Moby (eng. Moby, real name Richard Melville Hall, eng. Richard Melville Hall; born September 11, 1965, Harlem, New York) is an American DJ, singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and performer working in various genres - from electronics to pop, rock and punk. He is a solo artist, he makes most of the studio recordings himself, and at concerts the musician is accompanied by his rock band.
Moby plays keyboards, guitar, bass and drums. In his early years he played in the hardcore punk band The Vatican Commandos, but in 1989 he switched from punk to electronic music. The first album - in the style of techno - released in 1992 (Moby).
Some of his notable songs include: "Extreme ways" (gained wide popularity after being used in the movie The Bourne Identity), "Go", "Porcelain", "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?", "Natural Blues", "Lift Me". Up". He has also released albums under the pseudonyms Voodoo Child, Schaumgummi, Barracuda, UHF, The Brotherhood, DJ Cake, Lopez and Brainstorm/Mindstorm. In total, around 20 million copies of his albums, singles, and compilations have been sold worldwide.
Born in New York but raised in Darien, Connecticut. When he was two years old, his father died in a car accident, and in the future the boy was brought up by his mother, a rather progressive woman who encouraged her son's creative inclinations. At the age of nine, he began taking piano and guitar lessons. Richard got the nickname "Moby" because he was a distant relative of Herman Melville, the author of "Moby Dick". As a teenager, he played guitar in various bands, from the punk band The Vatican Commandos to the anarchist band Flipper and with the fairly well-known band en:Ultra Vivid Scene.
In the late 1980s, he moved to New York - one of the centers of the emerging house culture - and began to master the craft of DJing in local clubs, as well as creating his own electronic material. In 1990-91, he released several debut singles on the independent label Instinct.
In 1991, the single "Go" with samples from the famous television series "Twin Peaks" hit the British top 10. After his first high-profile success, Moby remixed the work of a number of famous and unknown bands and musicians, including Michael Jackson, Pet Shop Boys, Brian Eno, Depeche Mode, Erasure, The B-52s and Orbital.
His first full-length album appeared in 1992. The following year, he released the single "I Feel It / Thousand", which entered the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest track in the history of music, and signed a contract with Mute Records, where his next release, Ambient, was released, which collected material from 1988- 1991 years. On Everything Is Wrong (1995), Moby declared himself to be really original master, who created a unique hybrid of various styles and directions of music, from breakbeat to pseudo-industrial thrash, ambient trance and dance-pop. This album was awarded the title of "Album of the Year" by the popular music magazine Spin.
The next album Animal Rights (1996) was a triptych of industrial punk, speedcore and heartbreaking instrumentals. Having imagined something between Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins, one can understand what Animal Rights is with its pseudo-industrial guitars, ambient textures hidden far in the background, and subtle, specific vocals of the musician himself. The author himself is proud of the work done, but the album is sold very poorly. Against this background, Moby develops depression. In addition to all this, his mother dies of lung cancer. In 1997, under the pseudonym Voodoo Child, he released the album The End Of Everything, as well as I Like To Score, in which he collects remixes of his own songs, which were used as soundtracks for movies. Luckily, this album sells better than Animal Rights, which gives the musician strength to create the next album.
The next album Moby Play (May 1999) was a huge success. At its core, this is a rather slow work, combining downtempo beats and perfectly worked out melody. The first two tracks of the album "Honey" and "Find My Baby" are made very cleverly and not without mockery. Here, Moby combined short gospel and blues vocal samples with breakbeat techno, which makes these compositions comparable to the work of Fatboy Slim and the Chemical Brothers of the late 1990s. «Bodyrock» is another breakbeat anthem, but already flavored with good old school rap instead of blues. The thin piano line and ragged violin samples on "Porcelain" sound meaningful enough, and "South Side", the album's pop track, integrates vocals that can't be heard properly without a transcendent chorus to completely transform it.
The Play album sold over 12 million copies. It was certified platinum in 26 countries, was nominated for Grammys for three years in a row, and won several awards on MTV and VH1.
In 2002, the release of the sixth album Moby 18 took place, in the recording of which not only Moby himself participated, but also Sinead O'Connor, Angie Stone, MC Lite, Azure Ray. This album has sold over 5 million copies.
