock Jam Rahuoja Rostron (born 25 January 1972), better known by their stage name Planningtorock, is an English electronic musician and record producer who lives in Tallinn, Estonia. Identity & Pronouns Rostron identifies as transgender and non- ...

, Biscuits, and more. On June 1, 2022, Moby launched his new record label
always centered at night
"The goal for the label is to do something uncompromising,” says Moby. "Part of my job, in addition to writing music, is doing whatever I have to, to find voices I love. Whether it’s

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

Soundcloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, just as I used to dig through record bins, I’m obsessively looking for unique and extraordinary talent. Always Centered At Night is a place for an emerging and fascinating variety of singers to join with me in making music they might not have been able to make elsewhere." The first single, “Medusa,” features

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominee Aynzli Jones.

Collaborations

Moby has collaborated live with many of his heroes while on tour or at fundraisers. He has performed "Walk on the Wild Side" with

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

, "Me and Bobby McGee" with

, "Heroes" and "Cactus" with

, "Helpless" with

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

and

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Pos ...

, "New Dawn Fades" with New Order, " Make Love, Fuck War" with

, "Whole Lotta Love" with

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

, and "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" with

. He has performed two duets with the French singer

Mylène Farmer Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a Canadian-born French singer, songwriter, occasional actress, writer, and entrepreneur. Having sold more than 30 million records in France, she is ...

("Slipping Away (Crier la vie)" in 2006 and "Looking for My Name" in 2008) and produced seven songs on her eighth album, '' Bleu Noir'', released on December 6, 2010. In 1992 he contributed vocals to song "Curse" on

Recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force r ...

's "

Bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic informa ...

" (

Alan Wilder Alan Charles Wilder (born 1 June 1959) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer and former member of the electronic band Depeche Mode from 1982 to 1995. Since his departure from the band, the musical project called Recoil b ...

's solo project, he was

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

member at time of that recording). Moby arguably later used this inspiration for his breakthrough 1999 album,

, for which he used several old field recordings by Alan Lomax, much as Wilder had used a 1937 recording of

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

's "

Shake 'Em On Down "Shake 'Em On Down" is a Delta blues song by American musician Bukka White. He recorded it in Chicago in 1937 around the beginning of his incarceration at the infamous Parchman Prison Farm in Mississippi. It was his first recording for produc ...

". In 2013, Moby was responsible for the soundtrack of the documentary '' The Crash Reel'', who tells the story of snowboarder Kevin Pearce. On October 16, 2015,

Jean Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompanie ...

released his compilation album '' Electronica 1: The Time Machine'', which included the track "Suns have gone" co-produced by Jarre and Moby. On September 24, 2016, Moby announced the release of an album titled ''These Systems Are Failing'', released under the name Moby & Void Pacific Choir. The followed the release of two singles from Moby & The Void Pacific Choir in 2015, "Almost Loved" & "The Light Is Clear In My Eyes".

TV work

Starz aired a special episode of ''

Blunt Talk ''Blunt Talk'' is an American sitcom on the Starz cable network starring Patrick Stewart, created by Jonathan Ames, and executive produced by Seth MacFarlane. The series' first two episodes were released online on August 15, 2015, and premiered on ...

,'' the

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...

comedy which involved Moby. He had been friends with

Jonathan Ames Jonathan Ames (; born March 23, 1964) is an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs, and is the creator of two television series, '' Bored to Death'' ( HBO) and ''Blunt Talk'' ( STARZ). In the late '90s and early ...

for a long time, and "when we both lived in NY we did a lot of really strange, cabaret, vaudeville type shows together, and we just sort of stayed friends over the years. I guess when he and the other writers were writing ''Blunt Talk'' one of them thought it would be funny to include me as Patrick Stewart’s character's ex-wife’s current boyfriend." Moby was one of the first musicians to have an episode on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

's new music documentary series titled ''Once In a Lifetime Sessions''; where he records, discusses, and performs his music. ''Moby Doc'', a documentary about the artist’s life was released on May 28, 2021.

