Innovative artist and Gibson man MOBY is gearing up for the release of his fifth studio album, Hotel, and embarking on yet another worldwide tour. The international (music and music video) chart-topping artist has been nominated for four Grammys (2000-2003), won two MTV Video Music Awards (2001, 2002), and has seen his albums go gold, platinum and double-platinum. And he’s not about to slow down.

Born in Harlem, MOBY moved in and out of Darien, CT, and lived in several places, including a haunted house. “I basically lived in four places,” he said, “New York City, Danbury, CT, Darien, CT, and Stratford, CT. I think that growing up very poor had an influence on the way that I write music. And growing up in a bohemian household in a very affluent town influenced me a lot.” His first guitar teacher was Chris Risola, who “was obsessed with heavy metal, free jazz and music theory,” remembered MOBY, “so he taught me all of the above. Then I discovered punk rock and he was sorely disappointed that I liked songs that didn’t have 37 chord variations.”

Heavily influential on the techno/dance scene in the early ‘90s, MOBY’s first musical inspirations came from the decade before. “In the early ‘80s when I came of age musically,” he explained, “most of my favorite bands experimented with dance music - New Order, Echo and The Bunnymen, Killing Joke, so I never saw a huge divide between the worlds of guitars and synthesizers.”

Not afraid to push boundaries with his music and lyrics, MOBY released his first album in 1983 with his band, The Vatican Commandos. By 1989 he secured a record deal with Instinct Records and from there progressed through the ‘90s and through two more record labels releasing albums like Everything is Wrong, I Like to Score and his hit album Play. “In 1996 I made an album entitled Animal Rights, and it’s still my favorite of my records,” said MOBY. “It’s a brutally honest and difficult record, and it has a depth to it that’s not present on some of my other work.”

His newest album, Hotel, is due out March 22^nd in North America, and even sooner (March 14) outside of the country. “Hotel is very eclectic, with some rock songs and some ballads and some new-wave songs, and a few frivolous disco songs,” explained MOBY. “My favorite song is entitled ‘Slipping Away.’” The title track/first single was released the end of February. MOBY produced, engineered and mixed the 14 tracks on the album, and lent his vocals to 12 tracks. He also played every instrument (except live drums), including his Epiphone guitar and Gibson SG. “Oh, I love [my Epiphone], and I use it on tour and at home in my studio,” said MOBY. “I’m currently just obsessed with my black SG.  I want to be the face of SG in the 21^st century.”

MOBY claims, “If I was not into music, I’d love to have been an architect.” Fortunately, he chose to grace the music world with new and innovative music stylings, and in five years, would love to be “playing in a punk rock band and writing classical music for movies and making disco records and writing slow, sad ballads and making hip-hop records. All of the above.”

Recently casting (Jan. 13) in New York City for the music video for “Lift Me Up,” MOBY left home (Feb. 28) for more than 17 weeks of touring through Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Australia. “On one hand I’m excited to go back out and travel and play live music again,” he said in a recent online journal entry, “but there’s a degree of wistfulness as well, especially as I’ll most likely be saying goodbye to home for a good part of the next year.”