1. Who am I?

Menya zovut Rudi Zygadlo. Ya zhivu v Glasgow, Scotland. Mnye dvadsat odin god.

2. Atmosphere for composition?

All the music in the album Great Western Laymen was written, recorded and produced in my bedroom. Its a banal setting but i guess it has become an atmospheric requisite for me to write, in the way that I do. My work desk faces the window which faces Great Western Road, referred to in the in album's title so there's an immediate connection there. From my window I can see two big churches which may also have helped me (immaculately) conceive the ecclesiastical themes inherent in the lyrics. But there were other reasons for that too.

I like writing at night. There's conspiratorial feeling of making heavy electronic music with headphones while everyone's asleep. You wake up and often don't quite understand what you've done, until night returns and you can resume the conspiracy. I don't know quite how much i mean that, but its a romantic idea.

3. What' coming out?

A single in March and a 13 track album Great Western Laymen in April with planet Mu. Its really great.

I am currently working on the score and a libretto for an operetta, the music of which will form the basis of a second album. I don't know how seriously Mike @ mu is taking the project and I doubt it will ever see a stage production but i like the idea of the medium nonetheless. The subject matter is dubious.

4. Blogs?

I don't really know much about blogs. No one knows me so i havn't come across my music on one. I don't think i'll have any new arguments about the positive and negatives effects of them. They devalue music but get it circulated. Even the most underground music is ubiquitous in its availability now. So Good and bad.

5. Present condition of electronic music?

Im not much of a commentator on electronic music. I am very selective and it only constitutes a little part of my music collection.

When a new genre of music like dubstep for example or a unique artist emerges, its something to get excited about. But if its popular, its plagiarized. So i guess I look for novelty in music whatever the genre and hope that it stays relatively underground. In truth, I'm not the biggest fan of dubstep. But there are definately some really good dubstep producers out there who do something unique with genre.

I always saw the potential in the genre for more interesting things and for the last few years I had a form of music in my head which used some of the fundamental characteristics of dubstep and merged them with classical, jazz and pop structures taking away the monotony. The way Eero Johannes toyed with dubstep on his album for planet mu, I particularly enjoyed. (That introduced me to Skweee) Listening to Eero really inspired me to do something with the genre myself and try and create the the sonic fusion i had in my head.

6. Influential artists since childhood?

As the youngest of four, many of my musical tastes stem from my parent's and older sibling's tastes. As far as classical music goes, I've been really influenced by my Dad. I like chamber music, and music for solo instruments. String quartes and Cello suites. Generally speaking from eastern Europe and Russia. Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu, Shnitka, Shostakovich, Chopin, Schubert... and J S Bach obviously. The idea of composing an electronic setting for the latin mass was inspired by centuries of classical composers doing the same with an acoustic symphonic pallet. This was the original idea for Great Western Laymen but i lost patience. I listen to a lot of jazz too, I used to love 70's fusion, but then i reverted back to more traditional styles. I like Prog. And interesting New Romantic stuff like Japan. I have been an unhealthy fan of Frank Zappa, the whole works, for years. From my my mother's love affair with Joni mitchell's music I explored that side of things. Really enjoy contemporary american folk music too: Joanna Newsom - Ys was one of my favourite albums of 2006. Smog, Bonnie Prince Billy. I like a whole heap of bands. To name a few - Volcano, Deerhoof, Chrome hoof, Animal Collective. Math Rock stuff like Hella. Good French electro, disco. Warp Records, Planet mu. Veterans like Mu-ziq, Aphex and Squarepusher. And a heap more stuff. It's all influenced me in some way. I am very grateful to Radio 3. Programs like Composer of the week, In Tune and Late Junctions are truly amazing.

7. What do I know about Russian Culture?

As Rudi Mikhail Zygadlo, I'm named after two Russians! The dancers, Rudolph Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

I know a bit about Russia. Its a wondrous place with a tricky history and i'd very much like to visit. I studied Slavonic studies at university which is basically modern history, literature and film from Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia. I have a keen interest in Russian literature. Pushkin, Gogol, Pasternak, Bulgakov Solzhenitsyn, Yevtushenko. Music, I like Shostakovich, Stravinksi and Prokofiev.

Перевод: electrocircle.ru/2010/02/interview-rudi-zygadlo...