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‘I REALLY LOVE PLAYING LOUD GUITAR AND SCREAMING'
Just press play
Henry Northmore chats to Moby as the dance behemoth visits Scotland for a
number of low-key dates
t‘s easy to knock Moby. His ubiquitous 1999 album Play went on to soundtrack nearly every advert in the known universe. In fact every single
one of the 18 tracks it contained were licensed to TV.
film or advertisements. It became so overheard that its sound lost any of the original impact. Then there's the veganism. the Christianity and his high profile ‘beef' with the world‘s most popular rap artist (in 2001 at any rate) Eminem. Subsequent album‘s I8
(2002) and Hotel (2005) carried on the lush orchestration. ambient dance beats and uplifting vocals. Now he’s back with a new album Last Night. ‘ ‘An eclectic dance record that hopefully sounds like a
night out in NYC.‘ according to Moby.
However if we strip back the adverts. we find an
artist who has taken intelligent. reflective and often challenging dance music to the mainstream.
experimented with genres and created some of the
most enduring dance tracks of recent years.
The Twin Peaks sampling ‘Go‘ and ‘Thousand‘ - the % world's fastest song according to The Guinness Book
of Records and running at 1.000 BPM - helped bring him to the attention of the mainstream. Play was a startling and intriguing record on its release. a slow
burner that was originally poorly received with
similarly poor sales. Word of mouth soon spread
however and it ended up shifting in excess of nine ; million copies. When Moby headlined T in the Park E
in 2000 (and played Edinburgh‘s Hogmanay the same
year) he was at the peak of his live powers. He
energetically whipped the crowd into a frenzy playing guitar. keyboards. drums and supplying vocals.
It‘s also easy to overlook his punk roots. He began his music career in hardcore act Vatican Commandos and released punk rock album Animal Rights in I996. a ferocious beast of snarling guitars and ragged riffs. ‘I love making dance tracks.’ he explains. ‘but I also really love playing loud guitar and screaming at the top of my lungs. In the old days it seemed as if people only listened to one style of music. Now it seems as if people are generally a lot more open-minded when it comes to different genres.‘
He‘s coming to Scotland for some rare DJ sets and an acoustic show in Glasgow on 22 July at Mono. In a typically innovative move. you can vote on where his late night Glasgow DJ set will take place.
‘Very simply Scotland is my favourite place on the planet to D] or perform.‘ says Moby. a sentiment which goes some way to explain the low-key. smaller venues on this tiny UK tour.
But what can we expect from a Moby DJ set‘.’ ‘It depends upon where I'm playing. If I‘m playing a small bar I‘ll play more experimental electronic music. but when I D] in dance clubs I tend to play big. populist tracks.‘ Citing legendary NYC DJs such as Larry Levan. Tony Humphries and Red Alert as influences. it‘s a extraordinary opportunity to see one
of the main players on the global dance scene playing
out the music he loves in an intimate setting.
Moby will be DJing in Glasgow, Tue 22 at Avalanche Records and another venue tbc - vote at www.moby.comlnodel8272 - and The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Sat 26 Jul.
LIST
THE BEST DANCEFLOOR ACTION
>l<
=l< How’s Your Party? Filthy and minimal from Detroit’s maverick ghetto-tech genius DJ Assault. Sub Club, Glasgow, Fri 18 Jul.
* Andy Smith The dooumentarian and some-time Portishead collaborator Mr Smith drops a slick, eclectic funky mix. Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Fri 18 Jul.
>i= Messenger Sound System Say ‘jah’ as Messenger lay down a special reggae. roots and dub selection to mark Haile Selassie’s birthday. Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Sat 19 Jul.
* Subculture Try as we might to pretend otherwise, the Subbie’s where it’s at this fortnight. This is a ‘20 Years of Acid House’ special with Graeme Park. Sub Club, Glasgow, Sat 19 Jul.
=l< Ultragnoove Full on live loveliness from the inimitable funky dance beats of Crazy P, for a wild house party. Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Sat 19 Jul. >14 Kinky Afro Dubstep golden boy Benga returns to Scotland, riding the zeitgeist like it was a 50ft tsunami. Sub Club, Glasgow, Fri 25 Jul.
>i¢ Modern Lovers Stephen Pastel joins the garage rock and psych-funk party. GRV, Edinburgh, Fri 25 Jul.
=i= National Pop League It's been the heartbeat of the West End for the majority of this decade, and now NPL bows out on a high. Pay your last respects. Woodside Social Club, Glasgow, Fri 25 Jul. ’ =l< Xpllclt Four deck drum & bass and techno attack at the masterful hands of Temper D. You have been warned. Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Fri 25 Jul.
=l< Men s Machines Something'a bit more local from this new techno night at the ever-worthwhile Stereo. Featuring Luke Abbott. Border Community and Allez Allez. Stereo, Glasgow, Sat 26 Jul.
17—31 Jul 2008 THE LIST 33