Dirtchamber ②⑤ • Complete story!
The legendary Dirtchamber Sessions is a quarter of a century old: on 22 February 1999, the first officially released DJ mix by Liam Howlett hit UK shop shelves. In this article, we’ll look at how it differed from its predecessor, the Breezeblock radio mix that had been played on BBC Radio 1 six months earlier. Our team will tell the intricate story of its release on the label and reveal rare details about the design of the release, as told by the inimitable Alex Jenkins, former designer at XL Recordings.
The worn, rust-coloured cover bears the nail-scrawled inscription ‘Prodigy Present’, followed by the mixtape’s title in the same style – in the very late 1990s, the mere mention of the word ‘Prodigy’ on the cover of any music compilation could guarantee that it would sell out in record time.
After the release of 1997’s The Fat Of The Land, The Prodigy had a huge amount of credibility and it seemed that the band members could now take a break from almost six years of touring and finally do something they had been putting off for a long time. And it seems to have worked for the guys! Maxim began his own solo work and started preparing a full-length debut album, Leeroy too started to think about an independent career as an artist, Keith happily devoted himself to motorbike racing, and Liam, after the Reading Festival in August 1998, was finally able to take a break from endless tour and work on his own DJ mix, which he had been thinking about since the beginning of the year.
On 12 October 1998, as a guest of the incomparable Mary Ann Hobbs on her Breezeblock show on BBC Radio 1, Howlett unveiled the result of his work. In a 60-minute mixtape, Liam compiled his favourite tracks and demonstrated his amazing DJing skills, stitching together over fifty different tunes ranging from old-school hip-hop, funk and bigbeat to punk, rock and dub.
Check out the definitive story behind Liam Howlett’s Breezeblock Mix: theprodi.gy/breezeblock/
The mix quickly began to circulate on bootleg tapes, passed from hand to hand, and became increasingly popular with The Prodigy fans and music lovers in general as well. Some say that the radio broadcast was even sold on tape in underground pirate shops! It’s no wonder that rumours of an official commercial release began to circulate almost immediately after the radio show.
Recognising the potential benefits, no record label would want to miss out on the opportunity to drop out another release from the world’s most popular electronic band. Incidentally, according to Leeroy’s interview for Gordy, The Prodigy’s new album was supposed to be finished by the winter of 1999, according to their contract with the record company, but due to a lack of finished tunes, the release was continually postponed. In the absence of material from the band, a mix release was a good alternative for XL Recordings.
There was just one problem: before the official release could take place, permission had to be obtained from all the artists whose tracks Liam had used in his Breezeblock mix. The number of these artists was approaching one hundred.
Just over a month after the Radio 1 show, news of the official release of the mix began to circulate in the media. As late as 12 November, in an interview following the Europe Music Awards, Howlett made no mention of the forthcoming release, but by 19 November it was clear that work was well underway to clear the rights to the mixtape. While being interviewed by MTV, Chris Sharp, The Prodigy’s representative and XL Recordings spokesman, spoke at length about what they had to deal with while sorting out all the legal issues. As a result, the release date has been pushed back several times.
‘Dirt Chamber’ hand-written by Alex Jenkins.
‘Liam/label asked me to make it if I remember correctly’, he says.
It’s also worth mentioning that the title of the mix became widely known that same November: The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume 1. What does it mean?
Curious fans will remember that the CD-R with the handwritten inscription ‘Dirt Chamber’ appeared in Jónas Åkerlund‘s music video for Smack My Bitch Up – the person comes out of the shower and turns on the CD-R in the music centre. The official premiere of the video took place on 7th December 1997, but according to our insiders the shooting took place on 17th September. However, the name had been in Howlett’s mind since the summer, coinciding with the release of The Fat Of The Land! Legally, The Prodigy’s new music studio called Dirt Chamber was registered by Liam in July 1997, the successor to the Earthbound, Howlett’s very first studio. So the title ‘The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume 1’ can be decoded as simply ‘The Sessions from The Prodigy Dirt Chamber Studio (Part 1)’.
MTV.com (19 November 1998): The album’s release currently is being held up by what Sharp said was the laborious process of rights clearance involving the hundreds of samples that will make up most of the album. “We’re going through the process of getting the rights tracked down,” Sharp said. “And, in the case of some of these break-beat records, they’re always of slightly uncertain provenance. You try to find where they got the break in the first place, and it could be [from] some ’60s easy-listening album, so you have to track down that person first”.
Speaking to Mary Ann Hobbs, Howlett expanded on Chris Sharp’s point about the sample sources and gave an example: Nobody Beats The Biz by Biz Markie had to be removed from the mixtape because it used a sample of Fly Like An Eagle by Steve Miller. From the premiere of the Breezeblock show to the official release, Liam had to edit the mixtape about 10 times! We previously wrote in the Breezeblock feature that three of these ten versions can be found online.
Mary Ann Hobbs:: When you put a mix together purely for radio, you have carte blanche, you can get away with blue murder, basically. But if you decide to turn it into a commercial release, then you run into all kinds of barricades. I mean, as regards kind of clearing the tracks and stuff. How many times have you actually had to re-edit this mix, Liam?.
Liam Howlett:: I had to re-edit this mix probably ten times. The original mix that was played on on Radio One had the Beatles, Hendrix, even some of the hip hop tracks that were in there kind of got turned down because I guess in the 80s they didn’t clear samples and stuff. And so you’re up against Backstreet Record Label in New York to sort of take on board the risk of getting sued by one of these big artists. Like, I don’t know, one example was Biz Markie, “Nobody beats the Biz” and he uses a Steve Miller, you know, “Fly Like An Eagle”, that track, it used a break from that and it’s still a lawsuit or something going on with that track. And it’s like already sort of more than ten years old or whatever. So we had to take that out, which was a shame because I really like that track.
For the most part, however, the copyright holders responded enthusiastically to Howlett’s mix. John Lydon (Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols), the KLF guys and apparently most of the original artists in the mix really liked his work. Incidentally, the Sex Pistols song New York was agreed with Rotten in the very last days of December!
