Hotel is the seventh studio album by American electronica musician, singer, songwriter, and producer Moby. It was released on March 14, 2005, internationally by Mute Records and on March 22, 2005, in the United States by V2 Records. The album marked a stylistic shift from electronic and dance-oriented music towards alternative rock and Moby's decision not to use vocal sampling for the first time since his 1993 album Ambient.
Hotel was met with a mixed critical reception upon release but was a commercial success, reaching No. 28 in the US and No. 8 in the UK. In 2014, Hotel: Ambient was released with additional tracks.
Background and writing
After touring for his previous album, 18 (2002), ended in 2003, Moby took a detour in musical styles and released Baby Monkey, the third album under his Voodoo Child pseudonym, in January 2004. It marked a return to his techno and rave roots, which had brought him success in the early 1990s. At the time of the album's release, Moby revealed that he had around 250 songs of varied styles, including electronic, ambient, and experimental pieces, for his next full studio album, but he was unsure as to what direction it should take. His early desire was to make a disco and dance-oriented album.
Moby drew a large amount of inspiration for Hotel from his experiences in living in New York City. The music he heard DJs play in local bars, and the bands he saw perform live at various gigs, made him feel "like I was being given license to bask or wallow in my early influences". Moby said the songs on Hotel are more personal and direct than on his previous albums.
In a journal entry on his website, Moby explained the title Hotel, writing that he was fascinated by the nature of hotels, where humans spend often significant portions of their lives, but have all traces of their tenancy removed for the next guests.
Moby's opinion in retrospect
In recent years, Moby has stated that Hotel is his least favorite of all of the albums he has made. In an interview with Q, Moby said that although the production was "very slick and very professional", he was dissatisfied with the final product once it was done. He explained: "I like some of the songs, but I produced it in such a generic way that I was really kinda disappointed with myself as a producer and as a musician."