Content of this Page 

• Introduction
  
• Notable artists and DJs
• Notable record labels
• Genres
• Ambient music
1. Overview
2. Derivative forms and sub-genres
1. Organic ambient music
2. Nature inspired ambient music
3. Dark ambient
4. Ambient industrial
5. Isolationist ambient music
6. Political ambient music
• Breakbeat
1. History
2. Major Breakbeat Artists
1. The Chemical Brothers
2. The Crystal Method
   
3. Fatboy Slim
   
1. 1964 to 1996
2. 1997 to date
3. Pseudonyms and Bands
4. Fatboy Slim Discography
4. The Prodigy
   
1. Prodigy - Beginnings
2. "Smack My Bitch Up" controversy (USA)
3. The Castbreeder
4. The Fat Mixes
5. Later Works
6. Development
7. 2005-2006 recording sessions

Introduction 

Electronic dance music (EDM) is a broad set of percussive music genres that largely inherit from 1970s disco music and, to some extent, the experimental pop music of Kraftwerk. Such music was originally borne of and popularized via regional nightclub scenes in the 1980s. It is constructed by means of electronic instruments such as synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers, and generally emphasizes the unique sounds of those instruments, even when mimicking traditional acoustic instrumentation. It sometimes encompasses music not primarily meant for dancing, but derived from the dance-oriented styles.

Electronic dance music experienced a boom after the proliferation of personal computers in the 1980s, many music genres that made use of electronic instruments developed into contemporary styles mainly thanks to the MIDI protocol, which enabled computers, synthesizers, sound cards, samplers and drum machines to control one another and achieve the full synchronization of sounds.

Since around the mid-1980s, electronic dance music has enjoyed popularity in many nightclubs, and, as of 2006, is the predominant type of music played in discothèques as well as the rave scene. As such, the related term club music, while broadly referring to whatever music genres are currently in vogue and associated with nightclubs, has, for some, become synonymous with all electronic dance music, or just those genres — or some subset thereof — that are typically played at mainstream discothèques. It is sometimes used more broadly to encompass non-electronic music played at such venues, or electronic music that is not normally played at clubs but that shares attributes with music that is. What is widely considered to be club music changes over time, includes different genres depending on the region and who's making the reference, and may not always encompass electronic dance music. For example, as of 2006,hip hop music , being widely played in clubs, is one form of "club music" to many, but a smaller percentage would describe it as being a form of electronic dance music. Similarly, electronic dance music sometimes means different things to different people. Both terms vaguely encompass multiple genres, and sometimes are used as if they were genres themselves. The distinction is that club music is ultimately based on what's popular, whereas electronic dance music is based on attributes of the music itself.

Notable artists and DJs

With the explosive growth of computers music technology and consequent reduction in the cost of equipment in the late 1990s, the number of artists and DJs working within electronic music is overwhelming. With the advent of hard disk recording systems, it is possible for any home computer user to become a musician, and hence the rise in the number of "bedroom bands", often consisting of a single person. Nevertheless notable artists can still be identified. Influential musicians in industrial, synth pop and later electronic dance styles include Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle (both now defunct), the Human League and Kraftwerk. In house, techno and drum and bass pioneers such as Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Goldie, A Guy Called Gerald and LTJ Bukem are still active as of 2003. Commercially successful artists working under the "electronica" rubric such as Fatboy Slim, Faithless, Fluke, The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, The Crystal Method, Massive Attack, The Prodigy, Orbital, Propellerheads, Underworld, Überzone, Björk and Moby continue to release albums and perform regularly (sometimes in stadium-sized arenas, such has the popularity of electronic dance music grown). Some DJs such as Paul Oakenfold, John Digweed, Paul van Dyk, Armin van Buuren, and Tijs Verwest (aka Tiësto) have reached true superstar status and can command five-figure salaries for a single performance. They perform for hours on end mixing their music into pre-recorded singles. Some DJs have world wide Radio, and internet, broadcasted shows that air weekly. Such as A State of Trance, a show mixed by Armin van Buuren. The critically acclaimed Autechre and Aphex Twin continue to put out challenging records of (mostly) home-listening music.

Notable record labels

Until the 1980s, there were virtually no record labels that exclusively promoted electronic dance music. Because of this dearth of outlets, many of the early techno pioneers started their own. For example, techno pioneer Juan Atkins started Metroplex Records, and Richie Hawtin started his hugely influential Plus 8 imprint. In the United Kingdom, Warp Records emerged in the 1990s as one of the pre-eminent sources of home-listening and experimental music. Later arrivals include Astralwerks, Ninja Tune, and Paul Oakenfold's Perfecto record label.  

Genres

Electronic dance music is categorized by music journalists and fans alike as an ever-evolving plethora of named genres, styles and sub-styles. Some genres, such as techno, house, trance, electro, breakbeat, drum and bass, italo disco, and Eurobeat (closely related to italo disco) are primarily intended to promote dancing. Others, such as IDM, glitch and trip-hop, are more experimental and tend to be associated more with listening than dancing.

Ambient music

Ambient music is a loosely defined musical genre that incorporates elements of a number of different styles - including jazz, electronic music, new age, rock and roll, modern classical music, reggae, traditional, world and even noise.

'Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.' — Brian Eno (Music for Airports liner notes, September 1978) .

Overview

The earliest electronic soundscape music and theories come from the work of Pierre Schaeffer who followed the futurists in classifying music into categories such as man made, natural, short and long. He made some of the first electronic music using record players and natural sounds, and cutting up tape, making the first experimental music use of recording and magnetic tape. Even his work can be seen as preempted by Schopenhauer's ideas of 'soundworlds', literally worlds made up entirely of sounds. Karlheinz Stockhausen created pioneering electronic musical experiments later in 1955, and these two (amongst others) lay the groundwork for ambient music to appear decades later when music technology had developed.

