Here is an interview with our main man Leeroy Thornhill. The interview is fantastic, great read.
Original story here: http://theadvisorcambodia.com/2014/01/smack-mix/
Among the tallest DJs on the planet, this rubber-limbed phenomenon graduated from a bottle of Mr Sheen and a piece of lino to become the most fleet-footed member of the world’s self-styled ‘scariest dance group’, The Prodigy. Ten years later, Leeroy Thornhill – all two metres of him – famously quit the band that had earned him millions for leaping around and pulling faces on stage, moved out of his Victorian windmill in the British countryside and returned from whence he came: behind the decks. Now en route to Code Red for his third appearance in Phnom Penh, Leeroy took a moment between mixes to talk Windy Miller, getting his groove on and whether life in The Prodigy was really as bat-shit crazy as we like to think.
You’ve said James Brown is your idol – and the inspiration behind your famous dance moves, which in turn influenced the Melbourne Shuffle. I’ve watched every ‘How To Dance Like Leeroy Thornhill’ tutorial on YouTube and have to keep calling friends to come untangle me. How the Hell do you do it?
When I was younger going out clubbing or house parties meant funk, and James Brown was the man. I was always into music that involved dancing. It still makes me laugh when people talk about the Melbourne Shuffle, etc. It’s a great compliment but having two arms and legs there are only certain things you can do with them. I think because I’m tall it made it look different, but I wasn’t doing anything that hasn’t been done before. I just used to get my groove on and took the moves I used in funk music and put them to the Prodigy sound.
You’ve been DJing for A Very Long Time Indeed. Take us back to when you were a teenager spinning early hip hop and electro, in your own words: “mixing before they actually mixed”.
I’ve been DJing 28 years now. I started when I was at school with a mate: he had some decks and we used to play house parties and the odd club, but it was mainly with rare groove and early hip hop, so beat mixing wasn’t really involved. It was about trying to just drop the tune in and out as smoothly as possible with a bit of scratching, spin backs, turning off the turntable to let the track slow down. I think that’s one thing a lot of new DJs miss: dynamics, letting a cool tune start from the beginning, instead of a two-hour mix that doesn’t stop or change tempo. It’s all about preference, but that’s what I like to do: take a set up and down.
And your sister was a punk! How much do we owe her for the epic electro-punk savagery that was The Prodigy’s signature sound?
Yeah my sister was into punk, but it didn’t influence the band. We all had cool musical backgrounds in regard to styles and we just evolved from pure dance music into dance music with other influences, ie: reggae, hip hop, rock. Again, it goes back to dynamics.
What are your best and brightest memories of your time with The Prodigy?
The whole Prodigy journey was amazing. We were four mates who just wanted to play at the rave parties we used to go to as punters. There were so many highlights, but I still buzz when I think about our gig in Red Square, Moscow, or the surprise gig we did with Oasis at Knebworth in the UK, and the first time we played at Glastonbury. Also getting to play gigs and meet your musical heroes, like David Bowie, U2. Amazing!
Is Keith as crazy as he looks, on a scale of one to completely bat-shit mental?
Keith is as cool as. When you’re on stage you have a licence to perform how you want and the adrenaline is the best drug in the world; you can release it in any way you want and that was always Keith’s way. Maxim as well. When they hit that stage it all comes out.
You’ve been variously described as the ‘hardcore Hellraiser’ and the ‘most normal guy’ in the history of The Prodigy’s line-up. Which is it? And if it’s the former, what’s the most hardcore Hell you ever raised? Just how crazy was life offstage?
I wouldn’t call myself a Hellraiser. We are all normal guys, really. Like I said, when the adrenaline’s flowing you just go with it. I was the most boring: being nearly two metres tall I’ve always stood out, so I never really had it in me to be extrovert. Because we all had different personalities it made the whole thing work. It’s like life: if everyone was the same it would be boring. Off stage, we are all pretty chilled.
This is perhaps my most favourite of all the things you’ve said on record to date: “If people honestly think that ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ is gonna make people go and beat up women, then we’ll just do a song saying ‘Deposit All Your Money In This PO Box Number’.” [Laughs]
It makes me laugh when people think that song lyrics make people do what you want. If it was that easy, you could ask for what you want. The bible says: ‘Thou shall not kill.’ That don’t work, either.
Since going solo as a DJ, you’ve remixed some impressive names: David Gray and Moby, both representing sounds most folk wouldn’t associate with what you’d done before.
I love all sorts of music and it was an honour to do those tracks, although now when I listen I know they could have been better. But my music will never be Prodigy music because that’s in Liam’s blood and he’s a genius.
How does it feel to have your own work remixed by one of the Great Masters himself: Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, no less?
Lee scratch Perry is a legend and to have him remix for me was an honour. Yeah, I loved what he done: it’s out there, like the man himself. Also Mad Professor and working with Finley Quaye: all amazing artists.
You’ve said dance music in the UK has become ‘too commercial’ and that you prefer the energy of the crowds in places such as Asia and Russia.
There are still amazing parties and crowds in the UK, but the music business has changed because of the X Factor and shit like that. It’s so controlled: the main radio shows play the same shit over and over again. Unless you’re in a cool underground club, it’s like the dance music scene didn’t exist. I played there last year. I played two tracks and somebody came to request Elton John. I have no problem with him – he’s amazing – but some of the younger people have no idea what cool dance scenes came before. When I was young we were always looking back in time for cool music and fashion. I prefer playing outside of the UK. Asia can be hard, but I think it’s getting better every year.
The scene here is changing fast. What keeps you coming back?
It’s great: the people seem open minded about dance music and you can just get on with playing your sound, knowing the guy before or after is gonna be accepted in the same way even if they play a different style. Dance music is about all the styles, not just one sound.
Being locked in a studio with legendary US rapper Kurtis Blow last year must have been… why don’t you tell us?
We didn’t get in the studio with Kurtis, I just kept in contact over the phone discussing the tracks. The same with Melly Mel. These guys were part of my life growing up and to have vocals from them was awesome: they are old school and deliver old-school styles. You know what you’re going to get and it’s about making it work with our new sound.
This year you’ll be releasing the first Smash Hi-Fi album, preceded by the single Ready For This. What can our ears expect?
It’s all very electronic based, but there are some cool vocal tracks, different tempos and flavours. It can be a bit boring to have an album of 10 DJ tracks; it’s meant to be cool to listen to as well. But we are DJs, so the DJ tracks are banging. We want to write music that people will listen to in the future and not sound too dated.
Your signature sound, Miami Bass, is – and I quote – ‘a mix of tuff electrobreaks, old skool samples, hip hop, rock and electro’. Who – and/or what – inspires you?
I think I’ve moved on from Miami Bass now. I did used to buy all my tunes in Miami, but that’s changed and the dance music has changed. There are so many different styles and tempos. That’s great because I like to play more than one style and tempo.
What was it like living in a windmill? Do you remember Windy Miller in Camberwick Green, when we were kids?
Yeah, man! My email address is Windy Miller. He was cool…
iPod: the last thing you listened to?
I have an original iPod that’s full of old music. A mate put his whole record collection on there before he sold the records. I swear every time I play it I hear music I’ve never heard before, but the last thing I played was Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here.
What do you do for downtime?
If I’m not spinning or in the studio, I like a good movie or watching football – that’s my thing, or good food and wine.
And finally, fantasy DJs: if you could play alongside anyone, who would it be?
I would love to see Liam DJ again. He’s awesome but doesn’t do it any more. The last time we spun together was in the early ’90s.