1. Enter Shikari are a British post-hardcore band formed in 2003 from St Albans, Hertfordshire. They
combine post-hardcore and various heavy metal sub-genres, such as metalcore and alternative
metal, with elements of various electronic genres, such as electronica, dubstep, trance and
occasionally drum and bass, creating a completely unique sound. They are currently signed too
Ambush Reality which is an independent record label that only releases music by Enter Shikari.
Formed in July 2006, it is co-owned and run by the members of the band and their friends.The band
has decided that, in order to tour in the United States, they had to sign with a major record label in
America. The lead singer Rou Reynolds has also produced some solo music under the name ‘Rout’.
He usually performs in small venues or before Enter Shikiari’s shows.
The song ‘Warm Smiles do not make you welcome here’ is taken from
their record titled ‘A flash flood of colour’ which was Enter Shikiari’s 3rd
studio album. This was released on 16th January 2012. The director of the
music video for this track was Raul Gonzo (who has the craziest website I
think I’ve ever seen). Raul has also directed two other videos for Enter
Shikari which were ‘Arguing with thermometers’ and ‘Pack of Thieves’
which are also two great videos. He has also worked with artists such as
‘Bullet for a pretty boy’, ‘The Shimmies’ and ‘Veil of Maya’. He not only
works on music videos though, he has directed commercials also. Such as
adverts for ‘Tetris’ and ‘Sky Sports’. Photography is another strong point
that Raul has, with artists such as ‘The devil wears Prada’ and ‘Pierce the
veil’ he definitely has a thing for working with the heavier bands.

2. The camera work in Enter Shikari’s music video for their
track ‘Warm smiles do not make you welcome here’
cuts between 3 main locations. A basement where they
are holding the band ready for cloning, the factory
where there are machines cloning the band and then
outside of the warehouse where they have a stand-off
between the real band and the clones. The first scene is
a dark smoky location, showing where they’re being
held. It can’t be nice as it is dark and uninhabited. The
camera is able to show this by having the bands faces as
shadows at times showing you there isn’t a lot of light.
You see different members of the band being cloned
throughout mainly giving you a wide shot of the clones
with the machines in the back so you can see everything
that is going on and understand it. They use tracking
shot a lot while following the replicas showing their path
to then stand with the rest. You can also notice that the
doubles eyes are glowing blue showing the difference
between the originals and the fakes. The third scene
outside of the warehouse is close ups and long shots to
show the difference between the two bands. The real
Enter Shikari on the right are jumping around being
active and putting on a great show. The clones opposite
them are standing playing the instruments with no emotion or feeling. When filming the real band
they use close ups and medium shots with the camera moving about and making it all look really
entertaining. But with the band opposite the camera remains still on the shots and doesn’t bother
moving, just keeping it a straight shot.
Enter Shikari are ground breaking when it comes to producing music and so when compared to
other artists in that genre there is nothing you can specifically associate them too. They have aspects
of Rock, Metal and Electronic/Dubstep. They are definitely living up to how rock videos are. Focusing
on the band and also having them playing so the audience get an idea of how they are live. Though
they haven’t got any completely live footage in this music video, they do in others such as ‘Sssnake
pit’ where they move from an electronic/dubstep typecast gig to a rock concert where they switch
genres in their song, a very clever idea getting out to both audiences. Because they tend not to stick
to a particular genre their music videos will always follow a story to the lyrics, which not only brings
in people to watch for the music but also to watch their interesting videos.

3. And with these humble tools
We can trigger any emotion we choose
But we'll just settle to pump out repeated relics diluted with time
You see the airwaves are clogged up
But the fickle they, lap it up
They need to be drowned in condiments
And left to Ponder Sense
Warm Smiles, They Do Not Make You Welcome Here (x2)
Snap Back To Reality
The turbulence is throwing us from side to side
But no matter how hard you try
Surrounded by cannon fodder inundated with stagnant Sounds
You see the airwaves are clogged up
But the fickle they, lap it up
They need to be drowned in condiments
And left to Ponder Sense
Warm smiles, they do not make you welcome here (x2)
Transformation in Progress
Transformation in progress, transformation complete
Lightning strikes, A Flash Flood Of Colour
Lightning strikes, I can't stand the heat
Lightning strikes, A Flash Flood Of Colour
I... I... I... I can't stand the heat
A Flash Flood Of Colour
Warm smiles, they do not make you welcome here (x6)
The lyrics and the visuals match up in this song perfectly. This song is about how everything nowadays that is being
produced and played on the radio is just a copy of a copy. Nothing is different anymore and all lacks emotion. ‘We can
trigger any emotion we choose, but we’ll just settle to pump out repeated relics diluted with time’ meaning that when
producing what you create can stimulate people to make them happy or sad or excited but most artists are just interested
in pumping anything out as long as it is making money for them not if it is actually doing anything for anyone. Next they say
‘but the fickle they, lap it up’ meaning the ones producing it they don’t care, they lap up the attention and media coverage
they get. Enter Shikari produce a different track each time, they’re one of the most diverse bands with music and nothing
with them sounds like a repeat. In the video, the factory is representing the producers by showing the artists being cloned
over and over, demonstrating how they’re produce the same music over and over. When the clones play at the end against
the real band you can see the difference in how the originals are enjoying themselves and entertaining but the copies
stand lifeless doing the bare minimum. This is in relation to artists that do shows where they mouth every word because
the producers put so much work into their voice in the album they can’t actually sing live, or believe the dance routine is
more important. Rou screams ‘A flash flood of colour’ as he destroys the clones. He is trying to give them colour and give
them life, whether anything will change is unhopeful and that is why the clones disappear.
Where the lyrics suit to one half of the video (the factory and cloning part) the music behind the lyrics suit the other. The
further half of the video is them playing in a basement where they are being kept. The music is kept heavy at times so with
the band jumping about it fits with the rock genre side of things.