Moby says experimental musicians inspire his work

Musician Moby told ERR’s Ringvaade programme that he once wanted to become a philosophy professor and that his entire musical career has been a complete surprise. He said he is drawn to wildly experimental musicians because he does not prefer one genre over another.

“I was last on tour 15 years ago. Touring often means arriving somewhere, going to a hotel, travelling to the venue, returning to the hotel, trying to sleep, going to the airport and leaving. My last trip to Estonia was exactly like that. This time, at least, I was able to walk around a little,” Moby said.

His 2026 album, Future Quiet, includes a song called “Tallinn”. Moby said the track was inspired by the simplicity of Arvo Pärt’s music.

“It is essentially Arvo Pärt in his simplicity, like in some of his works. Simple and meditative. It was a reference to his music,” he said. Moby also noted that he and Pärt share the same birthday, although they were born decades apart.

Moby said he began studying music theory at a very young age. He played jazz fusion, which he disliked, while his guitar teacher tried to turn him into a virtuoso musician. At the age of 12, he heard the Clash on a New York radio station and decided that this was the music he wanted to make.

“There has never been a clear reason, from my perspective, to prefer one genre over another,” Moby said. He cited John Lennon, David Bowie and Joe Strummer as musicians who experimented extensively. He said he could make electronic music, play in a punk band, compose classical music and pursue many other directions.

As a young man, Moby expected to become a philosophy professor who made music in his spare time. “I thought my main activity in life would be teaching and academic work. So any musical activity in my life has been a complete surprise,” he said.

Moby said he has been vegan for 39 years. “I became vegan in 1987. I do not want to be part of anything that causes suffering. That is the main reason I devoted myself to animal rights,” he said.

His stage name came from his father. Moby was born Richard Melville Hall and is related to Herman Melville, the author of Moby-Dick. His father jokingly began calling him Moby when he was about 10 minutes old, and the name stuck.

Moby also runs mobygratis.com, where he makes music available free of charge to anyone who wants to use it. Around 1,000 tracks are available. He said he has a great deal of music he does not know how to release himself and finds it interesting to see what other people do with it.

“I imagine that at some point I will give up loud dance music and concerts. I think about Arvo Pärt and living in the forest, writing simple, quiet classical music. To me, that seems like paradise,” Moby said.