Liam for Select: John (Lydon) turned it down initially and I couldn’t understand why, so I faxed him saying, “John, give us a bell, it’s Liam from the Prodigy – I want to use your record on a mix. ” He phoned me up the day before New Year’s Eve and said yeah. He said he was in a bad mood the day he turned it down
Liam for Martin James: The initial reaction from KLF was that they didn’t want me to use it. That came from Bill Drummond, which I thought was a bit strange considering I’m sure that KLF once said they were into what I do. I thought I’ve got to speak to Bill direct so I can hear direct from him “no, I think you’re shit and I don’t want to be on it”. I wouldn’t have a problem with it if he’d still said no but I don’t want some cunt in an office to tell me no. When I spoke to him, he was so cool you know. He was going “I think mix albums are shit”. And I was telling him how I feel the same, but for me it’s about trying to make something different. I’m taking such small amounts of the song that you have to listen to the mix as a whole. It’s not like a club mix thing. Once I explained what the tracks were he just said “those were records that first inspired me”. So he was cool with it.
In December the news of the forthcoming mix started to get a bit louder. On the 5th of December 1998 a small announcement was published in Kerrang! magazine and by the beginning of 1999 the news about Dirtchamber was spreading all over the media from the BBC to MTV. Kicki Berg, presenter of MTV’s News Block, reported in January that the release date had been moved from early February to the middle of the month – the same point was echoed by MTV’s official website. On 20th January it was announced that The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) was the reason for the release date being moved from 1st February to 15th February.
After Liam wrote a letter to Sir Paul McCartney requesting the use of The Beatles’ track, Paul went beyond a formal response and contacted Howlett directly to share his impressions. He was very pleased with the result, but even his goodwill could not solve all the problems. The rights to the song were held by Apple Records, who eventually banned its use. Things were sometimes just as difficult with other artists.
Liam for MTV.com: The legal side [of the first mix album] was such a headfuck. I’d wait for an answer for two weeks, and it’d get a ‘No’, and I’d have to go back into the studio again and repair that bit. And then another record would be a ‘No’. It has a domino effect where one record might knock out three”.
However, a week later, on 28th January 1999, all issues were apparently resolved and MTV even posted a relatively complete tracklist of the final mix.
By the way, we have done our own research and compiled the most complete list of tracks and samples used in all three editions of the mix! It’s the most accurate compilation we’ve ever seen on the web, so check it out!
DIRTCHAMBER TRACKLISTS COMPARISON
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THE BREEZEBLOCK RADIOSHOW | 12.10.1998
[00:00 – 03:45] – Dynamix II — Give The DJ A Break (Dub Mix)
[03:20 – 04:09] – The Beatles — Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
[03:53 – 04:53] – Hardnoise — Untitled (Instrumental)
[04:09 – 04:09] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [T La Rock & Jazzy Jay — It’s Yours] [sample]
[04:44 – 05:17] – The Chemical Brothers — Chemical Beats
[04:53 – 04:53] – Double Dee & Steinski — The Payoff Mix [Malcolm McLaren — Jive My Baby] [sample]
[05:01 – 05:10] – Ultramagnetic MC’s — Kool Keith Housing Things
[05:18 – 05:50] – Lightnin’ Rod — Sport
[05:50 – 06:05] – La Pregunta — Shangri La
[06:06 – 07:14] – Ultramagnetic MC’s — Give The Drummer Some
[07:15 – 08:10] – Time Zone — Wildstyle (Special New Mix) (Instrumental)
[08:09 – 09:51] – Time Zone — Wildstyle (Special New Mix)
[09:51 – 09:52] – Time Zone — Wildstyle (Special New Mix) (Instrumental) [sample]
[09:53 – 10:02] – Bomb The Bass — Bug Powder Dust (The Chemical Brothers Remix) [sample]
[09:55 – 13:32] – Bomb The Bass — Bug Powder Dust
[13:30 – 14:09] – Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five — Pump Me Up (Instrumental)
[13:51 – 13:51] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [sample]
[13:51 – 14:55] – The Charlatans — How High
[14:10 – 14:28] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side B) [sample]
[14:27 – 14:37] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side A) [sample]
[14:37 – 14:51] – Schoolly-D – P.S.K. What Does It Mean? [sample]
[14:53 – 14:58] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]
[14:56 – 15:25] – Jimi Hendrix — Little Miss Lover
[14:58 – 15:48] – Ramsey Lewis — Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) [sample]
[15:27 – 16:11] – Ghostface Killah — Daytona 500
[15:40 – 16:49] – TheProdi.gy — Poison
[15:53 – 15:53] – The B-Boys — Rock The House [sample]
[16:31 – 16:58] – Ramsey Lewis — Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) [sample]
[16:49 – 16:49] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [sample]
[16:49 – 16:49] – All Souvenirs – Are Here
[16:53 – 16:58] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [AC/DC — Flick Of The Switch] [sample]
[16:58 – 17:25] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]
[17:04 – 20:21] – Babe Ruth — The Mexican
[20:01 – 20:23] – The B-Boys — Rock The House
[20:24 – 20:28] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [T La Rock — Back To Burn] [sample]
[20:27 – 21:03] – The Chemical Brothers — (The Best Part Of) Breaking Up
[20:30 – 20:56] – Davy DMX — One For The Treble (Fresh) (Bonus Beats) [sample]
[20:47 – 20:48] – Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force — Renegades Of Funk [sample]
[20:58 – 22:26] – Word Of Mouth & DJ Cheese — King Kut
[21:03 – 21:07] – Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band — Apache [sample]
[22:06 – 22:44] – Gaz — Sing Sing
[22:42 – 22:58] – Dynamic Corvettes — Funky Music Is The Thing (Part 2) [sample]
[22:59 – 22:59] – Uncle Louie — I Like Funky Music [sample]
[23:00 – 23:29] – Run-DMC — Peter Piper [track!]