The term "ambient music" was first coined by Brian Eno in the late 1970s to refer to music that would envelop the listener without drawing attention to itself, that can be either "actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored, depending on the choice of the listener" (Eno, who describes himself as a "non-musician" termed his experiments in sound as "treatments" rather than as traditional performances). Hence, Brian Eno is considered the father of ambient music: his 1978 release Ambient 1: Music for Airports includes a manifesto describing this music. Although having coined the word "ambient", he is also quick to reference the works and influence of Erik Satie. Eno coined the term in an essay to distance his work from elevator music and Muzak, it is more often similar to mood music or an ambient background in movie and radio sound effects. Often listeners will forget they are listening to ambient music, which is one of the biggest attractions of the genre. It can be any musical style, including jazz, electronic music and modern classical music.

Some of the works of the 20th century French composer Erik Satie, today best known for his Trois Gymnopédies suite, can be regarded as predecessors of modern ambient music. He referred to some of his music as "Musique d'ameublement" ('furniture music' ,or more literally, 'music for the furniture' and 'music to mingle with knives and forks', referring to something that could be played during dinner and would simply create an atmosphere for that activity rather than be the focus of attention. Similarly some of the works of the French composer Edgard Varèse, who used the theremin extensively in his compositions as well as atonal techniques and non-standard time signatures, can also be viewed as predecessors of ambient music. John Cage created the ultimate ambient work with his 4'33", three periods of silence first played on the piano, which make the audience listen to the ambient sound surrounding them. Cage inspired minimalist composers such as La Monte Young, Morton Feldman, Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass also influenced Eno's groundbreaking style, and ambient music can be seen as a kind of minimalism.

Early albums by Pink Floyd (such as Ummagumma and Meddle) and by the "kosmische music"-oriented krautrock artists, like Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, and Cluster have greatly influenced the genre. Among the first electronic ambient albums were Affenstunde (1970) and In Den Garten Pharaos (1971) by Popol Vuh. Another important album was Sonic Seasonings (1972) by Wendy Carlos. Other early artists such as Klaus Schulze (a former member of Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel), Jean-Michel Jarre, and Kraftwerk in the 1970s and 1980s were influential. In the 1970s, some ambient, krautrock, and other musicians who were influenced by new age spirituality created the eclectic genre known as New Age music, selling millions independent from the mainstream music industry by direct order or new age shops. By the 1980s, New Age music had become so much better known than ambient music, that ambient was taken as a synonym for "New Age", and many ambient musicians deliberately took on new age themes to market themselves to this audience.

Beginning in the 1980s, Ambient music influenced some pop bands (examples can be found among instrumentals by New Order, Depeche Mode, Simple Minds and U2). Later, electronic dance music and synth pop merged in many artists' works with the dreamy, meandering sound of Eno-style ambient music. Under the guise of various styles, this new genre sometimes referred to as ambient house, ambient techno, ambient dub, IDM, ambience, or simply "ambient" in common use, saw the birth of a new wave of artists like The Orb, Aphex Twin, the Irresistible Force, and Geir Jenssen's Biosphere.

Early Warp records artists, (as well as later ones such as Aphex Twin), FSOL Future Sound of London (Lifeforms, ISDN) Autechre, (Incunabula, Amber), Boards of Canada, Massive Attack, Portishead, and The KLF all took a part in popularising and diversifying ambient music. There are now a dizzying array of different sub-genres, festivals, websites, discussion lists, clubs, labels and artists making new, interesting, original music.

Ambient music has been used in many television shows and motion pictures and is notable for contributing to their atmosphere. Being an alternative to canned incidental music or stock music cues, it also gives the musician artistic freedom. The traditional practice of composing for film or television usually involves the composer creating recognizable theme songs or jingles for the setting, hero or villain, and for plot elements such as love interest, action, and death scenes. However, ambient music is noted for taking a less formulaic approach in its use in film and TV shows. David Lynch's 1984 film Dune, for example, forgoes the epic sci-fi adventure style theme music popularized by Star Wars in favor of a more atmospheric music score by Toto and Brian Eno.

Derivative forms and sub-genres

Organic ambient music

Organic ambient music is characterised by integration of electronic, electric, and acoustic musical instruments. Aside from the usual electronic music influences, organic ambient tends to incorporate influences from world music, especially drone instruments and hand percussion. Organic ambient is intended to be more harmonious with nature than with the disco. Some of the artists in this sub-genre include Robert Rich, Steve Roach, Vidna Obmana, O Yuki Conjugate, James Johnson, Loren Nerell, Numina, Matt Borghi, and Tuu.

Some works by ambient pioneers such as Brian Eno, which use a combination of traditional (such as piano) and electronic instruments, would be considered organic ambient music in this sense. In the 70's and 80's Klaus Schulze often recorded string ensembles and performances by solo cellists to go along with his extended Moog synthesizer workouts.

Nature inspired ambient music

The music is composed from samples and recordings of naturally occurring sounds. Sometimes these samples can be treated to make them more instrument-like. The samples may be arranged in repetitive ways to form a conventional musical structure or may be random and unfocused. Sometimes the sound is mixed with urban or "found" sounds. Examples include much of Biosphere's Substrata, Mira Calix's insect music and Chris Watson's Weather Report. Some overlap occurs between organic ambient and nature inspired ambient. One of the first albums in the genre, Wendy Carlos' Sonic Seasonings, combines sampled and synthesized nature sounds with ambient melodies and drones for a particularly relaxing effect.