Business ventures

Starting in around 2001, Moby launched a series of co-owned business ventures, with the two most prominent being the Little Idiot Collective—a New York City, U.S. bricks-and-mortar clothing store, comics store, and animation studio that sold the work of an "illustrators collective". In May 2002, Moby launched a small raw and vegan restaurant and tea shop called TeaNY in New York City with his then girlfriend Kelly Tisdale. In 2006, Moby said he had removed himself from any previous business projects. In November 2015, Moby opened the Vegan restaurant Little Pine in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The restaurant serves organic, vegan, Mediterranean-inspired dishes and has a retail section with art and books, curated by Moby himself. All profits are donated to animal welfare organizations; in May 2016, Moby estimated the year's donations at $250,000. In December 2019, Moby launched the Little Pine lifestyle range of products and merchandise, with all profits donated to six charities. On August 23, 2016, Moby announced the inaugural Circle V Festival along with the official video for 'Don't Leave Me' by Moby & The Void Pacific Choir. The event took place at LA's

and featured Blaqk Audio & Cold Cave on the bill amongst others in the evening and talks and vegan food stalls in the afternoon. Moby described Circle V as "the coming together of my life’s work, animal rights and music. I couldn’t be more excited about this event and am so proud to be head-lining." The second Circle V event took place on November 18 this time at The Regent Theatre in Los Angeles. Moby headlined the event for the second year with artists

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's ...

, Dreamcar and Raury featuring on the bill.

Personal life

Moby lived in New York City for 21 years. From 1996 to 2010, he lived in an apartment on

Mott Street Mott Street () is a narrow but busy thoroughfare that runs in a north–south direction in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is regarded as Chinatown's unofficial " Main Street". Mott Street runs from Bleecker Street in the north to ...

where he also recorded his albums. He then relocated to the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...

area of Los Angeles, spending almost $4 million to purchase a castle known as Wolf's Lair (built in 1927 by developer L. Milton Wolf), spending an additional $3.5 million to restore it. He also owns an apartment in

Little Italy, Manhattan Little Italy (also it, Piccola Italia) is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, known for its large Italian population. It is bounded on the west by Tribeca and Soho, on the south by Chinatown, on the east by the Bowery and Lowe ...

. In 2014, Moby sold the castle and downsized to a smaller home in the

Los Feliz LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

neighborhood of Los Angeles. Buscemi Moby Reed

In June 2013, Moby and numerous other celebrities appeared in a video showing support for

Chelsea Manning Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning; December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage A ...

. In January 2018, he stated that he was approached by friends in the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

and told to post and spread content on the Trump–Russian collusion allegations through social media. Moby identifies himself as heterosexual and

cisgender Cisgender (often shortened to cis; sometimes cissexual) is a term used to describe a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth. The word ''cisgender'' is the antonym of ''transgender''. The prefix ''wiktionary:cis ...

and had felt "disappointed" to be straight. He claimed in a book to have had a brief relationship with actress

Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...

, though she has denied this, calling Moby's account "disturbing" (as she was barely 18 at the time), with Natalie further describing their interactions as "a much older man being creepy with me". He does date, but has stated that he feels more comfortable alone than in a relationship. In 2016, he was in an eight-month relationship, his first in ten years. He has no children. Moby practices meditation and has explored different types, including transcendental, Mettā, and

Vipassanā ''Samatha'' ( Pāli; sa, शमथ ''śamatha''; ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and ''vipassanā'' ( Pāli; Sanskrit ''vipaśyanā''), literally "special, super (''vi-''), seeing (''-passanā'')", are two qualities of t ...

Veganism and animal rights

In 1984, Moby was inspired to become a vegetarian by a cat named Tucker that he had found at a dump in Darien, Connecticut. "My mom and I, with the help of George the dachshund, took care of Tucker and he grew up to be the happiest, healthiest cat I'd ever known". In November 1987, while playing with Tucker, "I decided that just as I would never do anything to harm Tucker, or any of our rescued animals, I also would never do anything to harm any animal, anywhere", and became a vegan. He is a strong supporter of

, and described it as his "day job" other than musical projects. In March 2016, Moby supported the social media campaign #TurnYourNoseUp to end factory farming in association with the

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Farms Not Factories. In 2019, Moby had "Vegan for life" tattooed on his neck by his friend, tattoo artist Kat Von D. That November, he had "Animal rights" tattooed on his arms to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of being a vegan. He also had "VX" tattooed next to his right eye, the "V" standing for vegan and the "X" for straight edge, referencing his sobriety.

