Moby "Play" (1999) - history of creation, interesting facts, video clips

"Play." - DJ's fifth studio album Mobywhich almost became the musician's last record. It was released in the spring 1999 of the year, but recording began two years before the release.

At first "Play" showed little commercial success, but after a month it reached the top of several charts, going platinum in more than 20 countries! For Moby himself, the fifth studio work was both a critical success and a commercial phenomenon. Many of the tracks on the disc became hits that stayed on the radar for years. Compositions from "Play" were used extensively in films, commercials, TV shows, and media. As a result, the "last record" became the best-selling electronic album in history, with a worldwide circulation of more than 1,000 copies. 12 million copies!

History of Creation

"Play." can rightly be called unique work in electronic music. The album includes 18 tracksand the rights to all of them have been acquired by TV, advertising and film makers!

Today. "Play." has been honoured with all the most prestigious laurels: the album is included in the famous list of 500 greatest records of all time according to the influential music magazine "Rolling Stone.". However, after its release it was not a commercial success, and the tracks were not even wanted to be played on the radio. The reason for this was a failed punk release "Animal Rights" 1996 of the year. Then. Moby decided to move away from his usual electronic sound, and it was a mistake. Yes, the rock monsters praised his efforts, but the former fans turned away from the DJ. So "Play" was a kind of an attempt to regain the former recognition of the public. In his own words. Richard Hall (the musician's real name), he planned to record one last album and retire. His plans included studying architecture. However, out of the blue. "Play." began to show incredible commercial results.

Track list

We invite you to enjoy the splendour in person "Play." - below is a full list of tracks from the album. We also recommend you to pay special attention to the great video clips made for the singles.

"Honey."

"Find My Baby"

"Porcelain."

"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?"

"South Side."

"Rushing."

"Bodyrock."

"Natural Blues."

"Machete."

"7"

"Run On."

"Down Slow."

"If Things Were Perfect"

"Everloving."

"Inside."

"Guitar Flute & String"

"The Sky Is Broken"

"My Weakness."

Interesting fact: the album contains 18 tracks, but, according to himself. HollaThere were about two hundred of them! The thing is that many of the compositions were punk songs, and therefore, given the failure of the "Animal Rights."they had to be discarded:

"Some tracks were punk, others were heavy techno... There were also a lot of experimental records. But we decided not to take any risks. Today we've accumulated a considerable amount of them, so I'm even thinking of releasing a separate punk album! The only thing is that they need a little bit of fine-tuning", - he says Moby.

Release, promotion, success

The album saw the light of day in May 1999 of the year. As mentioned above, its sales figures were rather dismal at first. But all of a sudden, at some point, its circulation exceeded the mark of 10 million copies! And today it seems funny, but back then. Moby and his manager were praying that the sales of "Play" would reach at least a few hundred thousand. Three singles were released in support of the disc, but they had no effect on its promotion. Radio stations refused to rotate the tracks, and music magazines refused to listen to them at all. Fortunately, an independent label "Mute." The company did not give up, even when almost a year had passed since the release. The company promoted the "rejected" record with all its might, and it was the company who "Play." to his success.

Years later, Moby gave an interview in which he admitted that he still doesn't understand how the "Play." suddenly went viral. The disc really remained in the shadows for a long time, but today it is talked about as the most successful release of the American DJ. His next works could not beat the success of "Play", despite the fact that he himself Richard Hall took them much more seriously in the making.

The secret of popularity

Success "Play." is unique and really surprising - nothing at first and then all the laurels! In the interview. Moby told how he had to play in the basement of a music shop so that visitors could hear his new album and maybe want to buy it. Sometimes he played for forty people, sometimes for ten.

Promotion also included warm-up gigs with American rock bands. Then there was grief, a lot of alcohol, a lot of sleeplessness... And then, one day. To Richard the manager rang up and said: "We're number one in Britain!" Since then, the album's popularity has only grown.

Films also played an important role in promoting the release. The DJ's agents literally flooded advertising agencies and film studios with offers, which is why today many tracks from the "Play." are well known to listeners thanks to television.

"I just wanted to release tracks that I like and that my friends would probably like," Hall commented.

Influence

Today. "Play." is the first album all tracks from which have been licensed for use in films, TV shows or commercials. The record has influenced many artists, including the British singer Adele. She once said:

"I was introduced to this record by my mother. I remember immediately thinking, 'God, there's something ethereal about these tracks...'." Every time I listen to Play, I feel alive!"