In 2005, Moby releases new album Hotel where he combines ambient and pop-rock. The main popular track from this album was "Lift me up", which Moby included on the disc at the very last moment, because of his dream, where he saw the performance of this song live. All voices and instruments were performed live in the studio by Moby himself and vocalist Laura Don.
In 2007, Moby founded rock band The Little Death NYC with his friends Laura Don, Daron Murphy and Aaron Brooks.
His next work is the album Last Night (2008). This disc contains dance rhythms 80s discos, techno, as well as the hip-hop song "Alice". In the same 2008, the musician launches his project MobyGratis, the essence of which is that any independent filmmaker can use Moby's tracks for the soundtrack to his film.
The release of the new studio album Wait for Me took place in June 2009; already in April, Moby's website made available for download a video for the track "Shot in the Back of the Head", shot by David Lynch, after that Moby releases the single "Pale Horses", and then from time to time adds short animated videos to his website ( blips) to each of their songs. This summer, Moby embarks on another tour of Europe and North America.
In December 2010, Mylene Farmer's eighth album Bleu noir was released, for six songs from which Moby wrote music, including "Bleu noir" itself, the music of which Moby used in his album Destroyed (the song "The Day"). Moby also wrote the lyrics to the English version of the song "Inseparables".
On May 13, 2011, the album Destroyed was released. A photo album of the same name was also released with him, containing photographs taken by Moby himself. On October 31, Destroyed (Deluxe Edition) was released.
On March 21, 2013, on the official website, Moby announced the release of a joint song and video with Mark Lenagan. The song is called "The Lonely Night" and it will be released on Moby's own label Little Idiot on April 20 on limited edition vinyl. On the reverse side there will be a remix from Photek.
On October 1, 2013, the album Innocents was released, which contains songs recorded together with other musicians. The deluxe edition of the album also includes the 6-track EP Everyone is Gone. Previously, "A Case for Shame", the first single from the Cold Specks album, was released on June 1, and the second single, "The Perfect Life", recorded with Wayne Coyne, was released on September 10.
Moby lives in Los Angeles and used to live in New York, Manhattan. He owned a small restaurant and cafe called TeaNY.
Personal life and beliefs
An experienced vegan (since the 1980s). He is a Christian, but does not belong to any religious denomination. Collaborated with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and MoveOn. In 2003, he took part in the creation documentary film about animal cruelty issues "Earthlings", for which he recorded the soundtrack. In anticipation presidential elections 2012 in the United States expressed support for the Democratic Party, which was represented by Barack Obama. In his blog, Moby then wrote: "The Democrats, of course, are not perfect, but a million times better than any Republican alternative."
Moby is a supporter of a range of charities and movements - among others, he has partnered with MoveOn and The Humane Society and hosted the MoveOn Voter Fund's "Bush In 30 Seconds" competition with MoveOn singer/cultural director , Laura Don and MoveOn CEO Eli Pariser.
Never married and has no children.
Essays and interviews
Many of Moby's albums include essays written by the musician (in the form of inserts in the album box). Everything Is Wrong featured essays on overconsumption ("We use poisonous chlorine bleach to keep our linens white") and American religious leaders ("Why don't right-wing Christians go out and spread mercy, compassion and selflessness?"), and the album The End of Everything contained an essay discussing the life of a vegan ("Can you look an animal in the eye and tell it, 'My appetite is more important than your suffering'?").
After the release of some albums, Moby gave a kind of interview, which was distributed in a limited edition as an audio CD. These interviews are based on the "question - answer" principle, and only Moby's voice is heard in the recording, the interviewer's voice is not heard. The interviews are broken into tracks separated by approximately 1 second of silence. The list of questions was attached to the disc as an insert.
I was born on September 11, 1965 in Harlem, New York. At birth, he received the name Richard Melville Hall, and the nickname " Moby"Received in honor of his ancestor Herman Melville. He lived on the basement floor in New York with his parents: James Hall and Elizabeth Hall, three domestic rats, a dog named Jamie and a cat.
1967: James Hall dies in a car accident.
1967: Together with my mother, Elizabeth Hall, I move to Danbury, Connecticut to a strange house near the city jail.
1968: Loved CCR's "Proud Mary" a lot. Refused to leave the car when he heard this piece on the radio.
Summer 1969: Trip to San Francisco for Summer of Love. Blurry memories of meeting John Wayne.
Fall 1969: Moving to Darien, Connecticut for a big Vacation home grandparents: Myrona Warnenra and Jeannette McBride Warner. From 1970 to 1975 he attended the Royle Grammar School. strange fact: Haven't seen Robert Downey Jr.'s best friend since.
1975: Richard moves to a hippie hunting lodge in Stratford, Connecticut.
1977: Return to Darien, Connecticut.
1978: Starts taking guitar lessons from girlfriend James Taylor.
1978: Learned to play the first song "Crocodile Rock". Disappointed that the young "teacher" has no romantic feelings for him.
1979: Forms the first band to perform two songs: "Money" by Pink Floyd and "Birthday" by the Beatles.
1980: First punk band called "The Banned", then another "Uxb", and another "DD" and finally "Vatican Commandoes". Begins to imitate the Clash and the Sex Pistols. the first own compositions in the style of punk rock: "Housewives on Valium" and "Wonder Bread".
1982: Founds the AWOL group.
1983: Release of the first "Hit Squad for God" record with Vatican Commandos.
1983: Purchase of the first 4-cassette recorder. According to Moby he was Brown. He installed it in the basement of his mother's house and then realized that he could record his own songs and not depend on other musicians.
1984: release of the second single "AWOL" by AWOL. And also graduating from high school and entering the university in Connecticut, which did not last even a year.
1984: first DJing experience: playing in a New York club from 3 to 5 in the morning, when everyone was drunk and asleep! Great experience for me. Ah, those memories… I lived in Darien until the middle of 1985. In 1986 he moved to Greenwich, Connecticut. By the way, he lived next door to George Bush's mother. Very strange. I lived in the woods in a trailer on wheels, which a friend kindly provided me. Then Connecticut in 1988, lived on the floor of an abandoned factory, with no amenities at all.
It was illegal, but I liked it that way. In my "house" cockroaches reached the size of a chihuahua. I could hear them running around. Disgusting. But I kind of liked it. In 1987 I started sending demo versions of my creations to a recording studio in NYC. 2 years of continuous failures.
1989: NYC finally showed some interest in Instinct Records. That same year, I move to New York, to a dirty and dark apartment on 14th Street across from a Mexican restaurant and a 24-hour sex shop. New York has definitely changed me. The release of my first single "Time" s Up ", sales reached as many as 8 copies! at this time I was moonlighting as a DJ in clubs: Mars, Palladium, MK, Palace de Beaute, etc. My first electronic performance took place in the summer of 1990 in MK.
1990. I'm in a suit. I'm very nervous. My second electronic show at the Palladium in the fall of 1990, 5000 people. Everything went fine, but the nerve cells were irretrievably lost. Sold over 2,000 copies of singles. Honestly, I was shocked. I thought they would buy a maximum of 100 records. The release of the third single "Voodoo Child" took place in the winter of 1991, sold 4,000 copies. Life began to improve. The fourth release of the single "Go" - spring 1991. Hoped to sell 4000 copies.
Sales reached one million! I even got on the pages of Rolling Stone as the creator of the best single of our time. Just imagine how surprised I was. Crazy times were starting, the rave was on the rise. At this time, I managed to travel around Europe ..
1992: First American tour, missed home, was away for 6 long weeks.
1992: He terminated his contract with Instinct and signed with Elektra records and Mute Records. In 1993 I'm going on tour in America with The Prodigy and Richie Hawtin. Much more fun than the first time.
1993: release of the single "Move", which becomes the third among 40 best songs Great Britain. unexpected success for a kid from Connecticut.
1994: Third American tour with Orbital and Aphex Twin. Yes, the tour turned out to be rather sad. Everyone hated me. It's sad because I loved them. Oh yes, what am I talking about?
1995: My first full album "Everything is Wrong" finally came out and won Album of the Year by Spin. this year I also toured with Lollapalooza and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, by the way, according to the same Spin, the single "Everytime You Touch Me" was recognized as the best single in 1995. It was a great year, and then ... then everything is dark ...
1996: I began to suffer from acute attacks of panic disorder, worked on "Animal Rights"; I really liked it, but it looks like it's just me. After the relative success of 'Everything is Wrong', the criticism and low sales of 'Animal Rights' are all depressing. But I still really like this album, thanks to the record companies for letting me record it. Among other things, my mother is given a terrible diagnosis, and she suddenly dies of lung cancer.
1997: Stopped touring and started writing film scores, remember the James Bond single? No. 8 on the UK Top 40 chart. Some relief from the fiasco of a previous job. May 1999: Recording of "Play", several months of waiting for a new record deal, finally signing with V2 Records. We were hoping to sell 250,000 copies worldwide and imagine our surprise when we sold 10 million in total! "Play" set a record in all countries, broke platinum sales 25 or 26 (!) times. I still don't understand how this could even happen.
Richard Melville Hall
Musician Date of birth September 11 (Virgo) 1965 (53) Place of birth New York Instagram @moby
Moby is an American electronic singer-songwriter, composer, and DJ. Also known by his real name, Richard Melville Hall. Works in many genres. Solo artist. Plays several instruments. He usually makes studio recordings himself, but goes to concerts with his rock band. At first he played in The Vatican Commandos, with the direction of hardcore punk, and in the late 80s he began to write electronic music. He released his first album in '92, but Everything is Wrong and Animal Rights and Play brought him fame. The artist has sold over 20 million discs worldwide. AllMusic considers him "an important dance music figure in the early 1990s". The composer collaborated with Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Mylene Farmer, Metallica and other stars. He wrote over a hundred film soundtracks and starred in several films.
Moby's biography
Richard Melville Hall was born on September 11, 1965 in Harlem, a suburb of New York. His mother, Elizabeth McBride Warner-Hall, was a student at the time, and his father, James Hall, lectured in the Department of Chemistry at Columbia University. Their marriage could not be called happy. When the boy's father died in a crash in 1967, some even speculated that the accident was a suicide. The future artist then turned 2 years old. Soon, Elizabeth, who was only 23, moved her son to Connecticut. The child lived with his grandparents until his mother graduated from university and received her degree.
Richard's love for music was instilled in him by his mother. They often played together, mostly classical. At Darien High School, Richard formed his first group, the Vatican Commandos, with friends. At the senior box office, he joined new group Awol.
After graduating from high school in 1983, the DJ entered the University of Connecticut, where he studied philosophy. He did not finish his studies for only a year - musical career turned out to be more important. At first, Melville Hall worked in a store in Darien, played in local bands such as Caeli Soul and Gin Train, and was a DJ in local nightclubs. It was as a disc jockey that he achieved his first successes.
In 1989, the young man moved to New York and signed a contract with Instinct Records. He released his first single "Mobility" in 1990, but the success was not too great. The composer presented his second single Go to the audience. The song quickly became a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom.
In 1995, Richard released his first full-length techno album, All In Wrong, which quickly sold out. In 1996, the punk rock album Animal Rights was written, and in 1997 the composer collected all his music, written by him for films. This is how the album I Like to Score was born. Moby's fame has gone beyond the US. The album with the singles Natural Blues and Porcelain sold 9 million copies worldwide.
From 1999 to 2004, Moby released several more successful albums. Some were written in collaboration with Jeff Rogers, MC Lite, Azure Ray. Every year the musician gave hundreds of concerts.
The next album Hotel went on sale in 2005. It was already a slightly different music, in which ambient mixed with pop-rock. The audience especially liked the track Lift me up. The composition was included in the album last. The artist even admitted that he went on about his own intuition - he had a dream where this song was performed live.
In 2007, the musician and his friends created the rock band The Little Death. Their joint work was the disc Last Night (hip-hop, techno). In 2008, Melville Hall launched MobyGratis, a pioneering project that allows free use of music from Moby's film albums to all independent filmmakers.
