Eugene Riecansky × The Prodigy: Design in motion
Eugene Riecansky is a UK-based artist and mentor whose career spans nearly 30 years. He has worked with some of the biggest names in the biz — from Jim Carrey, Madonna and Massive Attack to MTV & Pixar. And of course, The Prodigy, who actually kick-started it all.
Once described as a “hidden man on the internet”, Eugene has kept a low profile despite an extraordinary body of work. This article dives into his legacy in web design and visual artistry, with a special focus on his long-running collaboration with the one and only Electronic Punks. Big up to our friends at theprodigy.dk for their help in putting this together.
Produced by Rockstar & Eugene Riecansky
Eugene Riecansky: I’d have to choose a client, rather than a project and that has to be The Prodigy. I kick-started my career with them. A pivotal moment. We share a similar attitude, ethos, thinking & punch.
As the Founder and Executive Creative Director of Rockstar (1999-2019), a design company that produced design, FX and animation, sleeve design, and websites, Eugene has become well-known for his innovative and impactful style. His journey began with a specialization in band websites, but he quickly became frustrated with the bandwidth limitations of the early World Wide Web.
Eugene Riecansky: I worked in the music industry since I was 18. I just worked my way through record companies and design houses. I always knew I wanted to have my own studio and figured out how to achieve my goal! It really is about who you know! Make those contacts and make them work for you.
Eugene Riecansky already had a music industry background in working with bands in the music industry before his big break working with The Prodigy. One of his first jobs was designing and developing some of the first visual content and moving imagery capable of being viewed using CD-ROM technology.
It’s quite funny how whole 10 years ago, placing media content on audio CDs already seemed so commonplace and boring, yet now in 2020s, some teenagers haven’t even bought any CDs in their life (feeling old yet?). However, back in the late ’90s and early 2000s, this way of incorporating media in the music industry was a real breakthrough.
All this happened when Eugene was just 19. His out-of-the-box thinking and visual flair quickly earned him and his crew a kind of rock star status — with features in Face magazine, TV shows, and more. Even back then, his client list already included Take That, Nine Inch Nails, and U2. At one point, they even delivered Glastonbury tour visuals from a bus parked near the main stage — just a group of young, wildly talented kids making serious waves in the industry.
Eugene had always aimed to work with moving images for bands, which eventually led him to start building websites. He admits his early ones weren’t great — and jokes he won’t name names, except for one: the Sugababes. Still, Rockstar’s sites were always pretty wild.
Eugene Riecansky: The Sugarbabes one was just over 1MB, and it took so long to download via dial-up that we put a game of Space Invaders at the beginning just so that people had something to do.
Riecansky found inspiration in David Carson’s kind of stuff back then, this glitchy and truly English type of thing. “Certainly at that time a lot of designers in England were doing this Raygun’esque kind of design, like when you photocopy something, then you refax it to yourself, and scan it, and scratch it and whatever”, he recalls. The Prodigy were a perfect fit for this concept, and they were actually the band Eugene really wanted to work with, so he just made it his goal effectively. Eugene’s passion and hard work paid off, and using his web design skills as back-door access to some big artists finally led to an opportunity to work with The Prodigy.
Knowing that the band did not have a website at the time (2000-2001), Riecansky developed a concept for one and reached out to someone who knew the band’s manager to pitch his idea. “Luckily enough, I met someone at a wedding who designed the clothes for Keith Flint and after plying him with a few drinks, he agreed to introduce me to someone who worked for The Prodigy”, smiles Eugene.
Rather than presenting a boring written proposal, he went above and beyond by building a 7ft missile from authentic parts bought from a local military scrap yard. He created a film with his design concept and burned it onto a DVD to put inside the warhead. Eugene laughs: “I don’t suggest doing this – try driving 100 miles with a ‘real’ looking missile strapped to the top of your car”. That’s how The Prodigy’s Maxim returned from the tour to find the missile in his hallway!
Eugene Riecansky: That missile pitch was purely to get in the door and show them what we could do. What was on that DVD in the warhead, I’m not super sure, but I feel like it was the BGAT/virus stuff — but I could be wrong. […] I asked Maxim recently what happened to it. He said he binned it. Cheers!
Eugene Riecansky: I remember getting that first call from Liam after they got back from tour and I’d just delivered the missile. He called me and said, ‘It’s Liam here.’ I panicked and wrote on a bit of paper to my friend sitting next to me… I wrote: ‘It’s Liam!!’ I wasn’t expecting his call, but I’m glad I calmed down — that’s how it all began.
Overall, it turned out to be the real deal, and he went on to work with The Prodigy, creating a website for them and eventually collaborating with them on visuals. That’s when the big break actually came.
— Hi, it’s Liam here.
— Liam who?
— Liam, from The Prodigy.
— Yeah, right, whatever mate…
— No, I actually am.
