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	|author= Koen Poolman		|author= Koen Poolman
	|date= 2002/03		|date= 2002/03
−	|publication= Oor	+	|publication= OOR
	|issue= 06		|issue= 06
	|pages= 20-22		|pages= 20-22
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	== Translated text  ==		== Translated text  ==
	<onlyinclude>		<onlyinclude>
−	{{translation-needed}}	+	'''Note''': Translated by ChatGPT-4o
		+
		+
		+
		+	Introducing: [[Boards Of Canada]]. Enigmatic electronic duo from Scotland. Creators of the enchantingly beautiful CDs ''[[Music has the Right to Children]]'' and ''[[Geogaddi]]''. Beat freaks with a love for folk artists like [[wikipedia:Joni Mitchell|Jonie Mitchell]] and [[wikipedia:The Incredible String Band|The Incredible String Band]]. Inspirations for [[wikipedia:Radiohead|Radiohead]] and many others. At the center of a genuine cult following. Ambition: to remain invisible.
		+
		+
		+	By Koen Poolman
		+
		+	Reading time: 7'32""
		+
		+	{{boc|We're at our studio right now, the whole place is under snow at the moment. Everything's cool.}}
		+
		+	The beginning of an email correspondence with [[Marcus Eoin]] (28) - real name Marcus Es - and [[Michael]] '[[Mike]]' [[Sandison]] (30), together [[Boards Of Canada]]. Media-shy electronic duo hiding out in their studio in an abandoned nuclear bunker in the wild nature of the Pentland Hills, on the east coast of Scotland. [[Boards Of Canada]] likes to keep its distance. From the media, from fans (performances are rare), from their colleagues (whoever you talk to, no one has ever met them), and certainly from the music industry. No one seems to know them personally.
		+
		+	{{boc|We keep in touch with no one in the music world. It's not worth it. It's simply not our world.}}
		+
		+	[[Boards Of Canada]], a myth in a world of hypes and trends.
		+
		+
		+	IT IS FEBRUARY 28, 2002, IT IS SNOWING IN SCOTLAND and [[Boards Of Canada]] speaks, after four years of silence and one previous contact that led nowhere. Then, around the release of the mini-CD ''[[In a Beautiful Place out in the Country (release)|In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country]]'' (late '00), they did only three interviews. Worldwide. Now there are a few more — not many — more. Via email. It's either that or nothing.
		+
		+	{{boc|We prefer not to publicize our music at all}}
		+	, writes [[Mike Sandison]] in his first response.
		+
		+	{{boc|We would rather people discover our music themselves, so they can form a personal connection with it.}}
		+
		+	Music that gets caught up in the whirl of the music industry loses its purity and innocence and thus its credibility, the duo firmly believes. The only alternative is to release your records quietly and then step away from them. Let the consumer find it and decide for themselves.
		+
		+	{{boc|The music of [[Boards Of Canada]] should slowly creep up on you,}}
		+	[[Mike]] emphasizes.
		+
		+	{{boc|Our records are not meant to grab you by the throat immediately. To quote [[wikipedia:Jack Dangers|Jack Dangers]] of [[wikipedia:Meat Beat Manifesto|Meat Beat Manifesto]]: Play twice before listening.}}
		+
		+	This was indeed the case with ''[[Music Has The Right To Children]]'' ('98). The official debut came quietly, began to grow slowly, and has now reached almost mythical proportions. It is a modern classic, timeless and genreless. Pure beauty, nostalgia, and mystique captured in abstract beats, warm synthesizers, comforting melodies, and alienating children's voices: distorted, cut up, and played backward. Music for a fairy tale that ends badly. Playful, innocent, but with a dark undertone. Bit by bit, the mystery around the creators also unfolded. [[Mike Sandison]] and [[Marcus Eoin]] supposedly. Two recluses from Scotland, it soon became clear. As children, they both emigrated to [[wikipedia:Alberta|Alberta]], where they spent hours glued to the TV, mesmerized by the images and music of the [[wikipedia:National Film Board Of Canada|National Film Board Of Canada]] nature documentaries. The background music of these films still serves as a significant influence on their own work. Via a stopover in southern England, the two (no family relation) returned to the east coast of Scotland in the early '80s. They have been playing together in a band since '86. Between '92 and '94, they organized [[Redmoon|Redmoon parties]], which were actually happenings, in a ruin in the wilderness of the [[wikipedia:Pentland Hills|Pentland Hills]], near [[wikipedia:Edinburgh|Edinburgh]]. Attractions: Super-8 films from their youth, old children's songs mixed over electronic beats, a large campfire, and a red moon. In their own Hexagon Sun studio, located in a bunker in the hills near the ruin, they recorded their first LP, ''[[Twoism (release)|Twoism]]'' ('95), which found its way to [[Skam]] through [[Autechre]]'s [[Autechre|Sean Booth]] a year later. The Manchester label immediately contacted the [[Boards of Canada|Scots]] and released the mini-LP ''[[Hi Scores (release)|Hi Scores]]'' ('96). [[Warp]] then signed them, and the story with ''[[Music Has The Right To Children]]'' truly began. Four years later, a genuine cult has erupted around the duo - a recent auction on eBay saw one of the hundred LPs of ''[[Twoism (release)|Twoism]]'' sell for 710 pounds - and ''[[Geogaddi]]'' is already one of the most anticipated albums of 2002.
