Praga Khan has been around the block. Hailing from Belgium, and having 20 years under his belt, he’s played an instrumental (no pun intended) role in pioneering the electronic genre that came into brief mainstream prominence in the early-to-mid 1990s. If you like The Prodigy, KMFDM, and bands in that vein, know that Praga Khan and his band Lords of Acid did it first – and they did it dirtier!

Jim: It is not often Lords Of Acid tours the states.

Praga: It has been a while. The last tour was 2002. Time flies. The thing is that sometimes, you got to do what you got to do. I wanted to do these theatre tours- it was something that I had to get out of my system, but the time is right now.

Jim: Are you working on a new album as Lords Of Acid?

Praga: Yes- at this very moment. Sometimes when you work on album, the best inspiration comes from the road when you are on tour. It will help make it glow.

Jim: What can we expect from Sextreme Ball tour?

Praga: Music wise, it will be a ‘best of.’ The best Lords Of Acid songs. Plus, we compiled all the best footage from our live shows.

Jim: Who will be on vocals?

Praga: This American girl- Lacey from Rock Of Love. When we wanted to do this tour, we needed a vocalist. We went through a few vocalists, and Lacey knew the songs. It is always an experiment. We wanted to use an American girl. We asked our management in America, and they suggested Lacey, and said that she would be perfect. I am excited to be on stage with that girl. From what I’ve heard, she sounds wild!

Jim: Did you see her on the Rock Of Love?

Praga: We don’t get that program in Europe.

Jim: It’s American kitsch. Everyone loves it.

Praga: We cannot see it in Europe. I have seen her pictures and I know what she sounds like. It will be a mystery to what she will be like on stage, but life is full of challenges and I am excited.

Jim: Are you going to mix elements from the theatre show into the Lords Of Acid show?

Praga: With Lords Of Acid, we always mix in some theatre. It’s extreme beats, and theatre goes well with it. There is one girl- she is very well-known performer in Europe, Inga, and she is coming with me to spice up the experience. She is the bomb.

Jim: You’re very prolific, and have had a great career, from the Mortal Kombat Soundtrack, to rave music, and hard techno. How do you keep it fresh after 25 years?

Praga: My nature is to listen to different kinds of music, and I am open to everything. I just bored easily and dance music is always changing. Dance music is very challenging. The instruments and programs are always changing, and you have to keep up. You have to be open-minded. It keeps me sharp. It keeps me going. I really like rock and I really like dance music. It just comes together.

Jim: What kind of gear is in your studio?

Praga: There are so many vintage things we are working with. It is a museum. ARP 2006, old Moog, all the stuff people know. It’s strange, I am always open to what is out, and when people come to the studio, they expect to see the new equipment. The old machines are hard to program, and the sound always changes, so you don’t ever get the same thing twice.

Jim: So it’s like live music in a way?

Praga: Yes! The old things are hard to control, and go out of tune. The sound always changes. It’s hard to record because it is changing. It keeps going, and I have respect for the past. To think people used to use these machines and made beautiful sounds.

Jim: The Mortal Kombat soundtrack was one of the first albums I bought. I was 10 when I got it. Then, I heard “The Crab Louse,” I knew I had to run out and get the Voodoo-U album, and when I got the album it was dirty and shocking (which I loved!) I love how you can balance the radio friendly songs and dirty, sex club music. How do you find that balance?

Praga: I don’t know. I listen to a lot of music. You get inspired by other kinds of music. When people say that they don’t, they are liars, because when you listen to the radio, or are out shopping, you hear the music and get inspired. It is always in the back of my brain. When I work on an album, I don’t listen to other albums. I lock myself in the studio for months and create music. When I start an album, I know I will be shut off from the world and I work 24/7. Everything outside of the studio- I don’t know. There could be a bomb outside, I wouldn’t know. That is the only way I can make an album. Sometimes you experiment, things I made in the middle of the night. I listen to it and I may know where to put it. Farstucker is a good example of this.

Jim: Farstucker was an interesting album- it had a heavier rock sound.

Praga: Our guitar player was working with me in the studio- I would play a line on the keyboard, and I would have the guitar player play the same sound. To have the guitar and synth together makes a heavy sound.

Jim: You pioneered many techniques that others have used, but you did it first, and you don’t get the credit. A good example being The Prodigy being hailed as geniuses for using guitar on The Fat Of The Land, even though Lords of Acid did the same thing years earlier. How do you feel about that?