[23:01 – 23:19] – Rueben Wilson — Got To Get Your Own
[23:21 – 24:55] – DJ Mink — Hey! Hey! Can U Relate (Hard Instrumental)
[24:31 – 27:17] – The KLF — What Time Is Love
[26:00 – 27:16] – Frankie Bones — Funky Acid Makossa (The Apachies Acid Beats) [sample]
[27:16 – 28:07] – Frankie Bones — Shafted Off
[27:51 – 30:31] – Frankie Bones — And The Break Goes Again (Italia Mix)
[28:07 – 28:35] – Frankie Bones — Janet’s Revenge
[29:20 – 32:05] – Meat Beat Manifesto — Radio Babylon
[31:05 – 31:21] – Public Enemy – The Rhythm, The Rebel (Acapella)
[32:03 – 32:10] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [Marley Marl featuring MC Shan — Marley Marl Scratch] [sample]
[32:10 – 32:10] – The Magic Disco Machine — Scratchin’ [sample]
[32:10 – 32:23] – Kool & The Gang — Music Is The Message [sample]
[32:24 – 32:26] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [Marley Marl featuring MC Shan — Marley Marl Scratch] [sample]
[32:26 – 32:28] – Herbie Hancock — Rockit [sample]
[32:28 – 32:30] – TheProdi.gy — Smack My Bitch Up [sample]
[32:30 – 32:32] – Public Enemy — Public Enemy No. 1 [sample]
[32:32 – 32:34] – Beastie Boys — The New Style [sample]
[32:34 – 32:36] – The 45 King — The 900 Number [sample]
[32:37 – 32:38] – TheProdi.gy — Molotov Bitch [sample]
[32:39 – 33:31] – Beastie Boys — The New Style
[32:43 – 34:19] – Propellerheads — Spybreak!
[34:19 – 34:21] – Word Of Mouth & DJ Cheese — King Kut (Latin Rascals Instrumental) [sample]
[34:21 – 34:37] – DJ Swamp — Swamp Breaks — C1 Untitled [sample]
[34:33 – 34:49] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]
[34:38 – 37:40] – Sex Pistols — New York
[37:32 – 37:51] – Fatboy Slim — Punk To Funk [sample]
[37:36 – 37:53] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]
[37:54 – 40:14] – Medicine — I’m Sick
[40:15 – 40:15] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [The KLF — Last Train To Trancentral (Live From The Lost Continent)] [sample]
[40:25 – 40:43] – D.St. — The Home Of Hip Hop
[40:43 – 42:26] – Biz Markie featuring T.J. Swan — Nobody Beats The Biz [track!]
[41:37 – 41:39] – D.St. — The Home Of Hip Hop [sample]
[42:17 – 42:36] – Beastie Boys — Time To Get Ill
[42:36 – 42:51] – Barry White — I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby [sample]
[42:36 – 42:52] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [sample]
[42:50 – 43:11] – Public Enemy — Public Enemy No. 1
[42:55 – 43:14] – Tommy Roe — L.L. Bonus Beats #2 [sample]
[43:12 – 43:13] – All The People featuring Robert Moore — Cramp Your Style [sample]
[43:14 – 44:15] – Fred Wesley & The JB’s — Blow Your Head
[43:24 – 43:23] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [Dimples D. — Sucker D.J.’s (I Will Survive) (Suckapella)] [sample]
[43:24 – 43:28] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [Malcolm McLaren — Buffalo Gals] [sample]
[43:38 – 43:56] – Public Enemy — Public Enemy No. 1
[43:57 – 45:08] – T La Rock — Breaking Bells (Dub)
[44:27 – 44:28] – D.St. — The Home Of Hip Hop [sample]
[44:29 – 44:43] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [Divine Sounds – Do Or Die Bed Sty] [sample]
[45:09 – 46:07] – T La Rock — Breaking Bells (Club)
[45:51 – 46:42] – LL Cool J — Get Down
[46:07 – 46:34] – Fausto Papetti — Love’s Theme [sample]
[46:43 – 46:45] – Digital Underground — The Humpty Dance [sample]
[46:44 – 47:17] – Uptown — Dope On Plastic (Dubstrumental)
[46:56 – 47:17] – Digital Underground — The Humpty Dance [sample]
[47:17 – 48:11] – Faust – Canyon Hill
[47:17 – 48:11] – Uptown — Dope On Plastic
[48:11 – 48:29] – Uptown — Dope On Plastic (Dubstrumental)
[48:19 – 50:02] – Coldcut — Beats + Pieces (Mo’ Bass Remix)
[49:55 – 51:09] – London Funk Allstars — Sure Shot
[51:01 – 52:11] – West Street Mob — Break Dance-Electric Boogie
[52:11 – 52:11] – T La Rock — Breakdown [sample]
[52:11 – 52:16] – Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band — Apache [sample]
[52:14 – 52:15] – Bram Tchaikovsky — Whiskey And Wine [sample]
[52:16 – 52:27] – Hijack — Doomsday Of Rap (Instrumental)
[52:18 – 52:19] – Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band — Apache [sample]
[52:27 – 52:27] – Word Of Mouth & DJ Cheese — King Kut [sample]
[52:28 – 53:00] – Hijack — Doomsday Of Rap
[52:31 – 52:33] – Public Enemy — Countdown To Armageddon [sample]
[52:32 – 52:35] – James Brown — The Payback Mix (Keep On Doing What You’re Doing But Make It Funky) [sample]
[53:00 – 53:15] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [Kurtis Blow — Do The Do] [sample]
[53:00 – 54:34] – Renegade Soundwave — Ozone Breakdown
[54:21 – 54:34] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 2) [sample]
[54:33 – 54:33] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 1) [sample]
[54:34 – 54:36] – Bram Tchaikovsky — Whiskey And Wine [sample]
[54:36 – 55:16] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 1)
[55:16 – 55:27] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 2)
[55:28 – 55:32] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 1) [sample]
[55:32 – 58:24] – The Jimmy Castor Bunch — It’s Just Begun -
