After a brief hiatius, RDGLDGRN (pronounced RED GOLD GREEN) is back and gearing up for the release of their second EP. Slated for release in Fall 2015, the band leaked their first single, “No Pixar,” to kick off the summer early. Amassing over 100,000 streams in 48 hours—the song received resounding feedback from critics and fans alike, and signals an ambitious progression in the band’s sound. The video to their follow up track “Runnin Away,” also met with glowing reviews and gave new fans a view into the band’s energetic live show and eager fanbase.

With a distinctive go-go drumbeat native to Washington D.C. serving as the backbone to the band’s sound, RDGLDGRN represents the best of the city’s musical heritage: influenced by punk, hip-hop, jazz, indie rock, and soul. The result is a trio that could be the lovechild of The Neptunes and Arcade Fire—excelling as a live indie band and as a hip-hop group and production trio. To put it simply, this band, while deeply rooted in D.C.’s sonic landscape, also manages to transcend it.

RDGLDGRN initially gained widespread recognition after self-releasing the song, “I Love Lamp,” on YouTube, a song that landed them in the studio with Dave Grohl and Pharrell Williams, with whom they collaborated on their debut album, RDGLDGRN LP. Williams co-wrote and co-produced the standout track “Doing the Most,” which showcases the breadth of the group’s capabilities and their willingness to defy convention.

However, while the singularity of their music demands attention, it is their live performance that has boosted the band’s reputation and built them a diverse and loyal following. The band’s ability to engage with their audience—combining audience participation and irreverent ad-libs and mash-ups to accompany their high-energy performances—has established RDGLDGRN as a must-see live act, sharing stages alongside Outkast, The Killers, The Foo Fighters, 311, Lauryn Hill, Talib Kweli, and AWOLNation. With each performance, RDGLDGRN delivers the kind of energy that could jump-start a stadium, as they did opening for (Foo Fighters July show), with the kind of audience connection one would expect at a private club.

With their upcoming sophomore EP, RDGLDGRN promises an evolution in their sound, as the group fuses its genre-bending musicality with a sly wit, honesty, and truly global worldview. In “No Pixar,” the group confronts the trials of forging their own path and establishing their own sense of identity and morality—a move that not only has The Source calling them “the rap game’s Disney,” but signals the band’s willingness to step into the void. Not content to be the product of their myriad influences, RDGLDGRN continues to stake their claim as the new musical vanguard.