Acclaimed New York City-based electronic musician, producer and activist Moby celebrates the life of Benjamin Zephaniah with the new track “where is your pride?,” out now taken from his 22nd studio album always centered at night, due out June 14th .
The break-beat-driven track is spoken word with a powerful message delivered in the late dub poet’s characteristically warm burr. “Where is your love? / Where is your faith? / Where is your hope? / Where is your place? / Where is your pride?” Moby is proud to share a track with the late Benjamin Zephaniah to continue celebrating his life and note their aligned ideals: “As a vegan activist, and as a wise and compassionate man, Benjamin inspired me for many years. I hope that ‘where is your pride’ honors his legacy and also draws people’s attention to his life, work, and principles.”
Benjamin Zephaniah was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician, and poetry and creative writing professor. He was included in The Times list of Britain’s top 50 post-war writers in 2008. He won the BBC Radio 4 Young Playwrights Festival Award in 1998 and received at least sixteen honorary doctorates.
Moby was born Richard Melville Hall, in Harlem, in 1965. His father gave him his nickname, Moby, because of his hereditary relationship with Herman Melville. Moby started playing classical music and studying music theory when he was nine 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) and has been making albums ever since. He has sold over 20,000,000 albums worldwide.
Even by Moby’s standards, always centered at night is special. The album features 13 collaborations from names many might recognize to others many undoubtedly will come to know. The captivating voices on always centered at night include Sudanese, Netherlands-based chanteuse Gaidaa, London-based, Burundian royal refugee J.P. Bimeni, and Kingston-raised, London-based Aynzli Jones. These are often personal songs, and the personal is the political, as is the border-defying nature of the work.
In his pursuit of new sounds, Moby has become 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, or working with superstars like David Bowie.
Thrilled to bring this dynamic body of work to the world, Moby explains, “For the last 30 years, I’ve worked with amazing singers–everyone from David Bowie to Freddie Mercury, Gregory Porter to Jill Scott. Always centered at night continues my love of collaborating, but has a focus of working with amazing singers who might not be as well known as David Bowie and Gregory Porter.” Though all tracks are collaborations, the music remains unmistakably Moby, dripping with glittery melodies and warm, hypnotic instrumentals.
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