“We found that using music with students can have a positive effect on youth whilst helping them knock down those barriers, so it’s an element we are keen to continue to weave into our music by the positivity.“
– Rudimental Leon Rolle 2013
[Rewind 2013]
Rudimental Interview
“HOME” Album Launch
The dance music quartet that is Rudimental has done nothing short of taking over the scene the world over with their infectious beats. Comprising of members Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden, Amir Amor and Leon Rolle, they’re about to drop their debut album ‘Home’, and have worked with the likes of Alex Clare and Emeli Sande and will be keeping the sounds of London town global for the foreseeable future.
We caught up with Leon Rolle to find out a bit more about what makes Rudimental just so successful…
Hi Leon, how are you? Whereabouts in the world are you right now?
Really good at the minute, happy to be home in London and in the thick of rehearsals for our UK tour, which is going well. We are extremely excited, we’ve added a drummer and I think we’ve now become the band I have always dreamt about.
You recently performed at the South By South West Music convention in Texas, how did that go? Were they any acts you saw that really stood out for you?
SXSW was an amazing experience. It was like us bringing our home – the streets of London – to Texas. The reception was great and I think it is just going to get better. Laura Mvula was exceptional, would definitely go to see her and her band live again.
How would you compare US festivals to the UK, what’s the atmosphere like? Are they particularly different?
The US is just as crazy and mental as the UK. The atmosphere was amazing. There’s something special that happens when we are all on stage together, which translates to the crowd.
I read online about how youth-centred studios play a big part in your music. Tell me a bit more about this?
Youth centres and community centres have an important part to play with helping youth access a way of expressing their negativity in positive ways. I worked in a secondary school alongside Kesi as Behavioural and Learning Mentors. We have first-hand experience of working with teenagers with behavioural issues and barriers to learning. We found that using music with students can have a positive effect on youth whilst helping them knock down those barriers, so it’s an element we are keen to continue to weave into our music by the positivity.
We’ve had a listen to your debut album ‘Home’ which will was released in April. What did you want to put out there with this album? Does it have any running concepts or themes?
We created this album in the studio and on the road. We always said that we wanted to make an album that would set festivals on fire, one that would allow you to feel like you’re Michael Schumacher on the way to work, as well as give that motivation to clean your house on that dreaded Sunday. The occurring theme that runs through this album is what solidifies us as a band…
“Soul elements with bass!”
Your track ‘Feel The Love’ has been a huge success all over the world; did you think it was going to be such a huge hit when you were writing it?
Like most producers, you always have a good feeling about the tracks you’ve made. In our case, when it comes to the creation of ‘Feel The Love’ – this is no different. I remember when the core idea of ‘Feel The Love’ came to the studio, we ended up trashing the place through sheer excitement, taking our tops off and going absolutely mental. ‘Feel The Love’ has been a smash hit which we are only coming to terms with now, that it was one of the biggest selling singles of 2012. It’s amazing and it has given us the license to show the world what we are about and, with the release of our debut album will help solidify our selves in this game for a long time to come.
You’ve got quite a few impressive names to feature on the album, like Alex Clare and Emeli Sande. How did you go about approaching them? What was it like working with them?
Both artists are true professionals and have an amazing passion for music. Emeli came to one of our gigs, which funnily enough she was struggling to get into and at that point she shared her desire to work with us, which was an amazing honour.
Who was your favourite guest to work with whilst recording the album?
All the guests have been amazing to work with. The most important thing to us is this element of family. It’s expressed on the album and also on stage, so typically everyone we’ve worked with shares that mindset or brings that vibe.
You’re touring the UK in April, what are you most looking forward to on this tour? Is there a particular city you’re excited about performing in?
Really looking forward to playing in front of all the fans that have been supporting us. There is absolutely nothing better than being in your own country with large crowds singing along to the tracks you have slaved over for the last year. These are the rewards!
What’s the craziest thing to have happened to you whilst on tour?
Don’t know if it’s that crazy, but whilst in Australia, Prodigy gave us a big shout on stage “YO RUDIMENTAL!! THIS NEXT TRACK IS FOR YOU!” we actually felt like little kids again when we heard this.
That’s amazing! What’s been the most unusual gig or festival you have played?
The most unusual place we’ve played in so far … is deep in the forest whilst doing Snow Bombing festival, was an amazing experience with a great crowd!
What kind of music and who did you grow up listening to? Would you say your family’s taste in music was a big influence? Would you say growing up in London played a big influence?
Sly and the Family Stone, Prince, Marvin Gaye as well as Dizzee Rascal and James Blake. When growing up in London, you had no choice but to surround yourself with nothing but eclectic sounds due to the cultural surroundings and diversity exploding on the streets of London, but it varies for all of us… I think that is why we connect as a band.
What’s been a career highlight for you so far?
The Hackney Weekender for the simple reason that it was our second live gig and we smacked it out the ballpark! The crowd fed us and we fed off the crowd. Amazing!
