Liam Howlett

Find the latest news, pictures, and opinions about Liam Howlett.

Write an Article

RSS

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: LIAM HOWLETT

Written by jesther on

From: jestherent.blogspot.com

Invaders Must Die but So-Cal audiences are welcome to check out Prodigy.

The no-politics of dancing

By John Esther

A revered band in certain foot-stomping/patting/cutting arenas, Prodigy hits Southern California for two concerts this week. Tonight, Prodigy will be playing at The Grove of Anaheim. Tomorrow night they will be in Los Angeles at the Palladium.

Coming strong off Prodigy's most successful record to date, Invaders Must Die, the band will feature songs from from the fifth release plus songs from the past. A dance band feeding off live responses, Prodigy is quintessentially a band to experienced from the stage than from a studio.

We recently spoke to Prodigy co-founder/composer/DJ Liam Howlett on what to expect this time around.

JEsther Entertainment: What can audiences in Los Angeles expect from Prodigy this time around?
Liam Howlett: We got a new album. The band is in really good shape. We’ve been playing these tunes for seven or eight months. We just came off of a UK-arena tour. We’re just ready for it.

JE: How does that differ from your previous performances in Los Angeles?
LH: How does any band differ when they play? We’re not going to suddenly burst into flames. We’re there to play the songs.

JE: How does an audience dictate or influence a narrative of a concert? Does it alter which songs you will play at a given time?
LH: The set can change if things feel like they need to move on quicker, if we need to pick up the energy. The songs are programmed, locked down. We tweak shows as the go down, but we’re pretty much locked down.

JE: Will you be playing older songs as well? Are you focusing on the new release?
LH: We play six or seven of the new tunes and some old ones. Some of the old tunes are a bit mixed up, chopped up. It’s more for our benefit really because we’re trying to keep it interesting to ourselves.

JE: Moving onto the new release, what does the title Invaders Must Die imply?
LH: It’s probably the most meaningful title to us as a band. The album is about what happened to us as a band over the last six or seven years. We’ve been through a few internal problems. In 2003 me and Keith weren’t really talking. We didn’t really communicate for a year and a half. People were really happy like, instead of getting us back together, they were all happy to say, “Oh, I hear Keith’s working with him.” It was a lot of kind of anger ‘round me at that time. Later on Keith and I felt we had been invaded. That became one kind of meaning. As time went on we just felt it was a good album title; it seemed to have a good, solid meaning for the band and what we’d been through. It’s almost biographical, you know.

JE: So it is rather personal rather than a reference to the grander scheme of things going on in the world right now?
LH: Yeah, absolutely, Man. We don’t get involved in that shit. This band has always been about escapism, hedonism. That’s what we want, to keep it primal, you know. We’re not interested in politics or world issues.

JE: Is that because the political bands are filling a place and you guys are filling in a void somewhere else?
LH: It’s boring. I see a lot of bands and I don’t think any band has pulled it off. I get really bogged down with issues and shit. I don’t want to see a band that bogs me down in shit like that. It’s a very hard thing to pull off. Rage Against the Machine were very good at it. There hasn’t really been any other bands that have pulled that off.

JE: What are the primary concepts behind the band’s direction with Invaders Must Die?
LH: Basically when we got back together and we were really excited about doing a record; the main thing with this album is that it had to be a “band album.” We weren’t really interested in any other vocal collaborations. We wanted to make a record that incorporated everything good about the band. We wanted to push the vocals more, keep it more melodic. Slightly more melodic without losing what we got. That was the main aim. Halfway through, once we recorded six tracks, we all felt we had something solid here.

JE: The new release sounds more refined than your previous efforts.
LH: For me it feels like a long road to come out of all that personal shit. It feels like it’s up. We really didn’t set out to make an “up record.” It came out quite uplifting. The dark stuff didn’t really materialize.

JE: I especially like “Warriors Dance.” What went behind that song?
LH: That particular track wasn’t meant to be in the record. We were playing at a big party, rave, in England. I’d been in the studio for about five months, haven’t really written anything I was really happy with, and Keith suggested, “Let’s forget about the album. Let’s write a track for that party.” We had 20 years of acid house, it was that kind of celebration going on, so we used that as a kind of focus. Basically we wrote that track. It’s a sample chop-up track. It harks back to early 1990s style. It came really quickly, but it was just meant to be played at that party. We played it a couple of times and then it became like a bit of an anthem. It felt like a really good direction for the record. That was the track that kind of shined a light on maybe some of the other tunes on the album. After that track we rolled on with the other tunes.

JE: Do you enjoy playing some songs more than others?
LH: Yeah, we played most of the album out. We definitely got our favorites. “Take Me to the Hospital” is a big live tune. We played “Thunder” live, but it needs a bit more work. Nine times out of ten, when I’m usually writing the tracks in the studio, we think about what we can play live -- to go straight from the studio to the stage. Some of them work better than others.

JE: Do you keep your audience in mind when you are composing or is it the kind of music you want to hear?
LH: I definitely keep it mind, a bit. A good Prodigy tune is a tune that connects.

JE: Has there ever been surprising reactions to particular Prodigy songs when you play live? LH: We’re more aware of it than other people. There are tunes we’ve only played once on stage. You pretty know if it’s working or not. It has a certain feel. There’s been songs we worked on for a month, played it live and never heard it again. It’s just a feeling you get.

JE: Which leads me to my last inquiry. What do you think about interviews where you talk about Prodigy and the music? Does it serve the music? Should the music speak for itself?
LH: People should check us out live. That’s where it makes sense, a bit. I guess it’s frustrating to try and explain what it is because I don’t know what it is, you know. It’s kind of dance music. To me if people aren’t sure what we’re about they should see us live.

So-Cal Prodigy Dates: Tuesday, May 26th, The Grove of Anaheim 2200 East Katella Ave., Anaheim, 92806, 714/712-2700. Wednesday, May 27, The Palladium 215 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, 90028. 323/962-7600.

Previous Article Next Article

Liam Howlett Pictures

The Kerrang! Awards 2009 - Media Room

The Kerrang! Awards 2009

Liam Gallagher, Wife And Prodigy Lead Singer Liam Howlett Out At A Nightclub ...

Liam Howlett Articles