Shikari Enters To Discuss The Creative Process Of A Kiss For The Whole World - Soundsphere Magazine (2023)

Three years and a global pandemic after their last album, British electronic music pioneers Enter Shikari are back with their new album and they're hard at work.A kiss for the whole world. Released on April 21, the album addresses the question his 2020 album raises.Nothing is true and everything is possible.: "Is it a new beginning or are we nearing the end?" I sat down with band members Chris Batten and Rory Clewlow to talk about the recording process for their new album, their experiences during lockdown and, like COVID, their approach to new music played a role. talk.

Rory Clewlow:Hi, I'm Rory.

Cris Batten:And I am Chris.

Corban Skillånder: And I'm Corban, here for Soundsphere Magazine to do a short interview with the guys from Enter Shikari for their reunion in Manchester at New Century Hall. So, first of all, tell me a bit about what it was like going into the recording process for this new album, where it was recorded and so on. How was the whole process?

RC]We started in Rou, our singer's house, because he has a small studio. And yes, we like a few months to show ideas and try things. We had about 100 ideas. And then we slowly whittled them down, and of course some evolved faster and farther than others. And that's how we ended up with Airbnb in Chichester.

CB]Yes, right outside. It was fantastic.

RC]Yeah, it was like an amazing little farm, literally in the middle of a farm, totally off the grid. So everything is solar powered, like a gas tank for the shower and things for the boiler.

CB]There was no central heating, it was just fire.

RC]Yes, without central heating, yes. It was like a fire in the middle of the houses, it really went back to basics and rustic.

CS] It's a new environment for you, so you've never been there?

CB]I mean it was the first time we did it, because we usually used to get to a point where we did the demo like we did this time. And then we go well, we go to a studio and well, and this time we thought, you know, over the years we've developed a lot of equipment ourselves, you know, we've gotten better at production and you know du, Rou produced the last one we did in the studio and we met people. So we got our friend George Perks together and he was willing to come over and bring some of his gear. And we just rented an Airbnb and decided to do our own studio. So it was a lot of fun. Just knowing that studios are used over and over again by many different artists, knowing that no one will get a drum sound like we did because no one will know the exact place where we recorded that drum part that we came up with, so obviously it's very experimental and fun.

CS] Yeah, it's great. So everything was tracked on Airbnb?

CB]So pretty much only a few voices on Rou's.

RC]Oh yeah, it was Rou's house or this Airbnb.

CS] I like the kind of conceptual part of doing everything on site that's completely solar powered and completely off-grid..

RC]It's also completely DIY. I mean, we brought in an engineer just to sit there and track things and everything. Then we could focus on the recording.

CS] Impressive. And then going back a bit in time: did you have any personal writing sessions or something, or was it all at Rou's house and then in the studio? How did you work on the ideas for this?

CB]We've done some withdrawals, haven't we? Like where we were somewhere in Norfolk

RC]¡Ach sim!

CB]And then we did another Airbnb because after Nothing Is True we had a great time writing that album and then we couldn't tour so we weren't ready to keep thinking about writing a new one. Then there was a long period where we just didn't write anything because we thought we just made one. We must let him live! We have to go out there and play these songs. But then, you know, a year and a half finally passed and we had to start with that. So to get into the frame of mind, we just agree to live in a house together for two weeks and see what happens. And that generated some of the first ideas that we worked on in Rou.

CS] That makes a lot of sense. I mean, just making music with other people, especially during this lockdown period, you have a habit of making something yourself and then sending it to someone else, maybe even online, putting it in a Google Drive folder or something, really. forced. But I think when you go out together and do this and are physically in the same place, does that spark a little more creativity?

CB]Yeah, I guess you never know because we've done it before where we were with Rou and it's pretty regimented. We get there at half past eight, so we have to be home by half past four to pick up the kids or something. But when you're in one place together, there are no limits to your creativity.

CS] Exactly. You don't keep looking at the clock or anything. Speaking of "Nothing is true," the press release raised the question you asked about it: "Is this a new beginning? Or are we done?" What I'm thinking, when this was written and recorded, you may not have been aware of how relevant this question would be when the album was released, and I'm assuming you didn't normally have a touring cycle afterwards. How do you think this new album stems from that? Do you think it's related in any way? Or is it some kind of awakening of new ideas?

RC]I felt that this new album is much more positive. Musically, things are looking pretty good. I really don't know why. Maybe it's simply because the rest of the world feels like it needs a shot of positivity.

