Rudimental
Rudimental are on track to add chart topping album to their list of achievements, with the Hackney quartet already having had a duo of number one singles. To celebrate, we're taking a closer look at the group that within 18 months has leapt from relative obscurity to battling with Daft Punk and Michael Bublé in the hit parade.
While the band might have appeared to come out of nowhere, the history behind them is very impressive, as the three original members of the group Piers Agget, Kesi Dryden and DJ Locksmith all lived within two streets of each other, with Piers and Kesi even going to university together to study Creative Music and Sound Technology. It will take one heck of a set of creative differences to separate this group of friends.
The most unbelievable thing about it all is how the group initially struggled to get any form of record deal, with Amir Amor from the group telling Digital Spy in an interview that "Two years ago we were getting turned down by labels because we mix up drum 'n' bass with trumpets and guitar solos and stuff. Labels didn't want us because they didn't know where to put us - I think we scared them off a bit."
That their biggest asset this was also their major stumbling block might say more about the music industry than Rudimental, but thankfully someone saw past that and laid down for their domination of the airwaves last summer. Whilst their first release of 2012 'Spoons' had seen them become the toast of many a critic, it was their second that made them the stars they are today.
Everything just combined perfectly for 'Feel The Love'. Firstly, the track itself is a song almost bursting with energy and exuberance. The positivity flowing through the veins of the UK had never been purer after an Olympics that had seen Great Britain live up to its name and saw this immensely sunny track become cemented as one of the songs of the summer.
Rudimental almost become talismanic of that and with the country still trying to re-capture that feeling of euphoria, it only makes sense the throngs would come a-calling for another blast of fun. It's a theme that rings throughout all of their music, but is backed up by more than just empty smiles. Rudimental have been able to deliver in a way that will not only see them liked by their fans, but also by the critical crowd.
With this album Rudimental show off the spirit of British urban music, varied in its influences and both nostalgically praising the past whilst embracing the future at the very same time. Not two tracks on the album are identical, but all of them are linked and share the same space. It's an almost perfect representation of the foursome behind the music.
While we don't know whether Rudimental can carry on this incredible success past this album, the guys should receive massive credit for what they've achieved so far. Instead of shunning creativity to secure radio status, they've made music that interesting and inviting that you can only wish them every success.