Dark ambient

Dark ambient is a general term for any kind of ambient music with a "dark" or dissonant feel, but often involves extensive use of digital reverb to create vast sonic spaces for frightening, bottom-heavy sounds such as deep drones, gloomy male chorus, echoing thunder, and distant artillery. It has a relentlessly gothic feel. Robert Rich's collaboration with Lustmord on Stalker epitomizes this sub-genre. Related styles include ambient industrial and isolationist ambient. (See also List of dark ambient artists)

Ambient industrial

Ambient industrial is a hybrid genre of ambient and industrial music; the term industrial being used in the original experimental sense, rather than in the sense of industrial metal or EBM. A "typical" ambient industrial work (if there is a such thing) might consist of evolving dissonant harmonies of metallic drones and resonances, extreme low frequency rumbles and machine noises, perhaps supplemented by gongs, percussive rhythms, bullroarers, distorted voices and/or anything else the artist might care to sample (often processed to the point where the original sample is no longer recognizable). Entire works may be based on radio telescope recordings, the babbling of newborn babies, or sounds recorded through contact microphones on telegraph wires.

Among the many artists who work in this area are Coil, CTI, Lustmord, Susumu Yokota , Hafler Trio, Nocturnal Emissions, Zoviet France, PGR, Thomas Koner, Controlled Bleeding, and Deutsch Nepal. It is important to note, however, that many of these artists are very eclectic in their output, with much of it falling outside of ambient industrial per se.

Isolationist ambient music

Also known as isolationism. The term was popularized in the mid-1990s by the British magazine The Wire and the Ambient 4: Isolationism compilation from Virgin, this began as more or less a synonym for ambient industrial, but also inclusive of certain post-techno streams of ambient, such as Autechre and Aphex Twin. The Sombient label is now the primary purveyor of isolationist ambient, in particular with the "drones" compilation series. Some of the artists known for this style of ambient music include Robert Fripp.

Political ambient music

This particular style stands in direct contrast to the apolitical, or acontextual, "disconnected" sound which is argued that other forms of ambient music represent, in that these other forms either reinforce or stand commentless on existing social, sexual and political structures and the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. Terre Thaemlitz's Soil and Tranquilizer releases in the early and mid-1990s served to introduce this form of ambient music, continued in later releases such as Couture Cosmetique and Means from an End, which aim to recast the usually passive artist-listener-environment equation.

Breakbeat

Breakbeat (sometimes breakbeats or breaks) is a term used to describe a collection of sub-genres of electronic music, usually characterized by the use of a non-straighted 4/4 drum pattern (as opposed to the steady beat of house or trance). These rhythms may be characterised by their intensive use of syncopation and polyrhythms, which are prominent in all music of African origin, including African American music.

History

In the 1970s, hip-hop DJs (starting with DJ Kool Herc) began using several breaks (the part of a funk or jazz song in which the music "breaks" to let the rhythm section play unaccompanied) in a row to use as the rhythmic basis for hip-hop songs. One of the most commonly-used breaks was the Amen Break, which has appeared in many songs from many different genres.

In the early 1990s, acid house artists and producers started using breakbeat samples in their music to create Hardcore breakbeat, aka rave music. The hardcore scene then diverged into sub-genres like Jungle and Drum and Bass, which generally had a darker sound and focused more on complex sampled drum patterns. A good example of this is Goldie's album 'Timeless'.

Other more popular genres also became combined with breakbeats. One album which demonstrates the cross between breakbeat and Rock/Metal is The Prodigy's Music for the Jilted Generation. Many such fusions are thought of as the big beat genre.

In recent times, the term breakbeat has become synonymous with the many genres of breaks music which have become popular within the global dance music scene, including nu skool breaks and progressive breaks. DJs from a variety of genres, including house and techno, work breaks tracks into their sets. This may occur because the tempo of breaks tracks (ranging from 115 to 150 beats per minute) means they can be readily mixed with these genres, whereas the comparatively fast speed of jungle and drum and bass (165-180 bpm) may have restricted the utility of these subgenres to DJs playing slower-tempo music.

Breakbeat (or funky breakbeat) may also refer to the music of bands such as Breakestra, who play funk and soul music with an emphasis on the elements that became popular in hip-hop and later breaks-based music. This sound is characterized by slower tempos (80-110 bpm) and organic, "human" rhythms. It is sometimes differentiated by the term "broken beat".

Major Breakbeat Artists 

The Chemical Brothers

The Chemical Brothers are an electronic music duo from England, comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons (occasionally referred to as Chemical Ed and Chemical Tom). Initially they called themselves "The Dust Brothers", after the noted US production duo of the same name, but their burgeoning popularity and the threat of legal action from the originals led them to change their name in 1995. Along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method and a few other lesser-known acts they were pioneers of the big beat electronic dance genre, and are known for high-quality live sets. They met at the University of Manchester.

The Crystal Method 

The Crystal Method are an American electronic music duo consisting of Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland. They are stylistically similar to The Chemical Brothers, Propellerheads, The Prodigy, and Fatboy Slim, specializing in breakbeat and big beat styles of music.

Although Jordan and Kirkland are both from Las Vegas, Nevada, the band was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1989^{[citation needed]}. The Crystal Method did most of their earlier production work in an underground shelter lovingly referred to as "The Bomb Shelter" in the front yard of a rent house they once shared as roommates. Before production began on Legion of Boom in 2004, they moved the studio into the garage of the rented house; many people aren't aware of this, however, and still believe they work in the actual "bomb shelter", now a nickname for the studio setup.