Drug use

From 1987 to 1995, Moby described his life as a "very clean" one and abstained from drugs, alcohol, and "for the most part", sex. After taking

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

once at nineteen, he started to suffer from panic attacks which he continued to experience but learned to deal with them more effectively. Shortly after his mother died from lung cancer in 1997, Moby recalled that he had "an epiphany" and experimented with alcohol, drugs, and sex which continued for four years after the commercial success of ''Play''. He became a self-confessed "old-timey alcoholic". During his ''18'' tour in 2002 he found himself being argumentative and alienating close friends. At the end of the year he wished to make amends and live a healthier lifestyle and promised a girlfriend that he would quit alcohol for one month; he lasted two weeks. Moby continued to drink to excess and would ask audiences at concerts to give him drugs. Matters culminated shortly after he turned 43 when he attempted suicide; he had his last drink on October 18, 2008, and has since attended

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...

meetings. In 2016, he said of his sobriety: "Since I stopped and reoriented myself towards things that have meaning, everything has gotten a million times better".

Spirituality and faith

Moby has adopted different faiths throughout his life. He identified himself as an atheist when he was growing up, followed by agnostic, then "a good eight or ten years of being quite a serious Christian", during which time he taught Bible studies. Around 1985, he read the teachings of Christ, including the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

and

the Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

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 the liner notes of ''Animal Rights'' (1996), Moby wrote: "I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a Christian in the conventional sense of the word, where I go to church or believe in cultural Christianity, but I really do love Christ and recognize him in whatever capacity as I can understand it as God. One of my problems with the church and conventional Christianity is it seems like their focus doesn't have much to do with the teachings of Christ, but rather with their own social agenda". In 2014, Moby pointed out that if he needed to label himself, it would be as a "

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...

–Christian–agnostic quantum mechanic." In 2019, Moby said that he is not a Christian, "but my life is geared towards God ..I have no idea who or what God might be."

Charity

Moby is an advocate for a variety of causes, working with

MoveOn.org MoveOn (formerly known as MoveOn.org) is a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee. Formed in 1998 around one of the first massively viral email petitions, MoveOn has since grown into one of the largest grassroot ...

, The Humane Society, and

Farm Sanctuary Farm Sanctuary is an American animal protection organization, founded in 1986 as an advocate for farmed animals. It was America's first shelter for farmed animals. It promotes laws and policies that support animal welfare, animal protection, a ...

, among others. He created MoveOn Voter Fund's Bush in 30 Seconds contest along with singer and MoveOn Cultural Director

and MoveOn Executive Director

Eli Pariser Eli Pariser (born December 17, 1980) is an author, activist, and entrepreneur. He has stated that his focus is "how to make technology and media serve democracy". He became executive director of MoveOn.org in 2004, where he helped pioneer the pr ...

. The music video for the song "

" from ''Last Night'' has heavy anti-meat industrial themes. 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 A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

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

net neutrality Network neutrality, often referred to as net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of co ...

and he testified before

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

committee debating the issue in 2006. In 2007, Moby launched MobyGratis.com, a website of unlicensed music for filmmakers and film students for use in an independent, non-commercial, or non-profit film, video, or short. If a film is commercially successful, all revenue from commercial licence fees granted via Moby Gratis is donated to

Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...

