Background and career
Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the most important dance music 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 the age of nine, he played in several underground punk rock bands through the 1980s (Vatican Commandos, Flipper, Ultra Vivid Scene) 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 ten 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). His punk-oriented album Animal Rights (1996) alienated much of his fan base. Moby found commercial and critical success with his fifth album Play (1999), which, after receiving little recognition, became an unexpected global hit in 2000. It remains his highest selling album with 12 million copies sold. Its seventh single, "South Side", featuring Gwen Stefani, appeared on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 14. Moby followed Play with albums of varied styles including electronic, dance, rock, and downtempo music, starting with 18 (2002), Hotel (2005), and Last Night (2008) and continuing with Wait for Me (2009), Destroyed (2011), and Innocents (2013). Returning to his musical roots, he then released two punk rock inspired albums with The Void Pacific Choir, 2016’s These Systems Are Failing and 2017’s More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse followed by the more melodic Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt (2018) and All Visible Objects (2020). After a performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 2018, Moby was approached by a representative from Deutsche Grammophon and was offered the chance to record an orchestral album for the label. The result, 2021’s Reprise, saw him revisit his vast catalogue and rework some of his most well known tracks with new vocalists. Recorded with The Budapest Art Orchestra, the album was his highest-charting in over a decade, hitting the charts in 16 countries. The follow up album, Resound NYC (2023), featured more reworked tracks and more new vocalists. Interspersed between these later albums were Moby’s explorations of ambient music, including the almost four-hour release Long Ambients 1: Calm. Sleep. (2016), Long Ambients 2 (2019), Live Ambients – Improvised Recordings Vol. 1 (2020), and Ambient 23 (2023), as well as the collaborative Always Centered at Night (2024). Moby continues to record and release albums. In addition to his music career, Moby is known for his veganism and support for animal rights and humanitarian aid. In 2020 he founded Little Walnut Productions to support creative activism across film, TV, and theater projects. 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).
Richard Melville Hall was born September 11, 1965, in the neighborhood of Harlem in Manhattan, New York City. He is the son of Elizabeth McBride (née Warner), a medical secretary, and James Frederick Hall (1941–1967), 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 Richard large for a newborn baby. The name was also a reference to the ancestry Hall says he was told by his family, though he is not directly related to Herman Melville, author of Moby-Dick. 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, 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 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 when he was 13. 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 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 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 and started a philosophy degree at the University of Connecticut 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, 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 a guest house in Greenwich, Connecticut, 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". He then moved into a semi-abandoned factory in Stamford, Connecticut, 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 cites the English band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) as "heroes", without whom he would never have begun making electronic music. His other formative influences include Nick Drake, Suicide, Silver Apples, Eric B. & Rakim, and Public Enemy.
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 group Ultra Vivid Scene and appeared in the video for their 1989 single "Mercy Seat". In 1990, Moby joined industrial noise group 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, an independent New York City-based dance label then still in its infancy. The three-man operation saw Moby answer incoming calls, clean the kitchen, send faxes, 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", 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. 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. Instinct capitalised on Moby's success with the late 1991 compilation Instinct Dance 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. 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", "Next Is the E", and a double A-side of "I Feel It" with "Thousand". The latter was recognised by Guinness World Records as the fastest tempo in a recorded song at 1,015 beats-per-minute. In 1992, Moby completed his first US tour as the opening act for the Shamen. 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 awards, he smashed his keyboard after his set. After his second nationwide tour, this time with the Prodigy and Richie Hawtin, in early 1993, a second compilation of Moby's work for Instinct followed named Early Underground. His second and final album on Instinct, Ambient, was released in August 1993. It is a collection of mostly ambient techno 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.
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, 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. 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" 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 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 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 to produce the next Hole album, but he declined. He directed the music video for "Young Man's Stride" by Mercury Rev. In 1995 and 1996, Moby put out a number of "self-indulgent dance" singles under the pseudonyms Lopez and DJ Cake on Trophy Records, his own Mute imprint, so he could release material that he was interested in without concern for its commercial impact. In 1996, Moby contributed "Republican Party" to the AIDS benefit album Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip produced by the Red Hot Organization and released his second Voodoo Child album, The End of Everything. While touring Everything Is Wrong, Moby was interested in broadening his musical horizons. This marked a major stylistic change for his next album, Animal Rights, 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" by post-punk group Mission of Burma. 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 and Soundgarden, and headlined the Big Top tour with other dance and electronic DJs. He returned to the genre after liking the house music 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, a compilation of his film soundtrack work with some re-recorded tracks. Among them are updated version of the "James Bond Theme" used for Tomorrow Never Dies, music used in Scream, and a cover of "New Dawn Fades" by Joy Division, an instrumental version of which appeared in Heat. 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.
Moby's fifth album, Play, was released by Mute and V2 Records in May 1999. The project originated when a music journalist introduced Moby to the field recordings 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 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.
In 2000, Moby contributed "Flower" to Gone in 60 Seconds. He co-wrote "Is It Any Wonder" with Sophie Ellis-Bextor 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 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, Nelly Furtado, and Paul Oakenfold, 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 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, Blue Man Group, Busta Rhymes, and Carl Cox. In December 2002, during a tour stop at Paradise Rock Club 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. That month he hosted the half-hour MTV series Señor Moby's House of Music, presenting a selection of electronic and dance music videos. His song "Extreme Ways" was used in all five of the 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 mocked Moby in his song "Without Me" and its music video, dressing up like him and calling him a "thirty-six-year-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' album In the Zone released that year. Moby returned to his dance and rave roots with the release of Baby Monkey, the third album under his Voodoo Child moniker, in 2004. Later that year, he collaborated with Public Enemy on "Make Love Fuck War", a protest song against the Iraq War.
