Rudimental are living the dream after being nominated for Mercury Prize

Rudimental: Amir Amor, Kesi Dryden, DJ Locksmith and Piers Aggert

Dance collective Rudimental will be flying the flag for Hackney in this year’s Mercury Prize after their debut album Home was nominated for the prestigious gong.

Home, which features on its cover the Dalston Peace Mural, has already gone platinum in the UK (selling more than 300,000 copies), and with a Mercury nomination in the bag that figure will surely rise.

The Hackney based quartet, consisting of Piers Agget, Kesi Dryden, Amir Amor (Amir Izadkhah) and DJ Locksmith (Leon Rolle) will be crossing their figures when the winner is announced in a ceremony on 30 October, but face strong competition from the likes of the Arctic Monkeys and David Bowie.

Speaking after the nomination announcement, producer and guitarist Amor said: “This time about a year and a half ago, we were working in normal jobs and doing normal things, you know?

“So this is really important to us. It’s amazing that it’s all happened in such a short space of time as well.”

The group’s rise from Hackney hopefuls to chart toppers came with hit song ‘Feel the Love’, an uplifting house anthem featuring vocalist John Newman that was one of the sounds of  summer 2012 after it reached number one in the UK charts.