		+
		+
		+	''[[Geogaddi|GEOGADDI]]'' MEETS ALL HIGH EXPECTATIONS. Again, '[[Boards of Canada|Boards]]' creates its own fairytale world full of echoes from an unknown past - a universe far removed from the here and now.
		+
		+
		+	[[Mike]] agrees.
		+
		+	{{boc|We try to have as few links with the present as possible. I hope our music will still be appreciated thirty years from now without evoking a specific time, trend, or scene. Our favorite music has always been melancholic and sad, and also a bit damaged - like the sound of a rusty film. That effect makes it nostalgic for many people. Our intention is to give people something familiar while simultaneously alienating them from the world they know.}}
		+
		+	{{boc|A part of us wants everything to be perfect}}
		+	, [[Marcus]] adds,
		+
		+	{{boc|another part tries to destroy everything we've carefully built, but in a brilliant way.}}
		+
		+	Electronic music is always associated with science fiction, [[wikipedia:futurism|futurism]], [[wikipedia:cyberspace|cyberspace]], a world of robots and machinery. A cliché, according to [[Mike]].
		+
		+	{{boc|In the '70s, when [[wikipedia:Kraftwerk|Kraftwerk]] was at its peak, this might have been original, but now it shows little originality and imagination.}}
		+
		+	In the music of [[Boards Of Canada]], the innocence of a child, the wonder of nature, and the ancient land of our ancestors resonate. This does not depict a future but unearths a memory from the collective subconscious. Like the return to a lost childhood.
		+
		+	{{boc|A recurring theme in our music}}
		+	, says [[Mike]],
		+
		+	{{boc|because it preoccupies me personally. I get sad when I think back to my childhood, and sadness is the best source of inspiration there is.}}
		+
		+	{{question|What memory underlies "[[1969]]" the only vocal track on ''[[Geogaddi]]''}}, I ask. [[Mike]] cryptically:
		+
		+	{{boc|"[[1969]]" in the sunshine refers to a certain period in the existence of a religious group and simultaneously to that time in general. It breathes the hope of an optimistic generation unaware of the disaster awaiting it.}}
		+
		+	{{question|The music of [[Boards Of Canada]] is full of such mysterious messages and references.}}
		+
		+	{{boc|They give the music context,}}
		+	explains [[Marcus]],
		+
		+	{{boc|and in some cases, a very specific meaning.}}
		+
		+	Tracks like "[[Music Is Math]]," "[[A Is To B As B Is To C]]" and "[[The Smallest Weird Number]]" ('70' according to [[Mike]]) reveal an above-average interest in mathematics. An interest that runs like a thread through ''[[Geogaddi]]'', [[Mike]] admits. [[Marcus]] even confirms the rumor that the duo occasionally incorporates the [[wikipedia:Fibonacci|Fibonacci]] sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.) into their compositions.
		+
		+	{{boc|And other equations and quotations,}}
		+
		+	he adds,
		+
		+	{{boc|but mostly we just make music like everyone else.}}
		+
		+
		+	[[Boards of Canada|BOARDS OF CANADA]] IS A TYPICAL EXPONENT OF THE [[Warp|WARP]] SCHOOL. The abstract electronics of [[wikipedia:Aphex Twin|Aphex Twin]], [[Autechre]], and [[wikipedia:Plaid|Plaid]] gently echo in the warm sound of the [[Boards of Canada|Scots]], who in turn influence many new technicians, and even mega acts like [[wikipedia:Radiohead|Radiohead]], [[wikipedia:U2|U2]], and [[wikipedia:Björk|Björk]]. [[Boards Of Canada]] is the most important innovator in electronic music in recent years. Many reviewers, however, mostly recognize a folk influence in their music.
		+
		+
		+	Rightly so, says [[Mike]].
		+
		+	{{boc|Most of our musical influences lie in folk, not electronic music. On ''[[Geogaddi]]'' we used a lot of acoustic instruments, albeit not in a recognizable way. We love artists like [[wikipedia:Joni Mitchell|Joni Mitchell]] and [[wikipedia:The Incredible String Band|The Incredible String Band]]. Their music has a certain purity, and that is what we strive for in our way. We've recorded quite a bit in that style ourselves, but none of it has been released yet.}}
		+
		+	{{question|For fun, put the cover of ''[[Music has the Right to Children]]'' next to ''[[wikipedia:The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter|The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter]] by [[wikipedia:The Incredible String Band|The Incredible String Band]] (from '68, the peak of their psychedelic period), and you have a nice pair.}}
		+
		+	{{boc|Exactly!}}
		+	[[Marcus]] responds.
		+
		+	{{boc|We have all the [[wikipedia:The Incredible String Band|String Band]] records! In fact, they come from the same town where we now live. We see each other occasionally. I recognize a strong connection to the countryside in their music, a connection we also feel. Personally, I consider them one of the most important and underrated bands of the last forty years.}}
		+
		+	{{question|Like much old folk music, the music of [[Boards Of Canada]] is full of [[wikipedia:Paganism|pagan]] symbolism.}}
		+
		+	{{boc|We are interested in the [[wikipedia:Paganism|pagan]] roots of our society,}}
		+	[[Mike]] confirms,
		+
		+	{{boc|with all its rituals and ancient ways of life. Most people seem to forget that the modern age we live in is also transient. You can at least study an alternative to the current society and way of life. Look at someone like [[wikipedia:Julian Cope|Julian Cope]], who uses these influences to enrich his music uniquely. But those influences can also manifest themselves in other ways, outside of music.}}
		+
		+	[[Marcus]]:
		+
		+	{{boc|We are ardent [[wikipedia:Anti-globalization_movement|anti-globalists]]. We are vehemently against economic growth as a pretext for [[wikipedia:industrialization|industrialization]]. It bothers me that more and more technology is being produced just for the sake of production, not because we need all that junk. I recently heard a politician say that a decrease in population would be a disaster for England and that if we don't quickly build more houses, the quality of life would decline, and the economy would collapse. That is utter nonsense. When will they stop? When all the land is covered with houses and factories? My biggest problem with the world is that we have enough space and resources to give everyone a dignified existence, and it just doesn't happen. George Bush was right when he spoke of the Axis of Evil: it's on the doorstep of the multinationals and the government! We try to reflect the idea of a less urbanized life in our music without preaching.}}
		+
		+	{{question|How evil is [[Boards of Canada]], you might wonder after seeing the occult artwork of ''[[Geogaddi]]'' (duration: 66 minutes and 6 seconds) and a track like "[[The Devil Is In The Details]]".}}
		+
		+	[[Mike]]:
		+	{{boc|As evil as Mickey Mouse.}}
		+
		+	{{question|Many dance compilations classify [[Boards of Canada]] under the chill-out genre.}}
		+
		+	{{boc|Ridiculous,}}
		+	scoffs [[Marcus]].
		+
		+	{{boc|I don't even know what chill-out is.}}
		+
		+	So, does [[Boards of Canada]] make dance music? That's also debatable. In the NME, a comparison was made—with the duo's approval—to ''[[wikipedia:Loveless|Lovess]]'' by [[wikipedia:My Bloody Valentine|My Bloody Valentine]]. [[Boards of Canada]] is just as inscrutable. Their music lacks the dynamics of the dance floor. The rhythm of nature suits them just fine. Ebb and flow. The sun and the moon. The blooming of a flower—and how the [[wikipedia:Fibonacci|Fibonacci]] sequence reveals itself in the pattern of leaves on some flowers, plants, and fruits. Things like that. Try finding that with [[wikipedia:The Chemical Brothers|The Chemical Brothers]]! Dance music builds up to a climax, vertically, along the same rhythm. [[Boards of Canada]] composes horizontally, constantly changing tone and color, and once the melody is set, it disappears as quickly as it came—like a cloud briefly forming a recognizable shape, a snowflake melting in your hand. [[Boards of Canada]]'s CDs are filled with short, elusive miniatures, little pieces of music that are over before you know it. They are the sounds to the images in their heads. Images of a volcanic eruption ("[[Gyroscope]]") or a documentary on energy conservation ("[[Energy Warning]]"), undoubtedly inspired by an old broadcast from the [[wikipedia:National Film Board Of Canada|National Film Board of Canada]]. Or one of their own films, as they also make those as part of the collective [[Music70|Music 70]].
		+
		+	{{boc|Those short pieces,}}
		+	writes [[Mike]],
		+
		+	{{boc|we make many more of those than our actual tracks, and they are actually our favorite pieces. If we wanted, we could release ten albums with these miniatures. On ''[[Geogaddi]]'', only the tracks that fit the storyline were included. You need to listen to the album as a whole, like a soundtrack to a bizarre film or musical. The theme is confusion, darkness, a sort of [[wikipedia:Alice in Wonderland|Alice in Wonderland]] adventure. ''[[Music Has the Right to Children]]'' was an album for the outdoors, on a cold, clear day with a bright blue sky. ''[[Geogaddi]]'' is more like a nightmare full of evil spirits and dark forces, a claustrophobic trip that ends with "[[Corsair]]", the light at the end of the tunnel. For us, an album is nothing more than collecting the right tracks. We are already working on putting together our next album.}}
		+
		+	{{question|Hallelujah!}}
		+	In my mind, it starts to snow gently.
		+
		+	[[Boards of Canada]] has no plans to perform at this time, but they are keeping all options open. The rumor that [[Warp]] will re-release their self-produced work is neither confirmed nor denied.
		+	For the full email interview, visit [https://www.oor.nl www.oor.nl].
	</onlyinclude>		</onlyinclude>
−
	== Highlights ==		== Highlights ==
−	*	+	* [[Mike]] and [[Marcus]] are not yet regarded as brothers in this interview.
−		+	* [[Mike]]: “We prefer not to publicize our music at all.”
		+	* [[Mike]]: “Our intention is to give people something familiar while simultaneously alienating them from the world they know.”
		+	* [[Marcus]]: “A part of us wants everything to be perfect, another part tries to destroy everything we've carefully built, but in a brilliant way.”
		+	* [[Mike]]: “Those short pieces, we make many more of those than our actual tracks, and they are actually our favorite pieces. If we wanted, we could release ten albums with these miniatures.”
	== External Links ==		== External Links ==