The Crystal Method's music is broad in scope, and can be found in many modern shows and movies, including Bones (Title Theme), Blade II ("PhDream", with Bubba Sparxxx and The name of the game), Blade Trinity ("Weapons of Mass Distortion"), Cursed ("Bound Too Long"), Gone in Sixty Seconds ("Busy Child"), Lost in Space ("Busy Child"), Spawn ("(Can't You) Trip Like I Do", with Filter), Zoolander ("Now is the Time"), XXX, The Replacement Killers ("Keep Hope Alive"), the remake of The Longest Yard ("Roll It Up"), and episodes of Dark Angel ("Name of the Game", "Roll It Up"). The theme music of the NBC drama Third Watch was "Keep Hope Alive" from their Vegas album. The Chef Aid album, based off of an episode of South Park, featured a re-working of "Vapor Trail", which includes vocals by DMX, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ozzy Osbourne, and Fuzzbubble. The song was renamed "Nowhere to Run" or sometimes "Nowhere to Run (Vapor Trail)". Episode 13, the popular TV shows Alias and CSI, featured "Starting Over" from Legion of Boom. The track "Name Of The Game" (from "Reservoir Dogs the video game" and the Tweekend album) was also featured as intro music for the popular video game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, and has also been used as intro music for live performances by magician The Amazing Johnathan and even in Hummer advertisements. Their music was also featured extensively in the EA Sports video game FIFA '98: Road To World Cup, which included the tracks "Busy Child", "Keep Hope Alive", "More", and "Now Is The Time". The track "Busy Child" also featured in a 1998 British advertisement for The Gap which featured skateboarders. Their song "Busy Child" was featured in the video game Donkey Konga and "Born Too Slow" was included in both Donkey Konga 2 and Need for Speed: Underground. The song "Trip Like I Do" was featured in an episode of House during a rave scene. Several songs from their first album also featured prominently in the game N2O: Nitrous Oxide. "The Winner" (from Tweekend) was featured in the video game FreQuency, and their remix of P.O.D.'s "Boom" was also featured in its sequel, Amplitude.

The Crystal Method have remixed other artists' tracks, such as Linkin Park's track "Points Of Authority"; the remix was called "Pts. Of. Athrty (The Crystal Method Remix)" and can only be found on LP Underground 2.0 EP, which is exclusively available to LP Underground members.

Jordan and Kirkland currently host a radio show called Community Service which airs Friday nights on Los Angeles' Indie 103.1, featuring electronic music.

In June of 2006, the duo teamed up with Nike to release the workout-inspired album Drive: Nike + Original Run. The album is a continuous 45 minute mix of ten songs, and can only be downloaded from the iTunes Music Store.

Fatboy Slim 

Fatboy Slim (born Quentin Leo Cook on July 31, 1963, also known as Norman Cook) is an English musician in the dance music genre. His style is known as big beat, a combination of hip hop, breakbeat, rock, trance, house and rhythm and blues. He stopped using 'Quentin' and began calling himself 'Norman' long before he adopted any other pseudonym. 

History of Fatboy Slim

1964 to 1996

Cook grew up in Reigate, Surrey, England, and was educated at Reigate Grammar School. He started a punk fanzine as a teenager and at sixth-form college met Paul Heaton. At 18, Cook went to the Brighton Polytechnic to study a BA in English, Politics and Sociology. Although he had begun DJing some years before, it was at this time that he began to develop his skills on the thriving Brighton club scene. In 1985 he was diverted by a call from his old friend, Paul Heaton. Heaton had moved to Hull and had formed a guitar band called The Housemartins.

The Housemartins' bassist had just quit on the eve of their first national tour and, although Cook had lost interest in the rock scene and could barely play a musical instrument, he agreed to move to Hull to join them. The band soon had a hit single with "Happy Hour". They also reached number one just before Christmas 1986 with a version of "Caravan of Love". However, by 1988 they had split up. Heaton and the band's drummer Dave Hemingway went on to form The Beautiful South, while Cook moved back to Brighton to pursue his interest in the style of music he preferred. It was at this time that he first started working with young studio engineer Simon Thornton, with whom he continues to make records. All Cook's records released from that point onwards have involved both of them to varying degrees (Thornton is credited in 2004 as "Executive Producer" for example).

Cook formed Beats International, a loose confederation of studio musicians including vocalists Lindy Layton, Lester Noel, D.J. Baptiste, rapper MC Wildski, and keyboardist Andy Boucher. Their first album, Let Them Eat Bingo, included the number one single, "Dub Be Good to Me". "Dub Be Good To Me" caused a legal dispute revolving around allegations of infringement of copyright through the liberal use of unauthorised samples: the bassline was a note-for-note lift from The Clash's "The Guns Of Brixton" and the song also borrowed heavily from the S.O.S. Band's "Just Be Good To Me". The 1991 follow-up album Excursion on the Version, an exploration of dub and reggae rhythms, failed to repeat the success of its predecessor.

Cook then formed Freakpower, with horn player and singer Ashley Slater. The duo released their debut album, Drive Thru Booty, in 1994, which contained the single "Turn On Tune In Cop Out". The cut was picked up by the Levi's company for use in a multimillion-dollar advertisement campaign. Freakpower has also done several other releases under the name Fried Funk Food.

In 1995, Cook enlisted help from producer friends Tim Jeffery and JC Reid to create a solo house music album under the 'Pizzaman' pseudonym. The album featured one track, "Happiness", that was picked up by the Del Monte Foods corporation for use in a UK fruit juice ad. Cook also experimented with other side projects, and enjoyed some underground success as The Mighty Dub Katz with "Magic Carpet Ride".

In 1996, Cook then re-joined Ashley Slater for the second Freakpower album, titled Everything for Everybody.

