Rudimental Interview: The Original Rudimental Boys

You always remember your first time. Unfortunately for British urban pop quartet Rudimental, a mainstage debut at Glastonbury Festival had a distinctly bittersweet cast. The gig started wonderfully, looked set to be one of the best they’d played. Then a scary-ass thunder storm turned up to ruin the fun. 

“There was a lightning strike somewhere on the site and suddenly all these security guys came on saying you have to get off,” recalls the band’s Amir Amor. “I don’t think the audience knew what was going on - WE didn’t know what was going on.”
As boos rang out, the chaps in neon bibs calmly outlined what had happened during a similar incident 12 months previously. “Lightning struck the Pyramid Stage in 2013,” says Amor. “One guy was hit – he broke his leg and his heart stopped. We were like… ‘erm okay, maybe we should go off’.”
Backstage they were devastated. Glastonbury was supposed to represent the crowning achievement of 18 remarkable months that had taken in a number one album, a Mercury Music Prize nomination and a Brit Award for best single. “We were pretty upset. Leon [Rolle, the group’s inhouse DJ] was in tears.”
On the bright side, at least they were on stage long enough to premiere their new single, the Ed Sheeran collaboration ‘Bloodstream’ (the red-haired strummer was on hand for the unfurling). 
“I’ve known Ed for years – since long before he was famous,” says Amor,” The first time I laid eye on him was at a house party. It was a friend’s birthday; Ed was playing music. Back then that’s what he was always doing, playing music. 
“We got talking and said we should work together some day – of course, when that day came we were all in Los Angeles and [rapper] The Game and Ellie Goulding were in the studio too. It goes to show how things can change.”
He should know. At the start of 2012 Rudimental were one of any number of UK dance crews trying to get their career off the ground. A long-serving fixture on the Hackney underground scene, they ‘d scored a few local airplay hits, on stations such as grime flagship Rinse FM. Still, it seemed a long shot they would ever progress further than street parties and local club sets. They were ambitious and talented - but how could they take their career to the next level?
“We had a song called ‘Feel The Love’ which we’d put down a rough demo of,” says Amor, taking up the story. “We had a guide vocal down but realised we needed special singer. Then one day we came across this guy called John Newman singing in a pub. It was weird - that amazing voice coming out of his big head. He was perfect.”
Did they know they had written a hit? “I realised it was a big tune,” says Amor. “It’s such an A&R thing to say - ‘this could be a hit’. Nobody can predict if something will be a hit or not. We were sure it was a wicked tune, that we loved it. We’re four very different guys in the band, so if it appeals to us , it is covering a lot of bases. And we all felt it, 100 per cent.”
‘Feel The Love’ was a calling card for both  Rudimental and Newman . A rollicking slice of inner city pop, it topped the UK charts (curiously it stiffed at 26 here), and launched both band and vocalist. There was only one catch – at the time, Rudimental had not completed their debut album. Actually, they had barely started it. Their world was turning upside down – now they had to put all that aside and knuckle down in the studio .
“It was pressure but it suited us,” says Amir. “We would go from touring and festivals to the studio, where we’d lay down some tracks before heading back out again. We don’t need anyone pushing us - we are quite self contained.  If the songs don’t satisfy us, we’re not done. That’s where the pressure is from.”
One of the distinguishing characteristics of Home , their debut album, was the use of unknown vocalists – a few of whom have gone on to careers of their own. These include the aforementioned Newman –  a chart topper two times over thanks to his solo smash ‘Love Me Again’ – and Ella Eyre, whose debut LP is imminent. For their second album, which they are close to completing, Rudimental will work with both those artists again, although, this time,they aren’t confining themselves to relative newcomers. 
“If you can believe it, we did a song with Donald Fagen of Steely Dan,” says Amor. “We were nervous– Steely Dan have a reputation as pretty hardcore in the studio back into day. With someone like that, you never know how it will go. They might be there one day, not turn up the next. Fortunately, Donald came back. He was very enthusiastic – we were surprised at how engaged he was with electronic music.”
Amor was last to join Rudimental (a three piece most of their existence). Before that he had worked as a producer, which gave him a nicely unromantic sense of how things work in the music industry. Perhaps that is why, now that the group have had time to sit down and think about things, they have decided to put out the next record on their own label rather than stay with a  major (Warner will still handle promotion and distribution). 
“I know how much fiddling labels like to do,” he says. “They like to mess things up, they put you under pressure, make you feel uncomfortable. We’re from a background of independent music - it’s nice to have creative freedom, not to have to rely too much on the label.”
Not, he would like to make clear, that they are setting out to demolish the system. 
“You have to realise that everyone needs a record label. There is a certain power they possess. Some of their opinions are good. They are coming from a different angle - and you have to work with them to get your songs into the shops, onto iTunes. It’s a love-hate relationship. So far, it seems to be working okay.
“To have so much success is not something you ever expect. It didn’t come as a shock - we have worked at this for years. On the other hand, who ever thinks they will one day be on stage at Coachella? [a celeb-beloved festival in California]. Come on – that’s pretty unbelievable. We feel we are just getting started - our first album was an introduction, a scratching of the surface of what Rudimental are about. We have so much more to give.”

The album Home is out now. Rudimental play Longitude,Sunday July 20