Today we are visiting the re-imagining process of an artist who is considered “among the most important dance music figures of the early 1990s, helping bring dance music to a mainstream audience both in the United Kingdom and the United States”.
New York singer, songwriter, producer, animal rights activist, Moby, was one of the most important dance/electronica music figures in the 1990s. His success brought into the mainstream what was, till then, underground & became a trailblazer for those superstar DJs that followed in popular electronic music.
From his bio:
[ More than 30 years ago, Moby was an underground New York City DJ. His path from then until now has been tortuous and unconventional. But through it all, Moby has never stopped creating art from a place of curiosity, frustration, joy, and exploration. Despite having one of the longest and most idiosyncratic careers in modern music, and after selling over 20 million albums, he actually rejects the notion of even having a career at all. “I can easily name around 500 musicians and songwriters who I think are so much better than I am. At best I’m lucky that every now and then I work on music and someone seems to like it.”
The idea for revisiting and re-imagining songs from his entire “career” came at a time when Moby had finally accepted that he hated the big machine of major global touring. He started to do stripped-down acoustic shows in people’s backyards or small theatres.
“For me the main purpose of music is to communicate emotion,” he offers, “to share some aspect of the human condition to whomever might be listening.
I don’t want to sound like such an old person,” he continues, “but a lot of modern music rarely feels authentic to me. Every indie rocker wants to be perceived as being cooler than they are. Every hip-hop artist wants to appear tougher than they are. Every pop musician wants to be sexier than they are. Sometimes you just want direct, honest communication.”]
“Reprise” is an album/treasure hidden in plain sight… as honest, as vulnerable, as emotional as a love letter to one’s life can be.
We will do something a bit different today; instead of offering only a selection of music videos, we will use the “Making of” videos Moby recorded.
Take your time viewing them… trust me, you won’t regret it.
And then, you can easily find the full version of the songs. Although, I will strongly recommend a full listen to this album ( there is also a version with commentary from Moby).
The making of “Heroes”, where Moby talks about his friendship with David Bowie
The making of “Why does my heart feel so bad”, Moby talking about the…little idiot.
The superb revisited video 0f “Why Does my Heart Feel So Bad?”
And … “Are You Lost In The World like Me?”
Enjoy.
Until next time, be kind to yourselves & take it easy.
NICK/SPIRA©2024
BREAKING BOUNDARIES 