Boards of Canada

Scottish electronic music duo

Boards of Canada

Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin performing in 2000

Background information
Also known as| Hell Interface
Origin| Edinburgh, Scotland
Genres| Electronic
Works| Boards of Canada discography
Years active| 1986 (1986)–present
Labels|

* Warp
* Skam
* Music70
* V/Vm

Members|

* Mike Sandison
* Marcus Eoin

Website| boardsofcanada.com

Boards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of the brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin. Signing first to Skam followed by Warp Records in the 1990s, they received recognition following the release of their debut album, Music Has the Right to Children, on Warp in 1998.[1][2] They followed with the acclaimed albums Geogaddi (2002), The Campfire Headphase (2005) and Tomorrow's Harvest (2013).[1]

The duo's work, largely influenced by media and electronic music from the 1970s, incorporates vintage synthesiser tones, samples, analog equipment, and hip hop-inspired beats. It has been described by critics as exploring themes related to nostalgia,[3][4] as well as childhood memory, science, environmental concerns and esoteric subjects.[5] In 2012, Fact described them as "one of the best-known and best-loved electronic acts of the last two decades".[4]

## History

[edit]

### Early years (1986–1994)

[edit]

The brothers Mike Sandison (born Michael Peter Sandison, 14 July 1971)[6][7] and Marcus Eoin (born Marcus Eoin Sandison, 27 May 1973)[6][8] were brought up in Cullen, Moray, on the northeast coast of Scotland.[9] From 1979 to 1980, they lived in Calgary, Canada, while their father, who worked in construction, took part in the project to build the Saddledome.[10] They attended the University of Edinburgh, where Michael studied music and Marcus studied artificial intelligence. Marcus dropped out before completing his degree.[9] The duo did not reveal that they were brothers until a 2005 interview with Pitchfork, as they had wanted to avoid comparisons with another electronic sibling duo, Orbital.[10]

Growing up in a musical family, the brothers first played instruments at a young age. They experimented with recording techniques from around the age of 10, using tape machines to layer cut-up samples of found sounds over compositions of their own. In their teens they participated in a number of amateur bands. However, it was not until 1986 when Marcus was invited to join Mike's band that Boards of Canada was born. The band's name was inspired by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), the government agency whose award-winning documentary films and animation they had watched as children.[10]

Their first known release was Catalog 3, in 1987 on cassette tape,[11] on the brothers' own label, Music70, while Boards of Canada was still a band (it was later re-pressed in 1997 on CD on the same label). By 1989, the band had been reduced to Mike and Marcus, and they released Acid Memories in the same year.[12] Both albums have only been heard by the band's friends and family, except for a 24-second excerpt of "Duffy", released on the EHX website in the late 1990s. Acid Memories is the only early album the brothers have mentioned in interviews. Later, in the early 1990s, the band had a number of collaborations and the band put on small shows among the Hexagon Sun collective, along with the releases of albums Play By Numbers[13] and Hooper Bay,[14] both in 1994, which, similarly to Acid Memories, were only released to friends and family and had sub-1 minute excerpts of two songs ("Wouldn't You Like To Be Free" from Play By Numbers and "Circle" from Hooper Bay) released from both albums on the EHX website.[15]

The duo self-financed the limited release of the Twoism EP in 1995. After a copy was sent to Sean Booth of Autechre, Booth suggested contacting Skam Records, leading to the release of Hi Scores in 1996 on the label.[16][17] In the same year of the release of Hi Scores, the duo released Boc Maxima through Music70 with limited distribution.[18]

### Music Has the Right to Children (1995–2002)

[edit]

Between 1995 and 1997, the duo started recording what would become their debut studio album, Music Has the Right to Children, released in April 1998. The album was joint-released by both Skam Records and Warp Records.[5] The cover of the album is a family photo that was taken at Banff Springs, with each person's face digitally removed.[5] The album consists of longer tracks mixed with song vignettes. It also includes one of the duo's most popular songs, "Roygbiv". Music Has the Right to Children received widespread acclaim upon release, with it being featured at No. 35 on Pitchfork's "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s" list.[19]

### Geogaddi and The Campfire Headphase (2002–2009)

[edit]

The duo began recording their next studio album, Geogaddi, between 1999 and 2001. It was described by Sandison as "a record for some sort of trial-by-fire, a claustrophobic, twisting journey that takes you into some pretty dark experiences before you reach the open air again."[20] Geogaddi was officially released by Vivid on 8 January 2002 in Japan,[21] and by Warp Records on 18 February 2002 in Europe. Critics noted a shift in mood within Geogaddi; Mark Richardson of Pitchfork commented that "the atmosphere on this album is a shade darker than on previous releases, and comparatively tense with a noticeable thread of paranoia."[22] It was later noted by the duo that the album was a response to the September 11 attacks.[23]

