Interview with Liam...

"1. What was the first synthesizer you ever played?" Liam : "Moog Prodigy."

"2. Who is your favorite musical pioneer?" Liam : "Pink Floyd."

"3. What's the difference between Take That and Stravinsky?" Liam : "Stravinsky wrote good original music. Anyway, who cares?"

"4. What's the difference between a drum kit and a drum machine?" Liam : "Size!"

"5. Playing live: why bother?" Liam : "You may not think so, but I feel a dickhead miming in front of a crowd"

"6. Which record says most to you about music technology?" Liam : "Any Aphex Twin tune, because he creates his own technology"

"7. What does the word multimedia mean to you?" Liam : "What does the phrase 'Bad Boy Don Gorgon' mean to you?"

"8. How do react to hearing a sample of your music on someone else's record?" Liam : "Depends who it is. Someone respectable, it's OK. 2 Limited - I'm getting paid in full."

"9. What is the next piece of equipment you would like to buy?" Liam : "A Casio home keyboard with pop/rock/disco preset rhythms."

"10. Will technology become invisible?" Liam : "No, but it has already become too easy to write music."

The Fat Of The Land Book

"Each gig is an hour of madness, and afterwards !´m absolutely exhausted, shaken to bits. The adrenaline charge and energy needed are shattering."

Keith

"We don´t do 150 dates tours because you could´t keep the intensity and standard we need over that strech of time. You see bands doing it all the time, playing along, going through the motions, Thinking ´Did I water the plants?´ We come to each gig fresh and we live that gig, it is full-on, total commitment. It is an hour of pure concentration"

Maxim

"Dancing to the first album was more of a constant flow, the music was similarly pace, with much the same tempo all the way through the set. Myself and Keith tended to alternate on stage, and second album, jilted, things got harder and the stage show became a lot more full-on. each one of us had developed into an identifiable personality on stage, and with that came the theatricks, keith in a strait-jacket, in the glas box, or the ball. Then we realised thet we didn´t need that, that we have a great live show without those dramatic extras. For example, Keith is now a compelling performer in his own right, he doesn't need the tricks."

Leeroy

Poison

"Poison´introduced lyricks for the first time. It doesn´t directly mean anything but people can relate to those words in whichever way they choose. That started to open up other possibilities to the band, both in terms of the gigs and record."

Maxim

"Performing is the most powerful drug on earth. I get a come-down if we don´t gig for a few weeks, It´s unbelievable."

Leeroy

"When the van arrives to pick me up It´s great because as soon as we get to the airport I know we are going to have a laugh. As soon as the shows start, we become a unit, one of four people. Within that unit i feel safe."

Maxim

"The first album Experience sums up that period of our lives, going to raves, partys, that whole scene. The album is like a show from those times, with all the elements that people were into - piano riffs, rave stuff, all quit anthemic. Jilted went much darker, it progressed and took us much further forward. It was more electronic, much less dance-based, introducing more guitar and rock into the band´s spectrum. The next album is substantially different again, but constant to all the records is the hardness, that Prodigy edge and sound, that is never absent."

Leeroy

"Before the gig I am not thinking about anything, I keep my mind completely clear and empty. I don´t even think of the gig, it´s as if I was in a room on my own, i shut all the distractions out and don´t like to be bothered by anybody. The first time I start to think about the gig is when we leav the dressing room and head for the stage, but even then I am still empty - it is not until we are introducing that i switch on and rapidly become focussed. I have never had stage fright."

Maxim

"Firestarter´was a risk, we had never done a fully vocal track and Keith had never sung before. It was hardly the safe option. We could have turned out the same old tunes over and over again, but that´s not what The Prodigy are about. We are about taking risks."

