Clever bastards, those Planet Mu peeps. They’ve gone and done it again.
After helping to lay the foundations for breakcore and various dub directions, they’ve discovered one of the key players in the future of electronica, Rudi Zygadlo (his real name), whose debut album ‘Great Western Laymen’ is… Actually, what the hell is it? “Prog-step… Obviously,” says Rudi. Of course. In this case that means choral electro underpinned by swirling dub basses, big synths and hard, jittery beats.
Sounds a bit like Rustie and HudMo, don’t it? Maybe on paper, but this album surpasses them both, and does it via the weirdest take on bastardised IDM, future dub and pop songwriting you’ll hear for a long time. But don’t let the ‘p’ word put you off – this is heavy stuff, make no mistake.
There’s also a strong ecclesiastical narrative running through the lyrics… Obviously. Explain please, Rudi: “The ecclesiastical theme was conceived in my bedroom from which I can see two churches. Initially, I wanted to set the Latin Mass to electronic music. I envisaged a banging electronic interpretation. Musically I set out to create something innovative, I guess. But the rough sound had been in my head years before I tried to materialise it.”
When in doubt, a bit of needless swearing usually helps, so to conclude: this album is fucking amazing. Twisted genius is an overused phrase, but Jesus wept it’s appropriate in Rudi Zygadlo’s case.
Rudi Zygadlo Essentials:
‘Filthy Logic’ 12”
‘Magic In The Afternoon’ 12”
‘Layman’s Requiem’ 12”
