Moby’s “Destroyed” Photo Book: From Music to Photography

Although Moby has been renowned worldwide for his electronic music carrier for more than 30 years, few have recognized that he has been interested in photography since he was a ten-year-old boy. This year, he finally made it to release his first photo book entitled “Destroyed”, presenting a number of photos he had taken while touring to many places in various countries—most of them done while performing music concerts.

“Most people think of touring as being…glamorous,” he wrote in “Destroyed”, “Touring is weird. [You go] from complete isolation in hotel rooms to complete immersion in seas of people.” Recently published in May by Damiani Publisher, “Destroyed” presents 60 photographs; records from the amount of his life he spent over the places—from planes, buses, concert venue and stages, to the hotel rooms and parties.

Moby (born Richard Hall) is popular for his “oceanic, bluesy” electronic music with world hits and albums. He is also widely renowned for his contribution in the soundtracks of several box office movies such as The Bourne Supremacy, The Matrix, and The Beach. Taking his trusty Canon PowerShot wherever he goes, he used the camera to record things he saw during his tours; not only the empty airports and anonymous hotel rooms, but also the ecstasy of his fans dancing along to his songs and the enthusiastic photographers taking his photographs. The photos were taken not only in big cities such as Brussels and Perth, but also in Sumatra (Indonesia) and Latvia.

Moby (Courtesy of Daily News)

“I hope that somehow in these pictures,” Moby writes, “I’m able to convey the mundanity of touring, juxtaposed with those moments of the strange and/or sublime. One minute on tour you’re by yourself in a soulless airport, the next minute you’re flying over the most beautiful landscapes on the planet. One minute on tour you’re by yourself in a soulless backstage area, the next minute you’re on stage pouring your heart out to 75,000 people. Touring is all contrasts and strangeness, and that’s what I’m trying to convey in these pictures.”

Available in hardcover with 120 pages, the “Destroyed” photo book is released along with the same-titled album. Amazon offers the “Destroyed” photo book in package along with an audio CD of the music album and the Deluxe Edition of the Remixes 2:81-11 (consisted of 3 CDs) for US$64.78 (Rp 552.300) , but you can also buy the photo book individually for US$27.97 (Rp 238.500). nydailynews.com, amazon.com