How To Support Your Rivals

28 September 2015 | 10:16 am | Cyclone Wehner

"We've always worked closely together. So us having albums that are coming out at a similar time kinda works well for both of us."

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It could be the UK dance music equivalent of Michael Jackson's infamous rivalry with Prince. "I'm excited by it - us and Disclosure are great friends," he says easily. "We've always worked closely together. So us having albums that are coming out at a similar time kinda works well for both of us. We'll continue to support each other and support good music." Indeed, the acts united to launch June's UK festival Wild Life.

Dryden should be confident: We The Generation, led by the zesty Never Let You Go with Northern Irish troubadour Foy Vance, is a credible sequel to 2013's Home

"We'll continue to support each other and support good music."

The Rudimental story begins in Hackney, East London, where Dryden grew up alongside Piers Agget and Leon Rolle. Forming a group, they eventually recruited Amir Amor. The quartet developed a hybrid of local pirate radio sounds - house, jungle and UK garage - influenced as much by their parents' jazz, soul and funk collections. Signed to the indie Black Butter Records, Rudimental blew up with 2012's Feel The Love, featuring newcomer John Newman - it was their first UK #1 and Australian smash. Waiting All Night, with Ella Eyre, a young UK Chaka Khan, again topped the chart (and won "British Single of the Year" at the BRITs). Rudimental's debut Home received a Mercury Prize nom.

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Like Home, We The Generation. combines DJ sensibilities with live instrumentation. Rudimental sought established vocalists such as Lianne La Havas, while Eyre and MNEK, their studio buddy, return. Yet Rudimental also introduce Will Heard and Anne-Marie, the latter the flagship artist on their strategic Major Toms label (named after their HQ). "With John Newman and Ella, it was amazing to have the opportunity to work with them," Dryden reveals. "But, once they got signed by other labels, we haven't really had the opportunity to work with them as much as we would have liked to. So keeping everyone in house through Major Toms means that we can continue that relationship and build on something and have something lasting."

Dryden hopes Major Toms will evolve into "the future Motown" - and be "a big family" and "a big movement". Rudimental's fam is already huge. Their mate Ed Sheeran sings multiple numbers on We The Generation, including the hit Bloodstream, initially heard on x. Rudimental's take has been mistagged a 'remix', Dryden notes - it's actually "the original version", conceived in Los Angeles "a few years ago".

However, the greatest triumph on We The Generation is a cameo by the late Bobby Womack, the bittersweet New Day Coming among his final recordings. Rudimental met the soul legend when they performed on Later... With Jools Holland. "He came over to us and is like, 'Guys, that was amazing.'" They discussed a studio session, but it never happened. "Luckily, his family had this song that he'd written just before he passed away and they said that they wanted to give it to us to work on. So that was a massive privilege."

Rudimental will be Sheeran's "special guests" on his upcoming Australian stadium tour - and they have headline shows. They're "super-excited", Dryden says. "When we're on stage it's a big band - there's 11 of us on there, we have a big party."