Minor Science - Second Language (2020)

Minor Science presents his debut album 'Second Language', out on the 3rd April 2020.
The LP gives us a widescreen view of a musical world previously glimpsed through the producer’s series of 12" releases. A kaleidoscope of tempos and intensities, the record is often fast but rarely heavy, fizzing with detail but full of space, euphoric in places but frequently blue in mood.

As the title suggests, the album takes translation as a guiding principle, putting an idiomatic spin on familiar styles - from Detroit-ish techno and hyperspeed electro to twilit electronica, musique concrete and sour modal jazz. Minor Science's language is a knotty one, packed with odd time-signatures, brain-bending sound design and a playful palette of switch-ups, fake-outs and digital hiccups. But it's also soft and emotive, and shot through with vibrant melody.

Minor Science’s relationship with languages is a strong feature of the record. More precisely the relationship between a second and third language, and a mother tongue.
It signals an effort to get out of familiar habits, echoing the relationship he has with his own music writing and music making. Regardless of attempts to be precise, a translation can never fully capture the original meaning.

“Parce que c'est plus facile d'écrire sans style” - Samuel Beckett

The artwork for Second Language depicts a limestone tablet which was designed by Alex McCullough and carved by local stonemason George Edwards, who works predominantly in church restorations as well as carving gargoyles, busts and lettering. The relief was then painted in accordance with the back cover. The object was photographed by interiors photographer Oskar Proctor at his studio in Kent and the final chosen image is an outtake whilst steadying the (incredibly heavy) piece.