Realer Review by: David Gilmour
WATCH the episode with Rou
If you were to come across an Enter Shikari performance online, you’d realise very quickly that they are a phenomenally energetic force. With roots in the hardcore punk scene, they incorporate respectfully a kaleidoscope of electronic sound with the activist poetry that is their lyrics. This episode of London Real was with Rou Reynolds, the band’s lead singer.
Something that sticks to mind is that Rou uses words like ‘honesty’, ‘heart’ and ‘soul’ when talking about his art form. True to his punk origins, Rou’s conversation with Brian highlights two enormous motives: community and voice.
With great art comes great responsibility and Rou’s passion for social mindedness and activism is part of the fabric of the music he creates. An advocate of the Zeitgeist Movement, Rou has never been afraid to speak his mind. Popular music is saturated with egotism and narcissistic celebrity culture, Rou represents a rejection of using music for this kind of platform.
Turned off by ignorant and destructively short-sighted perspectives, Rou is all about a respectful open-mindedness that is hungry to learn and explore different ideas. For this reason the band is not confined to lyrical safety or musical genre.
The second great point Rou talks about is his belief in music as an intrinsically communal experience, neurologically established and emotionally evident. Even without an explicit message for us to identify with, music unites us - including within the concentrated energy of a mosh pit. It’s a chemical bond that is historically about storytelling and ideas, a catalyst for togetherness.
Contributing to connections between people and sharing ideas, for Rou, seems to rest at the very core of what he does.
Unguardedly open and astonishingly humble, Rou Reynolds represents the real notions that underlie not only hardcore punk but music as a whole. This episode of London Real is not only enlightening but a reminder of how art and music can be an extraordinary force for purpose and hope.
