The Prodigy x Bobby Nio: Collab Story
After drawing inspiration from collaborating with guest artists on The Prodigy’s ‘Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned’, Liam Howlett continued his search for fresh talent in the years following its release. During this period, he crossed paths with Bobby Nio. Together, they recorded several tracks — enough to fill at least an EP — but none of them ever saw the light of day. All Souvenirs recently spoke with Bobby himself, and today we’ll dive into the story of this previously unknown collaboration with Master H.
Rumour has it that the mixed success of ‘Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned’ prompted Liam to consider producing for side artists while simultaneously working on material for the next Prodigy album — a move similar to what big-name artists/producers like, for example, Dr Dre have done. One of the artists who caught his attention during this creative phase was Bobby Nio, a promising young musician with a talent for seamlessly blending genres.
By that time, Bobby had already worked with renowned figures in the music industry, including Sugababes, Kraak & Smaak, and Mark Brydon of Moloko. At just 18, Nio was signed to the UK label Echo, home to acts like Feeder and Moloko. His releases during this period, such as ‘Music Ain’t Dead,’ ‘Rago,’ and ‘I Do Me,’ achieved notable success, topping the BBC 1Xtra charts. Bobby also collaborated with grime heavyweights like Skepta and Jammer, solidifying his street credibility in the UK scene.
Bobby also collaborated with All Saints, who were being produced at the time by Karl ‘K-Gee’ Gordon, a close friend of Liam Howlett. As many know, All Saints vocalist Natalie Appleton is Liam’s wife, making it likely that this tightly connected circle is how Bobby and Liam first crossed paths.
Liam’s interest in Bobby was sparked by his solo work, particularly tracks like ‘Rago’ and ‘I Do Me’ from Nio’s album ‘Sumadis’. He was impressed by Bobby’s unique ability to blend punk, rap, hip-hop, R&B, reggae, dancehall, and electronic elements into a cohesive sound.
Liam’s main idea was to create a unique project that could match the energy and sound quality of the American band Spank Rock. “He said to me, ‘I know you’re not just some R&B singer,’” Bobby recalls of Liam’s initial impression. Together with Karl ‘K-Gee’ Gordon, the trio began crafting songs for a potential side band, tentatively named Voodoo.
As Liam worked on the new record, rumours began circulating in the press, including whispers about an upcoming side project. Even from the few fragmented quotes that surfaced, it was clear Liam was genuinely passionate about creating something intriguing and unique outside of his main band. By October 2005, during a conversation with Neko, who was closely connected to the band at the time, Liam confidently claimed that no one would ever discover his new project, as he planned to release it anonymously.
Neko: “Another one by JJapart from the Earthbound releases, did you ever release any others as white labels?”
LH: “That is for me to know. The answer is yes, but I’m not going to tell no one about that. They are not big tracks, but there is one other white label out there that people will know, but wont know its me”
In fact, Liam had already attempted something similar around that time, producing a track for All Saints under the pseudonym Nicky Santoro. By the spring of 2006, however, he was no longer keeping these plans a secret, as they began to take on a more concrete shape.
Daniel Robert Epstein: “What are you doing today, press?”
Liam Howlett: I’m in the studio”
DRE: What are you working on?”
LH: New album, side projects, different shit”
DRE: A solo album?”
LH: Not a solo album. Production on another vocalist”
DRE: Can you say who?”
LH: It’s top secret”
Bobby, Liam, and Karl were working on stuff around 2006 at Liam’s studio in Portobello, London — the one owned by Trevor Horn. During their time in the studio, the guys created around seven tracks, including Tantrum, Hot, Show Me, Xcuze Me, and Prick. Bobby recalls rhyming over Liam’s beats, with Liam showing particular enthusiasm for ‘Xcuze Me’, and it’s quite possible that it’s that once-mentioned ska track from Liam.
Neko: “Are you still going down the more melodic route that you were talking about earlier?”
LH: “Hmm, maybe. […] I mean, it’s quite different. Some of it sounds quite 60s inspired, garagey you know. It’s cool, really cool. But in other tracks, I’ve done like a Ska track that is really fucking great.”
You can check out this tune in the hidden section of our website!
Reflecting on another track, ‘Hot’, Bobby remembers that Liam was equally impressed: “After I wrote the song ‘Hot’, I heard that he said the band couldn’t have written anything like that over the track.”
Bobby Nio for All Souvenirs: “I just found it refreshing to write to Liam’s beats because, as a writer, I was getting a lot of cheesy, wannabe beats. Liam, in turn, was definitely capturing that edgy punk-rap vibe I was trying to hone in on in some of my music — a very specific cultural experience you need to have to create that kind of sound.”
Apparently, Liam was enthusiastic about the project and the overall concept, even considering recording more tracks. However, at some point, things didn’t go as planned. The first signs of trouble came in the form of minor creative differences, which occasionally surfaced. While Liam leaned towards a more rap-focused direction, Bobby explored melodic songwriting. The track ‘Hurt Like Me’ featured live Moog synth performances from Liam but was ultimately deemed “too singy” for the project’s vision.
On top of that, these sessions attracted significant interest from major labels, including EMI and Island Records, even before the project had a confirmed name.
Bobby Nio for All Souvenirs: “We were doing lots of meetings with publishers and record labels, and I was being hounded by record labels making promises. It was a bit of a whirlwind, and I was quite young, without management. My meetings with EMI and Island Records might not have aligned with what Liam envisioned for the project. I didn’t even know how they found out I was working with Liam, but I think people got excited when they heard the music.”
The final straw in the discord came when an acquaintance of Bobby’s, who was helping with promotion, uploaded some demos online. As it later turned out, some of these were unreleased instrumentals by The Prodigy. While this leak went largely unnoticed by fans in the late 2000s — most only discovering it through our recent article about ‘Dead Ken Beats’ — it certainly caught Liam’s attention.
Bobby Nio for All Souvenirs: “The guy who leaked the songs on my website wasn’t my manager but someone who was helping promote my music at the time. It might have looked like I had uploaded it, but it was actually this guy, who had access to the files. I was annoyed that he uploaded the ‘Show Me’ instrumental as background music on my website. I didn’t realise he had used that track, along with other instrumentals I had written to. I felt he meddled in our process a bit, and it definitely pissed Liam off as well, especially with it being labelled as an unreleased Prodigy track.”
Liam eventually shifted his focus to the upcoming release of ‘Invaders Must Die’, and the British equivalent of Spank Rock was never destined to happen…
Despite the setback, Bobby retained numerous demos and instrumentals from those sessions. Some tracks remain unfinished, while others, like ‘Show Me’ and ‘Hot,’ eventually leaked online in 2019, years after their creation. Reflecting on it all, Bobby noted, “It’s a shame the music didn’t get released, I felt we ignited something exciting.” One of Bobby’s most recent projects is the album C U NEXT TUESDAY IN THE MATRIX, released in 2020. It’s available on Spotify, iTunes, and other music platforms.
Headmaster: SIXSHOT, SPLIT
Additional thanks to: Bobby Nio
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