The Prodigy

Interview with The Prodigy by an icelandic reporter just before the concert.

Saturday - 16th of March

GBG is the reporter, his real name is Gudjon Bergmann.

GBG: So you guys are back to iceland (for the third time), what makes you want to come here so often?

 Leeroy: Women
Liam: We play all over the globe, Europe and more places
Keith: We played in 26 countries last year, I can't even name 26 countries, I don't even know where some of them are! We just play where we can get the most kick out of it and also because we've played here before. We like it here.

Liam: The people who were at UXi'95 were alot older than the people we expect seeing here tonight. It bothers me a little because, if the people are too young they might not understand the show.
Liam: You can't order people to stop buying your music but when we're in England we play in clubs which are limited to people 18 years or older.

GBG: But the people who buy your records here in Iceland are ranging from 13-20 years of age.

Keith: I remember when I was 14 years old, I listened to bands like "The Jam" and now when you see what have become to people like Paul Weller you understand how cool the band was at that time. So I feel that it's admirable to see little kids listening to our music way before their time. We just don't want people that scream too much.
Leeroy: Stuff like that belongs on a Take That concert!

GBG: So how's your new record going?

 Liam: I've done 6 songs already and when I've finished about 10 songs I will look at the whole piece and decide whether it's ready or not. That's the way I work. I was very satisfied with Firestarter, where Keith sings, so I decided to make a song where Keith & Maxim "sing" together. I also made a song with Maxim which is called "Mindfields" which will be played on the concert tonight, and we'll also play a remixed song originally made by Corky (which is an old hip-hop band).

- Yes, this is the continue of "Music for the Jilted Generation". We're going to keep our music hard & powerful as always.

GBG: Do you think that your new album will expand your current number of fans/listeners ?

 Liam: It's expanding all the time, for instance, many rock fans like our music in Britain.
Maxim: We also play at music festivals, there we have the largest amount of people who like/listen to our music.
Liam: We're adults, we don't follow any formulas. I just do things I like, things which are creative. I can't and I won't follow any rules / formulas like any other techno-musician.
Leeroy: When people follow the rules they wake up one day realizing that they can't change. Can't change their style.
Liam: We're very lucky to have reached such fame, not every techno/dance band could have gotten a song like Firestarter played in the radio. We can allow us some things other people can't because of our fame.
Keith: Liam- Don't forget your own creativity!
Liam: No, it's because of the fame my creativity is used.
Keith: It's like with artists, painters, they can use oil colours, pastel, coal, water colors, and create different effects on different stages, but if he mixes those materials together he's already alot better artist.

GBG: You have created your own sound, own style. When a person hears a song by you it doesn't take him long to figure out who made the song.

Liam: I think it's because of the way I make my music, the way I program it. I don't see this happen myself, the songs just are they way they were made. I don't make music for Dj's, I guess that's what makes me different. I dont see The Prodigy as a techno group, The Prodigy is a progressive dance group, hard with it's own sound. My sound is structured the same way Poison is made for example, every eight beat the song changes, nothing is alike, you know what I mean?
Keith: Chemical Brothers do this too! They have their own style.
Leeroy: It's all in the layout.
Liam: Other dance music is too clean. I like techno I guess, but I hate that German style.

GBG: As in, europop?

Liam: Yeah! It's so typical, I don't like it.

GBG: What about remixes for other people? Do you think that's creative?

Liam: In a way, too creative. In fact, I've quit making remixes for other people. They money are okay, especially now, I can ask for much. But I think ideas are worth more than money. It has happened, that I've made a remix for someone I actually could have used for Prodigy.
Keith: Liam- You're a perfectionist. GBG- You see, Liam doesn't accept a certain amount of money for a certain quality. Everything always has to be perfect.
Maxim: Besides, remixes are always being remixed again.
Liam: In most cases the quality of a song decreases when it's remixed, but with out any exception, the songs gets better when Prodigy remixes it. Altho I've quit remixing, well, till I've finished our next album.
Keith: I think we can't compare ourselves to the pop world. With us, it isn't finished when we've got cameras, people screaming and stuff like that. We're a growing band. We're fast, we're real! Even if you don't like our music you see that we're something real going on, not some mass-produced shit.

GBG: Since Firestarter has been playing on the radio, (here in Iceland) I've noticed that people compare Firestarter to your most successful songs, No Good (Start The Dance).

Liam: Bad for them.
Leeroy: We're not trying to make people happy, we're not trying to satisfy their needs.
Liam: I think No Good got dangerously close to be known as europop. I really shouldn't say this because the song was composed way before europop existed, but in Germany many many copies were sold. I'm not ashamed of it, we still play it (the crowd gives great response cause of it) but I will never compose anything like No Good again because I don't want to make anything that might be europop. I have alot deeper music inside of me which needs to get out, so I won't do this again.

GBG: People here in Iceland often connects this music to drugs. What do you feel about that?

Leeroy: All music is connected to drugs.
Maxim: The media isn't exactly helping.
Leeroy: For example, the word "RAVE" is only used by the police and the media.
Liam: I hate playing before a room full of people high on ecstacy. You can play everything you like for them, they'll love it anyway. I just have to spend an hour in a studio, put together a few beats, and wual'a, the crowd goes wild. You don't get real responses from people on ecstacy, but you do get real responses from clean people.
Keith: I'm sure that there will be alot of young kids who have stolen all kinds of liquor from their mom and pops, sigarettes and more stuff. Because there, at the concert, they will get a few hours without anyone watching them, it isn't the music which is responsible for that.
Leeroy: Every person needs to be responsible for their own actions, we can't be. Which came first, music or drugs?

GBG: Time's up, any last words?

Liam: We just want to thank everybody, we've always felt welcome here in Iceland, we love it here. - Thanks

Translated from icelandic to english by Kristjan U. Kristjansson, a.k.a iCR.
Please forgive me for any errors, misspelling you might find, because I'm only 16- going 17 years old with not so great vocabulary nor the knowledge of spelling things so they sound right.

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