It’s all eyes on Rudimental in Blighty next week, as the drum-and-bass quartet’s Stack House management cross their fingers in hope for a #1 album with We the Generation.
Released via Warner subsidiaries Asylum/Atlantic on Friday, the group’s second LP has so far spawned four singles. Ed Sheeran collab “Bloodstream” hit #2 on the U.K. singles chart after its release on 3/31, while “Never Let You Go” feat. Foy Vance only just made the Top 30 at #29 in June. Will Heard track “I Will for Love” followed in early September and “Lay It All on Me”, again with Sheeran, came out on 9/25, and has had 900 plays across all U.K. radio this past week.
Others who appear on the LP include Dizzee Rascal, MNEK, Ella Eyre, Lianne La Havas and Bobby Womack.
The band put indie label Black Butter on the map in 2012 after Rudimental’s Piers Agget fired over a demo of “Feel the Love” to Henry Village and Joe Gossa (who’ve since signed a global JV with Sony), and they scored one of the biggest singles of summer 2012.
Later signed to Warner, Rudimental’s debut album Home hit #1 on its release in April 2013 and has since been certified platinum. Thanks to their makeup as a group of producers and DJs, they’ve also proved a successful A&R tool.
A number of featured singers have gone on to launch their own careers after featuring on Rudimental singles, most notably, Island’s John Newman and Virgin EMI’s Ella Eyre. Currently on tour our side of the pond, the band return to Blighty on 10/13 and will play dates in London at Alexandra Palace (10/16) and the SSE Arena Wembley (10/29).
Also on the interesting new release radar is rock band Editors, who are set to release their fifth album via indie label PIAS Recordings on Friday. Titled In Dream, the record has been self-produced for the first time and is described as both pop and experimental. The LP’s third single “Life Is a Fear” was premiered on Zane Lowe’s Apple Music radio show on 8/11 and has had a somewhat meager 20 plays across all U.K. radio this past week. The band’s last album reached #6, and the previous two both hit the top spot.
On the singles side of things, Virgin EMI London producer Duke Dumont is trailing his new outlet for music: releasing EP’s instead of LP’s. The first four-track installment is out on Friday titled Blasé Boys Club Part 1. The debut single to be released from the EP “Ocean Drive” has had 239 plays across all U.K. radio this week. Also featuring on the set is 2014 #2 “Won’t Look Back”, which has since been certified silver. With two other smash hits under his belt already, namely “Need U” feat. A*M*E in 2013 and Jax Jones collab “I Got U” in 2014, will Dumont score again? We’ll update U Monday.
