Boards of Canada

Artist: Boards of Canada
P:  2002
Boards of Canada produces music filled with colourful reversed synth washes, hip-hop flavoured beats, and downright creepy sampling of vocals (particularly children) and sounds from nature. BoC fits somewhere into the Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) sub-genre of electronica, but it's impossible to nail them down into anything but their very own category. Geogaddi is a huge change from its predecessor LP. There is no question that it is the work of Boards of Canada, but it is not as claustrophobic as MHTRTC (the previous album was very much "headphone" music, whereas Geogaddi just pleads to be unleashed upon the world), and is also more complex musically and rhythmically. The album opens with an otherworldly tonal blanket, accompanied by an insect-like wave in the background and slightly-warbling musical pings. This first track sets the mood for the rest of the journey: dark, emotionally charged, and unsettling. Geogaddi's beats are not terribly unique or rhythmically complex, but the sounds themselves are very much one-of-a-kind; you may at times be hard-pressed to separate the melody from the beats. The sounds used are extremely visceral, and seemingly twisted like sonic toffee to achieve the desired effect. Many of the percussion tracks make me think of crushing a gigantic bag full of potato chips in a bear hug underwater.The album's most memorable elements are the sensations it induces, rather than the melodies within it. It is unlikely you will find yourself humming the tune to a Geogaddi track, but you might begin associating certain feelings in your life with those present in Geogaddi's music. Geogaddi is surprisingly accessible music; I have found that many of my friends who are not particularly interested in any unconventional or electronic music enjoy Geogaddi a great deal. It offers something to a wide range of listeners: it can serve as a colourful acoustic backdrop to whatever you may be doing in the meantime, it makes a fantastic soundtrack for travelling, and rewards the careful listener with its rich supply of subtlety and detail. Geogaddi's most significant flaw may not be a flaw to all, but many listeners may find the shorter "filler" tracks like "Dandelion" or "Energy Warning" annoying or disruptive.

In short, Geogaddi is epic in its depth and impact. It is alive. As you listen, it will grow on you... and IN you... as long as you will let it.

Artist: Boards of Canada
P: 2014
'Hi Scores' and 'June 9th' are in the style of the more austere beats of the debut album 'Twoism', whilst the epic synth soundscapes of 'Everything You Do Is a Balloon' anticipate the richer sound of 'Geogaddi'. The boys show their sense of humour with 'Nlogax', a retro New Order-style club piece. As a bonus you also get the utterly beautiful and beguiling 'Turquoise Hexagon Sun', which also appears on 'Music Has The Right to Children'. This track is one of Boards's finest of all time. Delicate melody and drenched in atmosphere

Artist: Boards of Canada
P: 2000
Despite being only four tracks, this new ep from Boards of Canada clocks in around 24 minutes, which should hold me over until the next album. "Kid For Today" is an amazingly mellow groove, showcasing the earthy unique keyboards that are the BoC trademark. So few electronic music acts can convey real emotion in their music, but Boards of Canada do it very easily. If I had to compare it to their album Music Has the Right To Children, I would say this is a little more ambient- similar to tracks like "Open the Light" or "Pete Standing Alone", where the focus isn't so much the beat as it is the atmosphere and the general sound they create. Definitely the standout tracks are 1 and 3, with the vocoder on track 3 adding (along with the sampling of children laughing) an even greater human edge to the music. The second and fourth songs are striking as well, always emphasizing the group's sense of melody.

Artist: Boards of Canada
P:  2004
This is the album that introduced most of us to Boards of Canada's unique sound back in 1998, now back in a slick digipak reissue from Warp. "Music has the right to children" is probably the best introduction to Boards of Canada's distinctive music. For me, it's still their best overall, and one of my all-time favorite albums: a moody, shifting analogue synth-sample-and-beat fest, by turns funky and melancholy, full of rare beauty. The unusual samples and frequent use of "backwards" elements (and the cryptic packaging) give great touches of mystery and humor to the proceedings, although have also given rise to all kinds of strange ideas about Boards of Canada. Ignore the timid, small-minded conspiracy theorists and paranoids who fret about these things, and enjoy the music!

Artist: Boards of Canada
P: 1999
They are at their most happy-sounding, almost giddy, with the first two tracks and then a meloncholy, gorgeous third track. The tracks flow together perfectly and it's impossible to listen to this and not feel slightly happier and in a better mood. It's minimal - short and sweet, if they put any more on it would ruin the effect.

Artist: Boards of Canada
P:  2005
The introduction of guitar is, despite some opinions, a nice way for BoC to avoid parodying themselves. BoC simpy could not have made another wholly synth/sample album and gone much further out. While creativity has no bounds, being rooted in such a signature sound as that of the mighty Boards does create some very narrowing criteria this faar down their road. While I wouldn't go as far as to compare this album to Bob Dylan going electric, the acoustic/organic feel of TCHp will be the hardest element for some to adjust to.
There are a handful of new "classics" here but few with quite the same level of crushing timelessness as previous albums. As a "single, unified listening experience," TCHp holds up well. It is consistent, warm and nice. Put it on and let it loop while you paint, draw or just stare out the window. Still, songs do tend to meander longer than in the past. While BoC has always proved kings of the solidly built yet simple and enthralling electronic song, many of the tracks here seem to get lost in their own loose discipline. While it's just as easy to blissfully zone out to, there is much less here to snap you from your frosty coma and recognize when a particularly good bass bomb or synth chime has struck just that much deeper.

Artist: Boards of Canada
P:  2013
The idolized and enigmatic duo are back. After considerable speculation by their rabid fan base (not to mention the media following every step of the way), Boards of Canada have revealed that their new album Tomorrow s Harvest will be released on June 11 via their long time home, Warp Records. Musically, the album is somehow dark yet positive, with atmospheric dissonance and mind-bending melodic creations.

Artist: Boards of Canada
P: 2006
Boards of Canada has turned out 'Trans Canada Highway' as a follow-up to their latest full-length release 'The Campfire Headphase'; the new EP explores a darker place away from the warmth and light of the campfire. Having said that, 'Trans' is really an extension of the TCH concept, even bearing the same abbreviation. Keeping that in mind, your feelings towards this album will probably be in proportion to those towards TCH.

Artist: Boards of Canada
P:  1995 / 2002
Remastered re-release of an early, limited Boards Of Canada release, this nine track mini album is available on CD for the first time, seven years after its original vinyl only release. Track nine '1986 Summer Fire' is unlisted on artwork. Boards of Canada at this point in their career were even more minmalist then they are now. The signature Boc formula was already perfected on these tracks. Vintage synthesizers spitting out chilhood melodies over slow breakbeats. The melodies are happy, but they evoke a fake, drug-induced happiness that enhances the distance and detachment. Probably the two most interesting tracks on Twoism are "Oirectine" and "Basefree". They sound unlike anything else Boards of Canada ever released. There's a definite industrial influence, interpreted as only the boys could. "Basefree" sounds like it should have been on Autechre's "Tri Repetae", but I think "Basefree" is actually predates that album. "Oirectine" features a severaly damaged, overly sinister, melody. "Twoism" and "Sixtyniner" are the prototype early Boards of Canada tracks. Twoism is essential for any Boards of Canada fan and any fan of electronic music. Twoism was ostensibly a demo which got them noticed by Skam records. The rest is history.