With the release of their latest album The Spark, and a hectic worldwide tour, it’s a busy time of the year for British rockers Enter Shikari. Lead vocalist Rou Reynolds spoke to student Ellie Kemp ahead of the band’s show at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena about balancing life and music and touring with their mates.
With your new album The Spark out now, how does it feel to finally be able to play live again?
I can’t wait to play these songs live – a lot of the time when you’re in the studio, you try and just concentrate on the music you’re recording, and don’t really think about how it’s going to come across live. It interrupts how creative you can be if you’re constantly thinking, ‘oh, is this going to sound good live?’ It’s like a downward spiral when we’ve got to work out how this is going to be conveyed live, how it’s going to translate to arenas.
You play the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham as part of the UK leg of the tour – have you played any particularly good shows in Nottingham?
I remember from way back in the day, we had a few friends who went to uni in Nottingham, and I remember every time we played Rock City it was always a great night out, the shows were always really good fun, and there was a great energy in the city.
Last year, the Nottingham show was actually our first actual arena we’d headlined. It was a really special night, I can remember walking off stage, and we all just got quite emotional really, we were just blown away by the size of the place and the colossal magnitude of what just happened. Lots of good memories!
You’re also being supported by Lower Than Atlantis and Astroid Boys – are you excited to be touring with them?
Absolutely – we’ve been friends with those guys for years now. Lower Than Atlantis is an amazing rock band – really good songwriting. Astroid Boys are doing something really different – really good live. I’m looking forward to seeing them both live every night.
What else can we expect from these new shows?
I think it’s going to be quite a varied setlist, there’s going to be songs from each era of the band, that’s for sure. We’re not one of those bands who just wants to play the new stuff. I think there’s going to be five or six songs from The Spark – we’re looking forward to seeing how those go down live. We did a few of them at our release show in Brixton, and it was so much fun. Rabble Rouser was so rowdy, Undercover Agent was a personal favourite as well – I can’t wait to play that again.
What advice would you give to our students looking to start a career in the music industry?
I can only relay our experiences and what happened to us – finding a sound that’s interesting enough to set you apart from everyone else. The best I can say is to listen to as much music as possible, and as broad a range of music as possible – I think it’s only then that you can absorb all that and turn it into music yourself.
Then I’d say, just take every show you can and play every show as if it’s your last – they’re kind of clichés, but you never know who’s watching.
Enter Shikari are performing live at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on Saturday 18 November and their new album The Spark is out now!
Want to kick-start your creative career? Check out our college-level or degree courses, sign up for our open days and explore our facilities.
