The Prodigy

Dirk

Well-Known Member
Taken from an interview in '94. Funny how he has embraced dance music again when his career bombed. Knobend.

"We had to really fight to get respect," says Howlett. "The dance scene in particular has always been quite snobby against us." He has relentlessly baited clubbers in the past, memorably telling one journalist that he hoped Ibiza got bombed. Understandably, he is unmoved by dance music's recent decline in fortunes. "I really don't know much about it to be honest. I don't listen to much dance music. That kind of Ibiza music, that **** that Pete Tong plays, I hate that ****. I sound like my dad, but it's ****ing music by numbers. The lack of imagination does my brain in. Like, if I'm in a petrol station and the dude pulls in with his ****ing shades and his nice shirt and his car stereo playing his Ibiza music, it just ****ing irritates me. They're so ****ing annoying. It's so stale, something needs to poke out. It would be cool to have bands that are like, electronic bands with leather jackets on, but with no guitars, no drum-kits, just raw electronics. If there's any ****ing kids out there, I'm up for producing you, because I'm into the idea of creating an army against the DJs."
 
Taken from an interview in '94. Funny how he has embraced dance music again when his career bombed. Knobend.

"We had to really fight to get respect," says Howlett. "The dance scene in particular has always been quite snobby against us." He has relentlessly baited clubbers in the past, memorably telling one journalist that he hoped Ibiza got bombed. Understandably, he is unmoved by dance music's recent decline in fortunes. "I really don't know much about it to be honest. I don't listen to much dance music. That kind of Ibiza music, that **** that Pete Tong plays, I hate that ****. I sound like my dad, but it's ****ing music by numbers. The lack of imagination does my brain in. Like, if I'm in a petrol station and the dude pulls in with his ****ing shades and his nice shirt and his car stereo playing his Ibiza music, it just ****ing irritates me. They're so ****ing annoying. It's so stale, something needs to poke out. It would be cool to have bands that are like, electronic bands with leather jackets on, but with no guitars, no drum-kits, just raw electronics. If there's any ****ing kids out there, I'm up for producing you, because I'm into the idea of creating an army against the DJs."

I agree, I'm not saying it is, but it can be - give me a Prodigy set over a Pete Tong set any day
 
I'd say about 10 - I liked The Fat Of The Land, but I know where you are coming from - I know loads of people who gave up on them around Jilted time.
 
I have no opinion of Liam Howlett based on anything other than the music he churns out. And tbh, I think he's always made consistently amazing dance music (maybe with the expection of AONO which was fairly good).

I know most people see Jilted as being head and shoulders above everything he's done. Personally, I think Experience, Jilted, FOTL and (even) the new record are all equally amazing in their own different ways. I find it very difficult chosing between them.

And reading his comments above, my instant thought was, "we all say stupid things when we're young." Maybe he's mellowed a bit over the years. People change.
 
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they always produced good music generally, but IMO nothing came close to "experience". released like 15 years ago and still outstanding. everybody in the place?
 
the only tune they've done in 10 years which vaguely interested me was the one that sampled thriller

I'm firmly in the Jilted camp too. It was amazingly original music which soundtracked my second year at university and a massive antidote to the luddite britpop so many people of my age got caught up in

Reading that old intvw, I suppose if you consider he was never into house or the culture, he came from an electro/hiphop/b-boy background and the ravers he was initially a part of (suburban fields/breakbeats/raw/hardcore/jungle/suburban base/generally more black etc) were a different breed altogether from the housers (Ibiza/fashion conscious/JBO/jazz-funk/London soul boys turned house) and therein lies the split and the root of much of what followed in dance culture. So him sneering at the tongs/fontaines etc is really just a more caustic expression of a view shared by many on the underground at that time. I don't subscribe to his views regarding the music as I breathe HOUSE and have done for 20 years but I do understand how the Ibiza 'industry' he saw emerging around 93/94 was completely anathema to his militant punk ethos and so I can see why he said it...

but he is old news, isn't he? nice bird, mind
 
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Reading that old intvw, I suppose if you consider he was never into house or the culture, he came from an electro/hiphop/b-boy background and the ravers he was initially a part of (suburban fields/breakbeats/raw/hardcore/jungle/suburban base/generally more black etc) were a different breed altogether from the housers (Ibiza/fashion conscious/JBO/jazz-funk/London soul boys turned house) and therein lies the split and the root of much of what followed in dance culture. So him sneering at the tongs/fontaines etc is really just a more caustic expression of a view shared by many on the underground at that time. I don't subscribe to his views regarding the music as I breathe HOUSE and have done for 20 years but I do understand how the Ibiza 'industry' he saw emerging around 93/94 was completely anathema to his militant punk ethos and so I can see why he said it...

Bingo. The various dance scenes of the 90s were more obviously divided and quite deliberately opposed to each other. Now dance music is much more homogenous and inter-connected. Dance music has moved on a bit so I'm sure he has to. I'd like to bet his views are slighly different now.
 
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