---

Latest revision as of 20:00, 17 July 2024

title	Even voorstellen
author	Koen Poolman
publication	OOR
date	2002/03
issue	06
pages	20-22

"Even voorstellen" is an interview (in Dutch) by Koen Poolman originally published Mar. 2002 in Oor magazine Number 06, pp. 20-22. The full interview was available on the OOR website.^[1]

Original Text[edit]

Even voorstellen: Boards Of Canada. Enigmatisch elektronicaduo uit Schotland. Makers van de sprookjesachtig mooie CD's Music Has The Right To Children en Geogaddi. Beatfreaks met een voorliefde voor folkies Joni Mitchell en The Incredible Stringband. Inspiratiebron voor Radiohead en vele anderen. Middelpunt van een heuse cultus. Ambitie: onzichtbaar blijven.

door Koen Poolman

leestijd 7'32"

Het begin van een e-mail correspondentie met Marcus Eion (28) - echte naam Marcus Es - en Michael 'Mike' Sandison (30), samen Boards Of Canada. Mediaschuw elektronicaduo dat zich schuilhoudt in zijn studio in een verlaten atoombunker in de woeste natuur van de Pentland Hills, aan de oostkust van Schotland. Boards Of Canada bewaart graag afstand. Van de media, van de fans (optredens zijn een zeldzaamheid), van hun collega's (wie je ook spreekt, niemand heeft hen ooit ontmoet) en zeker van de muziekindustrie. Niemand lijkt hen persoon lijk te kennen. Boards Of Canada, mythe in een wereld van hypes en trends.

HET IS 28 FEBRUARI 2002, HET SNEEUWT IN SCHOTLAND en Boards Of Canada spreekt, na vier jaar van stilzwijgen en één eerder op niets uitgelopen contact. Toen, rond het verschijnen van de mini-CD In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country (eind '00), deed men uiteindelijk maar drie interviews. Wereldwijd. Nu zijn het er een paar - niet veel — meer. Per e-mail. Het is graag of niet.

schrijft Mike Sandison in zijn eerste reactie. Muziek die in de mallemolen van de muziekindustrie terechtkomt, verliest haar puurheid en haar onschuld en dus haar geloofwaardigheid, is de stellige overtuiging van het duo. Het enige alternatief is je platen stilletjes uit te brengen en vervolgens je handen er vanaf te trekken. Laat de consument zelf maar op zoek gaan en beslissen. De muziek van Boards Of Canada moet je langzaam bekruipen, benadrukt Mike.

