Into the Blue (Moby song)

"Into the Blue" is a song by American electronica musician Moby, released on June 19, 1995 by Mute Records, as the fourth single from his third studio album, Everything Is Wrong (1995).^[2] American musician Mimi Goese co-wrote the lyrics with Moby and provided the vocals. The song is slow and melancholy, a stark contrast to the first four singles from the album.

"Into the Blue"
Single by Moby
from the album Everything Is Wrong
B-side	"Shining"
Released	June 19, 1995 (1995-06-19)[1]
Length	5:45 (album version) 4:10 (single version)
Label	Mute
Songwriter(s)	Moby Mimi Goese
Producer(s)	Moby
Moby singles chronology
"Everytime You Touch Me" (1995) "Into the Blue" (1995) "Bring Back My Happiness" (1995)
Music video
"Into the Blue" on YouTube

The single peaked at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart.^[3] In one of the remixes, the "Spiritual Remix", Joy Division's song "Atmosphere" is prominently sampled and sequenced. Jon Spencer, frontman of American alternative rock band Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and a friend of Moby, contributed the blues-influenced "Into the Blues Mix" to the single, and in turn Moby remixed one of the band's own tracks.^[2]

Critical reception

The Stud Brothers of Melody Maker complimented the song as "Mimi Goese's cosmic ballad, a melancholy collision of Joni Mitchell and Chimera and probably the straightest track on Everything Is Wrong".^[4] Another Melody Maker editor, Simon Price, felt that "this sounds like Enya".^[5] A reviewer from Music & Media commented, "First he's raving, then he's pop as pop could be. "Into the Blue" belongs to the latter category. It would almost be MOR material if the beats weren't that prominent."^[6] Brad Beatnik from Music Week's RM Dance Update wrote, "What an oddity. The original album mix is a beautiful haunting cut featuring the soaring vocals of Mimi Goese – as brilliantly showcased on Later with Jools Holland recently."^[7]

Johnny Cigarettes from NME remarked "the rich, dark female voice warbling over "Into the Blue"'s aquatic ambience".^[8] Another NME editor, Ben Willmott, opined, "This time, he's shunned his normal gay-disco-meets-techno hybrid in favour of a distastefully dated and uncomfortably melancholic shuffling ballad about flying off into the sky."^[9] Also Barry Walters for Spin complimented the "etheral tones" of Goese, "with a ghostly grace that's truly startling after so much excitation."^[10]

Track listing

• 12-inch single (12MUTE179)

1. "Into the Blue" (Buzz Boys Main Room Mayhem Mix) – 7:45
2. "Into the Blue" (Underground Mix) – 8:19
3. "Into the Blue" (Hard Mix) – 8:46
4. "Into the Blue" (Voodoo Child Mix) – 6:14

• CD single (CDMUTE179)

1. "Into the Blue" (Beatmasters Mix) – 4:10
2. "Shining" – 4:49
3. "Into the Blue" (Summer Night Mix) – 7:20
4. "Into the Blue" (Into the Blues Mix) – 5:38

• CD single – remixes (LCDMUTE179)

1. "Into the Blue" (Voodoo Child Mix) – 6:14
2. "Into the Blue" (Spiritual Mix) – 8:59
3. "Into the Blue" (Simple Mix) – 6:13
4. "Into the Blue" (Uplifting 4 Beat Mix) – 5:49
5. "Into the Blue" (Summer Wind Mix) – 4:52
6. "Into the Blue" (The Buzz Boys Main Room Mayhem Mix) – 7:45

Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Europe (European Dance Radio)[11]	25
Ireland (IRMA)[12]	17
Scotland (OCC)[13]	34
UK Singles (OCC)[3]	34
UK Club Chart (Music Week)[14]	14

References

1. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. June 17, 1995. p. 31.
2. "Moby: Into the Blue". Mute.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
3. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
4. The Stud Brothers (January 6, 1996). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 30. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
5. Price, Simon (June 24, 1995). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 34. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
6. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 18. May 6, 1995. p. 13. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
7. Beatnik, Brad (June 17, 1995). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). p. 10. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
8. Cigarettes, Johnny (March 18, 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 49. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
9. Willmott, Ben (June 24, 1995). "Singles". NME. p. 52. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
10. Walters, Barry (March 1995). "Spins". Spin. p. 93. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
11. "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 31. August 5, 1995. p. 12. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Into the Blue". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
13. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
14. "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). May 6, 1995. p. 6. Retrieved September 6, 2021.

External links

• "Into the Blue" at Discogs (list of releases)