Every hardcore gamer grows up fantasizing about the day they see themselves in a video game. With advanced character creators, gamers are more easily able to achieve this dream.
For Hadouken! this dream has been realized over and over again. It wasn't through a character creator, however. Instead, Hadouken! has had their music appear in video games. They've had their music in so many games that they've become somewhat of a mainstay in EA video game soundtracks, and will be featured in hot upcoming titles like Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and EA MMA.
They don't just get their music into video games, however. They are all full-fledged, hardcore gamers themselves. From their early days of playing the Commodore 64 or Atari, to their Xbox 360 that is in their tour bus, these guys are more than familiar with the gaming industry.
Check out bassist Chris Purcell's responses and determine for yourself just how hardcore of a gaming band they really are!
Q&A with Chris Purcell of Hadouken!
Chris Purcell: I think we all became fans of video games at different points in our youth, and so we all have different memories of the various systems we started out gaming on. I remember my parents getting an Atari when I was really young, and then that getting upgraded to a Commodore 64, before we ended up with a Sega Megadrive II. My sister and I used to play games like Zombies Ate My Neighbours for hours on that console. I think that's why I've grown up with a love for all things zombie-related!
That being said, most of the gaming of my youth was done on PC, and my favourite to date is probably still the Half-Life series. The explosions on 'Bombshock' from For The Masses are actually grenade samples from the game! I still love first person shooters and will always pick them up over any other game.
CP: We wanted a name that summed up our music, but also stuck out. The energy of the fireball summed up our music and the raw energy of our early shows. Taking a Japanese name felt right, too. James is a big fan of Japanese gaming culture and all things Nintendo - the first album is littered with Gameboy samples!
CP: I just think we make fast-paced, high-octane music which is exactly what you want to listen to when you're playing a game and blowing up buildings, or speeding around a race track at hundreds of miles per hour! I think EA have recognised the influence of gaming on our music and see how other gamers can relate to that, which is great!
CP: I really like Guitar Hero, but I'm amazingly awful at it. I like to think that there's an inverse relationship between being good at playing guitar, and being good at playing Guitar Hero!
TVD: Have you ever tried to get your music in games like that?
CP: We did actually get onto the iPhone equivalent of Guitar Hero called Tap Tap Revenge with our song "Get Smashed Gate Crash" - which was a lot of fun. I think with the type of music we make we're going to have to wait until they bring out a Synth Hero before we can think of being properly included though!
TVD: What's to be expected with the new album?
CP: Tunes from the new album are already underway. We've got a lot of tracks in full demo form, and a couple have already gone to production with James working with UK Drum & Bass producers Xample & Lomax. The music is the next logical step from For The Masses, which was produced by a Dutch Drum & Bass act called Noisia, with more dance sensibilities coming into the foreground - influences of which could be heard in things like the trance stabs on Lost, the amen breaks on Bombshock, etc.
I think we see For The Masses as the first step toward us becoming the band we want to be - making loud, abrasive dance music alongside the likes of giants like The Prodigy & Pendulum. Hopefully this next album will show people that we have the potential to hold our own amongst these bands.
CP: We're heading out on tour this October on a run of dates around the UK where we'll be playing some of the tracks from the new album for the first time. In December we're also due to support Pendulum on their arena tour of the UK - which we're honoured to have been asked to do. As of yet the release date of the next album is up in the air until we've got all of the tunes finished, but I'm sure we'll be back out on the road playing as many shows as we can next year to support the release!
