'Music Is The Last Backbone Of Truth'

Enter Shikari became a huge hardcore force upon releasing 2007’s Take To The Skies, which had them unleashing energetic synthesiser blasts over cacophonous thrash.

Their next album, 2009’s Common Dreads, saw them move towards their current sound, with in-your-face political assertions, colossally distorted riffage and a stronger focus on glitchy electronics. 2012’s A Flash Flood Of Colour followed in a similar vein, and while the concept of political themes in music can often polarise, Rou Reynolds sticks to his guns when the idea’s brought up in relation to their fourth full-length, The Mindsweep: “[We] write songs that address certain themes that we don’t think are being addressed enough elsewhere, or things that we just think are important. It’s got to the point where music, and art in general, is the last backbone of truth. Given our background, it’s just the natural thing for us to do. We want to focus on relevant issues and things we’re passionate about. We don’t expect people to take away certain things; different people have different perspectives on everything, as well as feelings, and lives and meanings to the songs. I’m hoping it’s emboldening. The Mindsweep in itself is basically describing the way that those in power will sweep away or ridicule or disparage any new ideas or alternatives. These structures that they have in place seem so important and bigger than us, but it’s quite clear that they’re frail, so we’re trying to give people confidence and trying to get people to think clearly and logically.”

"It’s got to the point where music, and art in general, is the last backbone of truth"

Is it simply a matter of following the political trends? “We usually describe the band as a thing that got out of hand, and it still feels like that,” Reynolds chuckles, “But taking on a new purpose as we’ve gone on seems to have worked. By this stage, half the people we speak to are not just about music but political issues too. Usually the music comes first though. You kind of obviously breed off the emotional vibe and what you want to portray musically, and then you pick a subject that, well, lucky for me, comes straight to my head. It’s just about getting the partnership and incorporating meaning.”

Enter Shikari continue to surprise listeners with tweaks in their sound. “We’re quite a fidgety band. We don’t like sitting in the same corner and exploring that musical spectrum. Classical and neo-classical music was a big influence on this album, and there was a real focus on texture using synths, hardware and software, and using organic instrumentation as well – there’s a lot of brass. We just wanted a varied set of tones to go with the diversity of the record.

“It can be quite daunting when you look at it and we have plans for 2016 and it’s not even 2015 yet,” Reynolds laughs. “We don’t plan out too much though, especially when it comes to what we do normally, and the music’s just instinct really. If we want to put out an album or an EP or whatever, we can just go into it and get it done.”