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We don't do 150 date tours because you couldn't keep the intensity and standard we need over that stretch of time. You see bands doing it all the time, playing along, going through the motions, thinking 'Did I water the plants?' We come to each gig fresh and we live that gig, it is full-on, total commitment. It is an hour of pure concentration.
Maxim The Prodigy -
Firestarter' was a risk, we had never done a fully vocal track before and Keith had never sung before. It was hardly the safe option. We could have turned out the same old tunes over and over again, but that's not what The Prodigy are about. We are about taking risks.
Maxim The Prodigy
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The whole idea with the 'Breathe' video was for me and Keith to be confrontational, getting at each other without actually making contact. That concept is very similar to how the track feels on stage - the tension and energy between us is electric. When we play 'Breathe' in the set it just sparks something off. It's a combination of the audience, the sound, the track, it's incredible. We tried to capture that in the video but it's very hard. As with all our videos, I imagined I was performing the song live, you feel it much more that way, but even the it is so hard to recreate that live atmosphere. Performing 'Breathe' live is ten times more powerful and overwhelming.
Maxim The Prodigy -
When the van comes to pick me up it's great because as soon as we get to the airport I know we are going to have a laugh. As soon as the shows start, we become a unit, one of four people. Within that unit I feel safe.
Maxim The Prodigy -
From day one when I first heard Liam's music I knew the potential was massive - that first tape I heard had a serious impact, it was so original. Every tune he has written since then has been a progression, going off at tangents, doing the opposite of what people expect him to.
Maxim The Prodigy -
I get a buzz from being tired during and after a gig. I enjoy that weariness, it tells me I am putting something in. I wouldn't be pleased if I felt fresh at the end of the show. As soon as 'Breathe' kicks in, it all goes mad and I am constantly rolling till the end of the set, which is massively draining.
Maxim The Prodigy -
Before the gig I am not thinking of anything, I keep my mind completely clear and empty. I don't even think of the gig, it's as if I was in a room on my own, I shut all the distractions out and don't like to be bothered by anybody. The first time I start to think of the gig is when we leave the dressing room and head for the stage, but even then I am still empty - it is not until we are introduced that I switch on and rapidly become focused. I have never had stage fright.
Maxim The Prodigy -
Just because someone has green hair doesn't mean they are punk. I have certain attitudes to life and music that don't make me a punk, but in many ways we do have a punk attitude. We set our own rules, so I suppose we are punk in that way.
Maxim The Prodigy
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Posion' introduced lyrics for the first time. It doesn't mean anything but people can relate to those words in whichever way they choose. That started to open up other possibilities to the band, both in the terms of the gigs and on record.
Maxim The Prodigy -
What I was yesterday makes me what I am today. And tomorrow...
Maxim The Prodigy