Moby Is Done Waiting

Moby Is Done Waiting

3 May, 2010 | 4.18AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: moby

DJs are well acquainted with killing time. Waiting for planes. Waiting for the gig to start. Waiting for the beat to drop. Waiting for a ride back to the hotel, and waiting for that infernal wake-up call before it starts all over again.

Moby‘s case is probably no different. But being something of a multi-tasker, he somehow manages to get more mileage out of his downtime than most of us do from even our most productive hours. In between albums, gigs, and DJ appearances, he writes one of the more entertaining artist blogs out there. He recently edited and compiled ‘Gristle’, a collection of essays on veganism and industrial agribusiness. And he even delivered a beatless, ambient version of his 2009 album ‘Wait For Me’.

Now, the wait is over for his latest undertaking: ‘Wait For Me. Remixes!’, a collection of floor-friendly reworks of the album’s tracks produced by an unusually diverse list of artists—with big-tent acts like Laidback Luke, Tiesto, and Carl Cox alternating with more underground agents like Gui Boratto, Popof, and Maps. They’re out now, spread across three separate installments, and towards the end of the month, they’ll be collected in one volume, along with an exclusive DJ mix of all of them, recorded by Moby himself.

We caught up with him to ask about the project—plus his punk band, his favorite Woody Allen film, and his vegan kitchen tips.

‘Wait For Me (Paul Kalkbrenner Remix)’

How did you select the remixers for the ‘Wait for Me. Remixes!’ collection? Were they all your choices?

Some of the remixers are old friends, some of the remixers have made records or remixes for other people that I really like, and some of the remixers were chosen by the people at D-E-F, my management company.


What was the biggest surprise, upon hearing the submissions?

I found the Mixhell remix to be surprising, that a former member of Sepultura would make something so melodic and pretty.

‘Isolate (Mixhell Remix)’

I was intrigued that you decided to release a special ambient version of ‘Wait for Me’, if only because it confirms my suspicion that there’s an ambient revival afoot. What inspired you to do the ambient version, and what has the response been like?

Ever since I heard side two of David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ I’ve always loved ambient music. I see ambient music as almost being like musical architecture, in that it can completely change the space in which it’s being listened.

‘Pale Horses (Gui Boratto’s Last Window Remix)’



Have you been DJing much lately? What kind of sets are you playing?

For the last 14 months I’ve been on tour, so I haven’t been DJing much. But this summer I’m doing some DJing in the States. I also might play some old house sets for my friend Alex (from Holy Ghost!’), as he’s having a few underground parties in NYC this spring.


How did you do the DJ mix that comprises disc 2 of ‘Wait for Me. Remixes!’?

Pretty simple, I burned the mixes onto CDs and then used my Pioneer equipment to make a DJ mix. I actually did two mixes, one that’s more dance oriented and one that’s more “listening” oriented, for lack of a better word. The “listening” mix is probably better for falling asleep.


Back in March you blogged about your next album, saying that you were trying to decide whether it should be all acoustic, or a hybrid of acoustic and electronic elements. Have you figured that out yet? You mentioned one possible constraint: that every element should be recorded with a microphone.

Right now I’m thinking that the next album will be all electronic. I love making acoustic music, and I hope at some point to make an all-acoustic album, but at the moment the electronic music I’m working on excites me more than the acoustic. But who knows, the next album might just be me and a bunch of goat-herders screaming at the tops of our lungs.

‘Stay Down (Popof Remix)’



Do you often set yourself rules, constraints or restrictions when you’re making music?

I like Brian Eno’s ‘Oblique Strategies’, especially when applied to the creative process. I don’t always apply self-imposed restraints or constraints to working on music, but I do like to give myself some restrictions (like, for example, only mixing with analog effects, or only recording vocal takes once).


If you do your next record in a proper recording studio, what’s going to happen to your home studio? Will everything disappear under dust covers, or will you sneak in to work on side projects?

Oh, I’m in my home studio every day (at least when I’m home).  My home studio is more of a home to me than my actual home.


Do you plan ever to revisit the album ‘Animal Rights’—either with more material in that style, or a reissue? It seems to be a sort of forgotten corner of your catalog. And perhaps related, what can you tell us about this new metal band you’re playing in?

I love playing loud punk and metal and blues. I’ve started two bands with friends: one, DIAMONDSNAKE, is more glam-metal, and the other, THE LITTLE DEATH, NYC, is more blues inspired. At some point I’d like to play ‘Animal Rights’ live in its entirety, although I don’t think anyone would actually want to listen to it.

‘Wait For Me (Laidback Luke Remix)’



You’ve called Woody Allen’s ‘Annie Hall’ “the best movie ever made.” What’s your #2 Woody Allen pick? I’d guess ‘Sleeper’, because of the oversized veggies, but that’s just a shot in the dark.

Either ‘Manhattan’ or ‘Stardust Memories’. Probably ‘Stardust Memories’. But I also love ‘Hannah and her Sisters’. But ‘Stardust Memories’ is his oddest movie, in many ways, especially the end. Kind of a Fellini rip-off, but very good nonetheless.


How did the idea for ‘Gristle’ come about?

My friend Miyun and I realized that very few of our friends knew about all of the horrifying consequences and ramifications of factory farming and animal production, so we got a bunch of experts to write essays on the ways in which factory animal farming decimates communities, destroys the environment, spreads disease, and ultimately causes cancer, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.


At the risk of a lot of dodgy culinary metaphors, do you draw any parallels between making music and cooking?

I think I’m pretty good at making music, but I’m a really, really sub-par cook. So it’s my hope that there aren’t too many correlations between my cooking and my music making.



Finally, would you mind leaving us with a favorite recipe of yours?

Sort of inspired by Marinetti, the founder of Futurism.

Ingredients:
you
New York City
feet

Recipe: go to New York City and walk around and discover some amazing, amazing vegan food that will almost certainly be better than anything I could ever possibly make.

-Moby

‘Wait For Me Remixes, Part 1

‘Wait For Me Remixes, Part 2

‘Wait For Me Remixes

Moby’s Beatport Top 10, April 2010

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