Zygadlo, Rudi / Melpomene

Planet Mu

Two years ago, Planet Mu released the debut album by Rudi Zygadlo, a record that anticipated the current mix of dubstep’s structures and effects with vocal songs. This idea has now become established practice, but back then Zygadlo’s dense productions were ahead of the curve. Since that time, he has been perfecting and refining his work without losing its beauty and quirks, honing his skills with impressive live shows across Europe and working hard on his new music. “Melpomene” is a ballad of astonishing quality. Named after a Greek muse and taken from his forthcoming album Tragicomedies, it sees his vision in full flight. The song works a wonderful alchemy, blending acoustic instrumentation and dramatic, suture-like edits with a gauzy, side-compressed production, over which a tempered tale of love lost unravels among Zygadlo’s fragile harmonies. The track builds to a middle passage, as piano and accordion duel with a beautiful grace in an almost neoclassical passage before the penny drops on the outro and the sadness hinted at before dramatically plays out in the song’s chorus. “Arrows” paints a near-death scenario over tense, repetitive synth stabs with claps, melodies and harmonies that recall Frank Zappa’s acid doo-wop, before the track breaks and fades out with the strains of a nervous string quartet.

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