Enter Shikari will return to Australia this September to sweep the fans mind and assault their senses on a five-date tour around the country with support from fellow UK band Hacktivist and Sydney’s Stories. We had a chat on an early morning UK time with guitarist Rory Clewlow to discuss the tour and more.
Andrew: So how’s things with the band? You guys on the road at the moment?
Rory: No we are currently at home. It’s been our European festival season this summer so we’ve been away weekends and back here during the week, so it’s been pretty chilled out and back and home now.
Andrew: OK cool well obviously we get to see you live here in September which is cool to see as I think you guys were just here last here. I guess you are still touring on the back of the last album “The Mindsweep”.
Rory: Yeah it’s pretty much one of the last tours of the album before we go off the road and start writing and then recording.
Andrew: How has the cycle for this album been? How has the reception from the fans both with the music and the live shows so far?
Rory: It’s been really positive! It seems like every album seems to step up another level which is what you want, with this album we did our first headliner tour which was pretty amazing and pretty special for us. Just around the UK and ending in Alexandra Palace which is 8500 tickets which is a really special night for us, so yeah it’s been really great and just excited about where the next record takes us really.
Andrew: well speaking of writing a new record, do you have ideas already floating around or is that something you will work on after the tour?
Rory: Yeah I would say we’re coming off the road to write but we’re constantly writing anyway really. But we’re coming off the road to dedicate our time to that but you can’t help it if in the middle of the night an idea pops into your head or something [laughs]. You’re not going to be sitting there going, ‘No it’s not the allocated time to write yet’. There’s quite a few ideas floating around but I mean having enough ideas has never ever been a problem for us! Every album we discard about 30 songs and we just pick the ones that are the most varied and interesting and our favorites to go on the album together so there’s no lack of ideas.
Andrew: Has the process for coming up with new material changed over the years or is that process been the same sine the beginning?
Rory: Well the first 2 albums we sort of lacked the technology to do it the way we do now, it was a little traditional and more kind of physically playing the parts together. I mean it’s always been our singer Rou (Reynolds) who’s been our main creative force, main song writer but the first album was more in the room together just going through ideas and developing stuff. But then the last 2 albums have been much easier and more effective way of doing it like making our parts on computer software and then emailing the files to each other and then working on it at home by ourselves and then emailing ideas on and just every couple of weeks we physically get together to talk through stuff and then back to our houses for a couple of weeks. Just keep emailing ideas and seeing ideas develop quite nicely like that.
Andrew: Aside from the musical evolution that you have taken, the creative side has probably evolved as well I guess. So touring Australia, what can the Aussie fans expect?Are you playing a lot of stuff from the new album or are you mixing it up a bit?
Rory: Oh yeah we’ll definitely be mixing it up. I think the reasons bands play just the new stuff is because they haven’t played it as much and it’s more fun and exciting and interesting to play stuff that you haven’t a thousand times or whatever but we’re very aware that’s not something that’s good for our fans or people coming to the show. So we always try and play bits from every album and the way we make it interesting for ourselves is to kind of maybe add a little twist on older songs like change a section to modernise and make it exciting for us, splice songs together so that they seamlessly mix together and stuff like that. So yeah there will be a bit of that going on.
Andrew: Yeah playing the same songs over and over I guess for some people might get a little tedious so I guess adding a few things here and there or changing it up must keep it a little fresh and interesting for you guys to keep playing night after night.
Rory: Yeah exactly! Whenever we get bored with something, we just put a little twist on it and then it kind of freshens it up for us for the next 3 tours or whatever.
Andrew: What about the setlist? Do you like to change the setlist from night to night or do you have a rigid setlist you like to keep?
Rory: No because we’re heavily reliant on technology, like we have running all our lighting and electronic rig and so if we’re doing guitar effects changes and stuff like that, it controls all our drum triggers, it’s not as simple as saying, ‘Oh what shall we play now?’ So we generally plan the set before a tour, we can mix up a song here and there on a night, it’s not a big deal but generally it’s just easier. Especially co-ordinating with the lighting guy as well, he hates it when we’re constantly changing the set, he likes to program the lightning. It’s weird because lighting guys seems to work longer hours than anyone else, arrives at the venue and immediately starts tapping buttons and moving lights right up until showtime so we kinda make his job harder than it is.
Andrew: Yeah production must be a big part of your show as you don’t want to just have music but also have a bit of a show for the fans as well I suppose.
Rory: Yeah I think it’s important to bring production value to the show. It adds another layer of interest to the audience I guess.
Andrew: Well before you come down to Australia to start the tour, do you have any last words or messages for the fans at all?
Rory: Just thank you for coming again, we love coming to Australia so can’t wait!
Andrew: It’s good to have you back and we look forward to it. Thanks for your time today, it’s really appreciated!
Rory: Yeah thanks mate!
ENTER SHIKARI AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2016:
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 19 – 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 20 – THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21 – METRO THEATRE, SYDNEY
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 22 – THE GOV, ADELAIDE (all ages)
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24 – METROPOLIS FREMANTLE, PERTH
Tickets and tour info at Live Nation.