. In 2008, he participated in ''

Songs for Tibet A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

'', an album to support

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

Tenzin Gyatso The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

. In a 2021 interview, he discussed the experience and defined the Dalai Lama "a wonderful inspired and inspiring man". In April 2009, Moby spoke about his personal experiences of

Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes ...

at the

David Lynch Foundation The David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace (or simply DLF) is a global charitable foundation with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Fairfield, Iowa. It was founded by film director and Transcendental Me ...

benefit concert Change Begins Within

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

in New York City. In April 2015, Moby performed "Go" at The Evening of David Lynch tribute event at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, which highlighted the work of the

and raised funds to teach

to local youth. In April 2018, Moby auctioned over 100 pieces of musical equipment via Reverb.com to raise funds for the non-profit organisation

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a non-profit research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., which promotes a plant-based diet, preventive medicine, and alternatives to animal research, and encourages ...

, thinking it was better to sell it for a good cause rather than in storage. Moby held a second sale for the organisation in June 2018 consisting of his personal record collection, including records that he used to use for DJ sets in his early career and his own personal copy of his albums. A third was held in October 2018 that included the sale of almost 200 analog drum machines, 100 instruments, and his entire vinyl collection. In 2018, Moby participated in

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

's 24-hour broadcast on climate change and environmental issues. Moby is an advocate for Best Friends; he was part of the No-Kill Los Angeles (NKLA) launch celebration and directed a lyric video for his song “Almost Home" which features dogs and cats from the Best Friends Pet Adoption and Spay/Neuter Center in Mission Hills, California.

Photography

Moby developed an interest in photography at age ten when his uncle, a photographer for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', gave him a

Nikon F The Nikon F camera, introduced in April 1959, was Nikon's first SLR camera. It was one of the most advanced cameras of its day. Although many of the concepts had already been introduced elsewhere, it was revolutionary in that it was the firs ...

camera. He cites

Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography. Steichen was credited with tr ...

as a major early influence. At 17 he set up a darkroom in his basement and pursued photography while at university. Moby kept his photography private until 2010, when he put some of his work on public display at the Clic Gallery and the Brooklyn Museum in New York City. In May 2011, Moby released a photography book containing pictures that were taken during the ''Wait for Me'' tour in 2010 named ''Destroyed''. It was released in conjunction with his same-titled album, and pictures from it were also put on display. From October to December 2014, Moby showcased his Innocents collection of large-scale photographs at the Fremin Gallery, featuring a post-apocalyptic theme and a cast of fictitious cult members wearing masks.

Books

In March 2010, Moby and animal activist Miyun Park released ''Gristle: From Factory Farms to Food Safety (Thinking Twice About the Meat We Eat)'', a collection of ten essays by various people in the food industry that they edited to detail "unbiased, factual information about the consequences of animal production" and factory farming. In 2014, Moby announced his decision to write an autobiography covering his life and career from his move to New York City in the late 1980s to the recording of ''Play'' in 1999. He enjoyed the experience, and wrote approximately 300,000 words before cutting it by half to reach a rough edit of the book. '' Porcelain: A Memoir'' was released on May 17, 2016, by Penguin Press. Moby put out the compilation album ''Music from Porcelain'' to coincide the book's release, featuring his own tracks and a mixtape of tracks by other artists. In October 2018, Moby announced his second memoir, '' Then It Fell Apart''. It was released on May 2, 2019, and covers his life and career from 1999 to 2009. To promote the book, Moby embarked upon a book tour which included book signings, interviews, and live performances. Moby has expressed a wish to write a third.

Discography

Studio albums * '' Moby'' (1992) * '' Ambient'' (1993) * '' Everything Is Wrong'' (1995) * ''

'' (1996) * ''

'' (1999) * '' 18'' (2002) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Last Night'' (2008) * '' Wait for Me'' (2009) * ''

'' (2011) * '' Innocents'' (2013) * '' Long Ambients 1: Calm. Sleep.'' (2016) * ''

'' (2016) * '' More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse'' (2017) * '' Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt'' (2018) * '' Long Ambients 2'' (2019) * '' All Visible Objects'' (2020) * '' Live Ambients – Improvised Recordings Vol. 1'' (2020) * ''

'' (2021)

Awards

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BMI Film & TV Awards The BMI Film & TV Awards are accolades presented annually by Broadcast Music, Inc., honoring songwriters, composers, and music publishers in various genres. Based in the United States, the awards include the BMI Christian Awards, BMI Country Award ...

