Moby: My work is now with animal rights, not music June 10, 2024

Moby to play seven concerts in Europe in September (MAX NASH)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Moby: My work is now with animal rights, not music

Moby is touring Europe for the first time in over a decade and donating all the proceeds from his shows to animal rights, which he says has become his real job.

There's no doubting the electro star's commitment - the words “ANIMAL” and “RIGHTS” are tattooed in huge letters on his arms and “Vegan for Life” is on the side of his neck.

“I've been vegan for 37 years,” he told AFP. "Working for animal rights is my life's purpose.

"I no longer think of music as my job. Music has become a joyful, calm refuge."

Moby, real name Richard Melville Hall, recorded an epoch-making album 25 years ago with “Play” and sold more than 20 million records worldwide.

Now 58, he is returning to Europe for seven dates, with the money split between eight or nine animal rights and climate organizations. The names should be announced in the coming weeks.

Moby says he is dedicating himself to playing the hits - mainly from “Play” and “18”.

"It's what the public is paying to hear. When I go to see my favorite bands, it makes me very sad when they don't play the songs I know and love. It seems selfish to me,” he said.

He disagrees with Radiohead, who refuses to play their biggest hit, “Creep”.

"That's a great song. People like it. If you can make someone happy, why not play it?"

This attitude comes from clear memories of his clumsy beginnings in punk bands in New York.

"I remember a gig in a Chinese restaurant and there were four people in the band and two people in the audience... I never expected to have a song that people knew or liked."

- 'Trump hates animals' -

Most of his time these days is spent lobbying politicians on behalf of animals.

There are many well-meaning people in the current government in Washington, he said, but in an election year, they are terrified of doing anything that might help Donald Trump win.

"Donald Trump is a true sociopath. He's famous for hating animals. His ex-wife says he brought home a dog and threatened to kill it.

“He hates animals because they can't do anything for him,” he said.

Moby traces his veganism back to his troubled childhood - his father's death from drunk driving, the sexual abuse he suffered as a child, and the shame of growing up poor.

“I learned from an early age not to trust human beings, while animals were very predictable,” he said.

There was a time when he became even more directly involved, visiting the animals as they were being taken to the slaughterhouse - “bearing witness”, offering moments of kindness before their deaths.

He says that meat companies have managed to get around the situation by moving animal deliveries to the middle of the night.

"Very few people are willing to get up at 2:30 in the morning to drive across town and be one of the three people left in the cold. They won that round".

Now he tries to approach his activism “in a very strategic way”.

“It involves working with politics, philanthropy, venture capital for young vegan companies, the media,” he said.

“I try to identify all the things that are moving away from the status quo and figure out how I can help them.”

By Philippe Grelard and Eric Randolph

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