Go Moby!
By Dan Prince
Moby was an unlikely fit in the club scene of late ‘80s and early ‘90s New York City. A devout Christian, vegan, straight white kid from the suburbs, he was an outlier in a world dominated by people of color, gays, drug use and general debauchery. Yet Moby was able to not only to break into one of the most difficult scenes in the entertainment field, but to also build a thriving career and go on to become one of the most interesting and iconic musicians of our time. And so, after two weeks of missed calls as he zipped his way through book signings in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Chicago, Toronto, Paris and London, I finally nab my man in Las Vegas…fresh out of the shower at The Four Seasons Hotel and ready for another day meeting his fans and signing copies of his new memoirs Porcelain – one of the most honest, funny, harrowing, interesting and tender accounts of a man who has risen from suburban poverty to a multi platinum selling artist.
Moby in Sin City? Well I never…
“I know, I know – but I can assure you, it’s not sinful for me! It’s a strange experience for a sober, vegan guy passing through Vegas, it’s a fascinating place that shouldn’t really exist. It’s in the middle of the desert touching one hundred and fifteen degrees, there is no water and somehow it attracts millions of people a year. And I don’t understand the gambling one bit.”
Not even the slot machines?
“Especially the slot machines Dan.”
The first time we hung out was in 1991 when you played at The Ulster Hall in Belfast…
“Yes! There was a bomb scare and we all had to evacuate. I remember all of the staff being so unfazed by it all as we ran down the fire exit into the street.”
You have a fabulous memory dude, it’s no wonder your book is so full of insane stories, even when you were drunk and high…
“The brain is an amazing thing. I knew I had to write the book myself as there is no way of getting away from the fact that I am a descendent of the American author Herman Melville who wrote Moby Dick. I wouldn’t have been able to live it down if I’d have got a ghost writer in. As soon I started though one memory triggered another and it was like some kind of psychedelic cascade of my life. The smells, the sights…it was totally a three dimensional experience writing it.”
What was the hardest part of the book to write?
“Basically cutting everything I wrote down by half. I was so attached to so many chapters but I was ultimately repeating stuff, unnecessary drunk tales. Looking back, I thought I was the most entertaining drunk in the world in those days…well, maybe I was wrong.”
The last few times we have seen you here in Ibiza you have been sober though…?
“Absolutely, I have had some wonderful times there recently, it’s a beautiful place. My first time I hit the island I was messed up though, I left the club and ended up having sex on the beach at 8am. I completely understand why people think Ibiza is so magical.”
Erick Morillo gave a very heart rending speech at IMS talking about his drug addiction, did you read about that?
“I kinda heard about it, old news. I’m much more fascinated with what is going on with the US elections right now…”
Ah glad you mentioned that! I was talking to Jazzy Jeff this morning and he said that if Donald Trump gets in, he is on the next plane out of America…
“And I’ll be getting a cab to the airport with him! I’m liking the look of moving to New Zealand actually, I love the different seasons which they have and I am a huge Lord of The Rings fan. I’d be very happy living like a hobbit in the mountains if Trump wins.”
You used to live across the road from David Bowie in New York. 2016 has been a year of massive woe with the passings of the White Duke, Ali and Prince. Who’s death hit you the most?
Oh Prince absolutely. Bowie is my favourite musician of all time, was a good friend and I was always amazed that a genius like him could even exist in the first place. But to be honest, when he died I wasn’t really that surprised as I knew had been ill for some time. With Prince, well it just didn’t feel real. It still doesn’t. I thought he was going to be around for at least another 30 years making beautiful music.”
It took two decades for the US to catch up the rest of the world in electronic music popularity. How has it been seeing a scene that you were a pioneer of finally explode, any frustration?
“I had this experience on stage in Chicago a couple of months ago playing to 75,000 people. I was looking around and thought to myself if I had started reproducing at an early age, I could have been many of these kids grandfather. Weird. The fact that it has taken so long is gratifying in a way. Dance Music has so much escapism, spiritualism and celebration within it’s core which you don’t get in other scenes. I think it’s great that in America – the land of the military and Country & Western, electronic music now has this transience celebration.”
Who are some of the artists you are enjoying in 2016?
“Oh man it’s impossible to keep up these days. I was talking to a friend this week who was telling me that Betaport is getting some 10,000 new records a week submitted. That’s crazy. It’s brilliant that a kid and his laptop can make a record, get it on Soundcloud and be a big star overnight, but it is so hard to keep up nowadays.”
Porcelain and the musical accompaniment Music From Porcelain are out now
Dan Prince is Music Editor at Ushuaïa’s IUMAG, Ibiza’s No. 1 music and lifestyle magazine where this interview first appeared in the July 2016 Issue
www.theushuaiamagazine.com
