Enter Shikari bring their longest ever UK tour ‘Stop The Clocks’ to Newcastle in February. The band are promoting their fifth studio album ‘The Spark’ and Newcastle will be the tour’s closing night. Rou Reynolds, musician and lead singer in Enter Shikari, spoke to Meghan Ewart ahead of their Newcastle date.
Your debut album ‘Take to the Skies’ (2007) has since been certified gold in the UK after originally charting at number 4. How have the band adapted their style and sound to emulate the success today?
We have always been quite conscious of pushing forward; we have always been progressive and determined to always get it right. Enter Shikari have never been shy in testing new ways and learning new things; everything we produce has to be something new or it just doesn’t feel right. We were brought up around a musical scene with family and friends so it always felt normal.
Lyrics written for most of the band’s songs are described as ‘politically-charged’, covering many topics including Donald Trump and Brexit. How important is it for the band to use their status as a way to convey a message on current affairs?
We became quite aware when we started this of our platform to communicate through lyrics. We were given a chance to build a music career so our sound became our platform. Hard punk allows you to talk about things you are passionate about within the city.
The first single ‘Mothership’ (2007) charted in the UK at number 157. Why did the band request downloads only to be counted, despite physical copies being released?
We have always had a DIY mentality within the band; we have always been independent and handled our own thought processes. We always said we would be progressive and we had no label to go to. Inter scope helped us to become known worldwide.
What can fans expect from the upcoming tour in Newcastle? And will they see any of the classic songs performed again?
We have made each show as varied as possible with something from every era. There is a quick-fire round where we sing four songs in eight minutes. It is our 10-year anniversary coming up so we will be adding in some songs to mark this. The shows have been great so far and there has been no show where we have been disappointed. We have played at Newcastle many times before and we look forward to returning.
Enter Shikari will play at the 02 Academy, Newcastle on Monday 4th February. Tickets, priced at £28.50 (including booking fee), are available from seetickets.com.
