"Hymn" is a song by American electronica musician Moby. It was released in May 1994 by Mute Records as the first single from the musician's third studio album, Everything Is Wrong (1995). The single version, which was radically remixed from the album original and retitled "Hymn (This Is My Dream)", peaked at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart and number three in Finland. A 33-minute ambient remix was also released, titled as "Hymn.Alt.Quiet.Version". The accompanying music video for "Hymn" was directed by English director Walter Stern,[2][3] featuring Moby performing with silver bodypaint.
Critical reception
Steve Baltin from Cash Box described "Hymn" as a "beautiful piano tune".[4] Ian Gittins from Melody Maker called it a "sunrise symphony".[5] Andy Beevers from Music Week gave it four out of five and named it Pick of the Week in the category of Dance. He wrote, "Moby can always be relied on to come up with a novel and commercial twist on the house formula. This time he goes for a full-blown choral treatment with the hard-edged synth sounds."[6] Stuart Bailie from NME said the track "is actually a blinder — mighty banks of angels all giving it their best hosannas and these unreal whizzing effects giving you the impression that you're zooming through the clouds, en route to a meeting with the great man himself."[7] Another NME editor, Ben Willmott wrote in the magazine's Vibes column, "More very commercial party techno from Moby — this is no doubt chartbound",[8] while Johnny Cigarettes noted its "sweeping melancholy".[9]
