Music > Interviews

Enter Shikari

16/01/15

I’m not generally one for the more hardcore end of the musical spectrum. Maybe I’m just getting old. But I had a moment back in 2009 when Enter Shikari’s Sorry You’re Not A Winner was on serious repeat in my lugholes. Something to do with the syncopated rhythm and the screaming vocals hit me hard, and I just bloody LOVED it. Since this auspicious start, Enter Shikari have racked up several albums, and their latest, Mindsweep, has just been released. Rory, guitarist and all round solid chap told me about how they’re getting down with electronica and how bored they are of playing “…Winner”. Oh.

When did you first start getting into music and learning to play?

When I was about 10 my mum tried to get me into classical guitar; she thought it wouldn’t be too noisy and the strings would be softer for me. She dragged me to lessons and I didn’t really get it. But when I was 13, my best mate who lived down the road from me started electric guitar lessons. He showed me what he had learnt and it turned out we were at the same level of ability, and then I started having lessons on the electric guitar instead! It made a big difference to me, that I could just go down the road and jam with him, and learn from each other. That was one of the most exciting times in my life so far.

So did you think you would ever do it as a career?

To be honest, I loved it so much it was the only thing I wanted to do. I always dreamt of doing it for a career and was quite optimistic about it, but if I had started as an adult I probably would have been more realistic. When I joined Enter Shikari my dad said to me “You know, there’s a chance that they might not be big?” and I said “Of course they will!”

How did you come to join Enter Shikari?

I’d been trying to find a band for ages, and the first time I played with them I recognised that they had the same mind set as me and were as equally dedicated as I was. It meant everything, that they wanted it as much as I did. Rob and I went to the same school and were best mates, and he then asked me to join the band during sixth form. I joined as Rau, our singer, wanted to concentrate more on vocals, and so they needed a guitarist to fill his role. He’d also recently bought a little synth and he wanted to focus more on vocals and atmospheric electronica. So I’m the new guy but have been in the band for 10 years!

Your new album Mindsweep came out in January on loads of different formats; some include a special book. What’s the book like?

It’s got some photos from the Warp Tour and Reading Festival taken by our friend who shoots in film; he’s got a really amazing eye. There’s also accompanying short essays to go with each song, with Rau explaining the ideas behind the songs.

How does this album differ from your previous 3 albums? Does it have a theme?

We don’t consciously try to do anything really. We sit down, start writing, see what feels good. Once we’ve got a ton of ideas, we go through and pick ones that are not only the best songs but also that offer a variety throughout the album. We might pick a song because there’s an energy to it that isn’t present in any of the other songs.

What’s your favourite song from the new album?

At the moment I’d say Anaesthetist but then it changes quite a lot. I also really like Never Let Go Of The Microscope.

What’s your songwriting process?

It’s kind of different every time. Rau is definitely the main songwriter. Sometimes we start with him writing some lyrics, or it might start from a guitar riff…we try not to force anything. We all constantly write, and love making music on our own. It’s very important not to over think it or gear it towards what we think people might like. All the best parts of all the best songs come from that moment when you instinctively have an idea of what you’d like to hear. For example, you might write a chorus and then think, OK, what do I want to hear next as a listener, and then if you do that it generally works.

What’s your relationship been like with record labels?

We’ve published our records through Universal since the beginning, and every album except for Common Dreads we’ve distributed through Pias. For Common Dreads we used Warner Bros, so that was our flirtation with record companies. We got enough of a taste of record company bureaucracy to realise it wasn’t for us. Like everything else, the record industry is changing really rapidly and people are really up for trying new things and ways of getting music out there.

You’ve set up your own record label, Ambush Reality and signed your first band up, Baby Godzilla. How come you picked them?

Ambush Reality have been our official record label since Take to the Skies, and Baby Godzilla were the first artists we’ve released other than ours, but we haven’t actually signed them. They’re good friends of ours, we toured with them and we thought it would be fun; there was no real masterplan there.

Can you tell me a little about the Shikari Sound System set up last year?

That was a bit of fun really. Rob, Rau and I have been making electronic music by ourselves for years and years. My girlfriend was pregnant and due to give birth at the same time as Reading/Leeds Festival last year, so the other three were going to do a DJ set, which then escalated into getting lights in, making a real performance of it and making it special. We then decided to write some proper electronic tunes with some producers. It ended up being a set of all original electronic music, named Shikari Sound System. My girlfriend was two weeks late in the end so I could have been there; I’d spent months preparing it! But I never would have risked not being there with her. I’ve got loads of songs now that haven’t ever been used but hopefully at some point we’ll be able to release them.

My favourite song of yours is Sorry You’re Not A Winner. What’s the story behind that song?

Before we recorded our first album, nine years ago we had a demo of that song which we had recorded in Chris’ garage. By that point, we’d been playing it for three years and were really bored of it. Record labels were approaching us and asking to work with us, and one offered to record a no strings attached EP with us. They took us out for a lobster dinner, and stuff like that. So we decided to record OK, Time For Plan B as a single and then Sorry, You’re Not a Winner as a b-side so we could sweep it under the carpet and never play it again live! That was the plan, but it ended up that the management decided to make it a double a-side; a sneaky record company move to make “Sorry an a-side without us realising! It’s become a fan favourite, and we still play it, but every time we release an album Rau says “Ok, NOW can we stop playing it?”.

Enter Shikari play The Nick Rayns LCR at UEA on 25th February. Tickets from www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk.