Moby takes listeners back to New York City in 1989 and rave's heyday on his
ninth studio album 'Last Night'.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) MUTE RECORDS -

 The last year of the eighties proved to be an important turning
point for DJ/producer Moby. At the time, the New York city-based DJ was
producing tracks in his tiny apartment on Manhattan's Lower East Side with his
only ambition "to teach classes at the local community college".
    The success of his music in the nineties culminated with the release of
the multi-platinum selling "Play" in 1999. The album transformed him
from obscure bedroom DJ to international superstar and Moby became the poster
boy for the industry's newest revenue stream - music licensing.
    In addition to selling 2.7 million copies of "Play" (V2),
according to Nielsen SoundScan, all 18 of the album's tracks landed in movies,
TV shows and advertising spots for everything from American Express to
Bailey's Irish Cream. The album's drowsy electronic blues was omnipresent to
the point that the former rave DJ became known more for his deal-making than
his music.
    Moby's new album "Last Night" takes listeners back to
pre-"Play" days to a time when rave was the newest kid on the music
block and ignited feelings of innocence, optimism and euphoria. Moby was just
an unknown DJ making music for anyone who would listen to him.
    "The idea behind this album, 'Last Night', was on one hand to sort
of look at my history with dance music, but also to make a record that to me
sounded like a night out in my neighbourhood, which is the lower East Side of
Manhattan - because I go out way too often. In my neighbourhood - the lower
east side there's so many bars there's so many clubs, there's so many venues,
so it's easy to go out often and stay out really late because nothing shuts
down before 4 o'clock in the morning. So it's basically an album about a night
out in my neighbourhood," Moby told Reuters.
    "Last Night" touches on a number of musical genres in its
attempt to take the listener on a night out -- from the languid yet upbeat
"I Love to Move in Here", to the stand out track of the piano-driven
"Everyday It's 1989" featuring soulful vocals recalling the rave
soundtrack so prevalent in the nineties, to the hip-hop of "Alice",
and back downtempo with the jazzy title track. It is an intentional move on
Moby's part, he said, as the once rigid genre walls which divided the dance
music world have all but disintegrated and people's musical tastes in 2007 can
be defined as eclectic.
    With the commercial success of "Play" and Moby's astute
business sense, came the eventual backlash from fans. An article in New York's
"Village Voice" newspaper questioned, what it called, the widespread
"hatred" of Moby.
    "It's never nice being hated. Especially by a lot of people you've
never met. But it's also strange because a lot of times, people's reasons for
hating me-- like I'm all in favour for someone hating me if they have a good
reason to hate me. But a lot of times it's not really well thought out,"
said Moby.
    "From my perspective, the old punk rocker in me thinks it's better
to take money from a nasty corporation than to give money to a nasty
corporation. I'd rather be a tiny prick in a corporation, bleeding it, as
opposed to feeding it, if that makes any sense," he added.
    Moby didn't say whether he would take the same commercial route with
"Last Night" as he did with "Play". But he added that he
has also started a Web site, mobygratis.com, where non-commercial or
non-profit filmmakers can download his music for free use in their projects.

    As far as being famous is concerned, he said he enjoys standing outside
the often circus-like world of celebrity as well as occasionally taking part
in it.
    "The other interesting part of fame is that we live in a
celebrity-obsessed culture, and I love have a perspective of seeing it from
both sides. I've been involved in celebrity culture and I'm also standing
outside celebrity culture. I don't take celebrity culture seriously for a
second. Celebrity culture, it is such a waste of time. It's an entertaining
waste of time, if you read those celebrity magazines whether it's 'Us Weekly'
or 'OK'  or 'Hello', it's like going to a zoo for half dim-witted
quasi-humans. I still have yet to meet a truly grounded, emotionally secure,
well-adjusted celebrity," said Moby.
    Moby has worked hard to dispel the rumours that he is pro-God,
environmentalist, tee-total and vegan. Despite being in his early forties, he
said he has given up many vices but continues to drink and stay up partying in
his beloved Lower East Side, as he did when dance music was in its heyday.

    He hopes to bring fans who listen to "Last Night", released
Monday (May 10), along for the ride.