Moby says “there was a sadness” to his feud with Aphex Twin

Moby has reflected on his early-1990s feud with Aphex Twin, admitting that “there was a sadness to it”. 

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The conflict dates back to a 1993 joint headline tour between Moby, Aphex Twin and Orbital. The tension reportedly developed between the two artists due in part to Moby’s insistence on travelling to each gig by plane, while the others went by tour bus. 

Speaking to Stereogum, the US electronic artist has addressed the issue, saying: “There was a sadness to it, because I really liked his records. I especially liked [‘Selected Ambient Works 85-92′]. I went into that tour feeling like, ‘Hey, we’re all in this together.’ I realized pretty quickly they didn’t feel that way.” 

“Luckily, that was a long time ago,” he added. “I don’t have any ill will towards anyone. But it did feel like, on the part of the intelligentsia, there was a collective embarrassment about the emotional expression of rave culture. It rubbed me the wrong way, because I love underground electronic music. I always have, even going back even to the ’70s and the ’80s.” 

Moby also reflected on the issue back in 2016 on the Rave Curious podcast, recalling that Aphex Twin called him “just a buffoon”, and said that he “couldn’t understand” why Moby had been booked on a tour with him. 

The US artist said that he felt it “was a shame” because he had been an Aphex Twin fan, but it had been “hard to continue to like someone’s music when you know they hold you in contempt.” 

Moby also wrote in his memoir Porcelain that same year that, ““I wanted to like Aphex Twin, because I loved his records. But he rarely spoke to anyone, and when he gave interviews, he criticized me for playing guitar on stage.” 

He added: “He called me an elitist in the press, when actually I just had crippling tour-bus-inspired insomnia.” 

In the new interview, Moby went on to explain the cultural divide that he felt may have existed between himself and Aphex Twin.  

“What I loved about house music and rave culture was the celebration and joy of freeing yourself from all the repression and inhibition,” he said. “It’s been going on for a long time. Expressions of emotion make people uncomfortable — I mean, I’m a WASP from Connecticut. But I’ve always gravitated towards art that unapologetically wears its heart on its sleeve, and I felt like there was that period in the early ’90s where the intelligentsia were trying to kill off that joyful expression of emotion that made rave culture so transcendent.” 

Moby is set to play a European tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of ‘Play’, the biggest-selling electronic album of all time. It will be his first tour in 10 years, and it kicks off at London’s O2 on September 19, before heading to Antwerp, Berlin, Dusseldorf and Paris. You can get your tickets for the shows here. 

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