Liam Howlett
| Liam Howlett | |
|---|---|
|
Liam Howlett in Germany, 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Liam Paul Paris Howlett[1] |
| Born |
21 August 1971 Braintree, Essex, England |
| Genres | Big beat, EDM, alternative rock, alternative dance, electropunk, hardcore techno, breakbeat, breakbeat hardcore |
| Instruments | Synthesizers, keyboards, samples, turntables, programming |
| Years active | 1990-present |
| Labels | XL Recordings |
| Associated acts | The Prodigy, Cut 2 Kill |
Liam Paul Paris Howlett (born 21 August 1971) is a songwriter, record producer, co-founder and leader of the British electronic band The Prodigy, and an occasional DJ.
Life and career
Howlett was born in Braintree, Essex, England.
He was trained in classical piano from childhood.[2] At the age of 14, he mixed songs recorded from the radio using the pause button on his cassette player. He was first influenced by hip hop music and culture when he began to attend school at Alec Hunter High School in Braintree. He learned breakdancing alongside his crew called The Pure City Breakers, and DJed in his first band Cut 2 Kill. After a fight at a gig in support of the band, Liam left Cut 2 Kill and started to write his own music.
He became connected to rave music and he reportedly went to his first rave in 1989.
The Prodigy
Howlett and dancer/vocalist Keith Flint formed The Prodigy in the early 1990s.[3]
Other musical projects
In 1998, Howlett was offered the chance to do a mix for Mary Anne Hobbs' radio show. He dug out some of his old favourite tracks again and this prompted him to release an edited (due to some copyright issues) version of the mix in February 1999. It was the first material which was recorded in his new home studio "The Dirtchamber", so accordingly the album was to be called Prodigy present The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One.
In the end of January 2006, a compilation album titled Back to Mine: Liam Prodigy was released. It was a collection of Howlett's favourite tunes, including an exclusive Prodigy track called "Wake the Fuck Up", which was often performed as an intro in The Prodigy's live concerts.
Howlett produced two Dirty Candy songs, "Nail Em" and "Advice" (which The Prodigy fans will recognize as being "Dead Ken Beats", an unreleased song played live several times). These were available on Dirty Candy Myspace account.
Howlett was a co-producer on the track "Immunize" from Australian drum and bass act Pendulum's third album Immersion, which was released in 2010.
In 2012, Howlett co-produced the first single "We Hate Everyone" from K.Flay's EP Eyes Shut.[4] He also produced the song Stop, Focus on the same EP.[5]
Personal life
Howlett has been married to Natalie Appleton of All Saints since 2002.[6] They have one child, a son named Ace, born 2 March 2004,[7][8] and live in Hampstead, London.[9]
Howlett is a fan of horror films.[10] Howlett once owned a McLaren F1 supercar, chassis #23 of the 106 ever manufactured. He later sold it to former F1 team owner Paul Stewart, as he found the McLaren too terrifying to drive.
References
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/artist/34027-Liam-Howlett
- ↑ "Prodigy Interview w/Keith Flint, Liam Howlett". NY Rock. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- ↑ Crittenden, Ryan. "The Prodigy: A brief history". gigwise.com. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ↑ "K. Flay on Money, Education and Why She's Okay With Having No Street Cred". Rolling Stone.
- ↑ "K-Flay Facebook".
- ↑ "All Saints: 'We're more confident now'". The Observer. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ↑ "All Saints Put Children Before Touring". Female First. 23 April 2016.
- ↑ "NATALIE DELIVERS AN ACE". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2004-06-12. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ↑ "All together now". The Sunday Times. 13 April 2014.
- ↑ Claustrophobic Prodigy Page > Liam Howlett > Profile. Brainkiller.it (21 August 1971). Retrieved on 16 April 2012.