Currently listening to all Boards of Canada releases new to old in one sitting – well the official ones plus Boc Maxima, I haven’t got time for the demo messiness of Old Tunes 1 & 2….and I am currently finished Campfire Headphase and didn’t realise like Geogaddi there was a Japanese-only bonus track I haven’t heard even though I own the first three albums on CD – and a few of the EPs.
Unlike Geogaddi’s rather pointless bonus, ‘Macquarie Ridge’ is amazing, and paired with Aurora Borealis footage, rather wonderful.
The verdict so far – also reading up on samples, background, interpretations etc:
Boc Maxima – A-patchy with some gems – most of which are elsewhere
Twoism – Sixtyniner is a lost gem, and Smokes Quantity is always welcome. Rest is a bit like the old tapes, a little forgettable, which was my verdict back then
Hi-Scores – introduced to this via Skampler I think, not sure if I bought this back then? Everyday is a Balloon is still a choon and that runes…err…rhymes. Nlogax too, old school 80’s funk meets haunting IDM
Aquarius single – remember Chinook being less boring, Aquarius is ace – did you know it was actually based on the intro of the Hair musical track?
Music Has The Right… – excellent eBayer ***** would recommend. Best 90’s electronica album, no question. Nearly every track a winner baby, that’s a fact!
Peel Sessions – love that Aquarius 3 version, maybe better than the single and album versions. I obviously listened to the first half and assumed it was the same…
A Beautiful Place…. I have owned this since it came out and the David Koresh refs completely passed me by. I feel sort of defiled, this formerly lovely music now has a horrible undertow…
Geogaddi – fuck me this is actually quite scary, Better than I remember, but again missed most of the spooky stuff. I remember being disappointed but after Tomorrow’s Harvest this makes more sense, oddly. Julie and Candy seemingly sampling kids school recordings- and recorders – like some audio Picturebox Zoetrope in Hell, Sunshine Recorder a different kind of recorder…, brr. It is the subliminals that make it so chilly? And they get all huffy about cult/Satanist accusations but then put it all in there back-masked, or directly referencing it in artwork and samples.,.
Campfire Phase – loved this at the time, made mashups from it, but apart from Dayvan and Hey Saturday Sun, it has really not aged well, bar the bonus track above. First album I started skipping.
Trans Canada Highway – not heard this before, supposed to be darker but not really getting that, feels like it’s Looking Through the Prozac Window. Distant and not really there, sort of 5 miles high in an airliner in the distance. Hazy but Jane has fucked off for a fag on her break. The Odd Nosdam mix is nice, adding something new that is otherwise missing here….
Tomorrow’s Harvest – listened to this yesterday and a few times recently as well, it is the sound of COVID-19 incarnate. Didn’t totally love it at the time, I was obviously in a better place and isolationist video nasty horror soundtracks weren’t my thing. Yet in 2020 – totally on point. Thanks Ian for the reminder! Collapse particularly struck me yesterday, along with Sick Times, New Seeds and Cold Earth.
Been reminded they did a compilation track called Korona for odd rare IDM series MASK 100. How forward thinking WERE they? *spook*
Leave a Comment! Be nice….