You remember Moby. He's that small, skinny, bald man; the New Yorker who produced Play in 1999. The album became the first-ever record to license all its tracks for commercial use. Nokia, Jaguar, Calvin Klein and the rather less glamorous Maxwell House coffee empire were just a few of the brands that signed on the dotted line and churned out his work.
The floaty melodies of tracks such as Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? and Porcelain flagged the brands as young, hip and cool; the album marched up the charts and achieved critical success. It sold 10 million copies worldwide. It spent weeks in album charts across the world. Everybody was happy, no? No. Behind the scenes, Moby seethed. He fell back on the excuse that licensing was the only way to get his music listened to, but he was accused by more stringent industry figures of selling out. Still, he was a tea-drinking vegan and a central figure in the 1990s rave movement. He spoke vaguely of being "spiritual". On Planet Moby, he was not a commercial musician who sonically repackaged old blues and gospel music, especially not for lots of lovely money. He was a true artist.
No wonder, then, that the fairy tale soured and Moby started to abuse the trappings that traditionally come with fame and fortune. In 2002, he released another successful album, 18, but all was not well in his world. He fell down with a duff album in 2005 called Hotel, and then seemed to retire from the big time. Until now. His ninth studio album, Wait for Me, has just been unleashed. At the age of 43, Moby claims he is more comfortable with his output than before and has turned his back on the hedonistic days of old. Yet there is more than a touch of Play in his new work, recorded mostly in his home studio in the Nolita neighbourhood of New York. Blissed-out keyboard chords feature along with high-pitched strings, a smattering of vocal tracks amid mournful, instrumental melodies and the odd bit of gospel backing. The cumulative sound is instantly recognisable as Moby's - haunting, but not radically different.
In keeping with his volte-face against the Play days and mainstream success, though, he collaborated with relative unknowns in the music world on Wait for Me, unlike previous albums for which he roped in names such as Debbie Harry, Sinead O'Connor and Angie Stone. "If people can do it and come up with good records then more power to them, but I would rather make a record with my friends or people no one has ever heard of than a celebrity," he said in a recent interview in Australia, almost as if he still feels he has something to prove to his previous critics.
After the two-minute instrumental introduction to the album, Division, the listener is led into Pale Horses. It's the first single to be issued from the album, and has been released on a CD that features nine versions of the same song. (Yes, that's right - nine. It gives you some idea of how much electronic fiddling around Moby likes to do.) It features gentle drum backing and dreamlike singing from one of these unknown friends of Moby's, Amelia Zirin Brown, who sounds somewhat sombre in tone. "Look at all the places where all my family died," she broods at one point.
It is a track that sets the tone for the remainder of the album, one to avoid if you're looking for an uplifting listen. Moby has said before that if he was allowed, he would only ever produce covers of Joy Division songs. Expect the same level of cheeriness here. "Don't let me make the same mistake again / I never felt this loss before / And the world is closing doors," he sings longingly in Mistake.
The album's title track continues in a similar vein. "Life I have isn't what I've seen / The sky's not blue and the field's not green," whispers the American soul singer Leela James against repeating piano chords and electronic distortion. Ultimately, if you fancy 51 minutes of introspective calm spread across 16 tracks, have a listen to Wait for Me. After all, in the years since Play, introspection is presumably something that Moby has become rather good at.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The%20specs
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UK%20-%20UAE%20Trade
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
UAE%20SQUAD
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The specs: 2018 Audi Q5/SQ5
Price, base: Dh183,900 / Dh249,000
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder / 3.0L, turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic / Eight-speed automatic
Power: 252hp @ 5,000rpm / 354hp @ 5,400rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,600rpm / 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy: combined 7.2L / 100km / 8.3L / 100km
Company%20Profile
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'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
SPECS
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WISH
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
