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03-04 R.I.P. Keith Flint
07-20 The Prodigy debut new single
03-17 The Prodigy debut 4th single f
01-13 The Prodigy get Nasty
01-07 The Prodigy announce new album
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The Prodigy navigated the high wire, balancing artistic merit and mainstream visibility with more flair than any electronica act
of the 1990s. Ablydefeating the image-unconscious attitude of most electronic artists in favor of a focus on nominal frontman
Keith Flint, the group crossed over tothe mainstream of pop music with an incendiary live experience that approximated the
original atmosphere of the British rave scene even whileleaning uncomfortably close to arena rock showmanship and punk
theatrics. True, Flint's spiky hairstyle and numerous piercings often made forbetter advertisin ...read more
The Prodigy navigated the high wire, balancing artistic merit and mainstream visibility with more flair than any electronica act
of the 1990s. Ablydefeating the image-unconscious attitude of most electronic artists in favor of a focus on nominal frontman
Keith Flint, the group crossed over tothe mainstream of pop music with an incendiary live experience that approximated the
original atmosphere of the British rave scene even whileleaning uncomfortably close to arena rock showmanship and punk
theatrics. True, Flint's spiky hairstyle and numerous piercings often made forbetter advertising, but it was producer Liam
Howlett whose studio wizardry launched The Prodigy to the top of the charts, spinning a web of hard-hitting breakbeat
techno with king-sized hooks and unmissable samples.
Despite electronic music's diversity and quick progression during the 1990s -- from rave/hardcore to ambient/downtempo and
back again, thanksto the breakbeat/drum'n'bass movement -- Howlett modified The Prodigy's sound only sparingly; swapping
the rave-whistle effects and raggasamples for metal chords and chanted vocals proved the only major difference in the
band's evolution from its debut to its worldwide breakthroughwith third album The Fat of the Land. Even before the band took
its place as the premiere dance act for the alternative masses, The Prodigy hadproved a consistent entry in the British
charts, with over a dozen consecutive singles in the Top 20.Howlett, the prodigy behind the group's name, was trained on
the piano while growing up in Braintree, Essex. He began listening to hip-hop in themid-'80s and later DJ'ed with the British
rap act Cut to Kill before moving on to acid house later in the decade. The fledgling hardcore breakbeatsound was perfect for
an old hip-hop fan fluent in uptempo dance music, and Howlett began producing tracks in his bedroom studio during 1988.His
first release, the EP What Evil Lurks, became a major mover on the fledgling rave scene in 1990. After Howlett met up with
Keith Flint andLeeroy Thornhill (both Essex natives as well) in the growing British rave scene, the trio formed The Prodigy later
that year. Howlett's recordingsgained the trio a contract with XL Records, which re-released What Evil Lurks in February
1991.Six months later, Howlett issued his second single, "Charly," built around a sample from a children's public service
announcement. It hit number oneon the British dance charts, then crossed over to the pop charts, stalling only at number
three. (It wasn't long before a copycat craze saw thelaunch of rave takeoffs on Speed Racer, The Magic Roundabout, and
Sesame Street.) Two additional Prodigy singles, "Everybody in the Place" and"Fire/Jericho," charted in the U.K. during late
1991 and early 1992.
The Prodigy showed they were no one-anthem wonders in late 1992, with the release of The Prodigy Experience, one of the
first LPs by a raveact. Mixing chunky breakbeats with vocal samples from dub legend Lee "Scratch" Perry and the Crazy World
of Arthur Brown, it hit the Top Tenand easily went gold. During 1993, Howlett added a ragga/hip-hop MC named Maxim Reality
(Keeti Palmer) and occupied himself with remix work forFront 242, Jesus Jones, and Art of Noise. He also released the white-
label single "Earthbound" to fool image-conscious DJs who had written off TheProdigy as hopelessly commercial. Late 1993
brought the commercial release of "Earthbound" (as the group's seventh consecutive Top 20 singlesentry, "One Love").
After several months of working on tracks, Howlett issued the next Prodigy single, "No Good (Start the Dance)." Despite the
fact that the single'shook was a sped-up diva-vocal tag (an early rave staple), the following album, Music for the Jilted
Generation, provided a transition for the group,from piano pieces and rave-signal tracks to more guitar-integrated singles like
"Voodoo People." The album also continued The Prodigy's allegianceto breakbeat drum'n'bass; though the style had only
recently become commercially viable (after a long gestation period in the danceunderground), Howlett had been incorporating
it from the beginning of his career. Music for the Jilted Generation entered the British charts atnumber one and went gold in
its first week of release. The album was also nominated for a Mercury Music Prize, as one of the best albums of theyear.The
Prodigy spent much of 1994 and 1995 touring around the world, and made a splashy appearance at the 1995 Glastonbury
Festival, provingthat electronica could make it in a live venue. The group had already made a transition from the club/rave
circuit to more traditional rock venues,and the Glastonbury show set in stone the fact that they were no longer just a dance
group. Flint's newly emerged persona -- the consummatein-your-face punk showman and master of ceremonies for the
digital-age crowd -- provided a point of reference for rock critics uncomfortablecovering Howlett (whom they saw as a
glorified keyboard player).
The Prodigy's incessant road schedule left little time to record, but Howlett managed to bring out the next new Prodigy single
in March 1996."Firestarter" entered the British charts at number one, though the video was almost banned due to complaints
about arson fixation; many Top ofthe Pops viewers also complained that Keith Flint had scared their children. An unmissable
guitar hook and Flint's catcall vocal antics -- his first onrecord -- made it a quick worldwide hit, and though "Firestarter"
wasn't a major success in the U.S., its high-profile spot in MTV's Buzz Binintroduced The Prodigy to many Americans and
helped fuel the major-label push for electronica during the following year (though The Prodigy didreject collaborative offers
from David Bowie, U2, and Madonna). In the middle of the electronica buzz, The Prodigy dropped their third album, TheFat of
the Land. Despite rather obvious attempts to court mainstream rock fans (including several guest vocalist spots and an L7
cover), the LPentered both British and American charts at number one, shifting several million units worldwide. The next
Prodigy full-length was 1999's TheDirtchamber Sessions, a mix album helmed by Howlett.
The "Baby's Got a Temper" single -- one Howlett would later disown -- appeared in 2002, and soon after Leeroy Thornhill left
the band. Maxim andKeith Flint were still in the band but they weren't to be found on 2004's Always Outnumbered, Never
Outgunned. Instead, the album featuredguest spots from Oasis' Liam Gallagher, Kool Keith, Twista, and actress Juliette Lewis.
Flint and Maxim did join Howlett for a worldwide tour tosupport the album that launched in October 2004. Five years later,
Invaders Must Die signaled a return to the rave sound of their debut, and alsofound both Flint and Maxim back as core
members. The lead single "Omen" reached number three on the British charts prior to the album's release,and Invaders Must
Die debuted at the top spot on the British album charts. The live album World's on Fire followed, recorded in 2010 at
TheProdigy's own Warrior's Dance festival. « hide |
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