14 years ago today, Enter Shikari released 'Destabilise'.
The single was the band's first release after stepping away from their deal with Atlantic Records, and continued the thread that 'Common Dreads' sparked — focused on both politics and unity.
Here's the story.
Before I start, a good chunk of what I'm about to say is from Luke Morton's incredible ES biography 'Standing Like Statues' — and I don't want to take away from that.
So, I'll only cover the basics. If you wanna know more, go read the book!
Standing Like Statues: The Enter Shikari Authorised Biography
To put it short, the band had found that the major label life was not for them — the nature of a big corporation simply clashed with the spirit of Enter Shikari.
However, where most artist would falter after leaving a deal like theirs —
Enter Shikari were on fire.
Destabilise was a triumphant next step for the band. With passion, spirit, and love, the song has gone down in the ES books as one of their most popular and beloved cuts.
Compositionally, the song is rebellious and full of energy. The song's structure is unique and bold.
The main motif of the song is fanfare — a motif that carries through the band's whole history, but this is one of the strongest examples of how Rou uses brass to signify that Enter Shikari is only just getting started. Very similar to their use of brass on AKFTWW.
One of the most iconic things about Destabilise, however, is the line —
"Rory C, what's your thesis?"
Now, Rory had no clue how iconic this line would be. But, it goes down in the Enter Shikari lore as one of the most important questions ever asked in an ES song.
Ultimately, though. This song was a rebellious song that ushered in the 'A Flash Flood of Colour' era with a bang, and has only gone down as one of the band's most popular and beloved.
The song has over 5 million streams on Spotify, and is a staple of the live set.
It is their 4th highest played song of all time live (with 613 performances) and was debuted at Sziget Festival 2010, just over six months after the single released (August 13th)
Here's a video of the first performance of Destabilise!
According to the description of this video, Destabilise was actually a cover of the song 'Destabilise' by St Albans jazz-legends 'Jonny and The Snipers'.
This could in fact be accurate, but has never been fully confirmed.
Ultimately, this song is one of Enter Shikari's most pivotal and iconic songs.
Ushering in the Flash Flood of Colour era with ambition, rebellion, and unity, the song is a key part of the Enter Shikari lore and will always be a beloved part of the band's history.
Today, 12 years ago, Enter Shikari played Soundwave Festival Brisbane (AUS).
The first Soundwave Diaries 2012 video documents this show, in which Rob broke one of his cymbals and Rory had way too much fun... with his name on his pass?
Other Enter Shikari gigs from 25/02:
• 2018: The Spark Tour — Music Box, San Diego, CA, US
• 2016: The Mindsweep Tour — Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, UK • 2015: The Mindsweep Tour — UEA LCR, Norwich, UK
• 2010: In support of Taking Back Sunday — Metro Theatre, Sydney, AUS
• 2007 In support of Billy Talent — Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, DE
Today, 12 years ago, Enter Shikari played Soundwave Festival Brisbane (AUS).
The first Soundwave Diaries 2012 video documents this show, in which Rob broke one of his cymbals and Rory had way too much fun... with his name on his pass?
16 years ago today, Enter Shikari played the legendary London Astoria (for the second time).
Supporting the band was Saving Aimee, Outl4w and Lioness.
This show was the second time that the band had played the venue, and the first since their legendary feat of being the second unsigned act to ever sell out the venue — with NME stating that they "return to the scene of their first triumph and bring lots of fire".
The band played the entirety of "Take To The Skies" except for 'Today Won't Go Down In History', and also played their cover of Faithless' 'Insomnia'.
This was their first UK headline show of the year — and their only headline show in the first half of 2008.
Not much media for this show exists — the photo above is the only known media for the concert. It comes from the NME review of the concert, which you can read here!
• 2018: The Spark Tour — The Observatory, Santa Ana, US
• 2016: The Mindsweep Tour — Central Station, Wrexham, Wales
• 2015: The Mindsweep Tour — Corn Exchange, Cambridge, UK
• 2007: In support of Billy Talent, Tennis Event Center, Hohenms, AU
16 years ago today, Enter Shikari played the legendary London Astoria (for the second time).
Supporting the band was Saving Aimee, Outl4w and Lioness.
This show was the second time that the band had played the venue, and the first since their legendary feat of being the second unsigned act to ever sell out the venue — with NME stating that they "return to the scene of their first triumph and bring lots of fire".
The band played the entirety of "Take To The Skies" except for 'Today Won't Go Down In History', and also played their cover of Faithless' 'Insomnia'.
This was their first UK headline show of the year — and their only headline show in the first half of 2008.
Not much media for this show exists — the photo above is the only known media for the concert. It comes from the NME review of the concert, which you can read here!
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