It has now been 10 years since Moby arrived on the scene and is once again garnering rave reviews for his latest project, 18. In addition, he remixed the song ‘Sunday’ for David Bowie’s (with whom he is currently on tour) most recent record, Heathen. While his success is unparalleled in the house/techno/trance genre, many techno fans have shown contempt towards Moby for diluting and trivializing the form. Yet, so many other artists working in this style of music -The Chemical Brothers and The Orb for example- continuously put out the same old thing every time and attempt to pass it off as something new. Moby, on the other hand, continuously pushes the envelope as he transforms his music into a fresh direction with every recording.
Moby was perhaps one of the most controversial and most important artists in dance music during the early 90’s. He helped bring the music to mainstream audiences in both England and America. He fused disco beats, distorted guitars, and punk rhythms, as well as drawing from pop culture and rave music. His first release, Moby, was met with extremely positive and complimentary reviews. This was quickly followed up with a compilation of his earlier work, Early Underground. However, from early on Moby refused to be pigeonholed into one category, as a result his studio follow-up in 1993, Ambient, had an Orb-like characteristic. He pushed his creativity to the extreme on his first two records for Elektra Records by totally abandoning his techno/house persona with the release of Everything Is Wrong and Animal Rights. Both discs were guitar driven with a punk/metal vibe, and for the first time, Moby shared his political, social, and personal views with the public. While Everything Is Wrong was praised for taking a bold step, by the time Animal Rights came out, it seemed that audiences and critics alike were ready for the musician to return to the sounds of his debut; Moby halfheartedly compiled a compilation of movie scores, tackling such standards as John Barry’s ‘James Bond Theme’. Even though I Like To Score brought the artist back to music he was most famous for, critics called it uncomplicated and marginal.
While Moby wasn’t recording solo efforts, he was in high demand to remix and produce other notable artists such as the B-52’s, Blur and was even called upon by David Bowie to rework the single ‘Dead Man Walking’. Despite all the acclaim, Moby was in dire need of a hit record. In 1999 he released Play for his new label V2 and again delighted and surprised fans, critics, and V2 record executives. The album returned Moby to the dance/trance genre but once more, with a twist. By weaving gospel, blues and soul samples amongst hypnotic soundscapes, Moby broke new ground for the third time. Utilizing tickling piano, warped string samples and vocals by the man himself, spawned his first hit single ‘Porcelain’. The record went on to sell 10 million copies, was nominated for a Grammy, and won both MTV Europe and MTV USA Awards. Additionally, many of the tracks on Play were licensed to dozens of advertisers, which only added to sales and Moby’s popularity, not to mention his bank account.
The new CD, 18, is similar to Play in that Moby incorporates blues, soul and gospel vocals among tranquil house beats. Yet this time around, the singers are real, for the most part, and not just samples. ‘Harbour’ features the lush vocals of Sinead O’Connor in which Moby utilizes haunting echo amongst a symphonic orchestra and cerebral electric guitars. Coupled with an infectious bass line, Rappers Angie Stone and MC Lyte add a fashionable hip hop groove on ‘Jam For The Ladies’. The first single ‘We Are All Made Of Stars’ again showcases Moby’s understated vocals, which could be likening to ‘Porcelain’ in many ways. The Shining Light Gospel Choir are utilized on two cuts, ‘In My Heart’ and ‘I’m Not Worried At All’ lending a spiritual aspect to the recording, which is both heartfelt and commanding. Despite the fact that 18 draws similarities to Play, this record could not be compared to Fatboy Slim’s release as Moby seems to have grown out of his dance/techno phase and is now more interested in intellectual, mature and thought provoking records without the ‘in your face’ approach as on his two rock cd’s. 18 is possibly the best recording since Moby’s debut. However, this is not a dance/techno recording, nor is it ambient or mind tripping house music, but is rather uniquely diverse while coherently balanced.