With a brass quintet, string quartet and three choirs all featuring on their second album, reproducing Parades on stage was always going to be a challenge for Denmark's Efterklang.

The five piece has added on a trio of extra members to help fill out the sound of their critically-acclaimed album, which sees them embracing acoustic instruments instead of the digital sounds found on their previous records.

Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Casper Clausen says: "There are eight of us on stage so it is a big band, but we have tried to scale most of the things down.

"Most of us are singing this time. We have six singers now which makes it possible for us to recreate most of the choir parts."

The band is based around childhood friends Casper, producer and electronics wiz Mads Brauer and guitarist Rasmus Stolberg, who met percussionist Thomas Husmer and pianist Rune Molgaard when they moved to Copenhagen.

"We have always switched around instruments and played different parts," says Casper. "None of us is strictly on one instrument, we try to move around. I think a lot of our sound is about us getting bored with doing one instrument."

This methodology helps the band create its multi-layered songs, which are reflected by the colourful but complicated landscapes on the front of their albums, created by Danish artists Hvass & Hannibal and UFEX.

"Most of the songs start with a new instrument or a little sound, or someone tapping on a table," says Casper. "It's not like we start playing them on a piano all the time, or a guitar."

Previously the band has meshed in post-rock style dabblings in electronic sounds, but Parades is unusual in that it sees the band largely using acoustic instrumentation.

"It felt like acoustic instruments talked to us on this album," says Casper. "It felt right to try to go for that acoustic sound and wholesome production.

"We processed the acoustic sounds afterwards, but we wanted the record to have a proper sound rather than an artificial one. We wanted it to be honest, in a way. People had to believe it was acoustic."

So total was the band's commitment to their new album that they kept working on the record for 18 months, without venturing out to play any live shows.

"It is how we work," says Casper. "We have to focus on what we are doing. It is nice to have done it that way, and it is nice to see people again. We are getting lots coming to the concerts and they are very welcoming."

The band has always been able to dictate the way they work. They embrace a DIY ethic, looking after writing, recording, producing and touring all from their base in Copenhagen.

This approach has worked for the group. Their debut album, Tripper, released in 2004, became the fastest-selling debut album in their label's history, while their recent mini-album Under Giant Trees, which was recorded at the same time as Parades, debuted at number one in Denmark.

On this tour to the UK they have already sold out London's Bush Hall and the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds.

Now the future is looking bright, with future projects including an American tour and visits to the festivals, and a possible film project.

"We have been working this way from the very beginning, putting on our own concerts and producing our own music," says Casper.

"I think maybe we are control freaks - we like things to be done as good as they can be."

Support from Peter Broderick and Air Formation with DJ Ulrich Schnauss.

  • Starts 7pm, tickets £10. Call 01273 325440.