The stunning expanse of Chile's Atacama Desert contrasts a hands-in-the-air crowd in Lausanne, France, in today's slideshow, excerpted from Moby's new photography book, Destroyed, which accompanies the release of his ninth album by the same name. Shot during his Wait for Me tour in 2009 and 2010, the book captures one of many trips around the globe Moby has embarked on since his eponymous debut album in 1992. NOWNESS tracked the New York native down to his residence in LA, a sprawling, mock-castle known as Wolf's Lair, which sits under the Hollywood sign.

Make us a case for LA vs. New York.
I can be an evangelist for New York City's tap water. It has the best municipal water of any big city on the planet. It's the least processed in the world. I love living in Los Angeles because it is beautiful, and there's a strangeness here that I feel New York has lost, because it's become so gentrified and affluent. I just wish LA had better tap water.

Most cinematic tour encounter?
I did have this one really remarkable romantic encounter 15 years ago. I'd played a festival in the north of Finland in the middle of June: the sun goes down a little bit at 4am, and starts coming back up at 5am. My friends and I went out to see this drug-fueled, libidinous Finnish funk band playing in a bar. And there was this crazy-beautiful Finnish woman. We danced for hours and then went outside and were kissing as the sun came up—when it had only been down for five minutes.

Best shopping in the world?
Tokyo, simply because they put cartoon characters on everything they sell. I don't really buy anything. I just walk around and look at all the things, and sometimes you can't even figure out what it is. A box might have a hippo and a dump truck on it, and you find out that it's an early-pregnancy test. The last time I was there, the one thing I was really tempted to get was a Hello Kitty vibrator, because I knew a friend of mine in New York who would worship it. I was a sissy, so I didn't buy it.

To hear Moby's new track "After" and read the rest of his travel musings, including the time he fell in love on tour, click here.