As early as 2002, the duo began working on sketches for their next studio album, The Campfire Headphase, however studio work didn't begin until 2004.[24] After releasing two singles from the album exclusively onto Bleep, and a music video for the track "Dayvan Cowboy",[25] The Campfire Headphase was released on 17 October 2005. When writing about the album for The Observer, Simon Reynolds noted that "blurring the boundaries between rock and techno is a smart move, because BoC have always made music that deserved to appeal beyond the electronic audience", and praised "the stereophonic delirium of their production."[26]

### Tomorrow's Harvest (2013)

[edit]

After the release of their previous studio album and an EP named Trans Canada Highway, Eoin and Sandison "took some time out, and spent some time travelling".[27] The two also expanded their recording studio at Hexagon Sun, which is near the Pentland Hills in Scotland. In February 2012, a BBC Radio personality noted that a new album from Boards of Canada was "on the way".[28]

On Record Store Day 2013, a vinyl record containing a short clip of music and a distorted voice speaking a six digit code, which was believed to be the work of Boards of Canada, surfaced at the New York record store Other Music.[29][27] Shortly after the release, Warp Records vouched for the record's authenticity.[30]

Other codes were hidden through various websites and online communities, as well as being broadcast over BBC Radio One, NPR, and Adult Swim.[31] After much speculation, the official website for the band redirected users to another website[32] which prompted the user to enter a password. Once all six unique codes were entered, a video was shown announcing Tomorrow's Harvest, their fourth studio album. The website showed the cover art, the month and year of release and a short snippet of music. The album was released on 5 June 2013 in Japan, 10 June 2013 in Europe, and 11 June 2013 in the United States to widespread critical acclaim.

### Remixes and WXAXRXP (2016–2021)

[edit]

In 2016, Boards of Canada released two remixes. The first, a remix of Nevermen's "Mr Mistake", was released on 12 January 2016,[33] and was followed shortly after by a remix of "Sisters" by Odd Nosdam on 22 February 2016.[34] On 17 February 2017, an instrumental version of the "Mr Mistake" remix was released.[35] On 29 July 2017, Boards of Canada released a remix of "Sometimes" by The Sexual Objects.[36]

In 2019, Warp Records kicked off the celebrations for its 30th anniversary, titled WXAXRXP, with a 100-hour takeover of online radio station NTS Radio, featuring mixes, radio shows, and unreleased music from a number of artists on the label's roster. This included a 2-hour mixtape from Boards of Canada[37] titled Societas X Tape, aired on 23 June 2019 at 9:00 PM BST, and featured music from other artists such as Grace Jones, Devo and Yellow Magic Orchestra, spliced with spoken word samples and music that is rumoured to be unreleased work from the group itself.[38][39][40] On July 3, 2021, Boards of Canada released a remix of a second Nevermen song, "Treat Em Right".[41]

## Style and methods

[edit]

The music of Boards of Canada has been described as "evocative, mournful, sample-laden downtempo music often sounding as though produced on malfunctioning equipment excavated from the ruins of an early-'70s computer lab."[42] Critic Simon Reynolds described their style as "a hazy sound of smeared synth-tones and analog-decayed production, carried by patient, sleepwalking beats, and aching with nostalgia" while crediting them with "reinvent[ing]" elements of psychedelia through the deliberate misuse of technology.[5] Their distinctive style is a product of their use of analogue equipment, mix of electronic and conventional instrumentation, use of distorted samples, and their layering and blending of these elements.[43][44] They have additionally been referred to as a folktronica act as a result of these elements.[45] To achieve their evocative and "worn down" sound, the duo have made use of outdated brands of recording equipment, such as tape machines manufactured by Grundig.[46] They also make use of samples from 1970s television shows and other media prevalent in the era of the brothers' shared childhood, especially the nature-inspired documentaries produced by the National Film Board of Canada.[10] The duo's preoccupation with memory, past aesthetics, and public broadcasting presaged the 2000s electronic movement known as hauntology.[5] Theorist and music critic Adam Harper described their work as "a simultaneously Arcadian and sinister musical hauntology based on cut-up samples, vintage synthesiser technology and a faded modernism arising from mid-twentieth-century television, science, public education, childhood and spirituality."[47]

