Melody Maker

Dirtchamber Interview

• 1st January 1999

LIAM HOWLETT 
ALBUM TITLE: ’Dirt Chamber Sessions Part 1’ 
TRACK TITLES: The Charlatans’ ’How High’, Primal Scream’s ’Kowalski’, PE’s ’Public Enemy Number One’ mixed straight into ’Blow Your Head’ by the JB’s, Run DMC’s ’Peter Piper’. 

Liam: ”Making this album was so fucking cool for me because after Mary Anne Hobbs asked me to do the original Breezeblock session [the album began as a radio set and has been radically reworked due to clearance problems] I went to my record collection and just listened to about 300 tracks. That’s something I haven’t done for years, just listened to music for the sheer pleasure of it. Stuff like Steinski and those cool mix albums like ’Big Apple Vol 1’. I found the whole thing really inspirational. It really got me thinking about different beats again and reminded me of why I loved the whole old-skool thing in the first place. 

I suppose the main reason I did the mix was as an answer to all the old-skool revival shit that’s been going down. To me it was just shit, all of these house DJs suddenly saying they were into hip hop. Most of those DJs aren’t fit to tie phat laces let alone wear ’em, you know I mean? 

When I first came to the dance scene I’d already been a hip hop DJ. I’d come first and third in a competition on the radio at the age of 15, so I could do all of the cutting and scratching and that dope shit. When I first heard dance DJs, I was like, ’This is a joke, any fucker can beat mix’, and most of these dudes weren’t even doing that properly. It takes skill to scratch mix, I felt really over-qualified next to the dance DJs. 

This session is just me on the decks. I did record some of it onto eight-track because I really wanted to get tons of tracks in like they did with old skool. I’d say 95 per cent is just two turntables, which makes it different to most mix albums whch are just done in the studio with no real skill. No disrespect to some of those guys, but it’s just not real. My mix is real. I know some people will diss me on the dance scene and still say I can’t actually mix. All I say to that is, ’Send the fuckers round!’ 

I’m keeping the artwork pretty low-key for the album. It’s not supposed to be a full-scale Prodigy album and I don’t want people to think it is. It’s also not a stop-gap album or a contractual obligation. It’s more to do with my love for this music and style. The artwork is basic – a picture of petrol pump dials on the front and a shot of me in the studio on the back. 

Since we played Reading, I’ve hardly seen Keeti or Leeroy. I only see them at parties like that MTV thing in Milan. Keeti’s girlfriend is about to have a baby so he’s not out that much just now. I see Keith about three times a week but I’m not sure what he’s up to... [sound of motorbike in the background]. Actually that’s Keith going past my window on his trials bike. He’s always riding around his field on it.

This whole mix album has really got me fired up to record new material. I’m not saying anything about a new album yet. I’m just kicking a few beats around. The first thing I want to do is record the ultimate ’90s punk anthem – just to capture that spirit and energy – but on an electronic tip. I still don’t think I’ve achieved that. One thing I won’t be working on is that ’Ghost Town’ cover we played at Reading. It might be used on a film soundtrack, but that’s it. 

I suppose I’ll be spending Christmas and New Year with my mates partying. We’re usually gigging over the New Year so it’ll be a different one this year. It’s going to be pretty chilled. Will I be playing Tomb Raider 3? Shit, I haven’t had a chance to play number two yet. I’ll never get any new stuff recorded!”

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• Dirtchamber sessions
• Liam Howlett