Rou Reynolds - Lead Singer of Enter Shikari

Roughton Reynolds, better known as "Rou", was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire in the UK. He was born on January 16th, 1986. He is currently the lead singer of one of the UK's most diverse and charismatic bands; "Enter Shikari". He set up his first band when he was in school with Chris Batten and Rob Rolfe as a positive move from fighting in the playground. The headmaster was sick of their antics, and told them to get a pastime to stop them getting into trouble. The result was the band "Hybrid", which was formed in 1999. Rou was the guitarist, Chris played bass, and Rob was the drummer. Who could have known that this small band would evolve into one of the UK's most renowned alternative bands, Enter Shikari.

Rou is the lead singer of the British Post-Hardcore band, Enter Shikari. It evolved from Hybrid, when Rory Clewlow joined the band so Rou could concentrate on the electronic aspect of the band's music. They wanted a fresh, unique sound, which is exactly what they achieved. With Rou now adding a new, diverse aspect to the bands sound with his electronics, they were ready to record some music. after releasing a range of demo EPs and singles, they released their first album, "Take To The Skies" on March 25th 2007. Rou's passionate vocals, unwielding screams, and highly original synth lines, such as the one in "Mothership", were the main contribution to the band's success on the underground scene. "Sorry Your Not A Winner" is arguably the most well known and successful song of the band, and is from this album.

However, the band continued to expand their horizons, and their second album "Common Dreads", which was released on June 15th 2009, was a step away from the style associated with their first album. Rou led the band towards a more electronic orientated style. While this is there on the first album, it is more prominent on "Common Dreads", with Rou having a large influence on this new style. His lyrical style moved away from the screaming vocals of "Take To The Skies". The result was a more mature sounding album in which Rou's singing ability was shown. Some of the electronic styles used on the album include house, dubstep and drum n' bass, giving the album a distinct diversity. The two singles from the album are "Juggernauts" and "No Sleep Tonight". While both are good songs, there are better songs on the album which showcase Rou's musical leadership in the bands new found variable style. Examples of this would be "The Jester" and "Havoc B".

As well as being the front man for "Enter Shikari", Rou does a lot of solo work, which is mostly dance orientated, particularly in the genres of dubstep and drum n' bass. He usually works under the name of "Rout" for his solo work. He previously worked under the names of "Shark and Blitz" and "Routron 5000".

Rou has released a solo album, titled "Spirit of Humanity" which was released on April 5th 2010. It is primarily dubstep with some drum n' bass. The atmosphere of the album is both dark and intense, and overall it is technically brilliant, with highly original basslines and complex drum beats. In a genre that is becomingly increasingly repetitive and uninspired, this album stands out as a masterpiece of dubstep, creating an atmospheric journey into the essence of what dubstep should be. "Troglodytes" and "Ctrl C Ctrl V" are two examples from the album of this originality within the genre, however, each song is as innovative as the next; so the album is well worth a listen. It is a prime example of the musical genius of Rou.

Rou also does remixes of songs by his own band. He has done remixes of "Sorry Your Not a Winner", "Destabilise", "Quelle Surprise", and others.

He has also started his own clothing company called "Step Up Clothing".

Keyboards

• Korg Microkorg
• Korg R3
• M-Audio Axiom 49

Kaoss Pads

• Korg Kp3 Kaoss Pad
• Korg Kp2 Kaoss Pad

Other Equipment

• Korg Radias
• Pioneer djm 800
• Novation launchpad
• Korg Emx-1
• Macbook 13