Potbelleez back on the dancefloor

Platinum-selling single Don’t Hold Back aside, dance outfit The Potbelleez’ self-titled 2008 debut album was something of a middling affair.

They’ve righted those wrongs on Destination Now: it’s an altogether stronger listen, as evidenced by the strong reaction to leading singles Hello and From The Music (currently nestled comfortably inside the ARIA top 20).

DJ Dave Goode, who makes up the band alongside fellow Irishman and producer Jonny Sonic, female rapper MC Blu and vocalist Ilan Kidron, admitted their debut didn’t turn out quite as he’d expected.

“When we wrote Don’t Hold Back, we had no idea it’d go as well as it did. We had to get something out once the single started selling, and we just didn’t have enough time to get it right. We rushed it, we overproduced it.

“This time around, it’s been a much longer process — we had the space and the time to get it right.”

Part of the improvement surely rests in their decision to draft in dance veterans Paul Mac and Shave to co-produce the album. The band spent eight weeks in the studio with Paul Mac.

Has the producer, who infamously thanked “the ecstasy dealers of Australia” during an ARIA acceptance speech in the mid-’90s, chilled out from his hard partying days?

“I don’t know if you could say that … but I’m not going to say any more,” Goode laughed.

“We had a blast with him, it was a pleasure just to see the guy working. Producing music can easily turn into mathematics, but Paul’s all about the feel, the groove and the love.”

They also focused on providing more material for their resident rapper, MC Blu — something of a forgotten member of The Potbelleez for casual fans only familiar with hits like Hello and Don’t Hold Back.

“When you think ‘Potbelleez’, you think of the big soaring male vocal. To be honest, Blu’s been in the band longer than Ilan, it’s just that Ilan’s ended up with the hits. She raps like no one else in the country, so we really wanted more tracks to showcase her.”

The challenge, this time around, was “figuring out how to integrate the two of them into the one song. For us, it’s always more fun when all four of us are on stage at the same time”.

They’ll have plenty of time for on-stage fun as the Destination Now tour traverses the country over the coming months. It comes off the back of some of their biggest shows to date, supporting Usher on his recent Australian arena tour.

Their support slot is a telling sign of just how much electro music influences R&B nowadays — an electro/house outfit supporting a big-name R&B star would’ve been unheard of just a few short years ago.

“I don’t know if I’m happy about [the crossover] or not,” Goode said. “I suppose I am, because if there’s ever a time for us to go over to the States, I suppose it’s now.

“But as far as how much I respect the way they do dance music, I don’t know… I think it’s quite cheesy and can be really lazy.”

info: Destination Now (Universal) out May 27. The Potbelleez are touring nationally in June and July. Visit www.thepotbelleez.com