Aldus geschiedde met Music Has The Right To Children ('98). Het officiële debuut kwam geruisloos, begon langzaam te groeien en is inmiddels tot haast mythische proporties uitgegroeid. Het is een moderne klassieker, tijdloos en genreloos. Pure schoonheid, nostalgie en mystiek gevat in abstracte beats, warme synthesizers, troostrijke melodieën en vervreemdende kinderstemmetjes: verdraaid, verknipt en achterstevoren afgespeeld. Muziek bij een sprookje dat slecht afloopt. Dartel, speels, onschuldig, maar met een duistere ondertoon. Stukje bij beetje ontrafelde zich ook het mysterie rond de makers. Mike Sandison en Marcus Eion zogezegd. Twee kluizenaars uit Schotland, bleek al snel. Als kind zouden ze allebei naar Alberta zijn geëmigreerd, alwaar ze uren voor de buis gekluisterd zaten, betoverd door de beelden én de muziek van de natuurdocumentaires van de National Film Board Of Canada. De achtergrondmuziek bij deze films geldt nog steeds als een belangrijke invloed op hun eigen werk. Via een tussenstop in Zuid-Engeland keren de twee (geen familie) begin jaren '80 terug naar de oostkust van Schotland. Daar spelen ze sinds '86 samen in een band. Tussen '92 en '94 organiseren ze Redmoon-feesten, happenings eigenlijk, in een ruïne middenin de wildernis van de Pentland Hills, onder Edinburgh. Attracties: Super-8 filmpjes uit hun jeugd, oude kinderliedjes gemixt over elektronische beats, een groot kampvuur en een rode maan. In de eigen Hexagon Sun studio, gevestigd in een atoombunker in de heuvels vlakbij de ruïne, nemen ze in eigen beheer hun eerste LP op, Twoism ('95), die een jaar later via Autechre's Sean Booth bij Skam belandt. Het label uit Manchester neemt direct contact met de Schotten op en brengt de mini-lp Hi Scores ('96) uit. Waarna Warp hen contracteert en het verhaal met Music Has The Right To Children pas echt begint. Weer vier jaar later is er een heuse cultus rond het duo losgebarsten - onlangs werd een van de honderd LP's van Twoism voor maar liefst 710 pond op eBay geveild - en is Geogaddi al op voorhand een van de belangrijkste albums van 2002.

GEOGADDI LOST ALLE HOOGGESPANNEN VERWACHTINGEN IN. Opnieuw creëert 'Boards' zijn eigen sprookjeswereld vol echo's uit een onbekend verleden - een universum ver weg van het hier en nu.

Mike reageert instemmend. vult Marcus aan, Elektronische muziek wordt steevast geassocieerd met sciencefiction, futurisme, cyberspace, een wereld van robots en machinerie. Een cliché, meent Mike. In de muziek van Boards Of Canada weerklinkt de onschuld van een kind, het wonder der natuur, het eeuwenoude land van onze voorvaderen. Hier wordt geen toekomst geschetst, maar een herinnering uit het collectieve onderbewustzijn opgegraven. Het terughalen van een verloren jeugd bijvoorbeeld. aldus Mike, Welke herinnering ligt ten grondslag aan 1969, het enige vocale nummer op Geogaddi, vraag ik. Mike cryptisch: De muziek van Boards Of Canada zit vol met dit soort geheimzinnige boodschappen en verwijzinkjes. legt Marcus uit, Nummers als Music Is Math, A Is To B As B Is To C en The Smallest Weird Number ('70' volgens Mike) verraden een bovenmatige interesse voor wiskunde. Een interesse die als een rode draad over Geogaddi heenloopt, bekent Mike. Marcus bevestigt zelfs het gerucht dat het duo zo nu en dan de cijferreeks van Fibonacci (1, 2, 3, 5, 8,13 enzovoort) in zijn composities verwerkt. meldt hij,

BOARDS OF CANADA IS EEN TYPISCHE EXPONENT VAN DE WARP-SCHOOL. De abstracte elektronica van Aphex Twin, Autechre en Plaid echoot zachtjes na in de warme sound van de Schotten, die op hun beurt weer vele nieuwe techneuten beïnvloeden, en ook megacts als Radiohead, U2 en Björk trouwens. Boards Of Canada is de belangrijkste vernieuwer binnen de elektronische muziek van de laatste jaren. Veel recensenten herkennen echter vooral een folk-invloed in hun muziek.

