Enter Shikari have always been a mixing pot of influences, from their nu-rave drenched debut - branded finger lights and all - to current full-length '
The Spark', which has nods to everything from Britpop to Grime. Frontman Rou Reynolds talks through some of the places he looked to for inspiration for their latest effort.
I love Depeche Mode for their diverse and ever progressing back catalogue of great pop music. Vintage modular synths played a big part in the instrumentation for this album and Depeche were one of the first outfits to put that technology to widely accessible music. They are also great (along with others of the time like The Sound and Joy Division) at putting lyrics that are really quite sombre and dark, to upbeat sprightly melodies, creating a wonderful dichotomy.
Another diverse artist with an incredible catalogue. He has a great ability to create outstanding texture and atmosphere as a producer and is brilliant at crafting real emotional weight to the music too. Shinrin-Yoku and other soundscape moments throughout our music is often influenced by him.
A favourite to listen to help wind down after a recording session, or just any tiring day really! I fell in love with organic mic-ing techniques (i.e. getting all the creaks and natural sounds when playing a piano rather than trying to make it sound as slick as possible), and Nils is one of the best at this. He cemented the notion in my mind that there is so much visceral power in the delicate too.
