Apr 28 2008 11:29 am,
Profile: Hadouken!
Words: Camilla Pia
Whether it’s complete devotion or unbridled contempt, Hadouken! have inspired incredibly strong feelings about their music since they were swept into the public eye in 2006 on a wave of new rave and grindie hype. The Leeds quintet have fought on despite all the chatter that threatened to destroy them and now seem stronger than ever as they prepare for the long-awaited release of debut album ‘Music For An Accelerated Culture’. Frontman James Smith is in defiant form, fresh from a successful European tour, and just a few minutes into our encounter he makes it patently clear that it’s going to take more than a few negative comments and criticisms to keep this ridiculously talented bunch down.
“We feel totally united as a band at the moment, our performances are getting better and better and we’re just going a bit mad for it really,” says Smith with a chuckle. Does divided opinion about the act’s music since they started have anything to do with this current mood in the Hadouken! camp? “Definitely. We don’t care if people say horrible things because there are plenty more out there who will disagree with them. I have always said if you’re not pissing someone off you’re not doing it right. It’s funny because initially all the blogs and hipsters and NME loved us,” he adds, “and now they’re starting to turn against us because we’re not the cool new band like fucking MGMT or Vampire Weekend anymore, and it’s like get over it. We built up our fanbase solidly so we don’t worry about all the rest of it anymore.”
The fivesome’s Douglas Copeland-referencing first offering, out next week, goes some way to proving that they are as bold musically as they are mentally, as it mixes a crazy range of genres including punk, rave, hardcore, acid house, grime, dubstep and indie to utterly unique effect. Smith is evidently proud of it but is honest enough to admit that it is more of a sonic experiment than a definitive statement of what the band is about. “I’m happy with every single track and the way it all fits together as a unit but people are definitely going to be surprised because we were never about just making eleven versions of ‘That Boy That Girl’ or ‘Liquid Lives’. There is lots of variation and trying out new things because if you don’t do that then you don’t know what you can achieve. All the best bands push themselves.”
With plans of countless tours, oodles more songwriting and even the creation of their own mini-festival in the summer, Hadouken! show no signs of slowing down at any point this year and Smith is already eager to tell us about the new “faster, harder and much darker” material. “Ultimately, we’ll be whoever the fuck we want to be, and if this album doesn’t work then big deal, we’ll just move on and find out what does work,” the passionate singer says finally, and on this self-assured and daring current form you can’t help but believe him.
‘Music For An Accelerated Culture’ is released on
