The last time we gave mention to Minor Science – aka a musical project of Quietus scribe Angus Finlayson – it was for his free Valentine’s Day rework of Berlin’s ‘Take My Breath Away’.
More recently, he has taken to reworking Scott Walker’s music, cutting it to ribbons, looping it and allowing it to play out gracefully above drowned arrangements. Now he’s giving away a free six-track EP gathering together his full set of Walker reworks, entitled Train Window Girl (a title taken from the lyrics of Walker’s ‘It’s Raining Today’, a version of which features on here). It’s a rather lovely, drizzly and soporific listen, with certain aspects of the originals remaining in place, while others vanish into the surrounding aether. You can download it here, and listen to the title track below.
In terms of process, Train Window Girl is not too dissimilar from Oneohtrix Point Never’s well-known Sunsetcorp tracks, which looped short segments of pop songs until they acquired an uncanny new resonance.
But sonically they share a little more with Berlin-based musician Leyland James Kirby, whose work both under that name and as the Caretaker explores the emotional memories held in older pop and ballroom records. The artwork by Ross Bennett, which you can see below, gives a nice visual representation of what you’re likely to hear – Walker’s face, scrambled around in the manner of Kai’s Power Goo.
For more on Minor Science, head across to his site.
