18

18 is the sixth studio album by American electronica musician, songwriter, and producer Moby. It was released on May 13, 2002 by Mute Records in the UK and on May 14, 2002 by V2 Records in the US. After the unexpected commercial and critical success of his previous album, Play (1999), Moby started to write songs for a follow-up during its supporting tour. He started work on the album at its conclusion in December 2000, using fewer samples than before. Guest vocalists include Azure Ray, MC Lyte, Angie Stone, and Sinéad O'Connor. Following its release, 18 went to number one in 12 countries, including the UK, and reached number 4 in the US. The album went on to sell over 4 million copies worldwide. 18 B Sides + DVD, a collection of the album's B-sides and live video footage, was released a year later. Background In December 2000, Moby finished his world tour in support of his previous studio album, Play (1999), which had lasted for 21 consecutive months. He wanted to start on a follow-up as soon as it was over, by which time he had already recorded ideas for some new songs. This process was under way in the spring of 2001, with Moby using a Power Macintosh G3 and G4 to write and record with Pro Tools. He felt no pressure in delivering an album that matched the commercial success of Play, but an "artistic pressure" to make a record that he and others could enjoy. Prior to starting on 18, Moby had friends in New York City, Los Angeles, and London search through local record shops for albums that contained strong vocals that he could use to sample from and write songs based on them, a technique he had used for Play. He received several hundred and from them, clipped vocal lines, often two or three words long, that caught his interest. From there, he played different chords on his piano that suited the part to build an outline for a song. He then stored the records in his cabinets. Moby composed the album in batches, transferring songs onto a CD and sending them to his management and the A&R representative at V2 with labels such as "Moby Ideas 2, August 2001" or "Moby Demos 3". After 10 months Moby had sent 35 discs comprising over 140 songs, which promoted ideas of making 18 a triple album, but his friends and management advised against it. There were arguments between Moby and V2 over the use of vocal samples on 18, and V2 believed that a follow-up album that sounded like Play was going to attract criticism.