- As Glasgow School Of Art alumni, Richard McMaster and Tom Marshallsay are examples of how cross-disciplinary lessons in art and design bleed into other creative pursuits. McMaster is part of the masterful acid-punk-funk collective Golden Teacher, while Marshallsay's Dam Mantle alias was a stew of homespun samples and shattered rhythms—open-mindedness was apparent in both. Their Mister Saturday Night debut as General Ludd demonstrated a fluency with good-time party tracks, but the hybrid urges they've teased out in subsequent releases come to the fore on RAD-LUDD1.
There are loads of ideas here, but each one is simply executed. On "Fourth Wall" and "Run, Don't Play Dead," strands of syncopated grime and Dance Mania motifs tangle, fastening around each other in an airtight knot. Hot and drained of oxygen, the A-side is both asphyxiating and exhilarating. The same could be said of "Open Back Of The Meat Van," but the slippery dub FX and clammy handclaps draw attention to an emphasis on space over speed, where some breathing room is provided. Connecting these three tracks is a busy, multilateral network of dance music signals: Chicago house, ghettotech, grime and sickly dub occupy the same disruptive wavelength. It's a pity that "Cunninghame Shame"'s glassy organs are only given two minutes to take part in this frenetic exchange.
TracklistA1 Fourth Wall
A2 Run, Don't Play Dead
B1 Cunninghame Shame
B2 Open Back Of The Meat Van