Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Rudimental, Major Toms/Asylum Records/Atlantic Records 2019.
English collective, Rudimental, has released their eagerly awaited third album and the title perfectly sums up their philosophy.
I’ve written about this group of like musicians before and their desire to use music as a philosophical statement about inclusion.
The performers on this album come from many differing cultural backgrounds and represent some of the most sought after collaborators in the industry as well as promising unknowns.
Toast to our differences continues the process evident on their 2015 release, We the generation, of providing a platform for talented up and coming artists.
In this case they have employed the incredible vocal talents of Maleek Berry and RAYE, plus Kojey Radical and Kabaka Pyramid along with rising singer songwriter Dan Caplen.
As with their last album, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and soul singer Yebba reappear along with a slew of wonderful singers from many varied genres.
Each Rudimental album is like a journey through cutting edge hip hop and pop with side trips into the world music scene. It’s a melting pot of styles and genres that works particularly well.
Their collaborations have a symbiotic relationship for it’s by tapping into the vast array of talent they attract to their projects that they are constantly renewing themselves.
To date this album has sold over 2.4 million copies and achieved platinum status in the UK and Canada and double platinum in Australia while also topping over 300million streams.
The album is a collection of the fruits of the collective’s last three years work.
Many of the tracks have already been released as singles and achieved incredible success.
In a world that seems driven by differences it’s nice to come across a group of musicians with such an inclusive and positive outlook on life.
My faith in youth is renewed by projects like this.
