The forefronts of electro-punk on their new album, new label and returning to their old sound!
When electro-rave-punk pioneers The Prodigy exploded onto the music scene in the 1990’s, there was an economic downturn, a young Democrat in the White House, a national fixation with flannel shirts and a T.V. show about privileged rich kids (Beverly Hills 90210).
Today, in 2009… um, well, we have an economic downturn, a young Democrat in the White House, and a whole new fixation with flannel shirts and a show about privileged rich kids (Gossip Girl). It’s only fitting then, that a) The Prodigy is back with their fifth studio album, Invaders Must Die (available on  ), and b) the record sees the trio returning to their 90’s roots. |
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“We had to look at the foundation of what we were all about,“ says singer Keith Flint. Flint and his band mates, Liam Howlett and Maxim, are hanging out in a room at NYC’s Thompson Hotel to discuss the new album and their current tour. “We wrote a track, Warrior’s Dance, for a dance festival that was celebrating 20 years of acid house – which obviously we weren’t involved with directly – but that moved into the rave scene. We wanted to sort of celebrate that our own way by referencing the late 80’s/early 90’s dance scene.“
Seeing Flint (pictured on the right) in person is a bit surreal if you grew up watching MTV back when music videos were on heavy rotation. Flint was the multi-pierced, multi-tattooed singer with green-haired horns, snarling at people to “breathe the pressure / come play my game“ in the clip for the group’s iconic 1996 single Breathe, while stirring up outrage around the world. (One BBC viewer wrote a letter complaining about the video, saying Flint was “a man in need of urgent medical attention.” The band’s song and clip for Smack my Bitch Up was famously banned by television and radio stations.)
Today, Flint has swapped the green no-hawk for a bleached-blonde ‘do. Gone are the baggy rave clothes, replaced by a tight-fitting t-shirt that shows off a fit physique. The guys are approaching their forties, are married now – two are fathers – and haven’t released an album in five years. But they refuse to be relegated to Comeback Kid status.
“We don’t care about what people think about that,” says Howlett when the subject of a recent NME cover proclaiming The Prodigy “Back from the Dead!” comes up. “We’ve always done the same thing from the beginning, so we don’t think we’ve come back.“
But to be fair, they have come back in a big way since their breakthrough album, The Fat of the Land (available on ), was released in 1997 and introduced then-underground rave music to the mainstream. After a bit of squabbling between Flint and Howlett and one so-so received album (2004’s Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned), The Prodigy has reemerged with a record that revisits their sweaty, hard-hitting dance sound.
They’ve infused it with a bit of fresh blood – Dave Grohl contributes a killer drum fill to the track Run With the Wolves, while James Rushent of Does It Offend You Yeah? helped produced the pump-your-fist title track. The album is full of pulsating beats, catchy little hooks and vocals, and well-placed samples. Many songs incorporate the group’s trademark ominous bass riff. The aforementioned Warrior’s Dance – the ode to acid house – contains a pitched-up sample from Final Cut dance classic Take Me Away.
Then there’s the closer Stand Up, which combines electro-dance with a little reggae. The band says it’s their paean to the last track that a DJ puts on at the end of a rave, what Howeltt refers to as “a warm blanket that wraps you up at the end of the night.“
It’s an ambitious album. Furthermore, they’ve taken the reins and released it on their own record label, Take Me to the Hospital. The Prodigy clearly relishes the control this enables them.
“With this label, you can actually be nimble and do things in a much quicker turn-around instead of having to go through a big company,“ says Howlett. “[With a major label] you don’t know the person who you’re speaking to. The person you spoke to last week is there no longer. You’ve gone down in the order because Britney Spears has got a record coming out, so your shit’s not important.“
“We’ve got a strict set of ethics that we live by,“ says Flynt. “To constantly explain that to someone who’s ingrained in the mainstream route, to try and re-educate those people once you’re trying to get a record out… it’s too much hard work.“
He continues: “[Music executives] will be like, ‘I’ve been doing this for 20 years, I fucking put out John Lennon’s album.’ Well go back and dig him up then!“
The Prodigy, too, has been doing their thing for 20 years – not just making music, but investing blood, sweat and tears into playing it live. Legend has it that they got together for practice when they first formed in the late 1980’s and did away with rehearsing together after a few tries, deciding that they couldn’t play without the energy of an audience. The magic for them isn’t in the studio – it’s onstage. To this day, they don’t really do TV performances.
“If people want to see it, they gotta come see it,“ says Howlett. “It’s the last frontier. You can’t download a live band. It’s untouchable.“
There will be a plethora of chances to go and see them: the group’s got a heavy touring schedule ahead with many festival stops on their schedule for this summer. They say their immediate goal is to concentrate on the present, focus on enjoying the tour. They won’t say what’s next, if another album is in the works.
But perhaps there is one unspoken goal: sticking around for another 20 years.
“You never see [artists] get to the third album anymore,” muses Howlett.
“It’s like they have their first album and then the second album is Greatest Hits,“ says Flint. “They’re around for a year and they’re already writing their biography. It’s like I know we’re living in a quick life, but what the fuck are you doing?! You haven’t been around for a year! That’s not us.“