‘What the f**k are they doing?’
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Back with a new album … British band the Prodigy celebrate their 25th anniversary this year.
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SOMEWHERE in between their bouts of musical silence, and their bouts of an intense example of the exact opposite, British electronic punks The Prodigy celebrate their 25th anniversary this year.
That’s a quarter of a century of taking a Trojan Horse approach to subverting the mainstream.
“25 years, I don’t know how that happened,” Prodigy brains trust Liam Howlett says.
“I’m always suspicious of bands who last too long. But the music proves whether you’re ready to let it go or not. When people hear this album they’ll hear it’s still got energy in it. This band keeps us young.”
They’ve outlived most of the bands from the `90s who get more respect — Blur and Oasis.
“We’re as culturally important as Blur and Oasis,” Howlett says. “But I’m not sulking about getting more respect, I don’t give a f—.”
Howlett, 43, is talking up the Prodigy’s sixth album The Day Is My Enemy, which ends a six year gap between albums — most of it filled with touring.
After a false start Howlett turned nocturnal, recording between 6pm and 5am for three months.
“Everything changed when I did that. It felt more focused, more intense. It just felt exciting to be doing this music at night when most people are asleep. Dangerous stuff always happens at night. Our music lives in the night time.”.
Fox on the run … the cover of the Prodigy’s The Day is My Enemy album.
Source: Supplied
A track called Ibiza is “this album’s Firestarter” according to Howlett. “It’s got the attack and the swagger and the wit.”
Ibiza was written after The Prodigy’s lighting man showed Howlett a prerecorded mix CD. The lighting man revealed he actually played the CD while the DJ (who Howlett won’t name) pretends to be mixing it.
“The new breed of DJs, some of them are really lazy,” Howlett says. “It’s just not on. Pre-mixing a set before you’ve even got to a venue — all this stuff should be live. It’s not that hard to bring some records and play them, come on. What the f— are these guys doing? ”
He’s the firestarter, twisted firestarter … Keith Flint of the Prodigy.
Source: News Limited
While the Prodigy topped the US chart back in 1997 with The Fat Of the Land (home to Firestarter and Breathe) they’ve seen electronic music finally fully conquer America in the last five years.
Howlett isn’t impressed.
“This album is a reaction to what’s going on around us. Electronic music has become pop music. The sound has been stolen. A lot of dance producers have given away their sound to pop artists. So people in everyday life are used to hearing an electronic sound as pop music now. It’s my job to make sure we’re as far away from that as possible. We’re anti that. The music we make is a statement.
“This record is definitely violent. I only use music for one reason, I want it to attack me. I don’t know what a mellow Prodigy would sound like. The band only operate in one mode. And on this album it’s in full on mode.”
The Day Is My Enemy (Cooking Vinyl) out March 27.
The Prodigy play at Future Music Festival, Flemington Racecourse Melbourne March 8. Tix $ 159 + b/f, futuremusicfestival.com.au
More hits from The Prodigy on Spotify below:
