St Albans band Enter Shikari back on home turf for 10th anniversary
St Albans band Enter Shikari to perform at The Forum in Hatfield on Friday April 26 - Credit: Photo supplied
ST ALBANS band Enter Shikari are celebrating their 10th anniversary, rounding off 18 months of touring the world with a return to play to their home-based fans in Hertfordshire.
Rou Reynolds, Rory Clewlow, Chris Batten and Rob Rolfe formed the renowned post-hardcore band while at secondary school – all are former Verulam and Sandringham School students.
They kicked off 2013 with a tour of mainland Europe in January and writing and recording for their fourth album.
And now the band is returning to its Hertfordshire roots, playing a homecoming gig at The Forum in Hatfield next Friday, April 26.
It is one of 22 shows Enter Shikari are performing for their Return to Energiser 2013 UK and Ireland tour, which started earlier this month.
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Support for all dates on the tour will come from technical-metal/grime hybrid quintet Hacktivist.
Enter Shikari have also been confirmed for the main stage at the Download Festival at Donnington Park in June.
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Rob said although the band members were usually on tour, St Albans, “is still the place we call home.
“A lot of friends and family are there, we love the city and are proud to have been brought up there.
“For me it’s the ideal place, it’s the crossover between city and country.”
Rob said, however, that he has been saddened to see pubs and shops closing in the district.
When back home, the band spend time with friends and family and “look after ourselves, for example exercise and eat well as being on tour can be a very unhealthy lifestyle.”
Since forming in 2003 they have played well over 1,000 shows and sold out venues including London Astoria and New York’s Irving Plaza.
They have also released three full-length albums, Take to the Skies (2007), Common Dreads (2009) and A Flash Flood of Colour (2012).
While the release of a new album is not imminent, Rob said that Enter Shikari had just written and recorded three new tracks, the first of which – Paddington Frisk – was out now and was “a lot of fun recording”.
He added: “We’ve done a few stand-alone singles to bridge the gap between albums.
“It keeps our live sets fresh and keeps our fans updated with constantly something new to listen to.
“We’re scheduling in some time around the end of the year to start work on album number four, but nothing is set in stone yet as we have to work it around gigs booked and family commitments.”
Asked what influenced the band’s songs, Rob explained: “We take inspiration from everything we see and hear and the world around us so we honestly don’t know how our music will sound six months from now.
“But I would imagine it will have the same mix of punk rock and dance music as they are our strongest musical passions.”
