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Hadouken!, an English new rave band that became famous to the Need for Speed community with appearance on the Need for Speed Hot Pursuit soundtrack. As a band they're known for their connections with video games - after all they're named after a special move in Street Fighter. In our unique interview we got a chance to ask about Need for Speed, their experience with getting on a game soundtrack and of course their music.

[img]http://media.nfsunlimited.net/upload/26a4fdef05.jpg[/img]

[b]NFSUnlimited.net[/b]: [i]We know you guys are gamers, so you must have played Hot Pursuit. How do you like it? Do you prefer cops or racers?[/i]

[b]Hadouken!:[/b]I love it. Racing games haven't really been my thing so I feel a bit out of the loop with how the genre has developed. I think the last racing game I remember playing was the original Gran Turismo on Playstation back in the late '90s! Hot Pursuit is visually incredible and a lot fun to play.


[b]NFSUnlimited.net[/b]: [i]If you were tasked on writing the soundtrack for the next Need for Speed game, which direction would you take? Which songs from other bands would you include?[/i]

[b]Hadouken!:[/b] I felt like the direction that was taken for the Hot Pursuit soundtrack was perfect for the game, so I'd definitely carry on down the same lines. Bands like Pendulum & Does It Offend You, Yeah? make great racing music! I'd like to hear more of those tunes on the soundtrack. Artists like Bloody Beetroots, Nero, Sub Focus, Chase & Status, Noisia, etc would all be great.


[b]NFSUnlimited.net[/b]: [i]When driving in real life do you listen to fast and dynamic music like your “Bombshock” or go for a slower, more calming theme?[/i]

[b]Hadouken!:[/b] We don't drive a lot anymore as we all live in London so take public transport most of the time. When we used to drive to and from rehearsals every day when we first started the band we used to listen to the album In Nothing We Trust by the band Reuben, that was always a good driving soundtrack


[img]http://media.nfsunlimited.net/upload/8cbf2191b6.jpg[/img]


[b]NFSUnlimited.net[/b]: [i]Do you feel there’s a connection between the music that you make and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit?[/i]

[b]Hadouken!:[/b] I guess so in the sense that it's fast and energetic, hopefully that's why EA thought it would be suitable for the game.


[b]NFSUnlimited.net[/b]: [i]Your band name has a big connection to Street Fighter; what name would you choose if you based it on Need for Speed?[/i]

[b]Hadouken!:[/b] That's a tough question, it took us a painfully long time to come up with a name we were happy with in hadouken, not sure I could face trying to do that again.


[b]NFSUnlimited.net[/b]: [i]Usually bands don’t like to be labelled or categorised as one style or another, so we won’t bother. Instead, how would you categorise yourselves?[/i]

[b]Hadouken!:[/b] We don't really like to do it ourselves either! We just consider what we do dance music, there are obviously rock influences to particularly live when we play in a traditional band set up, but it's easiest just to keep it simple.


[b]NFSUnlimited.net[/b]: [i]With NFS being a best selling game, did the inclusion on Hot Pursuit’s soundtrack get you a significant amount of new fans?[/i]

[b]Hadouken!:[/b] We've certainly had a few people mention to us that they found us through NFS and other games which is awesome but it's not changed anything drastically, we're just one of a lot of bands on the soundtrack after all.


[b]NFSUnlimited.net[/b]: [i]Given the chance of reappearing on the next NFS soundtrack, would you take? Surely it’s a positive thing for the band.[/i]

[b]Hadouken!:[/b] Absolutely, it's an awesome game we hope people have enjoyed having our track to listen to whilst they play. We'd be thrilled to be involved in the next NFS.

[img]http://media.nfsunlimited.net/upload/8a5e91a13c.jpg[/img]


[b]NFSUnlimited.net[/b]: [i]What’s next for Hadouken.. is there an album in the works? Can we look forward to a tour?[/i]

[b]Hadouken!:[/b] Yes, we're currently working on our third album, recording with a couple of producers called Xample and Lomax based in Bristol. The sessions are going really well so far and we can't wait for people to hear the tracks. Hopefully the album will be out before the summer and we'll then be heading out to as many festivals as we can and then our own headline tour later in the year.


Hadouken!'s latest EP is the Oxygen EP, which you can [url=http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/oxygen/id411005367]get on iTunes here[/url]. Also check out the official video of Oxygen, the lead track from the EP:

[embed vars=allowfullscreen=true]http://www.youtube.com/v/1GQbMnZu_jc&&rel=0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3[/embed]

Also check out the videos for [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfjuVCyzToY]Mecha Love[/url], [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo0Cazxj_yc]People Are Awesome[/url] and the Need for Speed Hot Pursuit's [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN3M8Zk7TYA]Bombshock[/url]. More videos on their official [url=http://www.youtube.com/user/Hadoukentheband]Youtube channel[/url]. Band info and tour dates on [url=http://hadouken.com/]the official website[/url].