— No, look, come on, who is it really?..
— Look, you better stop now, cuz you’re gonna make a dickhead of yourself.
— Oh, shit, right, okay. Hi!
Presumably launched in early 2002, The Prodigy’s updated Shockwave website was fully handcrafted by Rockstar, with additional illustrations and fonts provided by Jimmy Turrell — who was also working on the design for ‘Baby’s Got a Temper’ at the time.
In total, the site went through three versions. The first one — likely never meant for public release — surfaced online by accident (you can read more about it in an interview from our friends at theprodigy.dk). The second became the official public version in 2002, followed by a third iteration in 2003.
The website quickly gained legendary status among hardcore fans: not only did it feature striking animation and unique visuals, but it also contained several hidden sections whose mysteries remain unsolved. That said, more than 20 years later, even Eugene himself no longer remembers exactly what those hidden sections were originally intended for.
Eugene Riecansky: It might have just been nothing more than to get fans intrigued. No really intention, just luring you in.
One of these hidden gems was the Locked area — a particularly intricate part of the project that we’ve decided to explore in more detail, just to show how deeply crafted the whole thing really was.
Access to the this section was originally meant to be granted by entering a password. In the background, a fragmented version of Mindfields plays — ten loops taken from different parts of the track, shuffled in a random order. Most likely, the concept was for the user to identify how many loops were used, determine their original sequence from the full track, and reconstruct that order as a numerical password. If entered correctly, this sequence would have unlocked the hidden section.
All Souvenirs managed to piece together that intended order: when entering 7132586904, the loops play in the same sequence as they do in the original version of Mindfields. However, access is still denied — with ‘Wrong’ displayed on screen after the loops play — not because the logic is incorrect, but simply because the section was never actually implemented.
Instead, a placeholder password — 824965371 — was set, with no connection to the loop logic. This was used to block access to a part of the site that, at the time, led nowhere. Upon entering it, users only see a short closing scene suggesting they save the password for later. Had the hidden section been completed, it’s likely the final password would have matched the loop sequence we reconstructed manually.
The website became iconic not only for its design but also because it featured parts of some unreleased demo tracks and a couple of unreleased remixes playing in the background of each section of the site. However, due to slow internet speeds at the time, the demos were very short and compressed into low-quality mp3s, usually 64kbps or even less, for quicker loading.
In our next article, we’ll do a full breakdown of all these beats and pieces from the Rockstar-designed Prodigy websites — many of which fans still dream of hearing in their complete form.
On July 1, 2002, The Prodigy released their single ‘Baby’s Got A Temper’, and Rockstar played a part in the accompanying DVD release. They designed the DVD interface and created a special behind-the-scenes video titled ‘A Day At Work’, featuring a voiceover by British radio and television presenter Richard Skinner. The video’s black-and-white making-of footage is juxtaposed with Skinner’s calm and confident narration, reminiscent of old-fashioned movies from the mid-20th century, adding a touch of distinctly English humour to the production.
Rockstar 2003′ website stated: “In 2002, Rockstar won the pitch to create the new official Prodigy website. Working closely with the band, we have taken their energy and attitude and created a site that is totally different from anything else on the web. We also produced the Baby’s Got A Temper DVD and video re-cut, stage backdrop and most recently, produced animation with Jimmy Turrell (www.safe-place.net) for their 2003 preview at the XL Recordings conference”.
The tune playing in the background is Jolly Music Remix of “Cry Baby” by Spiller.
Unfortunately, most of the footage from this first 2003 trailer was never released in decent quality. Still, it’s worth noting that the collaboration between Jimmy Turrell and Eugene Riecansky later led to the 2005 release of the ‘Their Law’ compilation, which featured the ‘Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned (Demo Mix)’. The video brought Jimmy’s stunning artwork to life through Rockstar’s excellent motion design.
Time went by, and Eugene wanted to move into film, and that’s where The Prodigy made the moment pivotal again. “In 2004, while working on their web design, we got the chance to direct a video for one of Maxim’s solo project – and we grabbed it with both hands!”, that’s what Riecansky remembers.
In 2004, Rockstar launched a redesigned website for the band, which reflected the style of The Prodigy’s new album ‘Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned’. As always, the project looked incredible, and these nice glitchy elements continued to incorporate into the band’s overall visual representation. Just like the previous times, the different sections of the site contained random rare samples and some unreleased stuff.
Artworks by Intro | intro-uk.com
Compiled by Eugene Riecansky & Rockstar
Eugene Riecansky: This one was all inspired by the artwork from Big Active. I remember getting the original layered Photoshop file and being free to re-use anything I wanted from it — it’s one of my favourite styles, and something I still use today. The leather element came from an idea I pitched about having badges on a leather jacket (which I think they later used for a sleeve cover), and also from a personal Rockstar website I made at the time using a peep show theme.