Interviews with the Sandison brothers have variously provided insight into their creative process: they have cited several acts that have influenced their work including Joni Mitchell, the Incredible String Band (saying "we have all the String Band records […] our rural sensibilities are similar"), the Beatles (saying "[they] really became enthralling to us through their psychedelism") and My Bloody Valentine (saying "even if we don't sound like them, there's a connection in terms of the approach to music").[10][48][49] They have also named Meat Beat Manifesto as a chief influence, citing their synth sounds.[50]

Brief interludes or vignettes feature prominently in the duo's music, often lasting less than two minutes; Sandison has said that "we write far more of [these] than the so-called 'full-on' tracks, and, in a way, they are our own favourites". Boards of Canada have written an enormous number of such fragments as well as full-length tracks, most of which have been held back from release, and it does not appear that their music is made exclusively for commercial release; rather, albums seem to be the result of selecting complementary songs from current work. For instance, Geogaddi allegedly involved the creation of 400 song fragments and 64 complete songs, of which 22 were selected (possibly 23, if the final track of complete silence is included). Eoin has said about the duo's discography that "the idea of the perfect album is this amorphous thing that we're always aiming at […] the whole point of making music is at least to aim at your own idea of perfection."[48]

The duo have expressed interest in themes of subliminal messaging, and subsequently their work has incorporated cryptic messages, including references to numerology and cult figures such as David Koresh of the Branch Davidians.[51] When questioned about their aims in making such references, Boards of Canada have expressed themselves in neutral terms (saying "We're not religious at all [...] and if we're spiritual at all it's purely in the sense of caring about art and inspiring people with ideas.")[48] while remaining fascinated with the ability of music to influence the minds of others (saying, with irony, that "[We] do actually believe that there are powers in music that are almost supernatural. I think you actually manipulate people with music...").[52]

## Discography

[edit]

Main article: Boards of Canada discography

Studio albums

* Music Has the Right to Children (1998)
* Geogaddi (2002)
* The Campfire Headphase (2005)
* Tomorrow's Harvest (2013)

## See also

[edit]

* Scotland portal

* List of ambient music artists
* List of intelligent dance music artists
* List of Scottish musicians

