Rudimental: Songs and Collaborations
May 2012: John Newman's voice hit a horn section over drum and bass and proved Hackney had figured out something the whole chart would follow.
The moment that changed it
May 2012. A track from Hackney, East London, called "Feel the Love". John Newman's raw soulful vocal arrives on top of a horn section that absolutely shouldn't work over a drum and bass beat. It does. The track goes straight to number one on the UK Singles Chart and something shifts. Rudimental had just shown the whole music world that underground bass and pop could live in the same song.
Who they are
Rudimental started as three childhood friends from Hackney: Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle, who'd known each other since they were kids. Amir Amor joined as a producer and songwriter in late 2011 and shaped the sound for over a decade before departing amicably in 2022 to go solo. Piers, Kesi and Locksmith continue as Rudimental today.
Why the horn section worked
The formula was simple, but nobody else had tried it: refuse to choose. Rudimental built on drum and bass, then threaded through soul, reggae and real songwriting. That's why you find John Newman, Ella Eyre, Ed Sheeran and Jess Glynne all appearing on Rudimental records that still sound unmistakably like Rudimental. They don't chase the voice. They write the song first, then find the exact person to sing it. If you know Chase & Status, Logistics or High Contrast, this is the version built for singing along.
How fast it moved from there
"Waiting All Night" arrived a year later in April 2013 with Ella Eyre on vocals and hit number one again. Then the BRIT Awards came, Best British Single in 2014. Their debut album Home in 2013 went straight to number one on the UK Albums Chart and picked up a Mercury Prize nomination. We the Generation followed in 2015 and charted the same way. Once Rudimental arrived, they stayed.