BREEZEBLOCK (2ND EDIT MIX) | DIRTCHAMBER (PROMO CD)
[00:00 – 00:23] – ‘D.I.R.T.C.H.A.M.B.E.R.’ Intro / INTRO BEATS
[00:24 – 00:56] – Billy Squier — The Big Beat [sample] / INTRO BEATS
[00:24 – 00:52] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [sample] / INTRO BEATS
[00:31 – 00:55] – Run-DMC — Here We Go (Live At The Funhouse) [sample] / INTRO BEATS
[00:56 – 00:57] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side A) [Vaughan Mason And Crew — Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll I] [sample] / INTRO BEATS
[00:56 – 01:52] – Dynamix II — Give The DJ A Break (Dub Mix)
[01:19 – 02:09] – The Beatles — Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
[01:53 – 02:54] – Hardnoise — Untitled (Instrumental)
[02:09 – 02:09] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [T La Rock & Jazzy Jay — It’s Yours] [sample]
[02:45 – 03:19] – The Chemical Brothers — Chemical Beats
[02:53 – 02:54] – Double Dee & Steinski — The Payoff Mix [Malcolm McLaren — Jive My Baby] [sample]
[02:54 – 02:55] – Syl Johnson — Different Strokes [sample]
[03:01 – 03:11] – Ultramagnetic MC’s — Kool Keith Housing Things
[03:19 – 03:51] – Lightnin’ Rod — Sport
[03:52 – 04:07] – La Pregunta — Shangri La
[04:07 – 05:17] – Ultramagnetic MC’s — Give The Drummer Some
[05:17 – 06:13] – Time Zone — Wildstyle (Special New Mix) (Instrumental)
[06:12 – 07:55] – Time Zone — Wildstyle (Special New Mix)
[07:56 – 07:57] – Time Zone — Wildstyle (Special New Mix) (Instrumental) [sample]
[07:58 – 08:08] – Bomb The Bass — Bug Powder Dust (The Chemical Brothers Remix) [sample]
[08:00 – 09:33] – Bomb The Bass — Bug Powder Dust
[09:31 – 10:11] – Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five — Pump Me Up (Instrumental)
[09:52 – 09:52] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [sample]
[09:52 – 11:14] – The Charlatans — How High
[10:11 – 10:29] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side B) [sample]
[10:29 – 10:39] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side A) [sample]
[10:29 – 10:39] – All Souvenirs – Are Here
[10:39 – 10:54] – Schoolly-D – P.S.K. What Does It Mean? [sample]
[10:55 – 11:00] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]
[11:01 – 11:14] – Run-DMC — Sucker MC’s (Krush-Groove 1) [sample]
[11:15 – 11:38] – Ramsey Lewis — Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) [sample]
[11:15 – 12:01] – Ghostface Killah — Daytona 500
[11:29 – 12:39] – TheProdi.gy — Poison
[11:42 – 11:43] – The B-Boys — Rock The House [sample]
[12:21 – 12:48] – Ramsey Lewis — Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) [sample]
[12:40 – 12:40] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [sample]
[12:44 – 12:48] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [AC/DC — Flick Of The Switch] [sample]
[12:48 – 13:16] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]
[12:55 – 16:16] – Babe Ruth — The Mexican
[15:55 – 16:18] – The B-Boys — Rock The House
[16:18 – 16:23] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [T La Rock — Back To Burn] [sample]
[16:21 – 16:58] – The Chemical Brothers — (The Best Part Of) Breaking Up
[16:25 – 16:51] – Davy DMX — One For The Treble (Fresh) (Bonus Beats) [sample]
[16:25 – 16:51] – All Souvenirs – Are Here
[16:41 – 16:43] – Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force — Renegades Of Funk [sample]
[16:53 – 18:23] – Word Of Mouth & DJ Cheese — King Kut
[16:58 – 17:03] – Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band — Apache [sample]
[18:11 – 18:41] – Gaz — Sing Sing
[18:39 – 18:55] – Dynamic Corvettes — Funky Music Is The Thing (Part 2) [sample]
[18:56 – 18:57] – Uncle Louie — I Like Funky Music [sample]
[18:57 – 19:27] – Run-DMC — Peter Piper [track!]
[18:58 – 19:16] – Rueben Wilson — Got To Get Your Own
[19:19 – 20:55] – DJ Mink — Hey! Hey! Can U Relate (Hard Instrumental)
[20:30 – 22:05] – The KLF — What Time Is Love
[20:55 – 21:24] – Mix Master Mike — Ill Shit [loop]
[21:24 – 22:03] – Frankie Bones — Funky Acid Makossa (The Apachies Acid Beats) [sample]
[22:04 – 22:38] – Frankie Bones — Shafted Off
[22:39 – 23:34] – Frankie Bones — And The Break Goes Again (Italia Mix)
[22:49 – 25:22] – Meat Beat Manifesto — Radio Babylon
[24:10 – 24:26] – Public Enemy – The Rhythm, The Rebel (Acapella)
[25:09 – 25:24] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [Marley Marl featuring MC Shan — Marley Marl Scratch] [sample]
[25:25 – 25:25] – The Magic Disco Machine — Scratchin’ [sample]
[25:25 – 25:39] – Kool & The Gang — Music Is The Message [sample]
[25:39 – 25:41] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [Marley Marl featuring MC Shan — Marley Marl Scratch] [sample]
[25:41 – 25:43] – Herbie Hancock — Rockit [sample]
[25:43 – 25:45] – TheProdi.gy — Smack My Bitch Up [sample]
[25:45 – 25:47] – Public Enemy — Public Enemy No. 1 [sample]
[25:48 – 25:50] – Beastie Boys — The New Style [sample]
[25:50 – 25:51] – The 45 King — The 900 Number [sample]
[25:52 – 25:54] – TheProdi.gy— Molotov Bitch [sample]
[25:54 – 26:47] – Beastie Boys — The New Style
[25:58 – 27:34] – Propellerheads — Spybreak!