CB]Yeah, I remember when Nothing Is True came out, you know how the gears turned right, and then COVID hit and you know we were like… 'Shall we launch? Or is it better to stop everything and wait for this to end? And when we make decisions, you know what? There is a lot on this album to relate to and we made the decision to stick with it. And you know, I think if we had postponed it, it would have taken a lot longer than we thought. That was the right decision. But yeah, those things that Rou has been saying in his lyrics for a while now suddenly become very relevant. I think with this one we feel like it's time to move on. Back to business.

CS] And how does it feel to be back on the road after a long break?

CB]It's crazy. It's amazing how normal it feels again now. The first few back were weird because there was still a lot of port testing. Everyone finds her feet.

RC]COVID tests every day. You'd go to a place and everyone would be like, "Did you get tested yet? And you'd have to get tested. You'd see, 'If I have COVID, the tour is over. That every morning. It's like, oh, it's horrible.

CS] Yes, I give myself this fear every morning.

RC]Yeah. A tour we did and then a person tested positive and it was like... shit. And then everyone argued that we had a big debate, and then we ended up touring, and yeah. So I'm glad that's not the case anymore.

CS] I can imagine it's very exciting to be back in this space after so long.

RC]Yeah, well, because Chris and I stayed home for two years. And then all of a sudden it's like, wow, well I'm a band guy again! That he is sick!

CS] Yes! How did that make you feel? You were not afraid. That sounds a little more intense than I'd like, but were you weirdly thinking, "Oh, I kinda like that"?

RC]I remember when our album release shows were the first to be cancelled. If I'm honest. I was scared because I thought I don't even know how I'm going to feel if I'm home all the time. Because touring is almost like a drug. It gives you that kind of gluttonous satisfaction from just going on stage and living that life and celebrating and stuff. And I was afraid of how I would feel if I lost him. I thought, 'How will I feel when I'm home? How quiet at home all the time? Yeah, this is going to drive me crazy.' But actually, after a month, I was like, 'This is great!' I really started to appreciate it. It was the best thing that could have happened to my family as a family unit. a lot. And then getting back on tour was definitely a growth phase for me personally as a father and as a musician.

CB]And you know, I found it scary at the time, especially when we realized that it wasn't actually going to end anytime soon. What I found frightening was the uncertainty of whether we could be relevant when we are allowed to be relevant again. Don't get that justification from an audience, validation. That it is still current and means something to people. Without feeling it, you just start to wonder, well, is that all? Can we do this again? But I do agree with Rory that, you know, now that I look back on it, it probably came at a good time. Not just for us in our lives, but because it meant we had to slow down a bit. That was our sixth album. When we weren't playing, we were writing and recording, so we never had that much time to rest, we just kept going non-stop. So this little forced break has probably brought us a lot.

CS] I was thinking about that, you hear about artists taking sabbaticals and things like that. And this situation forced everyone to do a little.

RC]Yeah, we've never taken a gap year before!

CS] Yeah, it's nice to take a break and then come back with all the guns! Thanks for the interview and have a good night tonight! See you there!

The show at Manchester's recently renovated New Century Hall was familiar to the band. This was the second time after the announcement of 3 groups of shows within a month of each other in the same order at venues across the UK.

Shikari is credited with pioneering the electronic rock genre, and new material seems to lean into that electronic space, particularly with the laser and light show seeming more at home at a rave or drum and bass show. than at a metal concert. one. Theatrics and fun were the name of the game as singer Rou Reynolds ran to the left of the stage, only to reappear clinging to the wall next to the crowd to finish the song.hecticShe danced on the bar while avoiding the cups.

The set list was packed with new singles and some new debut live tracks from the upcoming album, and the crowd already seemed to know every word, really showcasing the expert choruses and songwriting the band has honed since their debut. The main movement ended with the all-time classic.I'm sorry (you're not a winner), who alternated verses on the viral Pendulum remix and his own 2023 remix.

Enter Shikari knows what they're doing. While perfectly timed and an absolute technical marvel, with drum-activated lights and confetti cannons, guitar riffs and the like, their sold-out live show somehow manages to capture the energy and intimacy of a show at the basement. . You can not miss it.

The next round of UK residency shows will take place in April on the following dates:

April13 – St Luke's, Glasgow, UK

April 14 – New Century Hall, Manchester, UK

April 15 - KK Steelworks, Wolverhampton, UK

April 16 – SWX, Bristol, UK

April 17 – HERE on Outernet, London, UK

A Kiss For The Whole World will be released on April 21 via SO Recordings/Ambush Reality.

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