Maxim

"I spent half time at people in the crowd anyway, so it was a natural progression from there really, getting it out from my mouth to express myself further. I don´t think the lyricks are the part of that expression, it´s nice if they are truthful to yourself, but that´s not what it´s all about. The lyricks are just things that sounds good, hard and fast, it´s more about the noise I make than what I am actually trying to say. The delivery is more important than the message. You can get very safe going on stage doing the same thing - I had been doing that for five years before ´Firestarter´, and I was confindet, comfrotable. But starting vocals changed that - suddenly I was wondring what would happen. I was telling Liam it was not a problem, easy, but all the time I was shitting myself, but I went out and it went off straight away. I did a parachute jump just before that first vocals gig and in the plane getting ready to jump was a very similar feeling. The countdowns to both was ´My word, what I am doing here?´When those first lyricks came out it was the same as leaping oout of the plane. Amazing. It´s not a character, it´s me, driven by adrenalin and the amazing music. I enjoy being able to totally express myself, and the band is good excuse to do that. It´s not so much singing as vocals expression."

Keith

"We were in the car listening to the Red hot Chili Peppers an Keith was saying how he´d love to do some cocals on a tune, and then two weeks later there he was on ´Firestarter´. As soon as I heard the lyricks I knew it was an explanation of himself, totally Keith. It was another element, it seriously enhances the live show."

Leeroy

"When i listen to our old records there are certain elements I still like, I can see why they worked but I would never write like that again. Take ´No Good (Start The Dance)´- it´s not a cool sound, it was back then, it was part of that scene, but you need to move on. And I was never happy with the second album Jilted. Eveyone made a big thing about that record but I was never fully happy. I like certain songs maybe six, perhaps, but the rest were not right. The ground-breaking tunes on the album. I knew ´Breathe´and ´Firestarter´ were good. That created an enormous pressure on me for the next track, but so did my first single ´Charly´, so did all the other big tracks along the way. In a strange way i think that´s what drives me, at least partly. What drives me even more is that we have the power to put things in the charts that would otherwise not be heard. We have the power to write a piece of music that is fucking hard and anarchic and know that it will get in the charts and **** up the mainstream."

Liam

"I´d spent years expressing myself with my body and suddenly I had the chance to express myself with my voice."

Keith

"´Firestarter´ was like that. Keith heard the track as an instrumental and thought it was wicked and said he couldn´t wait to dance to it on stage. He sat there for a while and then said ´I would love to put some vocals on this´. We put the actual vocals down in a London studio, and i can´t explain the feeling me and Keith got that night, driving home listening to the tape, playing it over and over again. I knew then it was original, that I had achieved something."

Liam

"All Prodigy music is raw, and that will never change, the productions is raw, the sounds are dirty, you can´t get away from that. Take it or leave it."

Liam

"We´d been away for a year and we needed to come back with a big impact, but just another dance track would not have broken any new ground. As far as I am concerned ´Firestarter´set a whole new level for English music, that´s my honest opinion. When people heard that track it was a major turning point. It was No.1. The track sounds like it means business, the way Keith deliver the vocals, the music has such attitude. It was landmark."

Liam

"As far as the rock ´n´roll format in dance music goes, i don´t think it´s been done before with such full-on attitude. The ideas behind that was because no-one else had done it. Everything was right at the time for us to do that."

Liam

"America is exciting to us because they haven´t got all the baggage that the UK has. My main concern is the preoccupation with scenes, and the intrest in the ´electronic music scene´- what the hell´s that? We´ll go over there and rock it on our own, we don´t need to rely on a scene to survive. We have far more flexibility than other electronic bands as well - some dance bands are too purist and won´t go on rock bills, but as far as we´re concerned that´s too myopic and limiting. We´ve got no doubts that when things kick off, we can deliver the performance and the music and the goods, that´s our side of the bargain."

What Evil Lurks

"What evil lurks in the hearts of men?" sample is from a radio drama series called "The Shadow".
The "C'mon y'all" from a untitled rap song.

We Gonna Rock

"We gonna rock, muthafucka" is from "Fight The Power" by Public Enemy.
The "Like this y'all!" are a stock standard hip-hop sample.

Charly

The sample in Charly "Charly says always tell your mummy before you go
off somewhere" is taken from a say no to strangers campaign on ITV. This
featured Charly and a cat who made strange meowing noises. This was
screened in the late 70's and early 80's. Voice of Charly provided by
Kenny Everett.