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Cooper, Sean. "Boards of Canada Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
2. ^ Richardson, Mark (26 April 2004). "Boards of Canada: Music Has the Right to Children". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
3. ^ Demers, Joanna (October 2010). Listening through the Noise: The Aesthetics of Experimental Electronic Music. Oxford University Press. pp. 49–50\. ISBN 9780199774487.
4. ^ a b Morpurgo, Joseph (20 May 2012). "The genius of Boards of Canada in 10 essential tracks". Factmag.com. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
5. ^ a b c d e Reynolds, Simon (3 April 2018). "Why Boards of Canada's Music Has the Right to Children Is the Greatest Psychedelic Album of the '90s". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
6. ^ a b "Boards Of Canada – Boc Maxima". Discogs. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
7. ^ "Michael SANDISON". Find and update company information. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
8. ^ "Marcus SANDISON". Find and update company information. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
9. ^ a b Warren, Emma (January 2001). "Breaking Into Heaven". The Face. Vol. 3, no. 48\. pp. 94–98.
10. ^ a b c d e Hoffmann, Heiko (26 September 2005). "Pitchfork: Interviews: Boards of Canada". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016.
11. ^ "Boards of Canada - Hi Scores". Archived from the original on 19 June 2001.
12. ^ "Boards of Canada - Acid Memories". Archived from the original on 9 June 2001.
13. ^ "Boards of Canada - Play by Numbers". Archived from the original on 9 June 2001.
14. ^ "Boards of Canada - Hooper Bay". Archived from the original on 9 June 2001.
15. ^ "EHX - Artists - Boards of Canada - Sounds". Archived from the original on 1 March 2000.
16. ^ Hector-Jones, Richard (1998). "Board Clever". Jockey Slut. Vol. 2, no. 13\. p. 20.
17. ^ Sherburne, Philip. "Boards of Canada: Hi Scores EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
18. ^ Diver, Mike (2013). "Boards of Canada Music Has the Right to Children Review". BBC. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
19. ^ "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. 17 November 2003. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
20. ^ [1] Archived 27 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
21. ^ "Geogaddi - Boards of Canada". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
22. ^ Richardson, Mark (21 February 2002). "Boards of Canada: Geogaddi Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
23. ^ Chapman, Hamish (13 February 2022). "Boards of Canada's Geogaddi at 20". Epigram. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
24. ^ Hutton, Erin (1 December 2005). "Emotional ABUSE". Remix Magazine. Archived from the original on 1 June 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
25. ^ "Top 25 Music Videos of 2006". Pitchfork. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
26. ^ Reynolds, Simon (18 September 2005). "Boards of Canada, The Campfire Headphase". The Observer. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
27. ^ a b Pattison, Louis (6 June 2013). "Boards of Canada: 'We've become a lot more nihilistic over the years'". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
28. ^ Yenigun, Sami (12 April 2013). "Boards Of Canada Tap A Devout Following To Push New Album". NPR. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
29. ^ Sean Michaels (22 April 2013). "Does Boards of Canada's record-store clue point to new album? | Music". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
30. ^ "Boards of Canada Released a Mysterious 12" on Record Store Day | News". Pitchfork. 21 April 2013. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
31. ^ Minsker, Evan (28 April 2013). "Boards of Canada Commercial Airs on Cartoon Network". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013.
32. ^ Pelly, Jenn (29 April 2013). "Boards of Canada Mystery Continues with New Password Protected Website". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013.
33. ^ NEVERMEN (12 January 2016). "NEVERMEN – Mr Mistake (Boards of Canada Remix)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
34. ^ LeavingRecords (22 February 2016). "Odd Nosdam – Sisters (Boards of Canada remix)". Archived from the original on 11 December 2021 - via YouTube.
35. ^ "NEVERMEN – Mr Mistake (Boards of Canada Remix Instrumental)". 17 February 2017. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021 - via YouTube.
36. ^ "The Sexual Objects: Sometimes (Boards of Canada remix)".  The Skinny. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
37. ^ "WXAXRXP". NTS. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
38. ^ "Boards of Canada - Societas x Tape". NTS. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
39. ^ Christian, Eede (24 June 2019). "LISTEN: WXAXRXP Highlights". The Quietus. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
40. ^ Young, Alex (24 June 2019). "Boards of Canada debut new two-hour mix Societas x Tape". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
41. ^ Strauss, Matthew (3 July 2021). "Boards of Canada Share New Remix of Nevermen's "Treat Em Right": Listen". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
42. ^ Bush, John. "Geogaddi – Boards of Canada". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
43. ^ Pytlik, Mark. "The Colour & The  Archived 24 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine" (Feb 2002), HMV magazine. Retrieved on 20 February 2007.
44. ^ Micallef, Ken. "Northern Exposure Archived 24 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine" (Jul 2002), Remix magazine. Retrieved on 20 February 2007.
45. ^ Segal, David (2021). "Boards of Canada". Contemporary Musicians. Cengage Group. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
46. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Vol. 7 No. 12 (December 2005), pp26-30
47. ^ Albiez, Sean (2013). "Sounds of Future Past: the Poetics of Electronica". Bath Spa.
48. ^ a b c Poolman, Koen. "Play Twice Before Listening Archived 27 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine" (Mar 2002), OOR magazine. Retrieved on 20 February 2007.
49. ^ Kyrou, Ariel & Leloup, Jean-Yves. "Two Aesthetes of Electronic Music Archived 24 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine" (Jun 1998), Virgin Megaweb magazine. Retrieved on 20 February 2007.
50. ^ Sato, Joe; Hiroyuni, Nakamoto (March 2002). "The Last Unexplored Area of Boards of Canada". Buzz. pp. 12–16\. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
51. ^ Brown, Colin. "What the hell is up with Boards of Canada? Shorter analysis of Geogaddi". Retrieved on 23 March 2006.
52. ^ Nicholls, Steve. "Big Country Archived 24 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine" (March 2001), XLR8R Issue 47. Retrieved on 21 February 2007.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Boards of Canada.

* Boards of Canada's profile from Warp Records
* Boards of Canada Archived 29 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine at Warp Records
* Boards of Canada at AllMusic
* Boards of Canada discography at Discogs
* Boards of Canada at IMDb
* Boards of Canada – unofficial wiki at bocpages.org

* v
* t
* e

Boards of Canada

Studio albums|

* Music Has the Right to Children (1998)
* Geogaddi (2002)
* The Campfire Headphase (2005)
* Tomorrow's Harvest (2013)

EPs|

* Twoism (1995)
* Hi Scores (1996)
* Aquarius (1998)
* In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country (2000)
* Trans Canada Highway (2006)

Live EP|

* Peel Session (1999)

Singles|

* "\

 / 

 / 

 / XXXXXX / 

 / 

" (2013)
* "Reach for the Dead" (2013)

Related articles|

* Discography
* Hexagon Sun

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* 2
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Czech Republic

Artists|

* MusicBrainz
* 2

Other|

* IdRef

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