Born Ruffians originally formed in 2002 under the name Mornington Drive, and self-released an album called Makeshift Metric Catastrophe. In an interview, DeRosier described it as entirely homemade: "It was burned onto CD in Steve's basement, the packaging was sewn by Steve's mom and I think Luke painted the covers." After renaming themselves Born Ruffians, the band moved from Midland to Toronto in 2004. After some local performances and a growing online reputation, the band was signed to the UK electronic music label Warp Records. They released their self-titled debut EP in 2006. It was recorded by Ryan Mills at Little King Studio. They have received extensive airplay on CBC Radio 3 with their debut single, "This Sentence Will Ruin/Save Your Life," as well as a cover of Grizzly Bear's single "Knife" which the band recorded live on KEXP. In 2007, they released the single "Hummingbird," which was included on their first album Red, Yellow & Blue. They have toured with Franz Ferdinand, Caribou, Peter Bjorn and John, Hot Chip, The Hidden Cameras, Tokyo Police Club and The Honorary Title. They toured Canada throughout April 2008, completing the North American leg of their tour on April 26, 2008, with an album release party at Lee's Palace in Toronto. In May and June 2008, they finished their UK tour and continued touring throughout Europe. They appeared in an episode of the second season of British teen drama Skins, playing their song "Hummingbird" in a night club. The song is also featured in a television advert in the UK for Orange mobile telecommunications' "Animal" campaign. "Hummingbird" is also featured in a car advertisement in Australia. The band was featured in episode seven of the comedic web series, Nirvana the Band the Show, playing as themselves as they rehearse with a new member of the band. On July 31, 2009 the Born Ruffians played for Nirvana the Band at The Rivoli for the wrap of their web-series. Footage of this show will be included in episode ten. They toured Australia in January and February 2009 as part of St Jerome's Laneway Festival along with Girl Talk, Stereolab, Architecture In Helsinki, The Hold Steady, The Drones, Cut Off Your Hands, Four Tet, Tame Impala, El Guincho, Jay Reatard, Buraka Som Sistema Dj/Mc Set, The Temper Trap, No Age and more. Born Ruffians' "Red Yellow and Blue" was nominated in the 8th Annual Independent Music Awards for Pop/Rock Album of the year. In 2009 they recorded a cover of two Aphex Twin songs for Warp20, a compilation. The follow-up to their 2008 LP, Red, Yellow & Blue, was released June 1, 2010, entitled Say It. The new album was recorded at Metalworks Studios in Toronto and mastered at Rusty Santos' studio in Brooklyn. The first single from Say It was 'What To Say' followed by 'Nova Leigh' and 'Oh Man'. In April 2011, their single "Little Garçon" appeared in an American Express commercial, Real Tweets, which included edited versions of tweets from @activecultures and others. The band's 2013 album, Birthmarks, was released on April 16 via Paper Bag Records. The Ruffians spent roughly three years writing all over the world including several months spent living together in an old farmhouse in rural Ontario. The album was recorded at BoomBox Sound with producer/engineer Roger Leavens and engineer Marcel Ramagnano. Lalonde exclusively revealed in an interview with Revue Magazine that he has been working on an acoustic Born Ruffians EP since the summer after Birthmarks was released. It is expected to contain alternate renditions of tracks from Birthmarks. This acoustic EP was released on the band's website, available for free download. A total of nine tracks were released. On October 2, 2015, the band released their fourth studio album, RUFF, which was praised by 2016 Grammy nominee, Caribou. Snaith remarks that "Born Ruffians are one of those bands that has something special - a special charisma about them...hearing Luke invert the melody to the song he's singing impromptu or the energy in the way they reinterpret the songs differently from night to night is thrilling." Born Ruffians released their 5th studio album Uncle, Duke & The Chief in 2018, and their 6th studio album JUICE in 2020.