Pandemonium

"I just can't hold back" and "Drop the bass, now!" are from a Sample CD as used by Altern8.

Your Love

Vocal sample is from "shelter me" by Circuit.
"Give me a number one, give me a number two, wooaah!" (only on Remix) are from a '92 hardcore single called "1992".

Crazy man

Beginning sample and the atmospheric sample are from the film "The Shining".

G-force

"It's non-stop energy let the tune go" is taken from Bomb Da Loop: Kings Of Rhythm (Loop Da Loop's Hardstep House Mix)
(Rhythm King) by Megablast. Actually, the original sample is taken from a Bomb The Bass track - "Megablast Rap" and the
rapper is MC Merlin.

Jericho

"Feel the bass come down on me", "Keep on dancing" are from a song by Jungle Brothers (Anybody know the name?).
"The horns of Jericho" is taken from a unknown song by HiJack OR? Brixton Rave Band - "The Horns of Jericho".
Various grunts are from a song of James Brown.

Music reach

Make me wanna..." is from "Shout" by Lulu.
The "1,2,3,4" sample is taken from the same source as Eric B & Rakim's, track Paid In Full (The Coldcut Remix).

Fire

"I am the God of hellfire... and I bring you..." sample is from "Fire" by Arthur Brown. (It cost XL-recordings 4000 pounds to use).
"When I was a youth I used to burn cali weed in a rizla" sample for "Burn Cali Weed".

Ruff In The Jungle Bizness

"Now hear this song, bad boy" are maybe from "Amiga Talk Program".

Wind It Up

"Equal rights and justice in this time" are maybe from UB40.
The Bonus Beats rhythms are sampled from "Crew From the North" by Ruthless Rap Assassins.
"Puttin' on another number and the people get set" (Tightly Wound) are sampled from "Nine is a Classic" by Ace the Space.

We are the Ruffest

The "come togeeeether!" is maybe the vocals of Simone Berryman OR? from Simone Angel from MTV.

Out of space

"I've gonna send him to outer space, to find another race" are from "Chase The Devil" by Max Romeo.
"I'll take your brain to another dimension, hold it! Pay close attention" are from Ultramagnetic MC's "When I Burn" from the album
"Critical Beatdown".

Intro

"So, I've decided to take my work back underground...to stop it
falling into the wrong hands" is from the movie 'The Lawnmower Man'.

One Love

Vocal sample "One love, one love" is from the ethnic vocals section of a Zero G sample CD by Time and Space Records.

Full Throttle

The main sample in Full Throttle is taken from the film "Star Wars",
as Luke Skywalker attacks the Death Star, saying "We're going in full throttle".
The sniggers from the end of the beakdowns are from 'Bounty Killers' by Depth Charge.

Rhythm Of Life

The wailing vocal is from Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love".
Contains a "Whoo" from 'Total Confusion' by a Homeboy, a Hippie and a Funky Dred.

No Good

Vocal sample "You're no good for me .." sampled from "No good for me" by Kelly Charles.

Break & Enter

"Bring it down to earth" and "Whhhooooo" are taken from "Casanova" by Baby D.

Voodoo people

Vocal sample "The voodoo who do what you don't dare to people" is taken from "The Shalimar" by Gylan Kain.

The main guitar riff at the begining of Voodoo People is taken from Nirvana's "very ape" of the album "In Utero".

The Heat (The Energy)

"He's devouring the heat, the energy" sample coming from the film "Poltergeist III".

Poison

If you listen carefully, you can hear a hip-hop sample in the background saying "Jump around".
The "Hey " of Rat Poison is from Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (backwards).
Towards the end of Poison (Live at Torhout & Werchter Festival '96) you can hear Liam
playing riffs from the Prodigy remix of 'Release Yo 'Delf' by Methodman on his Roland SH101
analogue synthesizer.
Drum riff from "It's a New Day" by Skull Snaps.