Later that same year, Cook adopted the alter-ego pseudonym Fatboy Slim and began frequenting the Brighton club The Big Beat Boutique. While DJing at the club, Cook befriended The Chemical Brothers, who suggested that he work on his own material instead of merely DJing. 

1997 to date

The Fatboy Slim album Better Living Through Chemistry (released through Skint Records) marked Cook's emergence into the big time. Filled with retro samples and funk-laden grooves, the album was among the first in the then-new big beat sound. It also spawned one Top 40 UK hit, "Everybody Needs a 303". After Cook's remix of Cornershop's "Brimful of Asha" topped the charts, such musical heavy hitters as Madonna and U2 asked him to produce for them.

Fatboy Slim's next work was the single "The Rockafeller Skank" which was released prior to the album You've Come a Long Way, Baby, both of which came out in 1998 to rave reviews. This album also produced the single "Praise You", which also became a major dance hit, giving Cook his first UK solo number one. Its video, directed by Spike Jonze, won numerous awards. Further Fatboy Slim works have appeared in movies, television series, and more ads and started a trend where Norman Cook appeared in each video in some shape or form.

Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars was released in 2000 and featured two collaborations with Macy Gray. It also included "Sunset (Bird of Prey)", a slower tempo piece based around a sample of Jim Morrison from The Doors, and "Weapon of Choice", which also boasted an award-winning video starring Christopher Walken.

On 13 July 2002 Fatboy Slim performed the second of his free, open air concerts on Brighton beach. Despite expecting a crowd of around 60,000 people the event instead attracted an estimated 250,000 who crammed the promenade and beach between Brighton's famous piers. Local police forced the event to finish slightly early amid safety concerns and overcrowding. After the music had finished and the massive crowd began to dissipate traffic chaos ensued throughout the Brighton area with many revellers stuck in traffic jams until the early hours of the morning. Despite these problems the event was hailed as a great success by most who attended, although there was to be no repeat in following years.

Cook was recently awarded a star on the city of Brighton's Walk of Fame, next to that of Winston Churchill. He married TV personality Zoë Ball in 1999; the couple have one son named Woody. Cook is also a 12% shareholder of the football club he has supported since moving to Brighton in the late 1980s, Brighton & Hove Albion.

In 2002, Q magazine named Fatboy Slim in their 50 bands to see before you die list.

In January 2003, Cook and his wife underwent a very public break-up, but three months later, they were reconciled.

In 2004, Cook released two remixes in June and July, based on Max Sedgley's "Happy" and "Follow Me Follow Me (Quem Que Caguetou)" by Black Alien & Speed. The latter, a Hip Hop hit from Brazil, became popular in Europe after having appeared on the Nissan X-Trail advert (portraying a more extreme type of marathon). Fatboy Slim's remix was then used in the advert itself.

His first album in four years, Palookaville, was also announced in July. Cook's next studio album was confirmed for release on 4 October in the UK (Skint records) and 5 October for the U.S. (Astralwerks). In the UK, BBC Radio 1 received an exclusive play of the first single "Slash Dot Dash", while in the U.S. "The Joker" (a collaboration with Bootsy Collins) had been exclusively aired. The song was appearing on the radio and was made quickly available on iTunes months ahead of the album release.

Palookaville represented a significant shift in style for Cook, from loop and sample based compositions to more conventional song structures and many original recordings of real instruments (Cook himself plays bass on some of the album's tracks, with Simon Thornton playing various other instruments along with guest artists, e.g. Justin Robertson). This change in style also led to the use of new production techniques and studio technology. Until Palookaville Cook had been using an Atari ST computer for sequencing and composition, a classic production tool favoured by many dance music producers for its stability, simplicity and rock solid timing. For the new album he made use of a Protools rig, a powerful digital audio workstation environment found in most modern recording studios. This perhaps reluctant move by Cook was ultimately necessary to deliver the polished production style evident in the recordings. The resulting body of work features "traditional" Fatboy Slim tracks such as "Jin Go Lo Ba" alongside full length vocal tracks including a suitably updated rendition of the Steve Miller Band's "The Joker". (The music video for the latter consists entirely of kittens in the lead roles). The album also features many more vocal collaborations including tracks with rapper Lateef and Brighton-based band Johnny Quality.

In 2005, his 2004 hit single "Wonderful Night" was placed on Konami's Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 for PlayStation 2.

In June of 2005 he filled the Friday night headline slot on the 'Other Stage' at the prestigious Glastonbury Festival, a booking which actually generated a financial loss for Cook when he decided to stage a spectacular visual show involving banks of display screens at the rear of the stage (with his DJ booth set in the middle) and a sophisticated 3D light show with special glasses supplied to members of the audience. In a televised post-gig interview Cook revealed how the cost of staging the show had outstripped the famously low appearance fees received by Glastonbury performers.

In October of the same year Fatboy Slim and Talking Heads singer David Byrne revealed their plans for a musical about Imelda Marcos, the controversial ex-First Lady of the Philippines. It premiered at Australia's Adelaide Festival of Arts in March 2006.

On the New Years Eve of 2005, Fatboy Slim performed live in front of a tremendous crowd on Bondi Beach in Australia - During this all night set, Fatboy Slim reverted back to his original style of music production and DJ-ing with an emphasis on Dance music.

Why Try Harder is Fatboy Slim's greatest hits album and was released on 19 June 2006. It comprises eighteen tracks, including ten Top 40 singles, a couple of Number Ones and two exclusive new tracks - "Champion Sound" and "That Old Pair Of Jeans". The title comes from the famous UK album cover for You've Come A Long Way Baby, which featured a large man with a T-shirt bearing the legend "I'M #1 SO WHY TRY HARDER". Cook has repeatedly stated in 2006 interviews that the phrase "why try harder" is a statement, not a question.