In 2010, one of Mylene Farmer's CDs (orig. Bleu noir) went on sale. It contains music for some songs, incl. Bleu noir was written by Moby.
Between 2011 and 2013 two more albums were recorded (Destroyed, Innocent).
Natalie Portman and Moby A Harvard-educated actress and romantic musician, it was fate that brought Portman and Moby together. True, the artist admitted in an interview with the American Spin magazine a few years later: “Star Wars fans hated ... Kim Kardashian and Nick Cannon and other star couples that we forgot about
Moby's personal life
The musician lives in Los Angeles. He never married and still has no children.
In 2010, he opened his own vegetarian restaurant Little Pine.
In an interview with Psychology Today, the DJ admitted that at the age of nineteen he began using LSD to get rid of panic attacks. The musician speaks openly about his attitude to drugs. According to him, every adult has the right to do what he wants. The artist even appeared several times at conferences in a state of intoxication.
Now the DJ has become an avid vegetarian. In addition, he actively cooperates with foundations that promote the ethical treatment of animals (MoveOn, PETA).
He considers himself a true Christian. In one of the interviews, the singer said: “I really love Christ, his teaching is the highest wisdom I have ever encountered ...” He willingly discusses the topic of religion at conferences, in interviews, and on his own blog.
Moby(English) Moby, real name: Richard Melville Hall/ English Richard Melville Hall, born September 11, 1965 in Harlem, New York) is an American musician, as well as the name of his band. Works in various genres - from electronic music to pop, rock and punk. The pseudonym is borrowed from the work of Herman Melville "Moby Dick", the author of which is a relative of the musician.
Moby's notable songs include: Go", "Porcelain", "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?", "natural blues", "lift me up He has also released albums under the names Voodoo Child, Barracuda, UHF, The Brotherhood, DJ Cake, Lopez, and Brainstorm/Mindstorm.
Richard was born in New York but grew up in Darien, Connecticut. When he was two years old, his father died in a car accident, and in the future the boy was brought up by his mother, a rather progressive woman who encouraged her son's creative inclinations. At the age of nine, the boy begins to take piano and guitar lessons. As a teenager, he played guitar in various bands, from the punk band The Vatican Commandos to the anarchist band Flipper and with the well-known band ULTRA VIVID SCENE.
In the late 1980s Richard moved to New York - one of the centers of the emerging house culture - and began to master the DJ craft in local clubs, as well as create his own electronic material. In 1990-91 he released several debut singles on the independent label "Instinct".
1991 single Go with samples from the famous TV series " Twin Peaks" ("Twin Peaks"), directed by David Lynch, hit the UK Top 10 and sold over one million copies. Since its initial high-profile success, Moby has remixed the work of a number of famous and unknown bands and musicians, including Michael Jackson, Pet Shop Boys, Brian Eno, Depeche Mode, Erasure, B-52 and Orbital.
Richard's first full-length album appeared in 1992. The following year, he released the single "I Feel It / Thousand" which enters the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest track in the history of music and signed a contract with Mute Records, where his next release "Ambient" was released, which collected material from 1988- 91 years On disk" Everything Is Wrong"(1995) Richard declared himself as a truly original master who created a unique hybrid of various styles and directions of music, from breakbeat to pseudo-industrial thrash, ambient trance and dance-pop. The popular music magazine Spin awards this album the title "Album of the Year" .
next album" animal rights"(1996) was a triptych of industrial punk, speedcore and heartbreaking instrumentals. Imagine something between Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins, you can understand what "Animal Rights" is with its pseudo-industrial guitars, ambient textures, hidden far away on in the background, and the subtle, specific vocals of Moby himself. The author himself is proud of the work done, but the album sells very poorly. Against this background, Richard develops depression. In addition to all this, his mother dies of lung cancer. In 1997, under the pseudonym Voodoo Child , Moby released an album called "The End Of Everything" as well as "I Like To Score" in which Moby collects remixes of his own songs that he wrote and used as movie soundtracks. Fortunately this album sells better than "Animal Rights", which gives strength to the musician to write his next album.
