Moby speaks about ‘Go’ and dance music 1991-1992

Moby speaks about ‘Go’ and dance music 1991-1992

18 May, 2009 | 10.47AM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Music News: 20 years of dance music, moby

Beatportal continues its celebration of 20 years of dance music, by interviewing Moby about his all-time classic techno track ‘Go’. The most famous baldy in electronic music also helped us retrospectively review 10 tracks from the electronic music years of 1991-1992.

Moby’s ‘Go’

Moby captured hearts and stole minds in 1991 with his epic techno ballad ‘Go’, giving ravers an anthem that encapsulated the nirvana they sought every weekend. ‘Go’ embodied rave culture’s celebration of celebration, and defined its intransitive nature. There and then, for no particular reason, Moby urged everyone to just ‘Go’. And they did.

“I originally thought that ‘Go’ would sell around 3000 copies and maybe get played at the Limelilght,” says Moby. Back then, Peter Gatien’s Manhatten club was so hardcore that Moby later likened the experience of spinning for the crowd to “playing in a penitentiary”. But what got kids off in New York, also worked on the other side of the pond, where ‘Go’ made it into the Top 10 of the UK singles chart.

“It took me from being a completely unknown dance artist and gave me a much bigger audience, which was both a good and a bad thing,” says Moby, of the career defining song. “It was nice having more people willing to listen to the music I was making, but it did put a lot of stress and pressure on other things going on in my life.”

Many think ‘Go’ is based on a sample from Twin Peaks, David Lynch’s popular cult TV drama, but as Moby explains, “Actually it’s not a sample. I tried to sample ‘Laura Palmer’s Theme’ but it was too slow, so I ended up having to replay it.”

‘Laura Palmer’s Theme’ reborn through the prism of Moby’s studio genius, became a haunting wave of synthesized chords. It’s minor key changes, had a major effect.

Dropped anywhere at any time, a DJ was guaranteed hands in the air, and Moby’s somewhat aggressive one note mantra urged the dancefloor to move.

Yeeeaaaah! replied an unidentifiable female voice, like someone in the crowd hiding behind the smoke, who like you, understood how good it felt to be there, at that moment.

Tracks the defined 1991 - 1992

Moby provides a retrospective review of some of the records that defined 1991 - 1992.

Jaydee ‘Plastic Dreams’ [R&S] (1992)

“This track signalled the end of shiny, smiley, happy rave music, at least in New York,” says Moby. “It’s a great record, but such an unlikely hit.

“And it was a huge hit, again, at least in New York. It was definitely the anthem for kids in a k-hole in 1992.”

Future Sound Of London ‘Papa New Guinea’ [Jumpin’ & Pumpin’] (1991)

Moby says, “I remember hearing this for the first time at 5AM in East London and it sounded so different from everything else out there. It was a really nice breath of fresh air at the time.”

Ron Trent ‘Altered States’ [Prescription Classics] (1990)

“I still play this whenever I DJ at smaller parties,” says Moby. “Although the B-side, ‘Making Love’, was a bigger track in New York in 1990. This 12” is one of my all time favorite records.”

Nightmares On Wax ‘Aftermath’ [Warp Records] (1990)

‘Aftermath’ is an all-time Warp classic, produced by Leeds-based black/white duo Kevin Harper and George Evelyn.

Originally released in 1990, the impending doom and breakcore, ‘bleep and bass’ sound became a theme for many hardcore classics from the era.

The track peaked at No.38 in the UK charts in the autumn of 1990, but it remained a club anthem throughout 1991. When the record’s diva sings ‘There’s something going round inside my head’, for many ravers at that time it was ‘Aftermath’.

Aphex Twin ‘Digeridoo’ [R&S] (1992)

Aphex Twin’s ‘Digeridoo’ had a huge impact on the hardcore dancefloor, with Richard D. James’ 303 acid squelch fighting with the sound of an Australian aboriginal pipe.

At the time, raves in the UK were often visited by traveling hippies who played instruments like the digeridoo, which inspired James to make the track.

Noisy percussive and strangely perplexing, ‘Digeridoo’ perfectly suited Warp’s concept of electronic listening music and Aphex Twin’s avant garde impulses.

2 Bad Mice ‘Bombscare’ [Moving Shadow] (1991)

Before drum & bass, there was ‘Bombscare’. The cut pioneered the process of cutting up drums and manipulating breaks and beats, and the record is widely credited for being the blueprint for early jungle and drum & bass music.

2 Bad Mice were among the first UK hardcore acts to heavily incorporate breakbeats and Rob Playford, one of the three producers behind the crew, owned drum & bass for years with his Moving Shadow records before he became a member of the Metalheadz family alongside Goldie.

Shades of Rhythm ‘Sweet Sensation’ [ZTT Records] (1991)

A man named BobbiePeru had this to say about Shades of Rhythm ‘Sweet Sensation’ on Discogs.

“It’s 1991. It’s August. It’s 6am. You are stood in the middle of a field but you can’t remember where. The sun is just rising up above the skyline and as the first rays lick your exhausted body you hear booming out of the soundsystem ‘My sweet sensation...tion...tion’ and as you look around you see 30,000 people just explode and go fuckin mental. Who needs e’s when you have Shades of Rhythm. Legendary.”

Gat Decor ‘Passion’ [Addictive] (1992)

Simon Slater’s ‘Passion’ was one of the first progressive house tracks, and peaked at no.29 in the UK charts. The alias Gat Decor was an anagram of Tag Records, a record shop in London. ‘Passion’ was listed by British dance mag Mixmag as one of the 50 Most Influential UK tracks of all time alongside legends such as The Beatles, James Brown and Marvin Gaye and in 1996, when ‘Passion’ was re released with the ‘Do you want it right now’ vocal, it sold over 250,000 copies.

Speedy J ‘Pullover’ (Plus 8 Records)

Speedy J’s breakthrough came in 1992 when his techno cut ‘Pullover’ was released on Richie Hawtin’s Plus 8 Records.

Considered both a Detroit and Dutch dance music classic, ‘Pullover’ helped to put the second wave of Detroit artists on the map, and was a huge global success.

Simon Reynolds’ ‘Generation Ecstasy’ was an invaluable resource for me when writing up this article and I cannot recommend it enough.

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