New York, NY · electronic

Moby

1 upcoming festival

Play-era electronic hymns from rave's elder statesman — euphoria with a conscience, gospel samples still lifting fields.

Moby, born Richard Melville Hall in New York in 1965 and raised in Connecticut, came out of the American hardcore and punk scene before turning to electronic music at the end of the 1980s. His early rave single "Go" made his name in clubs, and he spent the following years moving between techno, ambient and, on one album, guitar-driven rock.

Play, released in 1999, brought him a far larger audience: built around samples of archival blues and gospel field recordings set against house and downtempo production, it produced tracks such as "Porcelain" and "Natural Blues." He has released steadily since, including the album 18, and is also known publicly for his veganism and animal-rights advocacy.

electronic