Rudimental have announced the release of their much-anticipated fourth studio album, ‘Ground Control’ – a full-colour, 16-track epic that toasts a decade’s worth of the group’s extraordinary music-making.
Scheduled for release on September 3 via Major Toms / Asylum Records, ‘Ground Control’ also boasts an impressive list of collaborators and guest voices, including MJ Cole, Hardy Caprio, Skream, Karen Lomax, Backgroad Gee, D Double E, Hamzaa, Kojey Radical, The Game and more, as well as the hit singles ‘Come Over’ ft. Anne-Marie & Tion Wayne and ‘Be The One’ ft. MORGAN, Digga D & Tyke.
Announced today (June 18) with lead single ‘Straight From The Heat’ ft. Nørskov – a bright, breezy new summer jam that references Doolally’s 1998 UKG classic of the same name (released on legendary Garage imprint, Locked On Records) – it forms a fitting entry point for an album that sees Rudimental draw on every ounce of their sound-system heritage. “We grew up raving to this classic garage record by Doolally, who used to mentor Amir”, Rudimental explain, “and inspired by the original release on Locked On Records, we wanted to give it a modern twist.
Tapping everything from anthemic drum & bass to woozy, iced-out house, soulful UKG and huge, festival-worthy club anthems, ‘Ground Control’ captures Rudimental in full bloom – at their free, expressive and kaleidoscopically creative best. Released over two sides to reflect the sheer breadth of sounds they explore – Side A compiling the album’s more soulful tracks, and Side B serving as a full-blooded nod to the clubs – the tracklist is awash with the sort of invention that makes Rudimental such a unique outfit; and with it, one of the UK’s most successful groups of the last decade. Stay tuned for more new music over the coming weeks.
‘Ground Control’ will release as Rudimental’s first studio album since the release of 2018’s ‘Toast To Our Differences’, which boasted 2018’s biggest-selling UK single in ‘These Days’ ft. Macklemore, Jess Glynne & Dan Caplen – a track that has since gone on to clock well over 1 billion streams worldwide.
Elsewhere, Rudimental’s record label, Major Toms, has also continued to go from strength-to-strength over the past two years, welcoming new signings to the camp in preciously talented singer-songwriter MORGAN and rising young star TIKE – both of whom feature on ‘Be The One’. They join Anne-Marie and Ella Henderson on the label’s roster, which is now well established as a forward-facing incubator of crucial new talent.