Feeling So Real

"Feeling So Real" is a song by American electronica musician Moby, released in October 1994 by Mute and Elektra, as the second single from the musician's third studio album, Everything Is Wrong (1995). The song, both written and produced by Moby, features the phrases "sound system rocking my....." (the full sample saying "sound system rocking my sieve") and "set it up DJ!" spoken by Kochie Banton, who also appears in Moby's following single, "Everytime You Touch Me". The guest vocalist for the song is Rozz Morehead. It peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart, number nine on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart, and number one on the Finnish Singles Chart. Julie Hermelin directed the song's accompanying music video. Spin ranked "Feeling So Real"/"Everytime You Touch Me" number one in their list of the 20 best singles of 1995.^[3]

"Feeling So Real"
Single by Moby
from the album Everything Is Wrong
B-side	"New Dawn Fades"
Released	October 1994[1]
Genre	Disco[2]
Length	3:21 (album version) 4:32 (single version)
Label	Mute Elektra
Songwriter(s)	Moby
Producer(s)	Moby
Moby singles chronology
"Hymn" (1994) "Feeling So Real" (1994) "Everytime You Touch Me" (1995)
Music video
"Feeling So Real" on YouTube

Release

The single's B-side is Moby's take on the Joy Division song "New Dawn Fades". It would later be included on the Joy Division tribute album A Means to an End: The Music of Joy Division, and Moby would go on to perform it live with New Order.

The remix CD contains all the separate parts (vocals, strings, drums, etc.) for "Everytime You Touch Me". Mute Records and Elektra held a competition where one had to use the parts to create a remix "in any style you want" and mail it in on digital audio tape (DAT) by November 18, 1994. The winning remixes were included on later singles.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Leave it to the brilliant mind of Moby to build a bridge uniting rave and classical music. Single has a majestic quality–particularly with its vocals, which have a decidedly operatic bend–that is as interesting to the ear as it is to the body."^[4] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton said, "Few techno singles seem to be complete these days without a gimmick, hence the remixing competition that accompanies this release."^[5] Ian Gittins from Melody Maker noted its "giddy, insatiable euphoria",^[6] calling it an "irresistible E-anthem (or, in New York parlance, Ex-anthem)".^[7] Another Melody Maker editors, The Stud Brothers, named it "a fairly crass powerbag stormer, complete with soul diva and full-on ragga-man".^[8] Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "In '91, 'Go' his version of the Twin Peaks theme, portrayed Moby as the cryptic one in the dance sphere. Now he's as "vulgarly" Euro as everybody else, but still with a wink."^[9]

An Music & Media editor, Maria Jimenez, stated, "Injected with virtually every vibe from techno to jungle to pop, Moby's latest single 'Feeling So Real' (Mute) flies high and fast. If it hasn't reached your turntable yet, now is as good a time as any to put it on and allow yourself to be energised by the euphenic tone and electrifying sounds."^[10] Andy Beevers from Music Week gave it four out of five, adding, "The high speed Original Mix of 'Feeling So Real' verges on hardcore and may be the least commercial Moby single for a long while. Slower versions broaden its appeal, but it is unlikely to match the last few releases."^[11] Johnny Cigarettes from NME remarked the "ridiculously frantic jungle mantra" at the beginning.^[12] Tim Jeffery from the Record Mirror Dance Update deemed it "another uplifting techno track with vocals from the slightly odd Moby, but does it have to be so fast?"^[13] Another editor, James Hamilton, described it as a "mind bogglingly frantic yet stratospherically soaring flyer strictly for speed freaks, with sweet girl cooed 'I'm feeling so real, take me away' repetition and some ragga 'step it up DJ' punctuation".^[14] Gareth Grundy from Select wrote, "It might be created by a teetotal Christian, but the hedonistic rush of 'Feeling So Real' encapsulates what plenty of people want from their nights out."^[15]

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Julie Hermelin.^[16]

