Hadouken! play Derby date

By Nigel Powlson

HADOUKEN! may have started small but they have always been thinking big and frontman James Smith has his sights set on The Prodigy's fanbase.

That's why there's no resting on laurels for this Leeds dance-rock band who intend to build on their initial success with the release of a second, more ambitious, album in January.

"We don't want to stand still and do the same thing twice so we are always investigating new sounds and genres and these songs are definitely heavier, darker and more dance orientated," says James.

"It will scare your grandma" is the claim on the band's Myspace site about the album For The Masses which is released on January 25. It's the follow-up to 2008's Music For An Accelerated Culture which quickly sold more than 100,000 copies.

"We don't want to stand still, more for ourselves as artists than anything," says James. "We have to stretch ourselves creatively or we would get bored. I'm a hyper active person and I don't want to cover the same ground twice. So we have given ourselves a new direction and I think it's definitely for the better.

"And as we set out not make a pop record then I think it's good it isn't confined to trying to be too radio friendly."

James is an articulate and passionate spokesman for the band, who rather than being worried by the rapidly changing face of the music scene seem to have always been in control of their destiny.

"These days with the internet people pick up what's new so much quicker and we had to ride that wave," says James. "But it's not healthy to just concentrate on the hype. We have to build a career, see things in the long term and not get caught up in the moment.

"We are internet users, very much of that generation who use it on a day-to-day basis. We understand how it works and have used that to our advantage. You have to come up with new ways of getting attention and the internet came quite naturally to us.

"We also like being in control of what we are doing that's why we set up our own label."

Hadouken! will be playing songs from their new album when they appear at The Royal, in Derby, on December 7, including the next single Turn The Lights Out (released on January 18).

" We haven't been on tour for quite a while so it's wicked to be back out there," says James. "We will play all the classics and favourites as well so it will be a good mix.

"But it's already a testament to the new songs that now we are playing them live they have gone down well. They are dance friendly and very heavy. We have had a really good response."

So only three years after coming together James believes Hadouken! are ready for the next step up.

"It has been very fast moving for us but now we have been away for 18 months it doesn't seem like we are the new band any more," says James.

"But it's important to think like a new band, to still push ourselves and give it our all. There's no point in relaxing and start putting yourselves on cruise control. We are very driven. There's a career plan in my head but I know you can't deconstruct things too much. You have to go with the flow and see what works. You have to build on experiences and not make the same mistakes twice.

"I see bands like Pendulum and think we should sound as good as them live and then see I see bands like The Prodigy and think that's the kind of scale we want to achieve. They are the godfathers of what we do and a massive influence."

HADOUKEN!

WHERE: The Royal, Derby.

WHEN: Wednesday, December 2.

TICKETS: £10 in advance.

VISIT: www.theroyalderby.co.uk or call 01332 255800 (Assembly Rooms box office).