3 Kilos

The final sounds are from "Purpose in Life" by Antiloop.

Claustrophobic Sting

"My mind is going" (My mind is glowing) from the film 2001: A space odyssey.
The laughter is from Winx - Don't Laugh.

Voodoo People (Dust Brothers Remix)

Has a sample from "Fore Pete's sake" by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth.

Firestarter

The waah ah waaah guitar sample at the beginning of Firestarter is taken from Breeders "SOS".
"Hey, hey, hey" sample in Firestarter from "Close to the Edit" by Art Of Noise.

Breathe

Sword sounds from Wu-Tang Clan's "36 Chambers" OR? 'Da Mystery of Shadowboxin' by Wu-Tang Clan.

The Trick

The piano sample is taken from the Flash Gordon Soundtrack.

Smack My Bitch Up

"Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up" vocal is from "Give the drummer some" by Ultramagnetic MC's from their album
"Critical Beatdown".

Mindfields

The main riff from Mindfields is from a background sound from the James Bond movie 'The Man with the Golden Gun' and played during a scene at the river.

Funky Shit

The "Oh my god that's the funky shit" is from Beastie Boys "Root Down".
The "attention all personnel" sample that they are using live is from the james bond movie "diamonds are forever".
The sample "Hey" is maybe taken from B-Boys "2-3 Break".
Contains a sample from "Theme from S.W.A.T" by Barry Derorzan.
 

Event Horizon

Features Funky Shit at the ending credits after the movie.

WipEout

The WipEout Soundtrack features "One Love". The WipEout 2097 Game and Soundtrack features "Firestarter (Instrumental)".

Hackers

The movie Hackers contains Voodoo People , in the roller escape, and One Love, during the "hack challenge" scene

Permanent Midnight

This movie uses Smack My Bitch Up.

Hackers 2

Features Firestarter (Empirion Mix).

The Jackal

The Jackal uses Poison.

Rave Generation

Volume 1 features "Everybody in the place (Fairground edit)" and "Charly (Alley cat mix)". Volume 2 features "Fire (Edit?)" and "Out of space (Edit)"

Fresh Packed Cuts

Features Minefields (Monkey Mafia Mix).

Matrix

This movie features Mindfields (a little bit warped) during the discotheque scene.

Uranus Experiment 2

Features a song  by Liam Howlett and 3D from Massive Attack.

Uranus Experiment 3

Features another song by Liam Howlett and 3D from Massive Attack.
 
 

AKAI S1100 SAMPLER

ALESIS COMPRESSOR/GATE

ALESIS QUADRAVERB EFFECTS UNIT x 1

APHEX TYPE C AURAL ECITER

ART MULTIVERB ALPHA 2.0

BBESONIC MAXIMISER 322

DRAWMER DL221 GATE

DRAWMER LX20 COMPRESSOR x 3

E-MU PROTEUS 3 ETHNIC SOUND MODULE

GEMINI MX2200 DJ MIXER

JVC AK-22 AMPLIFIER

PHILIPS CD 624

ROLAND SH-101 MONOSYNTH

ROLAND TB-303 WITH KENTON MIDI BOX

ROLAND TR-909

ROLAND U-220 SOUND MODULE

ROLAND W-30 SAMPLING WORKSTATION (3 USED ON STAGE)

SONY DTC 1000ES DAT MACHINE

TEAC V3000 STEREO CASSETTE DECK

TECHNICS SL1200 TURNTABLE

TOA 280 ME MONITER SPEKERS

APPLE MACINTOSH 70100 COMPUTER

MACKIE 32 TRACK MIXING DESK

NORD LEAD SYNTHESISER

KORG PROPHECY SYNTHESISER

JD 909 RACK MODULE

AKAI CD 3000 SAMPLER

ROLAND JUNO 106 SYNTHESISER

ROLAND 808 DRUM MACHINE

E-MU VINTAGE KEYS MODULE

E-MU SP1200 SAMPLING DRUM MACHINE

BOSS SE70 FX UNIT x 2

YAMAHA SPX 1000 FX UNIT