"We Toured with Football Before Music": Rudimental Warm Up Ahead of the Champions League Pre-Show at Trafalgar Square

The Friday Night Show returns, powered by Rockstar Energy Drink.

Image via Press.

Trafalgar Square has been transformed. Everyone's donning their bit of kit. The energy from Wembley appears to have travelled down to Westminster as the audience readies itself for Rudimental, the UK drum and bass collective, headlining the much-anticipated Friday Night Show—the first in five years—ahead of the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid on Saturday. 

Fresh from a tour, from Bali to Bristol, Snowbombing to Sydney, performing in this iconic central setting is a right royal reception. 10 years together. Four albums in the books. Three number ones. One more album on the way. These are the scores on the board for a band whose energetic stylings seem to really lend themselves to the creation of sporting anthems. 

On top of their electrifying recent releases, their label—Major Toms—boasts signees such as Anne Marie and Ella Henderson. But aboard the Rudimental control ship, they're reaching new heights and new sounds. I sat down with members Piers Aggett and Kesi Dryden to see how they were charting the course.

The Culture Crypt: How does it feel to be headlining the Friday Night Show presented by Rockstar Energy Drink tonight? 

Piers: "Really good. We're excited about playing some new music and teaming up with Rockstar. There's not been a show in five years before the final so it's great to be part of the first one back."

What's different about tonight's show is the kinetic setup, where the dance floor will generate the energy to power the event. What's the plan to get the place going? 

Piers: "Got to play some bangers! To keep people dancing, which will power our decks. Amazingly, this kind of technology is getting tested out. Anywhere we can have a greener imprint on shows is important to us. But playing some bangers is a must, playing some new music, new and old, to get the party started."

Kesi: "Before the show, we usually play some bangers in the dressing room, too, to get a little vibe going. Normally, we play house tunes, especially one by Todd Terje called 'Inspector Norse', which is a random outlet tune but seems to get us in the mood."

Any predictions for the final?

Kesi: "3-1 Real Madrid. But I think I want Borussia to win."

Piers: "3-2 Madrid. It'll be an exciting game. Borussia have looked good all the way through. And obviously, Real Madrid have got the star players with Bellingham. We're looking forward to it."

You've spoken about playing on the same football team together when you were younger. Has that approach carried over into music? 

Kesi: "I would think so. It definitely played a role. We've been playing in the same football team for years when we were like 14-15 and we still play in a Sunday league football team."

Piers: "I've hung up my boots because my knees don't work anymore. But we used to play for Haringey Borough in North London. We did the Youth Cup out there. We've had some good times."

Kesi: "Yeah, from an early age, we've been working together, whether it be on the pitch or in the studio and I definitely think it helps with understanding each other and listening to other opinions. It helps shape the music that you hear today. I'd say, we toured with football before music."

About your recent releases now, how did "Green & Gold" come about? 

Piers: "We were in a studio session at the end of last year, and Riko Dan was actually just passing through while we were making that song. He was jumping around different rooms, and he passed by ours and dropped that verse on the track. We all went a bit mad.

It's crazy because I was a DJ in a grime crew when he first burst onto the scene when I was 16. So it was nice to have a full circle swing-round with him jumping on our track. He's been a legend in the game for so long so it was an amazing day."

What about Ella Henderson for "Alibi"?

Kesi: "She's an amazing talent. We've been working with Ella for a while now. We actually signed her to our label about five or six years ago now. So it was nice to come round to working together finally and putting a single out."

Who's idea was it for the interpolation?   

Kesi: "It was Ella's idea to use 'Pastime Paradise' by Stevie Wonder."

Piers: "Yeah, so we called Stevie—obviously, I've got him on speed dial—and he said, 'yeah, you guys use it!' [laughs] I wish I had him on speed dial.

But he did give us the blessing to use it. We sang the choir vocals that Coolio added for 'Gangsta's Paradise' but we just re-sang it so it was a bit of a process but such a fun track to do. I didn't know about Stevie's version until I made this. I didn't even know about the word 'interpolation', so I've recently discovered that word too."

What can we expect from any upcoming projects? Is the sound going in any particular direction?

Piers: "Working on a new album. It's heavily drum and bass-influenced. We've been working with MIST, Flowdan…"

Kesi: "Popcaan… Popcaan on DnB."

Piers: "Yeah, so we're going to be feeding the tunes out every now and then up until the release of the album. Going back to the positive uptempo drum and bass but there's a darker, dirty club edge to it this time."

Well, you've soundtracked the 2012 London Olympics, provided the official song for the 2019 Men's Cricket World Cup and now the Champions League final pre-show tonight. Is there any other sporting event you've yet to dip your toes into musically? 

Kesi: "Locky [Locksmith] isn't not here, but he would say golf—he loves golf."

Stream Rudimental x Skepsis' "Green & Gold" below: