Article by Maya-Rose Torrão
Started in 1990, The Prodigy have become household names of electronic dance music. Often referred to as ‘The Godfathers of Rave’, this group, made up of Keith Flint, Liam Howlett and Maxim, has sold an estimated 30 million records worldwide and boasts a long list of awards and accolades for their work. The trio seem to have gained a new wave of energy in their career and have recently announced their first album since 2015’s ‘The Day is My Enemy’ as well as new shows in the UK and Europe.
The band’s new album is scheduled to be released on the 2nd of November via BMG and their own label Take Me To The Hospital. The title of the album is ‘No Tourists’, which Liam Howlett, who also produced and mixed the latest release, describes the name as being about, “escapism and the want and need to be derailed. Don’t be a tourist – there is always more danger and excitement to be found if you stray from the set path”.
Last week the band released a video for their latest single ‘Need Some1’, a track that has all the elements of The Prodigy that fans love; piercing synth melodies, urgent drumbeats and an infectious vocal refrain, sampled from Loleatta Holloway, that makes you want to throw yourself vehemently onto a grimy dance-floor. Although The Prodigy has been making music for over two decades now, the band still manages to cater to a modern audience with their new tracks, adapting their frenetic energy to match that of the current climate.
The video for ‘Need Some1’ was directed by indie film-master Paco Raterta and was shot in Manila, Philippines; the dark colour palette of the visuals and the punk attitude of the concept matching perfectly with the mood of The Prodigy’s music. The video follows a punk band through their drunken haze of slums, fist-fights and shadows, straight to a grimy punk stage where the band pound and thrash against their instruments in an abrasive and cathartic performance. The mood of the song and the video is infectious and by the time the track is over, you feel a feverish need to move yourself with reckless abandon or punch a figure of authority on the chin.
Watch The Prodigy’s video for ‘I Need Some1’ below and follow the band on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.
