Belgrade, Serbia – Seprember nineteenth: Keith Flint from English band The Prodigy acting at Warrior’s Dance pageant on Seprember nineteenth, 2012 in Belgrade, Serbia ·
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Undoubtedly one of the impactful digital acts of the Nineteen Nineties, The Prodigy concocted their very own model of commercial breakbeat EDM and swiftly took it to a worldwide viewers.
Not solely was this as a result of Liam Howlett’s distinctive method to music manufacturing, however the hard-hitting nature of the information and stay reveals meant they may play festivals comparable to Rock Am Ring and Wacken Open Air, which weren’t ever geared towards digital music.
Creating the sound of The Prodigy
For a band named after a synth, it’s straightforward to get fooled into considering synthesizers had been the focus of The Prodigy’s sound. In precise truth, the true genius of the music comes from Liam’s file assortment and his appreciation for Hip-Hop sampling.
The anthemic synth hooks are definitely a function, however classics like Voodoo Individuals, Breathe, and Mindfields are all constructed across the modern reconstitution of current drum breaks and melodic parts from different information.
Using digital sampling didn’t cease there both, as a result of usually particular person drum hits and even synths had been resequenced with old-school samplers merely to realize the character of the sound they produce.
Let’s check out a few of the key gear decisions that turned the tactic within the insanity:
Roland W-30
When it was launched in 1989, the Roland W-30 was a groundbreaking workstation that mixed sampling, sequencing, and synthesis right into a single keyboard. As he was on the lookout for a sequencer, Liam obtained maintain of 1 instantly and it quickly turned his major songwriting device.
The gritty 12-bit digital sampling engine is chargeable for the characteristically industrial sound of the early Prodigy releases. The workflow clearly resonated with Liam, as he continued to make use of the W-30 in stay reveals, even after he discovered different options for sequencing.
Roland W-30
The W-30 was in use till The Fats Of The Land in 1997 when the post-production was accomplished on Cubase for the primary time.
Boss SE-70
One other not-so-secret weapon in The Prodigy’s arsenal was the Boss SE-70 multi-effects unit, launched in 1993. Though it wasn’t notably modern or inexpensive, it did have an impressive number of results algorithms, together with a vocoder, ring modulator, and pitch tracker.
Though designed for guitarists, there was an enormous wealth of results that may very well be used on any instrument, with as much as 16 results per algorithm. The SE-70 additionally had some hidden tweaks for getting attention-grabbing distortion results if you set the reverb combine on full, and this made it important to The Prodigy’s sound, particularly on The Fats Of The Land.
BOSS SE-70
You received’t simply discover such an in depth multi-effects unit in an accessible worth vary as of late, however the Roland VT-4 definitely produces some thrilling outcomes.
Korg Prophecy
The noxious-sounding Prophecy was one in all Korg’s early forays into digital analogue synthesis in 1995. It may be monophonic, however this monster is provided with 13 DSP-based oscillator algorithms – which included VPM(much like FM) and bodily modeling – and a workstation-level synthesis engine.
Programming this beast took some persistence, however as soon as you bought the dangle of the reasonably tedious interface you might create some completely ridiculous sounds. It was used extensively by Howlett on The Fats Of The Land, the place you possibly can hear it distinctively on Firestarter and Smack My *itch Up.
Korg Prophecy
The Prophecy takes a singular method to synthesis, which you’ll be able to nonetheless do to a sure extent on the Korg Modwave.
E-mu SP-1200
The SP-12 and SP-1200 samplers are simply a few of the most influential music-making instruments ever constructed. The uniquely chunky sound immediately appealed to Howlett, who was a giant fan of Hip-Hop sampling and used the SP-1200, notably for one-shots and particular person drum hits.
You may hear it on the drum break intro to Firestarter, or the retriggered drumbeat of Spitfire the place the Lo-Fi character nonetheless manages to get pushed to the entrance of the combination. From Daft Punk and the French Home motion to RZA and the Wu-Tang Clan, the sound of SP-1200 has develop into a timeless a part of music manufacturing historical past.
E-mu SP-1200
Though SP-1200 was reissued, you may get nice outcomes utilizing the workflow of the Elektron Digitakt. You may learn extra about getting the old-school sampler sound here.
Clavia Nord Lead
Should you’re not accustomed to the Nord sound, it’s an extremely uncooked and full of life digital analogue synth that rose to prominence within the Nineteen Nineties. It was used for leads and results on Funky Sh*#, and in addition turned an everyday fixture in The Prodigy’s stay rig.
Nord synthesizers present a comparatively simple interface for creating sounds and, being digital, you don’t get a few of the inconsistencies and upkeep complications you’ll usually affiliate with vintage analogue synths.
Nord synthesizers had been additionally utilized by Nine Inch Nails throughout The Fragile period, so that you might be certain they’ve the power to chop proper via the combination.
Clavia Nord Lead
The unique Nord Lead was discontinued again in 1997, however you may get related outcomes with the fashionable Nord Lead A1.
What are a few of your favorite devices utilized by Liam Howlett and The Prodigy?
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Extra about The Prodigy:
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