The next album brought great success to the musician - " play" (May 1999). At its core, this is a rather slow work, combining downtempo beats and well-developed melody. The first two tracks of the album "Honey" and "Find Me Baby" are made very cleverly and not without mockery. Here Moby connected short gospel and bluesy vocal samples with breakbeat techno, making it comparable to Fatboy Slim and the Chemical Brothers of the late 1990s. "Bodyrock" is another breakbeat anthem, but spiced up with good old school rap instead of blues. the piano line and broken violin samples on "Porcelain" sound significant enough, and "South Side" - the album's pop track - integrates vocals that can't be properly perceived without a transcendent chorus that completely transforms it.
The album "Play" sold over 10 million copies. It was certified platinum in 26 countries, received three consecutive Grammy nominations, and received several MTV and VH1 awards.
In 2002, Moby's eighth album was released - " 18 ", in the recording of which not only Moby himself participated, but also Sinead O" Connor, Angie Stone, MC Lite, Azure Ray.
In 2005, Moby released a new album " Hotel", in which he combines ambient and pop rock. The main track loved by the general public from this album was "Lift me up", which Moby included on the disc at the very last moment, because of his dream, where he saw the performance of this song live .
His next work is the album " last night"(2008). This disc combines the dance rhythms of the 80s discos, techno, as well as the hip-hop song "Alice". In the same 2008, the musician launches his project MobyGratis, the essence of which is that any an independent filmmaker can use Moby's tracks for the soundtrack of his film.
New studio album release Wait for Me" took place in June 2009; already in April, the video for the track "Shot in the Back of the Head", shot by David Lynch, was available for download on Moby's website, after which Moby releases the single "Pale Horses", and then from time to time adds short animated videos (blips) for each of their songs on their website.
Other
Moby is a veteran vegetarian (since the 1980s). He is a Christian, but does not belong to any religious denomination. Collaborated with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and MoveOn.
Lives in New York(part of the city - Manhattan). He owned a small restaurant and cafe called TeaNY.
Moby-Natural Blues
Moby - Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?
Moby - Go
Moby (real name Richard Melville Hall) is an American DJ, singer, songwriter and bandleader. When you hear about Moby for the first time, you cannot be sure that you are not familiar with his music: there are more than 10 studio albums, more than 100 compositions for soundtracks for films, TV series and advertising. Has worked with Michael Jackson, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Trentemoller, The B-52s and Orbital.
His father died when Richard was two years old and his mother had to take over the upbringing. With early childhood the boy learned to play the guitar and piano, and at the age of 20 he moved to New York, where he quickly began to master the art of DJing and released his first singles. One of these singles called "Go" with samples from the already popular TV series "Twin Peaks" brings him success, getting into the British top 10 and after that the musician's career takes off strongly.
The most popular album at that time was “Play”: it was recognized best album 1999 by both critics and the general public, going platinum in 25 countries and earning Grammy nominations and awards from MTV and VH1. 8 singles from the album held high positions in the music charts around the world until 2002.
“Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?”, “Natural Blues”, “Porcelain” and their videos became hits. The album was accompanied by a booklet with essays written by the artist himself on the topics of vegetarianism, politics, religion and ecology that were important to Richard.
What makes Moby different from other electronic musicians? Style - a variety of genres, their talented and skillful mixing. There is no feigned eclecticism as an end in itself, the author's hand is felt. The musician himself says that his life has not changed much with the acquisition of worldwide fame, except that the level of hotels in which he has to stay on tour has increased.
The secret of Moby's success is that you need to work in several areas, whether it be cinema or advertising, the artist must be flexible and versatile. At the same time, Richard was honest with the public, confessing to drug and alcohol addiction, from which he eventually successfully gets rid of.
Apart from Moby music is engaged in charity, reinforcing the seriousness of his political and other convictions with deeds. Also, Richard's principle, which consists in supporting unofficial remixes of his compositions, says a lot: what was created by the musician earlier, in his opinion, is the common property.
Moby's latest works are in the ambient genre: “Hotel” (2005 reissue) and “Long Ambients 1: Calm. Sleep". The albums fascinate with their purity and simplicity, one can feel the influence of the author's love for fantastic literature.