Praga: That’s why we are pioneers. That’s problem when you make an album ahead of it’s time, commercially no one hears it, and when that sound becomes popular, whoever is making that sound gets the credit. Like Lady Gaga, who has a goddess status, but back in the day her kind of stuff was not played on the radio, but now it is different. When the Lords of Acid where signed to Rick Rubin’s label in America, we were at a breakfast in England, and I was talking with the head of XL Records, and he asked me, “How come Rick Rubin signed Lords Of Acid, but not Prodigy?” It was between Prodigy and Lords Of Acid. All I could come up with is that Lords Of Acid is a combination of beats and guitars, a link with electronic and rock. It opened the market for Prodigy.

Jim: That was a good period in music! Speaking of Lady Gaga, her album is basically a family version of Our Little Secret. You guys did the same album, and it was dirty- she just did it with more innuendo and less balls.

Praga: We don’t work with marketing, we just go with the flow. Maybe it is better to market stuff and develop it. At the end of the day, I don’t care. I just want to make music. That is the most important thing. I don’t need to be the richest man. I want to enjoy making music.

Jim: How did you come up with Praga Khan as a performance name?

Praga: Back in 1987, when my first project came out- it was a mix of Indian music and beats. I did a tour in India, and when people asked my name (Maurice), it was hard for people to say it, and I finally just gave it up. I did not want to keep it for the rest of my life, but it became famous and I can’t change it now.

Jim: I like it- Praga Khan- it sounds very industrial.

Praga: After a while, I got used to it, but in the beginning, I did not like it. People in Europe were calling themselves Praga, and Kahn is the most common name in India.

Jim: I thought you were going to be Asian, until I saw a picture of you yesterday.

Praga: No, I am not. Pure, European. Where are you based?

Jim: Los Angeles. I’m going to see you at the Club Nokia.

Praga: I am excited!

Jim: What do you do when you’re not making music?

Praga: When I’m not making music? I always make music! I am always creative. I work a lot with graphics and video. I work on shows.

Jim: What is one thing about you that everyone should know?

Praga: In what way?

Jim: In general. Musically. Anything!

Praga: My journey is not over- I am still making music. I want to make the ultimate album. Maybe it will come, maybe not. I am experimenting. I think the next Lords Of Acid needs to be the most awesome record. The best is yet to come. I am always interested in people. That is a problem of mine. That is the problem with Facebook. When I get a request, I want to know everything about the person. I want to know what the person is thinking and doing. I love spending time with people and learning from them. I am interested.

Jim: I just sent you a Facebook friend request just now.

Praga: Thank you. Everyone on my Facebook page, I know them- all of them. Now I can know what you are doing. (laughs)

Don’t miss the Lords of Acid and My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult on the Sextreme Ball Tour!!!!

July 14, 2010 – Portland, OR – Dante’s
July 15, 2010 – San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge
July 16, 2010 – Los Angeles, CA – Club Nokia
July 18, 2010 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto
July 20, 2010 – Salt Lake, UT – Club Sound
July 21, 2010 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theater
July 22, 2010 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre
July 23, 2010 – Minneapolis, MN – Ground Zero
July 24, 2010 – Chicago, IL – Cubby Bear
July 25, 2010 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
July 27, 2010 – Cleveland, OH – Peabody’s
July 28, 2010 – Detroit, MI – Blondies
July 29, 2010 – Pittsburgh, PA – Diesel
July 30, 2010 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theater
July 31, 2010 – Philadelphia, PA – Dracula’s Ball
August 1, 2010 – Ithaca, NY – The Haunt
August 2, 2010 – Baltimore, MD – Bourbon Street
August 3, 2010 – Fayetville, NC – The Rock Shop
August 4, 2010 – Orlando, FL – Firestone Live
August 5, 2010 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – The Culture Room
August 6, 2010 – St. Petersburgh, FL – State Theater
August 7, 2010 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
August 8, 2010 – Knoxville, TN – The Valarium
August 10, 2010 – San Antonio, TX – Scout Bar
August 11, 2010 – Houston, TX – Scout Bar
August 12, 2010 – Dallas, TX – Trees
August 13, 2010 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
August 14, 2010 – Phoenix, AZ – Venue of Scottsdale