Second Language

“Narrative-driven folk horror symphony” by one-time A.Lord multi-instrumentalist, Nick Palmer, takes the listener on a rattling journey from Dorset to Transylvania.

Gorgeous, abstracted, psycho-geographic English folk-soundscapes, dreamlike Mellotron woodwinds, plangent string drones, lambent field recordings from erstwhile Plinth/A.Lords fellow, Michael Tanner.

Our label sampler from 2012, the perfect reflection of where we were at the time, straddling the fence of modern composition, post-rock, pastoralism, electronica, folk and much more.

The album on which Piano Magic returned to the crossroads between baroque pop and icy electronics, all guided by Glen Johnson’s unashamedly nihilistic ruminations on the human condition.

Partly inspired by the West Yorkshire landscape ‘Music For Another Loss’ maps the contours between brooding melancholy and redemptive calm. It’s an equipoise reflected in a musical signature which simultaneously suggests both classical minimalism and hearth-side folk, but which, tantalizingly, is never quite either.

A joint release between the London-based independent labels, Second Language and Clay Pipe Music, ‘Tyneham House’ is a pastoral, wistful and yet disquieting soundtrack to a lost Dorset village, requisitioned by the British government in the run up to WWII.

Second installment of avian-themed, issue-raising, artistically rich compilation pools contributions from Great Britain, Japan, Denmark, France, Germany, Australia and the USA.

Mesmeric chamber-folk album of instant, copasetic allure, hallmarked by Mark’s painterly take on existence and memory, deftly augmented by Michael Tanner (Plinth, The Cloisters) and Nick Palmer (Directorsound).

Lushly arranged, timeless chamber-rock, brimming with wry lyrical insight and haunting melodic hooks from prolific Creation Records icon.

Flute-centric debut redolent of late-’60s English folk pastoralism, mid-’90s post-rock, Popul Vuh and early Kraftwerk.

Three-movement suite of stark, immersive, beauty by reclusive composer/painter/poet.

Perhaps Second Language’s most ambitious curatorial exercise. Comprising 60, one-minute-long tracks purveyed by a pan-global retinue of left-of-centre artists.

Second album by Angèle David-Guillou, aka Klima, proffers an ambitious and alluring blend of acoustic and orchestral instruments, analogue synths and teeming percussion – much of it essayed by Angèle alone and decorated with her seductive, melancholy-tinged voice.

A delightfully drowsy procession of mellifluous, melancholy-tinged instrumental vignettes for violin, tenor guitar and piano that will immediately appeal to fans of Rachel’s, Balmorhea and Dakota Suite.

17 track, multi-artist compilation features a litany of wonderful, exclusive tracks in a plethora of styles, by an international roster.

Evocative rendering of 19th century lighthouse mystery by prolific multi-instrumentalist, Michael Tanner (Thalassing, The A. Lords, The Cloisters, Silver Servants, etc).

Beyond easy categorisation, this is music informed as much by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and the British Sound Archive as it is various currents in leftfield pop, electronica, folk and plunderphonics.

Oliver Cherer (Gilroy Mere/Aircooled) evokes lost London and Berlin “ghost stations” via haunting electronica.

The first multi-artist compilation on Second Language, “inspired by the miracle of the migratory impulse,” includes exclusive tracks by Vashti Bunyan, Hauschka, Peter Broderick and many more.

Over 52 tracks, the very first release on Second Language stretches electronica in all directions.