Moby has a busy year ahead, with a new album and a tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of his classic 1999 album, Play.
The tour is currently just a few September dates in the UK and Europe. “It’s been over 10 years since I’ve toured, but someone reminded me that 2024 is the 25th anniversary of the release of Play, so it seemed like it might not be the worst idea to do a short European tour to commemorate and celebrate,” Moby says. “The show will feature well known songs from Play, but also a bunch of audience favorites, like ‘Extreme Ways,’ ‘We Are All Made Of Stars,’ ‘When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die,’ and even some old rave bangers like ‘Feeling So Real’ and ‘Go.’ What makes the tour most exciting for me is that I won’t be paid anything. 100% of my tour profits will go to European animal rights organizations.” All dates are below.
As for the new album, it’s titled always centered at night and will be out June 14 via Mute. All 13 songs are collaborations with a different artist, including serpentwithfeet, Lady Blackbird, José James, the late Benjamin Zephaniah, and more. “For the last 30 years, I’ve worked with amazing singers–everyone from David Bowie to Freddie Mercury, Gregory Porter to Jill Scott,” Moby says. “‘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.”
The first single from the album is “dark days” which features Lady Blackbird. “I first heard Lady Blackbird sing a few years ago, and I fell in love with her voice, Moby says. “I moved heaven and earth to try and work with her.”
Lady Blackbird adds, “It was such a wonderful feeling to get to work with Moby again, this time as a writer on the new song ‘Dark Days’. Moby’s originality is so freeing. We felt the moonlit darkness of the track evoked a feeling of the beginning and ending of future days on Earth.” Listen to that, and check out the album art and tracklist, below.
always centered at night
1. on air (feat. serpentwithfeet)
2. dark days (feat. Lady Blackbird)
3. where is your pride? (feat. Benjamin Zephaniah)
4. transit (feat. Gaidaa)
5. wild flame (feat. Danaé Wellington)
6. precious mind (feat. India Carney)
7. should sleep (feat. J.P Bimeni)
8. feelings come undone (feat. Raquel Rodriguez)
9. medusa (feat. Aynzli Jones)
10. we’re going wrong (feat. Brie O’Banion)
11. fall back (feat. Akemi Fox)
12. sweet moon (feat. Choklate)
13. ache for (feat. José James)
Moby’s Greatest Hits Live in Europe Celebrating 25 Years of Play
September 19 – London, England – O2
September 21 – Antwerp, Belgium – Sportpaleis
September 22 – Berlin, Germany – Velodrom
September 23 – Düsseldorf, Germany – Mitsubishi Electric Hall
September 24 – Paris, France – Le Zenith