On 24 June 2006, Fatboy Slim headlined The "Rock Ness Festival" at Loch Ness, Scotland. The following month he also filled the Saturday headline slot at the Global Gathering festival, Long Marston Airfield, Staffordshire, England. He played a two hour set containing most of his classics and also some of his new material. This is widely regarded as one of the highlights of the festival, perhaps just losing out to Daft Punk's once in a lifetime performance the previous evening. Once again Fatboy appeared in front of an impressive visual stage set comprising video screens and 3D lighting. A spectacular firework display rounded off the show.

After being banned by police from playing in Brighton since 2002 after of the deaths of two people at his 2002 gig, Fatboy Slim was given permission in 2006 to play again in his home town. On 1st January 2007 he will play to 20,000 people on Brighton's Madeira Drive, opposite Brighton beach. Tickets to the event were made available only to Brighton residents, although inevitably some are available to buy on eBay.

Pseudonyms and Bands

• The Housemartins
• Beats International
• Freak Power
• Pizzaman
• The Mighty Dub Katz
• Yum Yum Head Food
• Sunny Side Up
• Chemistry
• The Feelgood Factor
• Sensataria
• Son Of A Cheeky Boy
• The joker
• Norman Cook

Fatboy Slim Discography

Studio albums

• Better Living Through Chemistry (1996)
• You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998) #1 UK, #34 US Platinum
• Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (2000) #8 UK
• Palookaville (2004) #14 UK

Live, compilations, etc.

• Pizzaman Pizzamania (1995) pre-Fatboy Slim moniker
• Norman Cook Skip To My Loops (1993) pre-Fatboy Slim moniker A collection of samples for DJs
• Various artists Southern Fried House (1995) pre-Fatboy Slim compilation
• Beat up the NME (Live) (1997) Free give away mix with NME
• On the Floor at the Boutique (Live) (1998)
• A Break from the Norm (2001) Fatboy Slim sample compilation
• Live on Brighton Beach (Live) (2002)
• Big Beach Boutique II (Live) (2002)
• Big Beach Boutique II - The Movie DVD (2002)
• My Game (Live) (2002)
• Bondi Beach: New Years Eve 06 (2005)
• Fala Ai! (2006)
  
• The Greatest Hits -  Why try harder  (2006) #2 UK
  
  

Fatboy Singles

• 1996 "Santa Cruz" #18
• 1996 "Everybody Needs A 303"
• 1996 "Punk To Funk"
• 1997 "Going Out Of My Head" #57 UK
• 1997 "Everybody Needs a 303 (Remix)" #34 UK
• 1998 "The Rockafeller Skank" #6 UK
• 1998 "Gangster Trippin'" #3 UK
• 1999 "Praise You" #1 UK, #36 US
• 1999 "Right Here Right Now" #2 UK
• 1999 "Badder Badder Schwing" (Freddy Fresh feat. Fatboy Slim) #34 UK
• 2000 "Sunset (Bird of Prey)" #9 UK
• 2001 "Demons" (feat. Macy Gray) #16 UK
• 2001 "Star 69" / "Weapon of Choice" #10 UK
• 2001 "A Song for Shelter" / "Ya Mama" #30 UK
• 2001 "Drop The Hate" (12 Inch Only)
• 2002 "Retox" #73 UK (12 Inch Only)
• 2002 "Talkin About My Baby" (12 Inch Only)
• 2004 "Slash Dot Dash" #12 UK
• 2004 "Wonderful Night" #51 UK
• 2005 "The Joker" #32 UK
• 2005 "Don't Let The Man Get You Down"
• 2006 "That Old Pair Of Jeans" #39 UK
• 2006 "Champion Sound"

The Prodigy 

The Prodigy (or just Prodigy) are an English band, whose music consists of various styles ranging from rave, hardcore techno and industrial in the early 1990s to alternative rock and bigbeat with punk vocal elements in later times. The current band members include Liam Howlett (composer/keyboards), Keith Flint (dancer/vocalist) and Maxim (MC/vocalist). Leeroy Thornhill (dancer/very occasional live keyboards) was a member of the band from 1990 to 2000, as well was a female dancer/vocalist called Sharky who left the band during their early period. The Prodigy first emerged on the underground rave scene in the early 1990s, and have since then achieved immense popularity and worldwide renown. Some of their most popular songs include "Charly," "Out of Space," "Smack My Bitch Up," "Voodoo People", "No Good (Start the Dance)," "Breathe" and "Firestarter."

Prodigy - Beginnings

The Prodigy began with an initial 10-track demo by Liam Howlett, put together on a Roland W-30 sequencer keyboard in Essex, England. XL Recordings picked up the demo and an initial 12" pressing of What Evil Lurks was released in February 1991. The Prodigy's name was a moniker Liam had chosen as a tribute to his first analogue synthesiser, the Moog Prodigy(MYTH). He just thought it would be cool to call himself "The Prodigy" for hype value. The band's name seemed to change from The Prodigy to Prodigy between the releases of Music for the Jilted Generation and The Fat of the Land in 1996, and thereafter back again to the former within the release of Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned in 2004, it was only due to fit in the changing logos, according to Howlett.^[1][2]