[27:34 – 27:36] – Word Of Mouth & DJ Cheese — King Kut (Latin Rascals Instrumental) [sample]
[27:36 – 27:53] – DJ Swamp — Swamp Breaks — C1 Untitled [sample]
[27:48 – 28:04] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]
[27:53 – 30:55] – Sex Pistols — New York
[30:47 – 31:06] – Fatboy Slim — Punk To Funk [sample]
[30:51 – 31:08] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]
[31:09 – 32:33] – Medicine — I’m Sick
[32:34 – 32:34] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [The KLF — Last Train To Trancentral (Live From The Lost Continent)] [sample]
[32:44 – 33:01] – D.St. — The Home Of Hip Hop
[33:01 – 33:02] – Biz Markie featuring T.J. Swan — Nobody Beats The Biz [sample]
[33:01 – 34:49] – J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E. — text Island
[33:30 – 35:05] – Primal Scream — Kowalski
[34:49 – 35:08] – Beastie Boys — Time To Get Ill
[35:08 – 35:23] – Barry White — I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby [sample]
[35:08 – 35:24] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [sample]
[35:22 – 35:43] – Public Enemy — Public Enemy No. 1
[35:27 – 35:46] – Tommy Roe — L.L. Bonus Beats #2 [sample]
[35:44 – 35:45] – All The People featuring Robert Moore — Cramp Your Style [sample]
[35:46 – 36:47] – Fred Wesley & The JB’s — Blow Your Head
[35:52 – 35:55] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [Dimples D. — Sucker D.J.’s (I Will Survive) (Suckapella)] [sample]
[35:52 – 35:55] – Faust – Canyon Hill
[35:56 – 36:00] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [Malcolm McLaren — Buffalo Gals] [sample]
[36:10 – 36:28] – Public Enemy — Public Enemy No. 1
[36:29 – 37:41] – T La Rock — Breaking Bells (Dub)
[36:59 – 37:00] – D.St. — The Home Of Hip Hop [sample]
[37:00 – 37:15] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [Divine Sounds – Do Or Die Bed Sty] [sample]
[37:41 – 38:38] – T La Rock — Breaking Bells (Club)
[38:23 – 39:14] – LL Cool J — Get Down
[38:39 – 39:04] – Fausto Papetti — Love’s Theme [sample]
[39:14 – 39:16] – Digital Underground — The Humpty Dance [sample]
[39:16 – 39:48] – Uptown — Dope On Plastic (Dubstrumental)
[39:28 – 39:48] – Digital Underground — The Humpty Dance [sample]
[39:48 – 40:42] – Uptown — Dope On Plastic
[40:43 – 41:01] – Uptown — Dope On Plastic (Dubstrumental)
[40:50 – 42:34] – Coldcut — Beats + Pieces (Mo’ Bass Remix)
[42:27 – 43:40] – London Funk Allstars — Sure Shot
[43:33 – 44:42] – West Street Mob — Break Dance-Electric Boogie
[44:42 – 44:42] – T La Rock — Breakdown [sample]
[44:43 – 44:47] – Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band — Apache [sample]
[44:45 – 44:47] – Bram Tchaikovsky — Whiskey And Wine [sample]
[44:47 – 44:59] – Hijack — Doomsday Of Rap (Instrumental)
[44:49 – 44:51] – Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band — Apache [sample]
[44:58 – 44:59] – Word Of Mouth & DJ Cheese — King Kut [sample]
[45:00 – 45:32] – Hijack — Doomsday Of Rap
[45:03 – 45:05] – Public Enemy — Countdown To Armageddon [sample]
[45:04 – 45:07] – James Brown — The Payback Mix (Keep On Doing What You’re Doing But Make It Funky) [sample]
[45:32 – 45:47] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [Kurtis Blow — Do The Do] [sample]
[45:32 – 47:07] – Renegade Soundwave — Ozone Breakdown
[46:55 – 47:08] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 2) [sample]
[47:06 – 47:06] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 1) [sample]
[47:08 – 47:09] – Bram Tchaikovsky — Whiskey And Wine [sample]
[47:10 – 47:50] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 1)
[47:50 – 48:01] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 2)
[48:02 – 48:06] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 1) [sample]
[48:06 – 51:00] – The Jimmy Castor Bunch — It’s Just Begun -
THE DIRTCHAMBER SESSION VOL.1
Section 1 [7:18] [0:00 – 0:33] – Billy Squier — The Big Beat [sample] / INTRO BEATS
[0:00 – 0:29] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [sample] / INTRO BEATS
[0:09 – 0:32] – Run-DMC — Here We Go (Live At The Funhouse) [sample] / INTRO BEATS
[0:33 – 0:34] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side A) [Vaughan Mason And Crew — Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll I] [sample] / INTRO BEATS
[0:34 – 1:29] – Rasmus — Punk Shock [track]
[1:22 – 2:14] – Hardnoise — Untitled (Instrumental) [track]
[1:29 – 1:30] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [Sugarhill Gang — 8th Wonder] [sample]
[2:05 – 2:38] – The Chemical Brothers — Chemical Beats [track]
[2:13 – 2:14] – Double Dee & Steinski — The Payoff Mix [Malcolm McLaren — Jive My Baby] [sample]
[2:14 – 2:14] – Syl Johnson — Different Strokes [sample]
[2:22 – 2:31] – Ultramagnetic MC’s — Kool Keith Housing Things [track]
[2:39 – 3:11] – Lightnin’ Rod — Sport [track]
[3:12 – 3:27] – La Pregunta — Shangri La [track]
[3:28 – 4:37] – Ultramagnetic MC’s — Give The Drummer Some [track]
[4:38 – 5:33] – Time Zone — Wildstyle (Special New Mix) (Instrumental) [track]
[5:32 – 7:16] – Time Zone — Wildstyle (Special New Mix) [track]
[7:16 – 7:18] – Time Zone — Wildstyle (Special New Mix) (Instrumental) [sample]Section 2 [6:45] [0:00 – 0:10] – Bomb The Bass — Bug Powder Dust (The Chemical Brothers Remix) [sample]
[0:02 – 1:35] – Bomb The Bass — Bug Powder Dust [track]
[1:33 – 2:13] – Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five — Pump Me Up (Instrumental) [track]
[1:54 – 1:54] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [sample]
[1:54 – 3:16] – The Charlatans — How High [track]
[2:13 – 2:29] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side B) [sample]
[2:31 – 2:41] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side A) [sample]
[2:41 – 2:55] – Schoolly-D – P.S.K. What Does It Mean? [sample]
