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Five Things You Didn’t Know About Rudimental

Plus: we're giving away tickets to their show at NYC's Terminal 5 tomorrow.
Photo by Danny North 

Rudimental describe themselves as "just four boys from East London" on their Twitter profile, but we all know better. Piers Agget, Amir Amor, Kesi Dryden, and DJ Locksmith (I mean, are these guys real people or Harry Potter characters?) have been responsible for bringing a new school of British club music to the top of the pop charts—and, with the help of Disclosure, importing that sound to American festival stages.

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Although they come from a drum and bass background, Rudimental are known for their eclecticism—a product, perhaps, of the wide-ranging tastes of all four band members. The "Rudimental sound" is pretty hard to pin down, especially given their broad range of musical influences (everything from the soulfulness of Otis Redding to the live instrumentation of Parliament Funkadelic). But on their debut album Home, a few big themes emerge: a sense of balanced elegance instead of balls-to-the-wall maximalism; unexpected, left-field collaborations with guest-starring vocalists; a wide-ranging musical smorgasborg of garage, house, pop, and R&B.

RT to win tix to @RudimentalUk tomorrow at @Terminal5NYC!! http://t.co/CkFi1WdgkZ

— THUMP (@thumpthump)

September 4, 2014

Since the boys are back on our shores for a big US tour, we're giving away tickets to their show at New York City's Terminal 5 tomorrow. You can win those tickets by hopping on Twitter and retweeting our tweet above. Meanwhile, peep our list below of five things you (probably) don't know about Rudimental. Unless, you know, you're like a super-duper ultimate fan.

Rudimental started out as a twosome.  
Main man Piers was making music with Kesi for a couple years before they brought in Leon. Then they met Amir in a studio and slotted him right in, like a special snowflake-shaped coin going through a special snowflake-shaped hole.

They met the singer on "Feel the Love" at a bar.
Piers met John Newman while out drinking one night. He worked as Newman's keyboardist for a year, and that friendship eventually led to Newman recording the vocals for "Feel the Love," the drum and bass hit that broke them out into the big time.

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The dance music illuminati loves them. 
At least, if you believe that music awards are controlled by a shadowy organization of higher powers. Since their breakout in 2012, Rudimental has swept a whole bunch of prizes, including a Brit Award for "Waiting All Night," a Mobo Award, and a nomination for a Mercury Prize in 2013. Better clear some space on your mantels, boys.

The cover of Home features iconic street art from their hometown.
The Dalston Peace Mural in Hackney, East London was painted in 1985 and getting pretty run down, so the band donated £10,000 to ensure it was refurbished to its original glory.

Their next album has a whole bunch of killer collaborations. 
Rudimental has confirmed that their second LP will be out this year, and will include collaborations with the godfather of P-funk, George Clinton, Steely Dan's Donald Fagen, and Ed Sheeran. "It's the best music we've made, ever," said Amir Amor. Got that?

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