The Prodigy's first public performance (with Howlett augmented by dancers Keith Flint and Leeroy Thornhill) was at the Four Aces in Dalston, London. Charly, released six months later, became a huge hit in the international rave scene at the time, catapulting the band into the wider public consciousness for the first time. Some critics were later to identify the release of Charly, with its memorable sample of a government television infomercial aimed at children (Charley Says), as the song that instigated the ultimate destruction of the underground rave scene, opening the door to a flood of rave tracks many of the genre's devotees considered of lesser quality, such as Urban Hype's Trip to Trumpton, and Smart E's Sesame's Treet. Charly was soon followed by the band's first full length album, Experience, a landmark release in the history of British rave music. The album track "Death of the Prodigy Dancers" featured Ragga MC band memberMaxim Reality

After Experience, and the run of singles that accompanied it, the Prodigy moved to distance themselves from the "kiddie rave" reputation that now dogged them. The rave scene was beginning to implode, with promises of "anti-rave" legislation on the horizon. In 1993, Howlett released an anonymous white label, bearing only the title Earthbound I. Its hypnotic, hard-edged sound won wide underground approval. Many former critics of the band were astounded when they finally acknowledged responsibility for the record^{[citation needed]}. It was officially released as "One Love" later that year, and went on to chart at #8 in the UK.

In 1994, the Prodigy's second album, Music for the Jilted Generation, displayed a wider spectrum of musical style. Heavyweight dancefloor tunes still abounded, but were complemented by more unusual tracks such as the concept piece The Narcotic Suite, and rock-oriented inclinations ("Their Law", featuring Pop Will Eat Itself). The album was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize. In the sleevenotes, however, Howlett reaffirmed his dedication to the rave music scene.

The international success of Music for the Jilted Generation meant that touring beyond the UK was now a viable prospect. The band augmented their line-up with guitarist Jim Davies (who, later, joined the group Pitchshifter) in 1995 for tracks such as Their Law, Break And Enter 95, and various live-only interludes and versions. The 1996 release of Firestarter, featuring vocals for the first time courtesy of a new-look Keith Flint, helped the band break into the US and other overseas markets, and reached number one in the UK. In this year the Prodigy also headlined the prestigious Lollapalooza festival. The Prodigy have toured all over the world, including Beirut and Moscow's Red Square.

The third Prodigy album, The Fat of the Land, was released in 1997. Like its predecessors, the album represented a new milestone in the development of both the band and the wider mainstream dance scene. Featuring simplified melodies, sparser sampling, and more sneering, punk-like vocals (supplied by a shockingly madeover Flint), the album nevertheless retained the bone-jarring breaks and buzzsaw synth so idiomatic of the band. The album cemented the band's position as one of the most internationally successful acts in the hard dance genre, entering the British and American charts at number one. The best selling single, Breathe (1996), was taken from this album, as was Firestarter, the group's first UK number one.

The Prodigy have been nominated twice for the Mercury Music Prize, in 1994 with Music for the Jilted Generation, and again in 1997 with The Fat of the Land, however they failed to win both times.

"Smack My Bitch Up" controversy (USA)

Prodigy was getting a lot of airplay on rock stations with their track, "Smack My Bitch Up," and were getting even more negative backlash for the song. Time-Warner, Prodigy's parent company, was feeling the heat from the National Organization for Women (NOW) over the track. Although the song's lyrics are few but repetitive (in their entirety, the lyrics are "Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up"), NOW stated that the lyrics are a "...dangerous and offensive message advocating violence against women." Howlett responded to the attacks by claiming that the song's lyrics are being misinterpreted: (the song means) "...doing anything intensely, like being on stage - going for extreme manic energy." The band did not write the lyric, but rather sampled it from the classic Ultramagnetic MCs' track "Give The Drummer Some" which also appears on the Dirtchamber Sessions (they had also sampled another Ultramagnetic MCs song "Critical Beatdown" on their earlier "Out of Space" single).^[3] Several radio stations defended the song, yet only played the track at night. The music video (directed by Jonas Åkerlund) featured a first-person POV of someone going clubbing, indulging in large amounts of drugs and alcohol, getting into fist fights with men, abusing women and picking up a prostitute. At the end of the video the camera pans over to a mirror, revealing the subject to be a woman. MTV only aired the video between 1 and 5 a.m. in order for mature viewers to see the "groundbreaking" images. The director got the inspiration for contents of the video after a night of drinking and partying in Copenhagen.

Wal-mart and Kmart later announced they would pull The Fat of the Land off their shelves. Even though the LP had resided on their store shelves for over 20 weeks, the two stores found the marketing campaign for the new single release offensive.

In mid-2002, the full-on unedited version of this video was aired on MTV2 as part of a special countdown showing the most controversial videos ever to air on MTV. This countdown was only shown late at night because of the graphic imagery of "Smack My Bitch Up" and several other videos on the countdown. This video in particular was deemed the "Most Controversial Video" by MTV and showed at the #1 spot on the countdown. 

The Castbreeder

In 1998 an album being passed off as a Prodigy release began circulating, entitled The Castbreeder. However, it was not an official Prodigy album, nor did it have anything to do with The Prodigy or their record label "XL Recordings". Many believed it to be a real release due to the high quality and craftmanship, but it is actually nothing more than a bootlegged compilation of various live and studio recorded tracks from the fellow big beat artists "Junkie XL" and "Lunatic Calm". In fact, the music on the album is similar enough in style to The Prodigy's to have fooled quite a few people, however there were a few dead giveaways that the album was fake. The "thanks to" section was taken directly from the cover of Music for the Jilted Generation, and the wrong font for the XL Recordings clearly proved it to be a fake.