[2:57 – 3:02] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]
[3:03 – 3:16] – Run-DMC — Sucker MC’s (Krush-Groove 1) [sample]
[3:13 – 3:16] – Unknown fx sample [sample]
[3:16 – 3:17] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [The Treacherous Three — Feel The Heartbeat] [sample]
[3:16 – 3:54] – TheProdi.gy — Poison (95EQ) [track]
[3:35 – 4:02] – Ramsey Lewis — Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) [sample]
[3:54 – 3:55] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [sample]
[3:58 – 4:01] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [AC/DC — Flick Of The Switch] [sample]
[4:01 – 4:52] – Jane’s Addiction — Been Caught Stealing [track]
[4:52 – 4:52] – Unknown stab sample [sample]
[4:52 – 5:52] – Jane’s Addiction — Been Caught Stealing [sample]
[5:00 – 5:01] – Unknown scratch sample [sample]
[5:01 – 5:33] – UPP – Give It To You [sample]
[5:01 – 5:52] – Tim Dog featuring KRS-1 — I Get Wrecked (Instrumental) [sample]
[5:17 – 5:20] – Tim Dog featuring KRS-1 — I Get Wrecked [sample]
[5:34 – 5:34] – Unknown stab sample [sample]
[5:35 – 6:10] – Unknown fx sample [sample]
[5:43 – 6:45] – Tim Dog featuring KRS-1 — I Get Wrecked [track]
[6:11 – 6:11] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [sample]
[6:41 – 6:45] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]Section 3 [6:04] [0:00 – 0:22] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]
[0:01 – 3:22] – Babe Ruth — The Mexican [track]
[3:01 – 3:24] – The B-Boys — Rock The House [track]
[3:24 – 3:28] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [T La Rock — Back To Burn] [sample]
[3:26 – 4:04] – The Chemical Brothers — (The Best Part Of) Breaking Up [track]
[3:30 – 3:57] – Davy DMX — One For The Treble (Fresh) (Bonus Beats) [sample]
[3:47 – 3:49] – Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force — Renegades Of Funk [sample]
[3:47 – 3:49] – All Souvenirs – Are Here
[3:59 – 5:28] – Word Of Mouth & DJ Cheese — King Kut [track]
[4:04 – 4:08] – Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band — Apache [sample]
[5:12 – 5:46] – Gaz — Sing Sing [track]
[5:45 – 6:01] – Dynamic Corvettes — Funky Music Is The Thing (Part 2) [sample]
[6:02 – 6:03] – Uncle Louie — I Like Funky Music [sample]
[6:03 – 6:04] – Run-DMC — Peter Piper [sample]Section 4 [7:52] [0:00 – 1:27] – DJ Mink — Hey! Hey! Can U Relate (Hard Instrumental) [track]
[1:02 – 2:38] – The KLF — What Time Is Love [track]
[1:28 – 1:56] – Mix Master Mike — Ill Shit [loop]
[1:51 – 1:56] – Unknown fx sample [sample]
[1:57 – 2:38] – Frankie Bones — Funky Acid Makossa (The Apachies Acid Beats) [sample]
[2:36 – 3:11] – Frankie Bones — Shafted Off [track]
[3:12 – 4:07] – Frankie Bones — And The Break Goes Again (Italia Mix) [track]
[3:22 – 5:38] – Meat Beat Manifesto — Radio Babylon [track]
[5:25 – 5:40] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [Marley Marl featuring MC Shan — Marley Marl Scratch] [sample]
[5:41 – 5:41] – The Magic Disco Machine — Scratchin’ [sample]
[5:41 – 5:55] – Kool & The Gang — Music Is The Message [sample]
[5:55 – 5:57] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [Marley Marl featuring MC Shan — Marley Marl Scratch] [sample]
[5:57 – 5:59] – Herbie Hancock — Rockit [sample]
[5:59 – 6:01] – TheProdi.gy — Smack My Bitch Up [sample]
[6:01 – 6:03] – Public Enemy — Public Enemy No. 1 [sample]
[6:04 – 6:06] – Beastie Boys — The New Style [sample]
[6:06 – 6:07] – The 45 King — The 900 Number [sample]
[6:08 – 6:09] – TheProdi.gy — Molotov Bitch [sample]
[6:10 – 6:14] – Beastie Boys — The New Style [sample]
[6:14 – 7:50] – Propellerheads — Spybreak! [track]
[6:27 – 7:03] – Beastie Boys — The New Style [track]
[7:50 – 7:52] – Word Of Mouth & DJ Cheese — King Kut (Latin Rascals Instrumental) [sample]Section 5 [4:58] [0:00 – 0:16] – DJ Swamp — Swamp Breaks — C1 Untitled [sample]
[0:12 – 0:28] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]
[0:16 – 3:19] – Sex Pistols — New York [track]
[3:11 – 3:30] – Fatboy Slim — Punk To Funk [sample]
[3:15 – 3:32] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [sample]
[3:32 – 4:58] – Medicine — I’m Sick [track]
[4:51 – 4:58] – Unknown sample [sample]Section 6 [5:49] [0:00 – 0:00] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [The KLF — Last Train To Trancentral (Live From The Lost Continent)] [sample]
[0:00 – 0:10] – Unknown [sample]
[0:10 – 0:27] – D.St. — The Home Of Hip Hop [track]
[0:28 – 0:28] – Biz Markie featuring T.J. Swan — Nobody Beats The Biz [sample]
[0:28 – 2:15] – J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E. — text Island [track]
[0:56 – 2:31] – Primal Scream — Kowalski [track]
[2:13 – 2:34] – Beastie Boys — Time To Get Ill [track]
[2:34 – 2:49] – Barry White — I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby [sample]
[2:34 – 2:50] – Psychedelic Skratch Bastards — Battle Breaks (Side A) [sample] [scratched]
[2:48 – 3:09] – Public Enemy — Public Enemy No. 1 [track]
[2:53 – 3:12] – Tommy Roe — L.L. Bonus Beats #2 [sample]
[3:10 – 3:12] – All The People featuring Robert Moore — Cramp Your Style [sample]
[3:12 – 4:13] – Fred Wesley & The JB’s — Blow Your Head [track]
[3:20 – 3:21] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [Dimples D. — Sucker D.J.’s (I Will Survive) (Suckapella)] [sample]
[3:22 – 3:26] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [Malcolm McLaren — Buffalo Gals] [sample] [scratched]
[3:37 – 3:54] – Public Enemy — Public Enemy No. 1 [track]
[3:55 – 5:06] – T La Rock — Breaking Bells (Dub) [track]
[4:25 – 4:26] – D.St. — The Home Of Hip Hop [sample]
[4:27 – 4:42] – DJ Q-Bert — Toasted Marshmallow Breaks (Side B) [Divine Sounds – Do Or Die Bed Sty] [sample]
[5:07 – 5:49] – T La Rock — Breaking Bells (Club) [track]Section 7 [4:00] [0:00 – 0:16] – T La Rock — Breaking Bells (Club) [track]
