Hadouken / Shut Your Eyes And You'll Burst Into Flames / Ghost Frequency
53 Degrees Preston - 23.10.07

Quirky, indie, electro quintent Shut Your Eyes and You'll Burst Into Flames are like a more experimental Automatic with a singer who resembles and out of shape Michael Hutchence. While the vocals are a touch whiny and the weird synth sounds wont be to everybody's taste these Leeds lads are really striving for originality. "Future Is Wanted" is a sonic chunk of funk while their first single "Signal Noise" is eccentrically ramshackle with an air of organised chaos.

Ghost Frequency have two members of the band with brilliantly coifered quiffs but the music is far removed from the kind you'd associate with Richard Hawley. There's a strong techno sound from this duo of keyboard players while the guitarists and sturdy rythmn section offer a solid rock backing. The squelchy synths and sleezy seedy noice Ghost Frequency make has an air of danger and unpredictability especially on the track "For The Wolves". It's not all mean and moody though. There's a playfulness to Ghost Frequency which doesnt go unnoticed with a vocoder frenzy which displays lightness of touch.

Did you know that Hadouken's first ever gig was just over a year ago? Since then their fanbase has become more like a nu-rave army complete with a uniform of leisure wear / fluresent clothing with tribal facepaint comprising of brightly coloured stripes and outlandish make-up. The accessory of choice is a either a glowstick or a whistle. The alarmingly young fanbase are visibily in ecstacy and probably on ecstacy (allegedly). There's a police siren flashing on stage, strobe lighting and of course Hadouken. Frontman James Smith does sound very much like Mr C from 80s techno rockers The Shamen. The fusion of rock, rap, dance and samples is handled superbly and the songs are infused with a melodic urgency which always makes for an intense and exciting performance.

"Day Job" could be a nu-rave anthem while "Liquid Lives" shows a heavier more guitar based feel to their songs. "Leap Of Faith" avoids the cheesy tag with its toytown techno leanings that everyone goes wild for. The energy and atmosphere is electric and with so many good songs in their set, their as yet untitled debut album, released next year is eagerly awaited. New song "Spend Your Life" is surprisingly mellow and is best described as a ballad with the Hadouken magic sprinkled all over it. Hadouken are quite simply a class act and deliver more in less than hour than most bands manage in their career

Nicholas Paul Godkin
Photos: Kirsty Umback www.kirstyumback.com
 

 
 

The Nu-Rave Army

Under 18. Living in 2007. You more than likely took a leap of faith into the fashion mags and took up the nu-rave uniform of dayglo. Designer Magazine caught up with some of the Hadouken crowd in Manchester to capture some of the cool mo-fo's

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