Moby: 'I Learned a Lot From Quincy Jones'

Posted on Nov 27th 2009 6:16AM by Spinner Staff
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Moby might not quite rule the airwaves -- and the soundtracks to adverts -- quite like he did a decade ago, but the man born Richard Melville Hall is still tirelessly creating music. In the last 18 months, he's released two albums, the diary of a lost night (2008's 'Last Night') and this year's 'Wait For Me' and toured around the world.

The DJ, band frontman and remixer recently visited the UK, where he played an acoustic gig at London's Palace Theatre, and a gig at the Hard Rock Cafe for Q magazine where fans got to choose the songs. he also took the time to answer a few questions from Spinner.

Your show at the Hard Rock Cafe -- what made you want to let the fans choose the setlist?

Mainly out of curiosity to see what songs people actually wanted to hear. As a solo musician I lose objectivity and perspective very quickly. It's nice to get other people's perspective.

You've offered a select choice of covers - why did you choose those particular tracks? You've performed them before with Public Enemy, Mission of Burma.

Quite simply those are the only cover songs that everyone in the band actually knows.

Have you enjoyed playing with a full band again recently?

Yes, it's been great. it's quite a big band, so there's lots of opportunity for experimentation and improvising.

What are your next projects, inspirations, motivations? Political, musical etc.?

Well, I've been on tour since March of last year, and the tour goes until mid-January. So right now I'm just working on staying sane while living in hotel rooms.

We're taking a look back at the key artists and songs from the last decade so - What have been your favourite artists and songs of the 2000s?

My favourite artists have been TV on the Radio, Bon Iver, and Editors. My favorite song, oddly, is that 'Put a Ring on it' song by Beyonce.

What are your favourite Moby tracks from the 2000s?

I tend to like my stranger and more experimental music, so my favorite of my own tracks are usually the ones that end up towards the end of the albums. my favorite is probably the song 'Last Night' from the album 'Last Night'.

You were one of the first artists to actively license your music out to advertisers - what was your thinking behind that?

Actually in 1964, Mick Jagger drank Coca-Cola on stage as a spokesperson for Coke, and 'Light My Fire' was licensed by the Doors to Pontiac in 1968. So, for better or worse, I can't claim to have been one of the first artists to license my music to advertisers. In 1999 when i did it it was because no one else was paying attention to the music from 'Play.' Then that changed.

What's your relationship like with David Lynch? Talk us through your collaborations, sampling 'Twin Peaks,' he's done an animated video for you ... how has he inspired you especially with 'Wait For Me?'

He inspired me by reminding me that creativity shouldn't be judged by its profitability or its trendiness, it should be judged by its integrity and how it affects the listener (or audience). we live in a world where most art and music is judged according to the 'is it new?' or 'is it profitable?' criteria. I think that's profoundly depressing, as that's not how i judge the art and music that's important to me.

You're a real film buff, which film do you wish you'd scored or had a song on the soundtrack?

I'm also a nerd, so I'd have to say the last 'Star Trek' movie...or anything by Takeshi Kitano.

Talk us through some of your collaborations, like Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Britney Spears - how did they come about and what do you like about collaborating?

I mean, I've collaborated or produced or remixed everyone from Britney to Metallica, David Bowie to Michael Jackson, the Beastie Boys to New Order. Mainly i just like to see how other people approach the creative process. I ended up learning a lot from Quincy Jones, oddly enough.

You decided to donate the proceeds from recent live shows to Californian Partnership to End Domestic Violence -- tell us about that.

I saw that the California legislature and governor had cut all funding to domestic violence programs, and this just seemed wrong to me. So I worked with the CPEDV to lobby the legislature to re-instate funding. and they did. as of now almost $20m has been reinstated to domestic violence programs in California due to the work that we did. it's incredibly gratifying, as shelters were starting to close and services being cut drastically.