Moby (born 11 September 1965) aka Richard Melville Hall from Harlem, US is an electronic musician, producer, singer and songwriter who helped shape dance music in the nineties.
His nickname comes from the fact that his great-great-grand uncle was Herman Melville, author of the classic Moby Dick.
As a teen, Hall played in hardcore band Vatican Commodores before lending a hand on vocals to band Flipper while their singer was in prison. In the 90’s after a brief stint at college and moving to New York, US, Hall began DJing in dance clubs as his interest in techno furthered. Releasing music on independent labels under various monikers such as: Barracuda and Brainstorm, Hall released his first material “Mobility” in 1990 under the name Moby.
Working with British director David Lynch, Moby produced the theme tune for his television series Twin Peaks and the single “Go” was released in 1991 was a great success, landing in the UK’s Top Ten singles chart. As Moby continued to experiment with techno so did his foray into DJing clubs and raves across America. An iconic moment in Moby’s career occurred in 1992 when played at the annual Mixmag Awards show and at the end of his set he quite dramatically smashed his keyboard.
Rapidly making a name for himself during the nineties and remixing artists such as: Michael Jackson, Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode, he signed with Mute Records in 1993 releasing “Ambient”- a collection of his recordings from 1988 to 1991. That same year he released the double A side single “I Feel It/Thousand” which was recognised as the fastest single by Guinness World Records clocking in an incredible 1000 beats per minute.
In 1994 Moby signed a major record deal with Elektra and the following year released the critically acclaimed album “Everything Is Wrong” which proved a commercial success. With critics unsure about the future of the electronic music he was producing at the time, Moby decided to release a punk rock album entitled “Animal Rights” in 1996. With a dramatic directional change it distanced Moby from both critics and fans, confusing them as to what kind of artist he was.
His 1999 album “Play” despite not being a chart success, managed not only to amass over ten million copies the following year but each track was used for either adverts or film soundtracks which helped to make it one of Moby’s most commercial successes.
Adding to his already impressive list of skills and ventures, in 2001 Moby founded his own touring music festival called Area. Although the festival lasted for only two years he was able to get an eclectic mix of artists to join the line-up such as: OutKast, New Order, David Bowie, Blue Man Group, Gwen Stefani and Busta Rhymes.
With such a substantial back catalogue of material combined with his influential nature and role within the evolution of nineties electronic music, Moby shall always be revered as the legendary and multi-talented artist who helped shape what the genre has become today.
Ricky Martin
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