[0:00 – 0:51] – LL Cool J — Get Down [track]
[0:12 – 0:14] – Unknown fx sample [sample]
[0:16 – 0:41] – Fausto Papetti — Love’s Theme [sample]
[0:52 – 0:54] – Digital Underground — The Humpty Dance [sample]
[0:53 – 2:38] – Uptown — Dope On Plastic (Dubstrumental) [track]
[1:05 – 1:26] – Digital Underground — The Humpty Dance [sample]
[1:26 – 2:20] – Uptown — Dope On Plastic [track]
[2:20 – 2:38] – Uptown — Dope On Plastic (Dubstrumental) [track]
[2:28 – 4:00] – Coldcut — Beats + Pieces (Mo’ Bass Remix) [track]Section 8 [8:41] [0:00 – 0:12] – Coldcut — Beats + Pieces (Mo’ Bass Remix) [track]
[0:04 – 1:18] – London Funk Allstars — Sure Shot [track]
[1:10 – 2:20] – West Street Mob — Break Dance-Electric Boogie [track]
[2:20 – 2:20] – T La Rock — Breakdown [sample]
[2:20 – 2:25] – Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band — Apache [sample]
[2:20 – 2:28] – Faust – Canyon Hill
[2:23 – 2:24] – Bram Tchaikovsky — Whiskey And Wine [sample]
[2:25 – 2:36] – Hijack — Doomsday Of Rap (Instrumental) [track]
[2:27 – 2:28] – Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band — Apache [sample]
[2:36 – 2:36] – Word Of Mouth & DJ Cheese — King Kut [sample]
[2:36 – 3:10] – Hijack — Doomsday Of Rap [track]
[2:40 – 2:42] – Public Enemy — Countdown To Armageddon [sample]
[2:41 – 2:45] – James Brown — The Payback Mix (Keep On Doing What You’re Doing But Make It Funky) [sample]
[3:09 – 3:24] – Mix Master Mike — Unidentifried Funk Octopus Presents Eardrum Medicine (Side B) [Kurtis Blow — Do The Do] [sample]
[3:10 – 4:45] – Renegade Soundwave — Ozone Breakdown [track]
[4:32 – 4:45] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 2) [sample]
[4:43 – 4:43] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 1) [sample]
[4:45 – 4:47] – Bram Tchaikovsky — Whiskey And Wine [sample]
[4:47 – 5:27] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 1) [track]
[5:28 – 5:39] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 2) [track]
[5:40 – 5:43] – The Beginning Of The End — Funky Nassau (Part 1) [sample]
[5:44 – 8:37] – The Jimmy Castor Bunch — It’s Just Begun [track]
• Exclusive for ‘Breezeblock’ radio broadcast only
• Exclusive for ‘Breezeblock’ radio broadcast & ‘2nd Edit’ (Promo CD)
• Exclusive for ‘2nd Edit’ (Promo CD) only
• Exclusive for ‘2nd Edit’ (Promo CD) & ‘The Dirtchamber Session’ final official release
• Exclusive for ‘The Dirtchamber Session’ final official release only
Funnily enough, as time goes on, you find more and more cheeky shout-outs in the mix that might not have been so obvious the first time you heard Breezeblock live. With a grin on his face, within the first few minutes Howlett turns on UMCs’ Give The Drummer Some, a sample of The Prodigy’s hit that had the British Parliament so worried, and loops the original Smack My Bitch Up line several times in a row, totally breaking up the beats. Half an hour later, a sample of Howlett’s original ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ appears, mixed closely with The New Style by the Beastie Boys – another dig at the American trio themselves. A few months before the Radio 1 broadcast, Mike D of the Beasties tried to persuade The Prodigy not to play ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ at the Reading Festival in August 1998. Here’s Howlett laughing out loud: “Fuck off, I’ll play whatever I want”. Indeed, such cheeky stuff is very much in the old-school spirit of The Prodigy. Howlett himself mentioned this in an interview with Select on 1 March 1999, more than a month after the release of Dirtchamber.
Select: And how about The Beastie Boys?
Liam H.: Well, on the album, there’s some cheeky messages to people, by the use of certain lyrics and certain bands.
Select: So that would make sampling “The girlies I like are under age” (from ‘Time To Get Ill’ by The Beastie Boys) a riposte to remarks about ‘Smack My Bitch Up’?
Liam H.: Could be. (pauses) Why not?
A month before that, Select also ran a great feature on the (then) forthcoming mix, with Howlett giving his impressions of the work and talking about the process. Apparently the interview took place at the very end of December, as Liam mentions his plans for the coming New Year – and the editors probably just didn’t have time to put the material together for the January issue. Amusingly, the estimated release date for Dirtchamber is 1 February – the same day as Select itself hits the shelves.
This Select article also reveals that the artwork for the mixtape was completed by the end of December 1998.
Liam Howlett (December 1998): “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 to people to think that it is. It’s also not a stop-gap album or a cantractual 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”.
The album’s grungy, shabby design deserves special mention. It was created by Alex Lloyd Jenkins, who worked as art director at XL Recordings from 1995 to 2000. He is the creator of The Prodigy’s most iconic covers: the artworks for The Fat Of The Land era and, of course, the legendary lozenge Keedy logo of that time.
But this time it was really different: only a black ant in a white circle was reminiscent of the band’s previous style, and the general mood of the art was noticeably darker. All in all, for Alex himself, this cover is his favourite work for The Prodigy – and the least time-consuming.
We collected all the available quotes from Alex Jenkins and put them together into a single story. Sources included Jenkins’ personal and public Instagram accounts (subscribe to make sure you don’t miss anything!), an old interview on AltPick, Alex’s blog on his official website, and the comments we saved from his now-defunct Tumblr called designdforlife.
