ROB Rolfe, the drummer from Enter Shikari speaks to Victoria MacFarlaine about their rise to the top and their plans for Reading Festival.

The post-hardcore four piece started their quest for fame by playing to punters at High Wycombe’s White Horse pub.

Your third album A Flash Flood of Colour was released in February. How’s it been since then?

Things have been great.

The reaction from it was positive, both from fans and our critics so we couldn’t ask for anything more really. You are always a bit apprehensive about how the new songs are going to go down live.

Sometimes it takes a few listens from the audience to appreciate the music and go for it. But with this album they seem to have picked it up immediately. A lot of the fans are enjoying it. It’s going brilliantly.

It’s done well – it was at the top of the UK album charts for about a week.

Do you think that shows you are doing are getting more recognition as a band?

I think so. But with the music industry as it is at the moment we’ve actually sold less albums than we have done for the last couple of albums.

But it managed to get to number one, and the other ones didn’t so it’s confusing. But this year we are getting higher up the bills at festivals, playing more and more places around the world. We seem to be going from strength to strength. We are a band after longevity. We were never after a one hit wonder to make loads of money and leave it after a year. Our progression has been much more natural, more of a progression.

You were put forward for some amazing Kerrang! awards this year. Best live act, best band, hero of the year for singer Rou Reynolds.

Do you think it helps you go up the billings because you are so great to watch?

Our festival bookings were done before the Kerrang! awards.

I would like to think festival promoters and organisers know how good we are live. We put 100 per cent effort into all our live shows.

There are so many bands out there that deserve the recognition but don’t get it. So it’s a bit of an awkward one that one. Playing live is something we’ve been doing for a long time.

We’ve been playing live before we recorded any music so it was the best award we could have hoped for and we are really pleased with it.

We try not to take ourselves too seriously when we are on stage if we aren’t having fun then how can we expect our audience to enjoy it?

We just go out there and have a good time really and hope it translates to the audience. Both the audience and the band really feed off each other and with that kind of energy in the air it’s impossible not to go mad.

Do you find your fans are singing all your new songs already?

Yes definitely. It’s funny when you play a new song live you think no one should have heard it but people are already singing it back.

It’s an unbelievable feeling, the strangest thing is when you’ve done a region you’ve never done before and they are singing back your music, you don’t understand quite how it happens. It’s really an incredible feeling.

How has the year been so far?

There’s been lots of touring and you are about to do to south Africa?

We’ve pretty much toured non stop. We’ve toured and recorded the album. We try to spread our wings and go as far as possible. We are looking to see what the reaction is going to be like (in south Africa).

Are you looking forward to playing Reading?

Definitely. It kind of feels like our home turf especially as it is the last one at the end of the festival season.

It’s always fantastic. Last year we came off stage absolutely buzzing, grinning from ear to ear. We had a fantastic show. We are certainly going to put all our effort into it as we do each time.

And you are further up the billing this year?

Yes, we are one step further up the ladder!

Do you think you’ll be headliners in years to come?

I’ve no idea. It would be incredible but there are so many massive bands out there that probably deserve it more. Never say never, I suppose. I honestly don’t know if it would happen, to be honest. It would be incredible.

Anything planned specifically for Reading?

I don’t think so. We are one away from being able to take lots of production to reading. The top two bands can bring production so our hands are tied. We are just going to go out and give it our all and enjoy ourselves and the rest of the evening at the festival.

Are you going to try to break the crowd surfing record again (it was calculated around 2,000 fans were passed over head) I don’t think we could! When we did it two years ago it was so immense. It was literally wave after wave of a sea of people coming over.

I just don’t think we could top it to be honest.

Are you going to mix it up by playing old and new songs?

Yeah. Every band always want to play their new tracks because it’s most fresh and exciting for them.

But you’ve got to realise there are a lot of people at the festival that want to hear the old stuff. You’ve got to mix it up – we’d never be one of those bands who say ‘screw you guys, we’re going to play nothing but the album’. We’ve got a good mix of all three albums.

What do you want to achieve by the end of the year?

The same thing we achieved by the end of last year. Continuing with writing and recording and playing live music.

We never really set any goals for ourselves.

We never really look any further from where we are now if we can keep doing what we are doing, that’s all I can ask for really.

What’s next?

Lots of touring basically. It never really stops for us.

But that’s the way we like it.

Rob will be performing a Dj set at the B****** To Poverty tent, outside of the main arena, in the camping area.

Check with organisers at the festival for more details.

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