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Prodigal Sons

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Contents

[edit] Project Members

  • Greg Hobgood (1991 - present, keyboards, programming, sampling, knob twisting)
  • J.R. Barbee (1991 - present, M.C., preacher)
  • Chris White (1991 - 1995, D.J., samples, scratching)

[edit] Project History

[edit] The beginning (1991-1993)

Friends and dance music mavens Greg Hobgood, Chris White and J.R. Barbee formed techno/rave outfit Prodigal Sons in 1991 in Fort Worth, Texas.

The trio became one of the first outfits to record techno music for the Christian market when their song The Kraken was included on the Voice of the People compilation in 1992. Although the track had substandard production and consisted primarily of simple, repetitive synth lines, it gave the Prodigal Sons enough exposure to sign with Metro One Records.

They also collaborated with Christian dance music guru Scott Blackwell on XYZ, a hardcore rave number included on the artist's Once Upon A Time album.

[edit] Texno & Return (1993-1994)

The band released its first full-length album, Texno Theology in the spring of 1993. Production was superior to The Kraken and the music much fuller and more developed. Most of the tracks featured a hardcore rave sound similar to early Moby, comprised of swirling synths and pulsating, staccatto beats. Texno Theology also used numerous samples and spoken-word lines to preach a bold, Christian message. This technique was also used on other early Christian techno/rave releases by Jyradelix, Syko and Zero. One track, simply titled ?, featured vocals and guitar riffs by guest J. Hanz Ives, who also played a key role on many early N*Soul Records releases.

The trio quickly followed up Texno Theology with their sophomore album, fittingly titled Return. Released mere months after its predecessor, Return featured an even harder sound with fewer samples. Although less overtly spiritual than Texno Theology, the band still proclaimed its faith through samples of an interview on Ravival and Middle Eastern vocals on Cross the Jordan.

The band also demonstrated their commitment to spreading the Gospel to the rave culture on their Ravival video. The video featured interviews with the band, footage from a Prodigal Sons concert and videos of Pastiche and Firebrand.

[edit] The N*Soul Years (1995-?)

White left the band in 1995 and Hobgood and Barbee switched to N*Soul Records, where they continued the Prodigal Sons as a duo.

The band released its third album, Fast and A...Live in 1996. The album was actually a double CD, the first disc comprised of new material, while the second was a live recording from one of the band's shows. Contrary to its name, the first disc, simply titled Fast, was a bit of a departure from the earlier techno/rave style and was mainly comprised of downtempo ambient and chillout sounds. The band later said that the change in style reflected their anguish over the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. One track, Prosperity Tweakers, returned to hard techno territory and used samples to make a biting satire of the so-called "prosperity Gospel" movement.

The second disc also demonstrated how the band ministers at its shows and features Barbee preaching over most tracks.

Hobgood and Barbee returned to hard techno music on their next album, Reignite. One track, Republic, experiments with midtempo drum n' bass sounds, while Prosperity Tweakers (Home School Rejects Mix) creatively fuses samples from the Fast and A...Live track onto a remix of Out of Body by Euro-trance outfit Oracle.

Hobgood subsequently recorded a solo track featured on N*Soul Records' Eclectica 4: New Reality Trance compilation. Another project, Vapor, was announced, but apparently never materialized.

[edit] Current Status

Active, but quiet.


[edit] Discography


Compilation Appearances:

[edit] External Links

[edit] Related Projects

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