Enter Shikari: Unity is the only path to change
Enter Shikari: Unity is the only path to change
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Friday, 12, Jun 2009 09:02
A rock band reaching number four in the album charts is a remarkable achievement in itself, without the promotional machinery of a major label or a smash hit single - for a band barely out of their teens to achieve the feat on their own record label isn't just immensely punk, it's also unheard of.
Making rock history either wasn't a new matter for St Albans quartet Enter Shikari who'd already become only the second ever unsigned band to sell out the sadly-missed London Astoria and after debut album Take to the Skies rocketed in the top five, awards from NME and Kerrang! followed.
With 250,000 worldwide album sales under their belt and a veritable army of fans tracking their every move, singer Rou Reynolds, guitarist Rory Clewlow, bassist Chris Batten and drummer Rob Rolfe returned to the studio in the summer 2008 accompanied by U2/Korn/Tori Amos producer Andy Gray, (the man behind the Big Brother theme).
What's emerged is new album Common Dreads, both a continuation of their debut's exhilarating combination of dance and rock, but also a vivid cry for people to stand together as the economy crashes, faith in government is eroded and the system seems on the brink of collapse.
Lewis Bazley talks to bassist Chris as the St Albans dance/rock act search for unity and dream of Japan.
What are Common Dreads?
I guess Rou has had his eyes opened through touring it around and seeing it for ourselves, just noticing common fears that people share - climate change, the failing capitalist system. sorry, my cat's just jumped out and scared the crap out of me! (laughs)
The album's beginning came from fighting Tesco in your hometown - what can you tell me about that?
This was a couple of years ago - we caught wind that they'd bought land and if they'd got the planning permission, it would have affected a lot of local businesses. So it was a bit of a fight-back from the St Albans community - we went to the public meetings to show our support and tried to raise the awareness of it, and eventually the planning permission got refused. I'm sure they'll try again but it was the first time we felt a real sense of unity and what it can achieve.
Gallows and the Enemy have both written politically-minded records recently - do you think that'll become a trend in the next year?
I don't know, to be honest. More and more people are noticing the problems though, so you probably will see more bands starting to put that message across. It's quite exciting for us to finally have something to write about - we've never been a band to write about falling in love with a girl! (laughs)
The video for lead single Juggernauts:
Given how successful Take to the Skies was, what are you hoping for Common Dreads? Can you emulate that success?
I hope so! (laughs) From our live shows we know we still have a very loyal following and our online community is really healthy, so we hope there's a large demand for the album. But we feel we've got it exactly how we want it and it'll do what we want it to.
Why has your sound translated so much with younger fans especially? Is it due to the energy of your music?
I'm not even sure it's that. Obviously we want people to come and enjoy themselves at our live shows but even before we recorded Take to the Skies we'd been touring around for a couple of years. We couldn't get in to play in major cities because promoters didn't know about us so we'd play in small venues around the country, so the way we did it was very grass-roots, especially playing in places where the people might not have been used to bands coming.
So it grew organically?
I think so. When you see band in that kind of situation, it feels like they've found you rather than you having them rammed down your throats by music TV and labels, so it made a bit more personal and more involving for the fans.
The album took a little bit longer than you'd intended - why was that?
With Take to the Skies, we'd toured a lot before, so we had most of the songs figured out when we went in to record them. This time was the first occasion we'd sat in a room and been forced to write together, so it took us a while to find our feet. And when we got in the studio, we didn't want to be rushed in the way we felt we were with the first album, we wanted more time to experiment and really push the boundaries.
The album definitely feels more cohesive and professional - is that just as a result of increased experience?
Definitely, the more you do it the better you get.
In terms of experimenting - this record has the same trance influences as the first record, but there's dubstep and d 'n' b on the new record - do you deliberately try and cram new styles in?
It's not a case of trying to cram it in.
You don't sit down and say 'let's do a dubstep song. '
No, definitely not. What surfaces on the album tends to be what we've been influenced by. Dance music has really opened up in the last couple of years and that's certainly had an effect. I just think that side of music's more exciting than what's going on in rock at the moment. But we've always been a band that wants to push ourselves and for it to be entertaining and challenging.
You and Rou have mentioned that unity is the message of the new album - why's that the angle Rou as a lyricist has gone for?
I think it's just the way we feel things have to go in order for things to change. People have to join together and be heard in one voice, that's the only way you make a point in this day and age.
Where are you playing this summer?
We're doing Reading, Leeds, Glastonbury, also some European shows like Rock Am Ring, so our summer's all about festivals and then in October and November we'll be doing a full UK and Europe tour. We're going to be over in the States a lot in July and September too.
Where's your favourite place to play?
I think we'd all say Japan. It's just so different to anywhere else, it's a complete culture shock every time you go there. You always come back wishing you'd been able to stay longer, just because of the things you see and the way people treat each other.
Lewis Bazley