RUDIMENTALS ORIGINS
 

The Rudimentals, a Cape Town-based band, started 14 years ago in 2001 with roots in ska and reggae music blended with African elements. It started as a brass-driven live show band with Zimbabwean-born founding frontman Teboho ‘T-Boss’ Maidza adding his Southern African flavour to the mix. Fast-forward 13 years and the band have expanded and now includes; a three-piece brass section with a trombonist, trumpet and saxophonist; a five-piece vocal section with two international male fashion model MC’s from New York and Jamaica, a Zimbabwean-born ‘toasting’ MC and a rotating roster of up-and-coming backing vocalists; a keyboard player; an electronic and beats synth-player; a drummer first blooded in the metal scene; bass player and guitar player, completing the 13-piece band. 

 “We said; let’s just play music, never mind what it’s called...” – Ross McDonald – The Rudimentals, 2014
 

ABOUT THE BAND
 

The newly-branded Rudimentals announced their return with the EP ‘Blaze UpThe Fire’ in September 2014, with a new attack on sound, consisting of Dubstep, Drum and Bass, Hip-Hop, Dancehall and Reggae. This EP is dedicated to their late long-standing manager and close friend Clyde Finlayson, who suddenly and unexpectedly passed away from double pneumonia in June 2014. Clyde Finlayson was the co-founder of Synergy rock music festival, Vortex and Rezonance New Years Eve festival and also the brain behind Concerts for a Cause. It was Finlayson who secured sets for the Rudimentals alongside The Wailers, UB40, Lucky Dube, Johnny Clegg, Mango Groove and The Prodigy in 2012, perhaps a hint at the acceptance of electronic music that helped chart the Rudimentals and introduced their new musical direction that Finlayson helped create.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today, as a band and releasing new material, if it wasn’t for Clyde...” – The Rudimentals, 2014.
 

ABOUT THE BAND MEMBERS
 

Vocals
 

The frontline consists of models Marlon ‘”Khaos” Cotterell from Jamaica (seen in Hugo Boss and Armani print and TV adverts) and Abdi Whosane Pangaea from Brooklyn, New York (seen in Puma and Hyundai print and TV adverts). Llyod "King Labash" Charles Muponda is a well-known Zimbabwean dancehall and reggae toaster and EB, the backup vocalist completes the five-piece frontline with founding member and lead vocalist frontman Teboho ‘T-Boss’ Maidza.Teboho aka “T-Boss” aka “Rudeboboboss” Maidza is an environmental consultant and author of a study on the fluidisation of ferrochrome alloy slag.
 

Brass section
 

Trumpeter Jody Engelbrecht, known as the “General” of the band and Simon “Sisax” Bates are musical teachers.

Trombone player Ross McDonald “RossDaBone” runs Hey Papa Legend studios in Cape Town and is a composer and music producer with a Bmus-Hons in Jazz Performance from UCT. Every now and again Ross bolts out the perfect notes to accompany the five piece frontline.
 

Bass
 

Bassist Errol “Bong” Strachan is a former six-times National Freestyle skateboarding champion and the online Game and Projects Manager behind ‘The Mafia Boss’. Bong has played with a number of Cape Town reggae and crossover bands including Sons of Selassie, Roots Rockers, Blunt, Africa-Iration,  and Braindead.
 

Guitar
 

The bands’ lead guitarist “Doc” Mike Levy has been playing guitar for more than 35 years and is, in fact, a medical doctor by profession.
 

Keyboards and Samples
 

Keyboard player Nikolai Athiros manages Marshall Music in Constantiaberg and is the former keyboard player ofthe Cape Town-based 80’s inspired, progressive rock band Sabretooth.

 

Keyboards and Samples/Producer/Songwriter
 

Antonio Cencherle aka ‘Toni fingers’ aka 'Voodoo' owns V-LAB Music Productions and specialises in composition, production, mixing and editing. Cencherle plays an APC40 sampler that triggers audio samples using electronic methods. Using this and his incredibly creative fingers he produced ‘Sound Boy Killa’ that reached number one on the 5fm Top 40 chart in 2014 and ‘Bubbling’ that reached number two on the same chart in 2015.
 

Drums
 

Drummer Kyle “Metal” Gray was born into a successful musical family where he toured in and around South Africa until he was six years old. He started playing drums at three and received his first drum kit at the age of 13. He is a proud endorsee of Mapex Drums and Zildjian Cymbals in South Africa. Gray is a Digital Marketer by day and Drummer by night.
 

GET IN TOUCH WITH THE BAND ON TWITTER

 

• Antonio Cencherle - @voodoopuppet101 https://twitter.com/Voodoopuppet101

• EB - vocals @EBda1UKNOW https://twitter.com/EBda1UKNOW

• Errol 'Bong' Strachan - @Errol_Bong https://twitter.com/Errol_Bong

• Jodi Engelbrecht - @rudeboyinc2013 https://twitter.com/rudeboyinc2013

• Khaos - @marloncotterell https://twitter.com/marloncotterell

• King Labash - @kinglabash1 https://twitter.com/kinglabash1

• Kyle Gray - @gray_drummer https://twitter.com/gray_drummer

• Ross MacDonald - @rossdabone https://twitter.com/rossdabone

• Simon Bates - @simonsisaxy https://twitter.com/SimonSisaxy

• T-Boss - @BoboRudehttps://twitter.com/BoboRude

• Whosane Pangaea - @whosane718  https://twitter.com/whosane718

 

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Written by: Michelle Gray

Digital Marketer for The Rudimentals