I think this is my favourite site I ever made for them. Internet speeds were improving, I was getting better at coding, and it felt like people were starting to look at web design differently. After this, though, things shifted — labels began treating artist websites more like online stores. This might’ve been the last proper Prodigy website where I was totally free to do whatever I wanted.
Job done by Eugene Riecansky & Rockstar.
In 2005, The Prodigy updated their website to promote the release of the compilation album ‘Their Law’ and the accompanying world tour. Eugene Riecansky and his team created a new design for the website, incorporating elements of the album’s artwork.
Eugene Riecansky: I think the design of that site was something I was really into at the time — heraldry. I would scan in loads of pieces from books and use those. The past–present–future thing was something I’d already been using back then, and I still do — it’s a story device that really works nicely.
The clock was inspired by a website I’d made for Vivienne Westwood a few years earlier, where you could rotate the hands to go back or forward in time and explore different moments in the band’s history. These days, you’d just have a boring NEXT button.
The Prodigy were so impressed with the new visuals that they used some of the design elements in their stage design and merchandise. Even the clock graphic from the website made its way onto Kieron’s drums.
Rockstar website, 23/11/05
The Prodigy have based their new stage set around our designs for their website. We’ll upload some photos soon..
Rockstar website, 19/11/05
Rockstar has designed 2 exclusive Prodigy T-shirts. Our’s are the Drum logo and Horse Shield. Buy these sucka’s here.
Rockstar website, 13/10/05
We’ve just launched the new website for The Prodigy. Check this bad boy.
Interestingly, elements of that aesthetic found their way into The Prodigy’s 2022 tour stage design — a full 17 years down the line.
Around 2005–2006, the Rockstar website featured a distinctive aesthetic — black leather and hot pink — that closely mirrored the visual style of The Prodigy’s site from the same period. While it’s hard to say which came first, Eugene is clear on where the look originated.
Job done by Eugene Riecansky & Rockstar.
Eugene Riecansky: Mine was first, I think. I think the leather and pink was my idea, as I’d already been using it for a while. I’m sure the leather jacket is a scan of my wife’s!
By the way, it was the Rockstar visuals from the ‘Their Law’ website, combined with Robin Mahoney’s video work — particularly the intro to ‘Their Law’ DVD — that inspired our very first All Souvenirs video. That’s where we announced the launch of the project and presented our Heatwave demo. Fun fact: Eugene Riecansky himself appreciated the video!
As far as we know, in November 2007, Rockstar was also working on visuals for The Prodigy’s upcoming album, which at that time did not have a confirmed title. Unfortunately, only one proof referring to this information has survived. The mentioned MySpace page, which was once owned by Rockstar, is not even accessible in the WebArchive.
Rockstar MySpace, November 2007
We’re currently working with The Prodigy developing visuals for their forthcoming album, as well as filming music videos in LA and London.
Presumably, in 2013-2014 Rockstar even developed the tour visuals for the rejected “How To Steal A Jetfighter” album concept!
The next massive project that Eugene did put his hands on was the promo for “No Tourists” back in 2018: “No Tourists” EPK, “Fight Fire With Fire” lyric video and “Light Up The Sky” music video. It’s so great to see that years of friendship and creative collaboration aren’t just fading away, but also giving birth to some great new visuals!
Eugene Riecansky: A real pleasure to work again with The Prodigy… This time it’s an all-CGI music video. Thundering bus, glowing-eyed figures, windmills and a rave storm to beat all storms!
The animation video was created by Maxon Cinema 4D, rendered in Arnold Renderer Cel shader and processed through plenty of Greyscalegorilla plugins and LUTs. Back in the day, the Rockstar team talked at length about the creation of this video in their open talks here and there, but unfortunately, these lectures never made it to the public.
Eugene Riecansky for All Souvenirs: The driving shots from ‘Light Up The Sky’ were inspired by the horror film ‘Duel’. In fact, we cut the film up first and made an edit to the tune, and then used that to recreate the CG action of the bus and the camera angles to match. The whole video took about 20 days to complete. Most of the look is created in the actual edit.
Eugene Riecansky for All Souvenirs: I like to layer dirt and animation in the edit itself, so I can really dial in the cuts and energy. Especially with a song that has so much punch.
Remarkably, Liam Howlett himself had a hand in the making of the video! According to Eugene, The Prodigy mastermind drew the daggers that appear towards the end of the video.
Long story short, Eugene Riecansky has been working closely with The Prodigy for nearly two decades. He has also worked with Maxim on his solo musical and visual projects. For instance, Rockstar produced the music video “Feel Good” for Maxim in 2019, and Eugene himself, being a digital artist, collaborated with Maxim on an NFT project titled “Hope” in 2020, which was created to complement Maxim’s latest mixed media series called “Hope” as well. They are still working together to this very day!
Visuals by Eugene Riecansky