Rudi Zygadlo’s New Single Is A Song Of The Summer For Misfits

Back in 2012, The FADER's Gen F profile on Scottish producer and singer Rudi Zygadlo observed that his "misfortune is also fodder for his music." Even now, with releases on Planet Mu and Diplo's Mad Decent and a stint at Red Bull Music Academy under his belt, the artist still deals with themes in his music that make him out to be kinda hapless, and kinda ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. His infectious, insta-lovable new single "Sympathies Scrapbook"—which he's set to self-release on July 1st—is one of his brightest sounding melodies ever, and yet paints a picture of a pigeon-toed misfit asking, does it feel like the first day of school?

"'Sympathies Scrapbook' is a collection of lightly traumatic images plucked from a diary," Rudi explained to The FADER over email. Just like his music, which cuts and pastes trippy collages into pop structures, his emails become more abstract by the second: "Both childhood and young adulthood seem to exhibit the same petty quotidian trials, misshapen Tetris blocks, inside-out sweaters and shadowy miscreants. A hungry narrator drives a needle through his past, skewering together a sequence of juicy morsels and… 'Lord', sung the minister man, 'I think we have here a song.' Chow down!"