Enter Shikari have a lot to celebrate with their album A Kiss For The Whole World going to number one – their first chart-topper.
So don’t be surprised if you see them in a jubilant mood when it comes to their headline set at Slam Dunk Festival this weekend.
Frontman Rou Reynolds says they have a lot planned for the show. ‘We’re buzzing. We’re having meeting after meeting at the moment, sorting out the production and setlist and getting everything organised,’ he says. ‘It’s going to be our most ambitious set ever!’
‘There’s a lot of thought going into it, it’s a completely new stage setup, completely new setlist, completely new lighting rig. Really exciting.’
The band will be warmed up for it, having just completed a three-month long series of residency shows in the run-up to the album release. They played a series of gigs across the UK, returning monthly with various up-and-coming artists in support.
‘It felt a bit nostalgic in a way,’ says Rou. ‘It was similar to how we used to tour the UK in our little van in 2005. We’d do one tour, be home for a few days and then go on to another. Sometimes we’d be back at the same venue within four weeks.
‘The shows felt different even though it was the same venue in such a short space of time. There was a different vibe every night, different crowd and different emotions.’
And it was different again this time around, especially when compared to the experience of releasing an album just before lockdown.
‘It’s been so nice getting to play the new singles as they came out. That felt like a treat, you know, especially after the last album when we didn’t get to play the music for a year and a half,’ says Rou. The band reached number two in the charts in 2020 with Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible.
Rou was determined to make the most of everything and to enjoy every moment of the tour. ‘This way of life can be such a relentless, frenzied thing. It’s so rare now that any of us really take the time to absorb what we’re doing, or just find the time to pause,’ he says.
‘Life is so unrelenting for all of us. Meditation is kind of instilled in me now, and during the last night of the residency in London, I finished the final song and just sat cross-legged on the floor of the stage, meditating. I was like, “I want to take this in. I want my mind to remember that” and I think it’s really important to try to do that when it’s all such a blur.’
Recording the latest album was a new experience, too, as the band set up shop in a disused farmhouse they’d found on Airbnb, all powered by solar panels.
‘I phoned up the owner and he was awfully surprised because he’d forgotten it was even available, as it had got a couple of pretty bad reviews,’ recalls Rou. ‘It was this rundown old farmhouse, no central heating, in the middle of nowhere.
‘We had to persuade him it was a good idea to let us this place, in March, in the cold UK.’
He adds: ‘Having the album completely solar-powered was such a relief, because we were always worrying about all the power we were using and it takes a long time to record an album.
‘Having solar panels meant it was completely renewable – we could make the album for as long as the sun was shining, basically.’
Now that the album is out and has been a roaring success, it’s all systems go for Slam Dunk and beyond for Rou.
‘We’re just so grateful to be able to be touring the world again. We’re focusing on the festival first and foremost right now,’ he says.
‘To have the opportunity to take the music back to places that we haven’t been to in a while and reconnect with people – it’s gonna be a real thrill.’
The band have also just announced a huge headline tour for February next year. Good things come to those who wait, after all.
Enter Shikari headline Slam Dunk Festival in Hatfield and Leeds, tomorrow and Sunday, slamdunkfestival.com.
The band’s headline arena tour starts February 9, 2024
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First appear at Enter Shikari are ‘buzzing’ to headline Slam Dunk festival after achieving their first number one album
