The eight-track project combines electronic pop, orchestral arrangements, and spoken-word narration.
Photo credit: Eva Pentel
Pet Shop Boys have released ‘A man from the future’, a new album dedicated to the life and legacy of British mathematician Alan Turing. Available through Parlophone Records, the project explores eight chapters of Turing’s life through electronic pop, orchestral music, and spoken-word passages.
The UK duo, comprising Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, collaborated with Turing biographer Andrew Hodges on the project. Actor Juliet Stevenson provides narration, reading passages from Hodges’ biography ‘Alan Turing: The Enigma’.
The album traces significant moments in Turing’s life, including his contributions to computing and the Allied war effort during World War II, alongside the persecution he faced because of his sexuality.
Its title track incorporates an excerpt from former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s 2009 public apology for the treatment of Turing following his conviction under laws criminalizing homosexuality. The composition also includes the posthumous royal pardon granted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013.
Pet Shop Boys described the project as a “musical memorial” to a figure whose achievements were overshadowed by the discrimination he experienced.
“Alan made a massive contribution to the defeat of Germany in World War II and was a pioneer of computing, imagining a world with intelligent computers. He also looked forward to a time when being gay would be accepted as normal. In both his professional and private lives, he was ahead of his time,” the duo explained.
An instrumental version of the album has also been released.
Listen to ‘A man from the future’ below and download your copy here.