Alex Jenkins: Since this is a mix album, I was trying to come up with ideas that had something to do with pumping music. I did a driving holiday around the west coast of Ireland back in 1998 in our wrecked Ford Fiesta and took hundreds of photographs of the old rusting petrol pumps that are littered along the coastal roads and towns. I thought the images would be fantastic for this cover. This was pre-Instagram and I still have all my old imagery mostly on slide, some on negative. I have a bank with over 2000 images of old signage taken from vintage trains, planes, trucks, cars, walls, floors, doors, etc. I hope to get them eventually published in a book. I also did the ‘IN USE’ image on the inside of the packaging but that came from an old rusty sign near Pentyrch.
Several of Alex’s shots worked well for the Dirtchamber cover and sleeve, while some of these photos were used in XL Recordings promotional stuff.
Alex Jenkins: There are a lot of gritty, ‘old school-style’ tracks on the album and I wanted the artwork to reflect that. Although the image is quite decayed, it’s also quite beautiful and I really like that contrast. I find that some objects become more beautiful when they rust and decay.
The numbers symbolized the countdown to the millennium back then. I thought it would be cool to use the circled 1 in the cover, and then design all the next instalments of Dirtchamber in a similar way. The concept actually was to use a series of petrol pumps on subsequent DJ mixes, but ‘Volume 2’ never got released, which is probably a good thing as I didn’t have a shot of a petrol pump with a number 2 on it!
Alex Jenkins: Initially the pictures used on the cover were black and white. I scanned them into Photoshop, added the duotone colouring and then did the layout with Quark.
Alex Jenkins: The original images were shot on 35mm film with a Pentax K1000. I took a 35mm camera and a Polaroid with me wherever I went! I’ve still got this camera in my studio which I bought from Jessops in Bath for £105 whilst doing my Graphics degree.
Alex Jenkins: As for the typeface on both the cover and the inside, I got that idea from a graffiti wall. It was all black and covered with names that had been scratched in with either a nail or a knife. The scratches revealed the white plaster underneath. This style of typography worked perfectly with the photographs.
I hand-drew each letter or word in pencil and photocopied it, then added the scratches by drawing over the letters in Photoshop. I used a really old photo copier for the typography and tried even to convince the record company to keep it as it gave a wonderful effect! I did have the type all in one line but Liam asked to move the Dirtchamber text into another line.
At the same time as creating the raw typography for Dirtchamber, Alex used exactly the same technique to design the XL Recordings Christmas party invitation, which took place on 22 December 1998.
This one and the typography for the album were done on the same days! Of course, as the tracklisting changed, Alex made minor changes to the final layout, but all the major work was completed in the twenties of December 1998.
Alex Jenkins: Basically all I was doing at the time was shooting thousands of textures and snippets, like millions of Instagram users do now. All in all, I was pretty chuffed with the final packaging and posters using the cover image and a version just using the typography on black background. It was the easiest The Prodigy cover in terms of changes from Liam that I did, all the others were a healthy battle!
And the photos of Liam’s studio on the back cover and the inside sleeve were taken by the great British photographer Steve Gullick – we dug up the story behind these images in the Breezeblock article.
The Dirtchamber Sessions was finally released in the UK on 22 February 1999 and proved very popular with music lovers: according to the Guardian, it sold at least 50,000 copies in the UK in a month and a half.
Select: Why turn your radio session for Mary Anne Hobbs into an album?
Liam H.: Cos it’s fucking good. […] It won’t sell many copies but it’s important that the fans have something that’s full of stuff that’s in my head when I’m writing.
In the States and Canada, the release date has been announced as 6th April – the promo posters have also been edited for this date.
Since the release of The Dirtchamber, fans have waited a quarter of a century for a new volume of the mixtape. Interestingly, Liam himself has been raising hopes for Volume 2 with enviable consistency – the first mentions of a sequel appeared in the media as early as April 1999. On 29 April, MTV published an article with the bold headline “The Prodigy leader Liam Howlett says he wants to create a sequel to his recently released”. Since then, Liam has been asked about the fate of Dirtchamber regularly, and every year he promises to start work soon – and in the next interview the question and answer goes exactly the same.
The last time a journalist was interested in the subject was in 2019, just a month before Keith Flint’s tragic death. In an interview with Australia’s X-Press magazine in January, Maxim, sitting next to Howlett, joked in response to a question about The Dirtchamber Sessions sequel that ‘probably in another 10 years he’ll do Volume 2’.
Speaking to Decoded Magazine Australia a few days after that, Liam was much more confident. It seemed that the process has moved on and that we will definitely get a long awaited gift this very year…
Decoded Magazine (31 January 2019): ‘Yeah it’s coming. It’s a priority for 2019, I just need some downtime. I’ve written a tracklist on my computer. There are so many tracks I have in mind for the second one’, [Liam says].
I ask him if he could share even just one track from his Dirtchamber vol 2 shortlist. There is a pregnant pause, while he thinks about it.
‘No I can’t do that,’ he says, with a smile in his voice. Damn. I thought I’d twisted his arm.
But if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. On 4 March 2019, Keith Flint suddenly passed away, putting all the band’s plans into question. Liam, Maxim and the whole huge team behind them made the decision to continue studio and concert activities only after a couple of years. And until now, no one has dared to ask Liam the question that many people have been asking themselves.
There is some good news though!
Earlier this year, on 26th January 2024, the UK’s Jaguar Skills unexpectedly released a great cut-up mixtape called The Sword Fight – Liam Howlett himself took part in the work on it, and with his approval (as well as his approving intro/outro words) the record was streamed live on BBC Radio 6, just like 25 years ago. Immediately after the broadcast we covered this work in detail, and just a month later the official BBC website alone had several million listens, and when you add in all the third party pours from the fans, the result is staggering.
Our All Souvenirs team is not lagging behind either: once again, let us remind you that we are working on our own mixtape, which will consist mainly of unreleased tracks that we have re-created from scratch.
We hope that coming full circle after a quarter of a century will inspire Liam to new heights! And now it’s time to listen to the same Dirtchamber again. It’s just begun!
Headmaster: SPLIT
Additional thanks to: Sixshot, Alex Jenkins
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