Aug-Sep 2017

Its vibrancy and diversity has
heavily influenced the band.
“Growing up, I had a Jamaican
family next door playing reggae;
Irish neighbours playing folk;
Indian playing Indian – bringing
all sorts of music and food and
cultures,” says Kesi. “It’s not
many places where you grow
up feeling like you’re one step
ahead of everyone. You can go
anywhere else in the world and
still feel at home.”
For Amir, too, that diversity is
precious. “It's something to
be cherished and used to our
advantage," he says.
Moving on to inspirations,
Amir remembers: “When I was
about 15, I was inspired by
hearing a girl rap on a beat.
She took me to a youth club
where they were making music.
The manager was a guy called
Kevin Osbourne and the most
important thing he did for me
was to say, ‘Yeah you can do it’.”
East life
''We have been to many places
but nowhere's like Hackney'
up in music or starting a career
in music? “One of the hardest
things for me with music was
sharing it with people. It’s scary,”
says Kesi.
He tells the story of an early
Rudimental single and how he
played it on a mix tape with
some mates in a car, without
remembering it was on the
tape. Their reaction to it was
enthusiastic and it went on
to become their number one
debut Home.
Amir concurs: “Be brave. Share
you work. Get out your comfort
Continued on next page...
The club was Major Tom’s, now
Rudimental’s very own studio
and record label.
Safe to say that Kevin is an
#Artskicker ;)
For Kesi, seeing Hackney boy
Labrinth have success was a
big inspiration. He says: “He's
younger than me, from the
same school and area. It made
me think, ‘If he can, I can do it
too’.”
It wasn’t always an easy road,
but “the message of our music
is always a positive one". "We've
all had our individual struggles,
it’s important not to focus on
the negative”, says Kesi.
Any advice for anyone coming
Kesi, Amir, DJ Locksmith, and Piers hanging out (of the windows)
LOVEEAST AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2017 7