The Prodigy

Big Shot Issue 27: The Prodigy on the Cover

Darren Ressler 1 Comment

prodigy coverRave’s bad boys are back and better than ever. In Issue 27 The Prodigy talk about the trials and tribulations that led to them to go their separate ways, eventually reuniting and releasing their best album to date, Invaders Must Die. What were the band’s troubles all about? “Basically, Keith and I had our differences before Always Outnumbered, and we sorted through those problems,” Howlett says in the cover story, which was photographed by legendary rock photographer Mick Rock, and is perhaps the group’s most candid interview to date.

“We continued to play live and kind of salvaged the last album, and then went back on the road,” Howlett continues. “That led into our singles album [Their Law: The Singles], and we did a big tour off the back of that. At no point did we think that we were splitting up; we always knew we’d do another record, but we didn’t see how we could at that stage. We were really proud of the singles album—I didn’t want to do it to begin with—but holding the end product in our hands was a great thing. We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to be this proud of a new record that we were all involved in?’”

Also inside Issue 27: Peaches, Passion Pit, Kevin Saunderson, Moby, The Juan Maclean, WMC ’09, Depeche Mode, DJ Hell, and whole lot more. Subscribe now and get two FREE CDs. What are you waiting for?

In the meantime, here’s a video of the Prodigy cover shoot.

The Prodigy’s Liam Howlett Considering Another ‘Dirtchamber’ Session

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liam_howlettIn 1999, The Prodigy’s Liam Howlett released The Dirtchamber Sessions, a sprawling 50-track DJ mix initially produced for the BBC’s Breezeblock show. Regarded by many as one of the best DJ mixes ever released, Howlett told Big Shot that he’s thinking about releasing the follow-up next year.

“I think there’s a definite demand for people who’d like to hear another one. I really enjoyed doing it, and it came at the right time,” Howlett told us. “It was during the time after Fat of the Land where we had finished touring and I had time on my hands. I think next year would be a good time to put another one out. It all started as a Radio 1 mix for Mary Anne Hobbs. The original version had The beatles’ “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band,” and we couldn’t get clearance for those tracks. The next one could be interesting.”

Read more about The Prodigy in Issue 27, which goes on-sale at the end of the month.

The Prodigy’s Liam Howlett Disses Ultra Gig

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After ripping the roof off Roseland in New York City, The Prodigy, who are riding on their new album, Invaders Must Die, flew down to perform at Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Bad weather and flight delays almost caused the revered UK band to miss the gig—something that mastermind Liam Howlett almost wishes had happened. “Ultra didn’t really float my boat, “Howlett tells Big Shot. “We’ve done [Ultra] before, and I really don’t like it.”

Keith Flint had a different take on the show. “It was wicked,” he told Big Shot. “I didn’t see much of the festival. We got delayed coming in from New York, and we went straight onto the stage from the airport. That mission to get onstage is always exciting, especially when it’s a banging show. Miami rocks—they love their dance music. We banged it and it rocked.”

“We’ve done [Ultra] before. I don’t really enjoy it. I didn’t think the crowd was very good. It was very flat. It’s meant to be like a rave or a party, but it was the most unresponsive crowd I’ve ever seen. It was, like, dead. [Miami] is filled with holidaymakers that time of year, innit? I could have a better party in my living room.”

Nonetheless, Howlett says he isn’t planning to rush back to Ultra—or Miami—in the near future. “It’s not my type of thing, you know? We’ve done [Ultra] before. I don’t really enjoy it. I didn’t think the crowd was very good. It was very flat. It’s meant to be like a rave or a party, but it was the most unresponsive crowd I’ve ever seen. It was, like, dead. [Miami] is filled with holidaymakers that time of year, innit? I could have a better party in my living room. It was, like, nothing. I was like, c’mon, c’mon…what the fuck are we doing? You can print me saying this. I don’t give a shit.”

The Prodigy return to the U.S. for an eight-day tour kicking off on May 18th in Washington, DC. Strangely enough, no Miami area dates are on their upcoming itinerary.

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