26 Jan 2024
Drum and bass legends Rudimental have been secretly rehearsing for their upcoming world tour in St Albans’ very own Pioneer Club.
The band, whose hits include Feel the Love and These Days, have been performing in the main auditorium for most of the day, having spent more than a week at the venue.
It’s late on Saturday afternoon, and accompanied by Pioneer supremo Danny Clare, I grab Piers Aggett and Kesi Dryden for a quick chat during a break, and we head upstairs away from the noise of the musicians to find out what it is about the club that works for them.
“We did a really good DJ set in here a couple of months ago,” said Piers, recalling their October gig, which saw them perform a show-stopping session in front of a full house of music fans, industry executives, and fellow artists.
“It was such a good vibe, man. It kind of had a sort of rave-y feel to it. The sound system in there is great. The crowd, it wasn’t like heaving, and people enjoyed themselves. We played some new tracks, and tested some new tunes out, which is one of the best things when you’re DJing, you road-test songs and we got a chance to do that with some ravers in St Albans, it was great!”
Kesi explained the benefits of smaller venues: “Yeah, you get a really close-up intimate vibe and you can really feed off the energy of the crowd way more in smaller places. There’s also something about that room that sounds really good with the acoustics in it.”
Piers agreed: “The sub [woofer speaker] in there just travels around the whole room, which is not huge. So I think for a rave perspective, it’s great for that drum and bass, you know, and stuff that’s heavy on the sub. If you’re in a festival and you can’t quite get to the centre, it’s not going to sound that great even though the crowd is amazing, so it’s a whole different thing.”
The band has a close relationship with Headliner Space, who are working with St Albans locals Enter Shikari to rejuvenate the historic venue, and using the space for rehearsals was a natural progression of that link.
Piers said: “We’ve known some of the people involved for quite a while now. It’s a really nice little vibe we’ve created in here. And it’s for a really, really, good cause. There’s a studio going on downstairs, it’s a youth centre, a skate park, it’s a really important part of the community.
“It’s good to get involved in these sorts of things. And we have this tour coming up so it all aligns.
“We’re off to Australia and New Zealand on Wednesday. So, we’re just rehearsing for our live shows out there, it’s been good using the space and it worked out really well. It’s the perfect size for us to rehearse in.”
Kesi added: “There’s a little less distraction when we’re here as well. We’re not close enough to get to anything. The day’s written off when you come here, you can’t plan anything in the evening or the morning.
“It’s good to get everyone in one place. It’s not too far, it’s kind of perfect really for this situation.
“The skate park here is really cool as well. To do a DJ set on the skate park, that would be fun. Health and safety I don’t know about, but like… I think that would be something special.”
Although they haven’t had any time to explore St Albans, Piers already knows the city well: “At one point I was looking at houses here, my wife is from Bolton, so it was like a quick way to get to Bolton. So, honestly, we were going to Bolton so much at one point, that I was like let’s live in St Albans and jump on the M1! But, it’s actually beautiful, it’s a lovely place, it’s really nice, for sure.”
One of Danny’s plans for the Pioneer is to offer somewhere for young people to practice music, including jazz and soul jamming sessions every other weekend, with refurbished instruments provided by Electric Umbrella.
“That sort of thing is so important to us,” Piers revealed. “I had access to a community centre when I was growing up which was really important in me getting into DJing. If you’re a young musician it’s about having a hub where you can meet up with other musicians. It’s not always happening in schools, especially these days when music isn’t necessarily funded properly. So it’s a really important thing for us, and I know without it growing up it would have been less easy…”
Kesi agreed: “I guess coming from inner London, as Piers was saying, those spaces were crucial for us when we were younger. Having our heads in the centre of different places where we could go and meet other musicians and link up. Even like, ten years deep into having success, you see other producers who are successful and they were all rich kids when they were younger.
“There’s not many inner London kids like us that have been in the industry and done OK. You do notice that most of those who have had the chance are rich kids whose parents gave them everything. Even when we did get older, we were working in schools as learning mentors and different things. So it’s always nice to support any space that gives back.”
As the newly appointed chief executive of the Pioneer Club CIC, Danny has big plans for the venue: “It’s been great having Rudimental here for the past week, and testament to the improvements The Pioneer Club and Headliner Spaces have made to improving the offering and facilities we have on site for both grass roots and world famous musicians. We continue to work on a busy schedule of events, and will channel revenues back to supporting opportunities for young people in the creative arts.
“We have a couple of community events incoming, including St Albans’ Finest on Thursday February 1, with Save St Albans Pubs and Lemonrock, showcasing some of the beloved performers who regularly appear in the pubs and venues of St Albans.
“We’re also very proud to be host venue for the fifth anniversary Common People event on Saturday February 10.”
Headliner Spaces booking manager George Batten added: “Recent development of The Pioneer Club is driving great interest from the music industry. Our objective is to offer a diverse range of entertainment, catering to the wider community of St Albans and surrounding areas.
“Whilst supporting the local grassroots music scene, we’ve brought a number of iconic artists to St Albans such as The Blackbyrds, Dune Rats, Wes Nelson, and of course, Rudimental who relaunched The Pioneer Club back in October.
“Coming up, we have British jazz-funk giants, Light of The World performing on Saturday March 9, followed by Internationally acclaimed Alt-Rockers, You Me at Six DJing alongside some special guests on Saturday April 6. You can find the details of all upcoming events at tickets.pioneerclub.co.uk or on our socials, @thepioneerclubmusic.”