Track listings

CD single (CDMUTE173) "Feeling So Real" (Original Mix) – 4:32 "Feeling So Real" (Unashamed Ecstatic Piano Mix) – 5:59 "Feeling So Real" (Old Skool Mix) – 5:47 "New Dawn Fades" – 5:31 CD single – remixes (LCDMUTE173) "Feeling So Real" (WestBam Mix) – 5:53 "Feeling So Real" (Ray Keith Jungle Mix) – 5:01 "Feeling So Real" (Moby's Dub Mix) – 6:46 "Everytime You Touch Me" (Remix Parts) – 4:41 12-inch single (12MUTE173) "Feeling So Real" (WestBam Mix) – 5:53 "Feeling So Real" (Original Mix) – 4:32 "Feeling So Real" (Ray Keith Remix) – 5:01 "Feeling So Real" (Old Skool Mix) – 5:47 "Feeling So Real" (Unashamed Ecstatic Piano Mix) – 5:59 Cassette single (CMUTE173) "Feeling So Real" (7" edit) – 3:22 "New Dawn Fades" – 5:31

CD single (66180-2) "Feeling So Real" (radio edit) – 3:10 "Feeling So Real" (Ecstatic) – 5:59 "Feeling So Real" (Old Skool) – 5:47 "Feeling So Real" (WestBam Remix) – 5:33 "Feeling So Real" (Moby's Dub) – 6:46 "New Dawn Fades" – 5:31 "Feeling So Real" (Main Mix) – 4:32 "Feeling So Real" (Ray Keith Remix) – 5:01 "Everytime You Touch Me" (Remix Parts) – 4:41 12-inch single (0-66180) "Feeling So Real" (Old Skool Mix) – 5:47 "Feeling So Real" (Unashamed Ecstatic Piano Mix) – 5:59 "Feeling So Real" (Moby's Dub) – 6:46 "Feeling So Real" (WestBam Mix) – 5:33 "Everytime You Touch Me" (Remix Parts) – 4:41

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1994–1995) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] 21 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[18] 54 Europe (European Dance Radio)[19] 21 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[20] 1 Germany (GfK)[21] 14 Ireland (IRMA)[22] 21 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[23] 10 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[24] 12 Scotland (OCC)[25] 30 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[26] 40 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 7 UK Singles (OCC)[28] 30 UK Dance (OCC)[29] 17 UK Club Chart (Music Week)[30] 22 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[31] 9

Year-end charts Chart (1995) Position Germany (Official German Charts)[32] 83

References

1. "Single Releases" (PDF). Music Week. October 15, 1994. p. 27.
2. Rolling Stone Staff (October 4, 2019). "100 Best Albums of the '90s". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 25, 2024. Feeling So Real" and "Everytime You Touch Me" are stunning disco anthems...
3. "Spin Magazine End Of Year Lists". www.rocklistmusic.co.uk. 1995. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
4. Flick, Larry (October 29, 1994). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 77. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
5. Masterton, James (October 23, 1994). "Week Ending October 29th 1994". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
6. Gittins, Ian (March 18, 1995). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 35. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
7. Gittins, Ian (March 25, 1995). "Whale Of The Century". Melody Maker. p. 29. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
8. The Stud Brothers (January 6, 1996). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 30. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
9. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 43. October 22, 1994. p. 8. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
10. Jimenez, Maria (December 24, 1994). "Short Grooves" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 52. p. 5. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
11. Beevers, Andy (October 22, 1994). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Dance" (PDF). Music Week. p. 19. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
12. Cigarettes, Johnny (March 18, 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 49. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
13. Jeffery, Tim (October 1, 1994). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 8. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
14. Hamilton, James (October 22, 1994). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 10. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
15. Grundy, Gareth (April 1995). "New Albums". Select. p. 99. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
16. "Feeling So Real (1994) by Moby". IMVDb. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
17. "Moby – Feeling So Real" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
18. "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 47. November 19, 1994. p. 24. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
19. "European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 3. January 21, 1995. p. 21. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
20. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
21. "Moby – Feeling So Real" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
22. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Feeling So Real". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
23. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 52, 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
24. "Moby – Feeling So Real" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
25. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
26. "Moby – Feeling So Real". Singles Top 100. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
27. "Moby – Feeling So Real". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
28. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
29. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
30. "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). October 22, 1994. p. 8. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
31. "Moby Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
32. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts 1995" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved May 17, 2020.

External links

• "Feeling So Real" at Discogs (list of releases)