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Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

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ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...

) , Best Visual Effects , , , - !scope="row" rowspan=2,

D&AD Awards Design and Art Direction (D&AD), formerly known as British Design and Art Direction, is a British educational organisation that was created in 1962 to promote excellence in design and advertising. Its main offices are in Spitalfields in London. I ...

, 2000 , " Bodyrock" , Direction , style="background:#BF8040", Wood Pencil , , - , 2019 , "ASAP Forever" (with

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'' , Best Album , , - , 2003 , rowspan=2, Himself , Best US Act , , , - , rowspan=2, 2004 , Outstanding Contribution to Dance Music , , rowspan=2, , - , '' 18 B Sides + DVD'' , Best Music DVD , , - !scope="row",

ECHO Awards Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The first ECHO Awards ceremony was held in 1992, and it was set up to hono ...

, 2006 , rowspan=2, Himself , Best International Male , , - !scope="row" rowspan=2, GAFFA-Prisen Awards , rowspan=2, 2019 , Best International Artist , , - , '' Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt'' , Best International Album , , - !scope="row" rowspan=6,

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, rowspan=2 , 2000 , ''

'' ,

Best Alternative Music Performance The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...

, , rowspan=6, , - , " Bodyrock" , Best Rock Instrumental Performance , , - , 2001 , "

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" ,

Best Dance Recording The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...

, , - , 2000 , ''Play: The DVD'' , Best Music Video, Long Form , , - , 2003 , "18" ,

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Best Electronic/Dance Album The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards — a ceremony that was established in 1958 — to recording artists for quality albums in the dance music and electronica genres. Honors in several cate ...

, , - !scope="row" rowspan=2,

Hungarian Music Awards The Hungarian Music Awards have been given to artists in the field of Hungarian music since 1992. The award categories are similar to Grammy Awards in the United States and Brit Awards in the United Kingdom. The awards were known as the ''Golden ...

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MTV Asia Awards The MTV Asia Awards was the Asian equivalent of the European MTV EMA. Held from 2002 to 2008, the show gave recognition and awards to Asian and international artists in achievement, cinema, fashion, humanitarian, and music. Just like the EMAs, mos ...

, 2003 , Best Male , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan=8,

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an a ...

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MTV Russian Music Awards The MTV Russia Music Awards made its debut in 2004 and have celebrated local Russian talent as well as International. The MTV Russia Music Awards (RMA) features local and international acts and music celebrities being honoured by Russian viewers. ...

, 2005 , Best International Act , , , - !scope="row" rowspan=3, MTV Video Music Awards , 2000 , "

" , rowspan=2, Best Male Video , , , - , 2001 , " South Side" , , , - , 2002 , rowspan=2, "

We Are All Made of Stars "We Are All Made of Stars" is a song by American electronica musician Moby. It was released as the first single from his sixth studio album, '' 18'' (2002), on April 1, 2002. It reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-10 hit in ...

" , Best Cinematography , , , - !scope="row",

MTV VMAJ The MTV Video Music Awards Japan (MTV VMAJ for short) are the Japanese version of the MTV Video Music Awards. Like the MTV Video Music Awards in the United States, in this event artists are awarded for their songs and videos through online votin ...

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My VH1 Music Awards The My VH1 Music Awards is an annual music award ceremony held by American television network VH1 held in both 2000 and 2001. Categories, nominees, and winners were selected entirely by public voting at VH1.com. The ceremonies were held at the Shri ...

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NME Awards The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine '' NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding ...

, rowspan=2, 2000 , rowspan=5, Himself , Best Solo Artist , , rowspan=2, , - , rowspan=2, Best Dance Act , , - , rowspan=2, 2001 , , rowspan=2, , - , Best Live Act , , - !scope="row" rowspan=3,

NRJ Music Awards An NRJ Music Award (commonly abbreviated as an NMA) is an award presented by the French radio station NRJ to honor the best in the French and worldwide music industry. The awards ceremony, created in 2000 by NRJ in partnership with the televisio ...

