ENTER SHIKARI

Interview by Alexa
April 6, 2010
http://www.entershikari.com
http://www.myspace.com/entershikari
http://twitter.com/entershikari

Estrella: Can you please state your name and what you do in the band?
Rory: Well, I’m Rory and this is Rou who’s chatting for the moment and I play guitar and Rou sings and plays keyboards. And we’re in Enter Shikari.

Estrella: How’s this tour been so far, for you?
Rory: It’s been amazing actually. Everytime we come over to tour, it’s usually just little shows like a two week stretch or a one off on a festival, this is our longest tour right now. This is also the most amount of shows we’ve had with the least amount of days off, as well. So, it’s great. 7 week tour with 6 days off. we’re in week 1 right now.

Estrella: If you had to put it into words, how would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard it?
Rory: People have always tried to label us as trancecore or stuff like that, we generally try not to kind of throw ourselves into any kind of category. Our only main aspirations when we make music is to have energy and aggression really. Also, some sort of point, lyrically. That’s pretty much our only criteria. And melody, we’re very keen on good melodies.

Estrella: You were going to release a two disc for Common Dreads, but then you released the Tribalism one, would that have been the second disc of Common Dreads or is that a whole different release?
Rory: Common Dreads was going to be a CD and a DVD in the UK. Is that what you mean by the two disc?
Estrella: It was supposed to come out in January? And it never came out or was it just a UK release?
Rory: It was in June that it came out in the UK. It was supposed to come out here in January but we had some issues with releasing it on our record label. Boring and complicated stuff. But that’s it really.

Estrella: (directed to Rou) Do you still do your own side project?
Rou: Yeah, but Rout is what it’s called and it’s just like a dub step, drum and bass, electronica. I just released an online album on Monday. Yeah… it’s cool, it’s just a bit of fun, really.
Estrella: Also, do you still have plans for your clothing company?
Rou: Yeah, it’s not out that but hopefully this summer it will be ready to go.

Estrella: So, you’re playing Warped Tour this year, how excited are you for that?
Rory: We’re excited but we’re dreading the heat and the drive.
Estrella: Are you on the whole tour?
Rory: We’re doing the second half.
Rou: First half? Not the whole thing.
Estrella: The east coast?
Rory: Yeah.

Estrella: Who are some of your influences on your music?
Rory: Stravinksy, Aphex Twin, Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine, Subfocus, Rusko.
Rou: Umm..
Rory: Umm… he’s really good.

Estrella: What bands or artists are you currently listening to?
Rory: NOISIA. It’s the best produced electronica ever, it’s unbelieveable. You have to listen to it to realize it. Regina Spektor.
Rou: I don’t even remember what I’ve been listening to today.

Estrella: Best Halloween costume ever worn?
Rory: My friend who’s about 7 feet tall and he cut a hole in the bottom of a pumpkin and put the pumpkin on his head and it was cool. He’s really tall and really skinny and has this massive pumpkin on his head. That was kind of cool. And last year, I went out in this scottish hat thing with fake ginger hair on the side and some hawaiin shorts and that was my halloween costume.
Rou: Yeah, that was pretty scary.

Estrella: Favorite thing that’s available in the United States that you don’t have back home.
Rory: Junior Mints.
Estrella: You don’t have Junior Mints? You know they have Junior Caramels too?
Rory: What?!
Rou: We don’t have enough Mexican food in the UK.
Rory: We just went to Chipotle!
Rou: That was really good.
Rory: That was our first time ever being there, it was really nice.

Estrella: What’s something that you wish was here in the US that you can only get in the UK?
Rory: Tetley’s teabags. Basically, England is the only place in the world that seems to understand that tea is the best drink ever. When you ask for a cup of tea in the UK, it’s pretty much one kind of tea. It’s black tea with milk. There’s two different types of Tetley. In every other country you’ve got like crappy things like Lipton. It’s almost if like black tea is on par with fruit tea and stuff. That’s not how it is.
Rou: It’s just so wrong.
Rory: It makes me so angry.
Estrella: Burger King makes black tea on tap now.

Estrella: Best tour prank ever?
Rory: When we toured with Alexisonfire and Billy Talent in Europe in 2005 or 2006. One of the shows, whilst Alexisonfire was on stage, we put everything they had in their dressing room into a shower room. Their sofas, their bags, their everything. They got us back when we were on stage because they knew the sound guys and stuff. So they put on a cat meowing Happy Birthday and everything else was switched off. We were just standing on stage and couldn’t do anything.

Estrella: Do you have any crazy fan stories that you’re willing to share?
Rory: I think the craziest thing I’ve ever seen is someone getting Enter written on one wrist and Shikari on the other, tattooed.
Rou: Or, or, getting our signatures tattooed.
Rory: I understand maybe artwork, you’ve got people with amazing chest pieces with our music and our lyrics. But autographs, they’re a bit crazy.
Rou: It’s amazing.

Estrella: Are there any bands from your home that you would like to plug that you feel aren’t getting enough attention?
Rory: They’re all pretty shit. The Qemists, it’s really cool. It’s like rock but drum and bass as well and The King Blues are cool. They’re more of like a punk band.

Estrella: What are your upcoming plans for the band?
Rory: A lot of touring. Warped Tour.
Rou: We’re going to do Australia again at the end of this year.
Rory: Hopefully, we’re coming back in October for a headline of the states. Which would be wicked for us.

Estrella: Any closing statements?
Rory: Um… it was like that when I got here. There’s too much titanium dioxide to me in food.