Moby started work on the album in August 1997 and put it on hold several times to complete touring obligations. Recording sessions took place in Moby's Mott Street home studio in Manhattan, New York. At the time, Moby planned on making the album his last before ending his career. "Play" was delayed due to Moby's dissatisfaction with the initial mix of the album that he had produced at home. A second mixing was completed in an outside studio before attempts in two other studios displayed similar results. After returning home and producing a mix by himself, Moby felt happy with it. In the end, Moby said that he had "wasted a lot of time and money". Moby recalled a moment from March 1999, after "Play" had been mixed and sequenced, where he sat on the grass in Sara Delano Roosevelt Park: "I was sitting by the little tire swings that had been chewed apart by the pit bulls [...] thinking to myself, 'When this record comes out, it will be the end of my career. I should start thinking about what else I can do.'" At that point, he considered returning to school to become an architect.