Acclaimed electronic musician, producer and activist Moby shares all-new remixes with two disc, 57-track album, always centered at night remixes out now via Mute. The whopping LP comes following Quiet Home DJ Mix and a sold out September 2024 EU/UK tour celebrating 25 years of Play.
Moby opens up the sheer scope of the acan album project with a meaty 57-track remix album. The latest single, out today, is the cosmic "dark1" remix of "Wild Flame" which finds Danae’s delightful vocals shimmering over loose congas, spacey synths and intricate rhythms. The new, re-worked tracks see Moby breathe new life into the 2023 original body of work.
Even by Moby’s standards, always centered at night is a bit special. The album features 13 collaborations in all, from names you might recognize to others you undoubtedly will come to recognize. Lead single "dark days" was recorded with acclaimed soul-jazz singer-songwriter Lady Blackbird, a defiant, rhythmic work propelled by her alluring, deep vocals and earnest soul. Other collaborators include serpentwithfeet on the achingly beautiful "on air," and Benjamin Zephaniah on the propulsive, break- beat driven "where is your pride?," a spoken word with a powerful message delivered in the late dub poet’s characteristically warm Handsworth burr. “As a vegan activist, and as a wise and compassionate man, Benjamin inspired me for many years,” says Moby. “I hope that 'where is your pride?' honors his legacy and also draws people's attention to his life, work, and principles.”
Other wonderful voices on ‘always centered at night’, include Sudanese, Netherlands-based chanteuse Gaidaa on "transit", London based Burundian royal refugee J.P. Bimeni, and Kingston raised, London based Aynzli Jones.
Always centered at night–the album–is the continuation of the project of the same name that Moby announced in 2022. He saw this project as a similar service to the idiosyncratic New York record shops that he frequented in the late 1980s, where he’d hear something recondite and exciting and it would open up whole new worlds. always centered at night was his way of working with special writers and vocalists to make songs inspired by the spirit of musical discovery.
In his pursuit of new sounds, Moby has become something of a collector of voices. He’s a connoisseur of the timbre and texture of human vocal chords, whether sampling artists like Bessie Jones, Vera Hall or Boy Blue on Play, or working with superstars like David Bowie, Ozzy Osborne and Britney Spears; “I’m always looking. Sometimes it’s about going on YouTube. Sometimes it’s Spotify. Other times, it’s just walking around Lower Manhattan going to karaoke places, where I’ve actually found a couple of singers. It’s this constant process of looking for voices, and getting excited and inspired when I find a wonderful voice.”
These are often personal songs, and the personal is the political, as is the border-defying nature of the work. Moreover, they’re crepuscular, conceived at twilight, with many of the styles of the last 30 years in electronic music coming to the fore, such as the trip-hoppy "we’re going wrong" featuring Brie O’Banion, the broken beat, almost drum ‘n’ bass influenced "medusa" (with the aforementioned Aynzli Jones), or the Latin house of "feelings come undone" with Raquel Rodriguez.
Since its inception–that has also included collaborations with José James, "ache for," and Akemi Fox "fall back" it has amassed collective streams of over 15M across platforms. All 13 collaborations are collected together here for the first time.
Moby is a multi-platinum-selling, multi-award-winning singer, songwriter, producer, author, and animal rights activist. He has been a vegan and vegan activist for 35 years and last year released his directorial debut Punk Rock Vegan Movie via his production company Little Walnut, a passionate and stylistically idiosyncratic look at the ongoing relationship between the worlds of punk rock and animal rights. It includes interviews with some of the biggest names in punk and rock history.
The expansive, fresh remix album, always centered at night remixes, is out now via Mute. Keep up with all things Moby on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Tracklisting
Disc 1
Moby & Gaidaa - transit (july 2 remix)
Moby & Gaidaa - transit (dec 31 remix)
Moby & gaidaa - transit (oct 1 remix)
Moby & Benjamin Zephaniah - where is your pride? (remix 3)
Moby & Benjamin Zephaniah - where is your pride? (act tone remix)
Moby & Benjamin Zephaniah - where is your pride? (minimal moby remix)
Moby & Benjamin Zephaniah - where is your pride? (march 29 remix)
Moby & Danaé - wild flame (dark1 remix)
Moby & Danaé - wild flame dec 31 remix)
Moby & Danaé - wild flame (dec 31 shorter remix)
Moby & Danaé - wild flame (dubbed moby mix)
Moby & serpentwithfeet - on air (intervals remix)
Moby & India Carney - precious mind (dark remix)
Moby & Lady Blackbird - dark days (Nitefreak remix)
Moby & Benjamin Zephaniah - where is your pride? (Essel remix)
Moby & Lady Blackbird - dark days (dub mix)
Moby & J.P. Bimeni - should sleep (Prins Thomas extended mix)
Moby & Raquel Rodriguez - feelings come undone (piano remix)
Moby & serpentwithfeet - on air (house remix1)
Moby & Raquel Rodriguez - feelings come undone (dec 27 remix)
Moby & Raquel Rodriguez - feelings come undone (remix 2 remix)
Moby & Raquel Rodriguez - feelings come undone (june1 remix)
Moby & India Carney - precious mind (april 23 remix)
Moby & Choklate - sweet moon (remix1)
Moby & serpentwithfeet - on air (breaks remix)
Moby & Akemi Fox - fall back (july9 dub)
Moby & Lady Blackbird - dark days (analog remix)
Moby & India Carney - precious mind (lo fi remix)
Moby & Akemi Fox - fall back (quiet version)
Moby & José James - ache for (quiet version)
Moby & Lady Blackbird - dark days (remix 2)
Moby & Aynzli Jones - medusa (808 remix)
Moby & J.P. Bimeni - should sleep (two guitars remix)
Disc 2
Moby & J.P. Bimeni - should sleep (Prins Thomas diskomix)Moby & India Carney - precious mind (cassette remix)
Moby & Lady Blackbird - dark days (vanco remix)
Moby & Lady Blackbird - dark days (undercatt remix)
Moby & Lady Blackbird - dark days (tonic walter remix)
Moby & Lady Blackbird - dark days (reznik remix)
Moby & Choklate - sweet moon (jung remix)
Moby & Brie O’Banion - we’re going wrong (moby remix)
Moby & Gaidaa - transit (lafayette remix)
Moby & Gaidaa - transit (west st remix)
Moby & José James - ache for (915 remix)
Moby & José James - ache for (breaks remix)
Moby & José James - ache for (a cappella)
Moby & Akemi Fox - fall back (coco bryce remix)
Moby & Akemi Fox - fall back (remix 1)
Moby & Akemi Fox - fall back (ama remix)
Moby & Akemi Fox - fall back (a cappella)
Moby & serpentwithfeet - on air (strings version)
Moby & serpentwithfeet - on air (4am version)
Moby & serpentwithfeet - on air (shadows version)
Moby & serpentwithfeet - on air (analog version)
Moby & serpentwithfeet - on air (a cappella)
Moby & Aynzli Jones - medusa (innocents remix)
Moby & Aynzli Jones - medusa (moby mix)
Moby & Aynzli Jones - medusa (a cappella)
About Moby
Moby was born Richard Melville Hall, in Harlem, in 1965. His father gave him his nickname, Moby, when he was 10 minutes old, because of his hereditary relationship to Herman Melville. Moby started playing classical music and studying music theory when he was 9 and came of age musically in the punk rock scene in and around New York in the early 80’s. He released his first single, “Go,” in 1991 (listed as one of Rolling Stone magazine’s best records of all time) and has been making albums ever since. He has sold over 20,000,000 albums worldwide.