Issue 155

Enter...The Big Time

14th May 2007

Seemingly being splashed across any music magazine worth its salt is taking its toll on the latest indie darlings, Enter Shikari, as lead singer Rou groggily answers his phone just after mid-day on a brief break from incessant touring.

Nursing a hoarse throat from a recent stint on the Give It a Name Tour, which led to Kerrang dubbing the ubiquitous post-hardcore quartet 'the most exciting live band on the planet', Rou soon perks up and is lively as he recounts a recent trip to a particularly seedy area of Vienna. "It was a street that went on for miles and it was filled with gay porn," he jokingly recalls, showing the range of venues the band have visited on their meteoric rise in the music world. Adding to passport stamps from a recent trip to Japan they'll be headed Stateside in early May to try and imitate the success of other fortunate Brits abroad.

At home no such luck is needed. Despite remaining loyal to indie label Ambush Reality, rather than cashing out to a big-wig, their debut album Take to the Skies charted at number 4 in the UK Charts.

Apparently this high position was much to the surprise of the band and was compounded when they stayed there even after their army of fans had snapped up their copies. The first album being a product of hard-work, innovation and endeavour, having been conceived in two weeks worth of studio time, which is like being given an afternoon to write a novel. Before American hotels become a second home to the band there is the task of recording remixes and B-Sides for singles to be taken off the massive selling album, with next on the list the hotly-anticipated 'Jonny Sniper'.

As for the future, a few riffs are beginning to fall into place and those who haven't had their fill of Shikari will salivate at the fact that "album two has officially started". Key to their success was the profile that they built up on the new must-have fanbase for any band: the internet. Not shying away from the 'MySpace success story' that dogged the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen, Rou heaps praise on the web for being a base from which to build a substantial fan community; one with such incongruous alumni as Eastenders' Dot Cotton!

However, a question about Jimmy Carr supposed affinity for the band leads to an interesting sidenote showing that the internet isn't always so kind to the band. Rou professes to a disdain for internet information centre Wikipedia, due to the fact that every time he checks it he can "see that some kid has added something really untrue or derogatory." It seems that as the interest in the band is being increased and everyone wants to have their say on the band.

It can't be all bad as Enter Shikari's legions of fans have helped cement them in history when they became the second ever unsigned band to sell-out the London Astoria (the first, if you're wondering was The Darkness). The Astoria wasn't the planned venue but so many fans turned up for the gig at neighbouring Mean Fiddler, Shikari scrambled to accommodate their loyal young faithful.

"It was supposed to be at Mean Fiddler but we had to upgrade when we sold out with people still outside. Our Tour Manager told us it had been moved to the Astoria but we thought he was joking...it's such a prestigious place where we'd been to watch bands as kids." Turned out he wasn't joking and now the band are etched in the annals of history... albeit in second place behind flamboyant Justin Hawkins.

Enter Shikari live has become something to behold and piles of ravenous teens can be seen throwing everything into their shows. If you need proof of the volatility of a live set try putting Sorry You're Not a Winner into Youtube and watch friends and fans alike pretty much smash up bassist Chris's parents house in a budget video to their double A-side debut single.

The fact that they let so many of their faithful into their own homes (or their parents' as it maybe) is indicative of a tireless devotion to their fans and demonstrative of the loyalty they show. These ties run as deep as two thirds of Shikari's management being fathers to band members (Rou's and Chris', in case you were wondering).

With the 'DIY' attitude it's unsurprising that they have been embraced as a breath of fresh air by a 'new rave' obsessed music scene. It is a scene that they would rather distance themselves from and Rou picks his words carefully, aware of the negative connotations possible.

"It was not unfortunate but...coincidence that we got big just as the others did and were associated with it." The only thing that can tie them is the occasional use of fingerlights, with the front man citing a 'harder punk sound' rather than keyboards samples and other 'arty stuff' that have become the staples of NME faves like Klaxons, New Young Pony Club and Shitdisco!

With Enter Shikari due to be a big fixture on this year's summer full of festival line-ups, it seems like its still quite a change going from being punter to performer. "I grew up as a Leeds and Reading kid. I've been to Reading four times and 'Download' a few times." Despite this wealth of experience their nerves aren't steel yet as Rou claims "being there backstage is still like 'oohh, pretty scary' because we've experienced it from both sides."

When discussing Fflam, Rou shows where his mind is when he cheerily enquires "is that the one on the beach?" After hearing that Singleton Park is inches from the beach he seems keen to exploit it and with the energy that goes into a Shikari set it seems like everyone, including the band will be quickly into Swansea Bay to cool off from a sweat-drenched set. Expect fireworks.

Chris Sloley