Enter Shikari - Biography
Biography
In 1999 a band named Hybryd formed consisting of Rou on guitar, Chris on bass and Rob on drums. They released an EP under the name Commit No Nuisance and featured the tracks "Perfect Pygmalion" and "Fake". In 2003, Hybryd became ENTER SHIKARI. They revolutionized their sound by recruiting Rory to play guitar so that Rou could concentrate on electronics. ENTER SHIKARI formed in St Albans, England in 2003. The band features Roughton "Rou" (/raʊ/) Reynolds on vocals and electronics, Liam 'Rory' Clewlow on guitar, Chris Batten on bass guitar and Rob Rolfe on drums. All four members are from St Albans, Greater London.
During 2003 and 2004, the band released three demo EPs that were available from their gigs and their website. The band secured a spot on the Gibson/MySpace stage at 2006's Download Festival. They have also had interviews with popular music press such as Kerrang! and Rock Sound. On 4 November 2006, they became only the second unsigned band to ever sell out London Astoria (the first being The Darkness).
They also made the NME's "New Noise 2007", a list of the bands it considers most likely to achieve success in the coming year (previous years lists have included the likes of Arcade Fire, Hot Chip and Bloc Party).
The band released their debut album, Take To The Skies, in March 2007. The band went on many tours worldwide in support of the album, which included several large UK metal festivals, such as Leeds, Reading and Download.
It was confirmed by NME that ENTER SHIKARI had finished working on their second album, Common Dreads, in March 2009 and announced that they would tour the UK and Europe during 2009. They also made available a free download of a new song, "Antwerpen" from their website.
Common Dreads was released through Ambush Reality in June of 2009, and debuted at #16 on the UK top 40 album chart. A 2-disc version of Common Dreads was released in early 2010, which contained drum n' bass remixes of several of their singles.
In early to mid 2009, drummer Rob Rolfe was not been able to perform at United States shows due to a denial of a visa. Rob chose Fellsilent drummer, Christopher Mansbridge to fill in for these dates. Later, in the Summer of 2010, Rob managed to get his visa, and joined his fellow band mates for the remainder of the US tour that year.
In 2010 the band once again toured the world, this time in support of their sophomore release. Their tour cycle included many festivals as well on both mainland Europe, and in Australia. At the end of 2010, the band collaborated with UK drum and bass band The Qemists on their single "Take It Back" which was released on 28 March 2011.
2011 once again brought many festivals, both all over the UK and on mainland Europe, and in the USA. In June 2011, the band signed to Hopeless Records in the US, and embarked on the Vans Warped Tour for the second year in a row.
On 11 July 2011, the band released their third live album and first DVD, bundled together as Live From Planet Earth. Distribution of the non limited edition version of Live From Planet Earth and other ENTER SHIKARI stock was affected by a fire at the PIAS distribution warehouse in London, after it was set on fire by rioters following the 2011 England riots. This was announced via the band's Facebook after many fans discovered that the fire had affected the band's label Ambush Reality, and Rou confirmed a majority of the stock had indeed gone up in flames in an interview with Rocksound.
On 8 September 2011, the band announced that the first single from their "as yet untitled" third album was called "Sssnakepit". During the band's show in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 8 September 2011, bassist Chris Batten revealed that the band's third album was set for release in January 2012.
A leak from UK Magazine Rock Sound revealed that ENTER SHIKARI's third studio album would be titled A Flash Flood Of Colour and will be released on 9 January 2012, however, due to shipping issues the band had to moved the release date back a week to 16 January.
The band released their new album on 16 January 2012, and played three album release shows. The first was for HMV in London at the Borderline. People who had pre-ordered the album via HMV were automatically entered into a prize draw to gain access to the release show as no tickets were sold. The second show was in Kingston upon Thames, at the Hippodrome. This was for Banquet Records and tickets were sold with special offers available if the ticket was bought with an album. The final show was played in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
During 2003 and 2004, the band released three demo EPs that were available from their gigs and their website. The band secured a spot on the Gibson/MySpace stage at 2006's Download Festival. They have also had interviews with popular music press such as Kerrang! and Rock Sound. On 4 November 2006, they became only the second unsigned band to ever sell out London Astoria (the first being The Darkness).
They also made the NME's "New Noise 2007", a list of the bands it considers most likely to achieve success in the coming year (previous years lists have included the likes of Arcade Fire, Hot Chip and Bloc Party).
The band released their debut album, Take To The Skies, in March 2007. The band went on many tours worldwide in support of the album, which included several large UK metal festivals, such as Leeds, Reading and Download.
It was confirmed by NME that ENTER SHIKARI had finished working on their second album, Common Dreads, in March 2009 and announced that they would tour the UK and Europe during 2009. They also made available a free download of a new song, "Antwerpen" from their website.
Common Dreads was released through Ambush Reality in June of 2009, and debuted at #16 on the UK top 40 album chart. A 2-disc version of Common Dreads was released in early 2010, which contained drum n' bass remixes of several of their singles.
In early to mid 2009, drummer Rob Rolfe was not been able to perform at United States shows due to a denial of a visa. Rob chose Fellsilent drummer, Christopher Mansbridge to fill in for these dates. Later, in the Summer of 2010, Rob managed to get his visa, and joined his fellow band mates for the remainder of the US tour that year.
In 2010 the band once again toured the world, this time in support of their sophomore release. Their tour cycle included many festivals as well on both mainland Europe, and in Australia. At the end of 2010, the band collaborated with UK drum and bass band The Qemists on their single "Take It Back" which was released on 28 March 2011.
2011 once again brought many festivals, both all over the UK and on mainland Europe, and in the USA. In June 2011, the band signed to Hopeless Records in the US, and embarked on the Vans Warped Tour for the second year in a row.
On 11 July 2011, the band released their third live album and first DVD, bundled together as Live From Planet Earth. Distribution of the non limited edition version of Live From Planet Earth and other ENTER SHIKARI stock was affected by a fire at the PIAS distribution warehouse in London, after it was set on fire by rioters following the 2011 England riots. This was announced via the band's Facebook after many fans discovered that the fire had affected the band's label Ambush Reality, and Rou confirmed a majority of the stock had indeed gone up in flames in an interview with Rocksound.
On 8 September 2011, the band announced that the first single from their "as yet untitled" third album was called "Sssnakepit". During the band's show in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 8 September 2011, bassist Chris Batten revealed that the band's third album was set for release in January 2012.
A leak from UK Magazine Rock Sound revealed that ENTER SHIKARI's third studio album would be titled A Flash Flood Of Colour and will be released on 9 January 2012, however, due to shipping issues the band had to moved the release date back a week to 16 January.
The band released their new album on 16 January 2012, and played three album release shows. The first was for HMV in London at the Borderline. People who had pre-ordered the album via HMV were automatically entered into a prize draw to gain access to the release show as no tickets were sold. The second show was in Kingston upon Thames, at the Hippodrome. This was for Banquet Records and tickets were sold with special offers available if the ticket was bought with an album. The final show was played in Leeds, West Yorkshire.