Rudimental Interview By Rachel Pottle
[Fast Fwd 2015]
Rudimental Interview Amir
We The Generation
Having dominated the charts since 2013 with their debut album ‘Home’, Rudimental are back with their sophomore release ‘We The Generation’, featuring a medley of artists including the late Bobby Womack, Will Heard and up-and-coming vocalist, Mahalia. Hannah Shakir caught up with the formidable collective’s Amir Amor in-between recording sessions to find out more about the new album they will be performing during the Australian leg of their world tour this November and December…
Hi Amir, how are you?
I’m good, how you doin’?
I’m good, thank you. So where are you talking to us from?
Actually in London, we just came from one studio and we’re going into another studio.
Recording at this time – it’s 10pm!
Oh yeah, always!
Cool, so the new album… It’s coming out on 18th Septebmer?
Yes, ‘We The Generation’.
It sounds brilliant!
Oh, brilliant, thank you.
So tell us what the concept was behind it?
‘We The Generation’ is a kind of continuation – in a way – of ‘Home’. We carried on writing songs and making music right through the release of that album all the way up until now really. And it’s taken on a more soulful twist. It feels like the best music we’ve written. We’re working so much better with each other, we’ve toured a lot and we’re a lot more comfortable around each other in the studio and all that stuff. So it’s got the same energy and that kind of festival epic moments that we love to do and this time we’ve got the new singers on there – some fresh voices and there’s some legends on there as well like Bobby Womack who we worked with before he passed away. It’s just full of energy – but I think more soulful this time, and I think the song writing this time is just better. So we can’t wait to get it out there. We’ve been playing the songs live actually for a little while now. Generally we write an idea, then we start playing it out before we even finish it, and we get it back into the studio and tweak it, add bits and take bits away. You know we’ll do something live and be like “Oh that sounded sick, let’s get in the studio and record that.” And we get inspiration from that and we kind of feed off each other.
As you were saying, you’ve kept those epic moments and that signature sound of brass and beats going. What is it that draws you guys to that sound? What made that become your signature sound?
We never go in with a tempo in mind or even any sort of genre or anything like that, sometimes we go in there and we end up making a reggae track or sometimes we go and make a drum and bass track. The thing is with all four of us, we have a really wide range of influences and upbringings, so when we come together we bring in a lot. It can go any directions. With us four there’s a mixture of live instrumentation, electronic, we’ve got the rave culture – as that’s where we came from, the grime, the garage, the drum and bass, but also the soulful vocals and you know, we love the festival. We love the gig and the stage, and we love to perform so what naturally comes through is the energy we bring to it. So when we’re making music it’s quite a collaborative process.
You’ve got Mahalia featuring on the title track, how did you come across her?
Mahalia was actually introduced to us through our label a couple of years ago and we’ve ended up doing a bunch of tracks together and we’ve performed together as well on Jools Holland. She’s a wicked talent. With Mahalia, we managed to write a load of songs and out of it came ‘We The Generation’. It feels like it represents the message of what Rudimental is all about.
I really like what you did on the website with the album cover…
With the fans uploading photos? Yeah we don’t really want to be in the limelight and want the music to do the talking, so press images and things like that, there’s a couple but generally we’ve generally been getting inspiration from the people so we asked them to submit loads of photos to us, and there’s some wicked stuff in there. So we’re kind of working on integrating that into an album cover as we speak. It’s an inclusive thing, it’s not about four guys, it’s about the family, the generation, so I think doing something like an album cover that involves a lot of people is interesting.
Last time we spoke, you were saying about how you guys are really involved in the community in London, and you obviously nurture up-and-coming talent too. How do you go about finding these new artists?
We’ve got a studio in East London where we’ve been based for many years now. And a lot of artists come through, it’s kind of a social area, it’s not a typical recording studio. We have a lot of randomness going on… it kind of just works. I don’t think any of us can put our finger on how we do it.
You’re heading out to Australia towards the end of the year and you’ve got a few days in-between gigs so will you be exploring much?
Yeah, we’ve got a little bit of exploring time so it would be great to see a bit of the nature of it and explore the people also, you know. We usually get a day off in the places that we visit. We’ve been to Sydney and Melbourne, and you get a little taste of it, and it’s just become one of our favourite places. It literally is our second home. We’re so connected to the scene out there, so we just can’t wait to come back. Like I said, it’s our second home.
Last time we spoke, you were saying about how you guys are really involved in the community in London, and you obviously nurture up-and-coming talent too. How do you go about finding these new artists?
We’ve got a studio in East London where we’ve been based for many years now. And a lot of artists come through, it’s kind of a social area, it’s not a typical recording studio. We have a lot of randomness going on… it kind of just works. I don’t think any of us can put our finger on how we do it.
You’re heading out to Australia towards the end of the year and you’ve got a few days in-between gigs so will you be exploring much?
Yeah, we’ve got a little bit of exploring time so it would be great to see a bit of the nature of it and explore the people also, you know. We usually get a day off in the places that we visit. We’ve been to Sydney and Melbourne, and you get a little taste of it, and it’s just become one of our favourite places. It literally is our second home. We’re so connected to the scene out there, so we just can’t wait to come back. Like I said, it’s our second home.
Rudimental Australian Tour Dates
27th November – Eatons Hills Hotel, Brisbane
1st December – Metro City, Perth
8th December – The Forum, Melbourne
10th December – The Enmore Theatre, Sydney^^