, rowspan=2, 2001 , International Male Artist of the Year , , , - , ''

'' , International Album of the Year , , , - , 2007 , Himself (with

Mylene Farmer Mylene or Mylène is a given name, a contraction of Marie-Hélène, which may refer to: * Mylène Farmer, a French singer-songwriter * Mylène Jampanoï, a French actress, born in 1980 * Mylène Demongeot, a French actress, born in 1936 * Mylène L ...

) , Francophone Duo/Group of the Year , , , - !scope="row" rowspan=1, Online Music Awards , 1999 , rowspan=3, Himself , Best Electronic Fansite , , , - !scope="row" rowspan=2,

Q Awards The Q Awards were the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine '' Q''. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards became one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards. Locations for the awards ceremony included Abbey Road Studios ...

, 2000 , Best Live Act , , - , 2002 , Best Producer , , , - !scope="row",

TMF Awards The TMF Awards were an annual television awards show broadcast live on TMF (The Music Factory). The first Dutch TMF Awards were held in 1995, as a brand extension to the recently launched local Dutch music channel TMF. The show was very small an ...

, 2000 , ''

'' , Best Album International , , - ! scope="row" rowspan=2,

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United ...

, 2001 , " South Side" , Choice Dance Track , , , - , 2002 , rowspan=2, Himself , Choice Male Artist , , , - !scope="row", Top of the Pops Awards , 2002 , Best Dance Act , , , - !scope="row" rowspan="3",

UK Music Video Awards The UK Music Video Awards is an annual celebration of creativity, technical excellence and innovation in music video and moving image for music. The awards began in 2008. There is a wide range of opportunities for UK individuals and companies to ...

, rowspan=2, 2018 , rowspan="2", "ASAP Forever" (with

) , Best Urban Video - International , , rowspan=2, , - , Best Colour Grading in a Video , , - ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, rowspan=1, "My Only Love" , rowspan=1, Best Animation , , , - !scope="row", VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards , rowspan=4, 2000 , "

" , Visionary Video , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan=3, Viva Comet Awards , " Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" , Best International Video , , rowspan=3, , - , rowspan=3, Himself , Best Live Act , , - , Viva Zwei Audience Award , , - !scope="row", Veggie Awards , 2015 , Person of the Year , , , - !scope="row",

Webby Awards The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories includ ...

, 2017 , " Are You Lost in the World Like Me?" , Animation , , , - !scope="row" rowspan=14, Žebřík Music Awards , rowspan=4, 1999 , Himself , Best International DJ , , rowspan=13, , - , ''

'' , Best International Album , , - , " Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" , Best International Song , , - , " Bodyrock" , Best International Video , , - , rowspan=4, 2000 , "

Porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

" , Best International Song , , - , rowspan=5, Himself , Best International Instrumentalist , , - , Best International Personality , , - , rowspan=3, Best International DJ , , - , 2001 , , - , rowspan=3, 2002 , , - , '' 18'' , Best International Album , , - , "

" , Best International Song , , - , 2003 , Himself , Best International DJ , , - , 2005 , ''

'' , Best International Album , ,

References

External links

* * – an online service to freely license Moby's music * * * * {{Authority control 1965 births Living people American alternative rock musicians Ambient musicians American dance musicians American house musicians Record producers from New York (state) Record producers from Connecticut American techno musicians Electronica musicians Musicians from Connecticut Musicians from New York City Mute Records artists People from Darien, Connecticut People from Harlem State University of New York at Purchase alumni V2 Records artists American agnostics British veganism activists Progressive house musicians Squatters Activists from New York (state) 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American musicians American multi-instrumentalists American rock guitarists American people of Dutch descent American people of Scottish descent 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists American memoirists American former Christians Downtempo musicians Elektra Records artists MTV Europe Music Award winners Deutsche Grammophon artists Because Music artists Ministry of Sound artists Instinct Records artists Rhythm King artists Darien High School alumni