Moby selling over 200 items from his exceptional analog drum machine collection for charity

Written by Maya-Rose Torrão

Veteran electronic musician Moby, who has sold over 20 million records worldwide and is considered by AllMusic as “one of the most important dance music figures of the early 1990s, helping bring the music to a mainstream audience both in the UK and in America,” will be selling his entire collection of analog drum machines, one of the largest in the world. The sale will start on October 11, via reputable online gear and record marketplace, Reverb and all proceeds will go to The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

In the short preview video of the collection, Moby tells watchers that “I’ve always been a little obsessed with drum machines,” and continues,”In fact, I’ve always been a lot obsessed with drum machines. Over the years, I presumptuously believe that I have come up with the largest collection of analog drum machines in the world.”

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, who will benefit from the sale, is an organisation which focuses on health and compassion in the medical field, promoting practices such as bringing nutrition into medical education and practice and working with policymakers and industries to adopt alternatives to chemical tests on animals. Moby, known for his involvement in animal activism, works closely with the committee and has also previously partnered with Reverb to sell his synths and records for charity.

The sale on Reverb includes pieces like the Roland TR-909 that Moby bought at New York’s Rogue Music in the ’90s, as well as extremely rare machines like two Chamberlin Rhythmates, which were created back in 1949. There will also be a MXR Drum Computer for sale, about a dozen Univox drum machines and the ’50s-era Wurlitzer Side Man, a standing drum machine with a built-in speaker.

The electronic music icon brought out his fifteenth studio album, ‘Everything Was Beautiful, And Nothing Hurt’, in March, which you can stream here.

Watch the preview video for the sale on Reverb, below.