The tracks are listed on the album cover as follows:
1) Castbreeder (Single Version)
2) Collapse
3) 144
4) Many, Many, Many, Many, Many People (Live At Noorderslag)
5) Castle Road
6) Fuzz Fucking
7) Junky's Cinder
8) Disco To Face
9) Bungalow's Island
10) Aluminium Jazz
11) Abnormal Bunx

The Fat Mixes

Another bootleg prodigy appeared in 1998 entitled "The Fat Mixes". As the title suggests, this album consists of bootlegged remixes of tracks from "The Fat Of The Land". Like "The Castbreeder", this album is not a product of The Prodigy. The true creator of these remixes is unknown, but it is assumed that this album is a "homebrew" as the quality is relatively poor.

Tracklisting for this album:

Smack My Bitch Up (Snack'O'Smack Mix) Diesel Power (Snake Break Mix) Breathe (Like An Aphex Twin Mix) Funky Shit (Sweep Mix) Serial Thrilla (Bloodsport Mix) Mindfields (Circles Mix) Narayan (Goa Tribe Mix) Firestarter (Roof On Fire Mix) Climbatize (Trigger Mountain Mix) Fuel My Fire (M. B. Cee Mix) Firestarter (Cold-Cut and Stop Mix).

Later Works

1999 saw the release of The Prodigy's Dirtchamber Sessions Volume 1, a DJ mix album by Howlett, produced as an official record of a successful guest appearance on the British Radio 1.

In 2002, after a break from touring and recording, the single "Baby's Got a Temper" was released to critical disappointment. The song was written by Keith Flint's sideband, Flint, and also featured Jim Davies. Howlett produced it. Once again, the band courted controversy by including references to the so-called "date rape" drug Rohypnol in the song lyrics, although it is unclear whether or not the band "glorifies" or presents the drug in a negative light. In the same year, however, Q magazine named The Prodigy as one of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die".

The Prodigy's fourth studio album, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned was released on 23 August 2004 (14 September 2004 in the USA.) A precursory and experimental single, "Memphis Bells", was released in very limited numbers, followed by the traditional release of the single "Girls". The U.S. version of the studio album contained a bonus track; a remix of "Girls" entitled, "More Girls".

5,000 digital copies of "Memphis Bells" were sold over the Internet. Each copy was a combination of customer-chosen instrumental, rhythmic, and melodic options, of which 39,600 (of 660,000 total) choices were available. Five mixes were sold in three file formats, WAV, two audio mixes in MP3, and a 5.1 DTS Multichannel audio mix and all were free of Digital rights management. The experiment was a success, with the 5,000 copies being sold in just over 36 hours in spite of server problems from the demand.

In 2005, they released a compilation, Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005, which spawned a single containing new remixes of the songs "Out of Space" (the "Audio Bullys Remix") and "Voodoo People" (the "Pendulum Remix"). The latter was also followed by a music video which featured on the DVD release of the compilation. Sharky, the group's only female member, is shown running and winning the race depicted in the video.

Their work has been featured in several video games and movies. For instance, the video game Need For Speed: Most Wanted featured the song "You'll Be under My Wheels", which was also used in an advert for the BMW 1 Series. As from the album The Fat of the Land, songs like "Firestarter" appeared in its instrumental version in the videogame Wipeout 2097, while "Mindfields" appeared in the film The Matrix, and the track "Funky Shit" in the closing scene and end credits of Event Horizon. The title "Voodoo People" and "One love" appears in the soundtrack of the movie Hackers and also in the French movies Wasabi and Dobermann.

Development

The Prodigy are a difficult band to classify, because they have developed significantly with time. Each of their albums represents a distinct stage in the band's musical development. From their initial inception as a psychedelic rave band with scene staples such as "Your Love" and "Out of Space", to the much more mainstream dance of "No Good", to the rock-oriented "Their Law" to punk tracks such as the L7 cover "Fuel My Fire" in more recent years, the Prodigy continue to innovate and surprise. The Prodigy have had the ability over the years to appeal to widely varying cross-sections music fans; from the purist dance festival Creamfields, to the more general appeal of T In The Park, to the heavy metal oriented Download Festival.

Because of their broad appeal to fans across several genres, The Prodigy have been described as "A rock band that plays dance music," which many would agree was a fair summation of their work.

2005-2006 recording sessions

During the Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned tour the band debuted two new songs, 'Warning' and 'Dead Ken Beats'. 'Warning' features Keith Flint on vocals and consists of heavy basslines and guitar riffs, whilst Dead Ken Beat contains a sample of the Dead Kennedys song 'California Uber Alles' that features prominently throughout, and has Maxim doing vocal duties.

Both these tracks have undergone significant development during the recent tour, and on at least one occasion Liam Howlett has confirmed that Dead Ken Beats would feature on the next Prodigy record,

"Dead ken beats will definitely be on that record, we were talking about it tonight. Dead ken is a track we really like, we like the groove and the beat and it’s really fucking tough. its still developing. It’s a different groove; it’s really kind of fresh sounding. It’s a track im really going to have to go and find the right vocal for, which is one of the things I am doing right now."

A track that mixed 'Spitfire (Nitebreed Remix)' with 'Wake Up Call' has been played frequently live by The Prodigy, and was released in January 2006 as 'Wake The Fuck Up' on Liam's 'Back To Mine' compilation.

Another new track was played during the 'Their Law' tour, which was printed on a setlist as being called 'Heatwave'. It is thought that it has been renamed 'Heatwave Hurricane', due to Liam listing it as this among his current favourite songs for a recent interview. It has been described as "something like a cross between Hotride (live version) & the Firestarter remix". A short clip can be seen on Youtube, revealing that the song includes a sample of 'I'm Five Years Ahead Of My Time' by The Third Bardo, a song which is also featured on Liam's 'Back To Mine' compilation. The new album is set to be released in summer 2007. 

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