Terecht, stelt Mike. Leg voor de grap de hoes van Music Has The Right To Children naast die van The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter van The Incredible Stringband (uit '68, het toppunt van hun psychedelische periode) en je hebt een mooi paar. antwoordt Marcus. Net als veel oude volksmuziek is de muziek van Boards Of Canada vergeven van heidense symboliek. bevestigt Mike, Marcus: Hoe Kwaad is Boards Of Canada eigenlijk, vraag je je af na het zien van het occulte artwork van Geogaddi (duur: 66 minuten en 6 seconden) en een nummer als The Devil Is In The Details. Mike:

VEEL DANCECOMPILATIES PLAATSEN BOARDS OF CANADA ONDER DE NOEMER CHILL-OUT. sneert Marcus. Maakt Boards Of Canada dan wel dance? Ook dat is discutabel. In de NME werd - met instemming van het duo - de vergelijking met Loveless van My Bloody Valentine gemaakt. Boards Of Canada is even ondoorgrondelijk. Hun muziek mist de dynamiek van de dansvloer. Het ritme van de natuur gaat hen snel genoeg. Eb en vloed. De zon en de maan. Het ontluiken van een bloem - en hoe de Fibonacci-reeks zich openbaart in het patroon van de bladeren van sommige bloemen, planten en vruchten. Van die dingen. Kom daar maar eens om bij The Chemical Brothers! Dansmuziek bouwt op naar een hoogtepunt, verticaal, langs alsmaar hetzelfde ritme. Boards Of Canada componeert horizontaal, wisselt voortdurend van klank en kleur, en als de melodie eenmaal staat, verdwijnt zij net zo snel als zij gekomen is - als een wolk die even een herkenbare vorm aanneemt, een sneeuwvlok die smelt in je hand. De CD's van Boards Of Canada grossieren in korte, ongrijpbare miniatuurtjes, muziekjes eigenlijk, die voorbij zijn voordat je het weet. Het zijn de klanken bij de beelden in hun hoofd. Beelden van een vulkanische uitbarsting (Gyroscope) of een documentaire over zuinig energieverbruik (Energy Warning), ongetwijfeld geïnspireerd op een oude uitzending van de National Film Board Of Canada. Of een van hun eigen films, want die maken ze ook, als onderdeel van het collectief Music 70. schrijft Mike,

Halleluja!

In mijn gedachten begint het zachtjes te sneeuwen.

Boards Of Canada heeft vooralsnog geen plannen om te gaan optreden, maar houdt alle opties open. Het gerucht dat Warp het eigen beheer-werk opnieuw gaat uitbrengen wordt bevestigd noch tegengesproken. Voor het volledige e-mail interview kun je terecht op www.oor.nl.

Translated text[edit]

Note: Translated by ChatGPT-4o

Introducing: Boards Of Canada. Enigmatic electronic duo from Scotland. Creators of the enchantingly beautiful CDs Music has the Right to Children and Geogaddi. Beat freaks with a love for folk artists like Jonie Mitchell and The Incredible String Band. Inspirations for Radiohead and many others. At the center of a genuine cult following. Ambition: to remain invisible.

By Koen Poolman

Reading time: 7'32""

The beginning of an email correspondence with Marcus Eoin (28) - real name Marcus Es - and Michael 'Mike' Sandison (30), together Boards Of Canada. Media-shy electronic duo hiding out in their studio in an abandoned nuclear bunker in the wild nature of the Pentland Hills, on the east coast of Scotland. Boards Of Canada likes to keep its distance. From the media, from fans (performances are rare), from their colleagues (whoever you talk to, no one has ever met them), and certainly from the music industry. No one seems to know them personally.

Boards Of Canada, a myth in a world of hypes and trends.

IT IS FEBRUARY 28, 2002, IT IS SNOWING IN SCOTLAND and Boards Of Canada speaks, after four years of silence and one previous contact that led nowhere. Then, around the release of the mini-CD In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country (late '00), they did only three interviews. Worldwide. Now there are a few more — not many — more. Via email. It's either that or nothing.

, writes Mike Sandison in his first response.

Music that gets caught up in the whirl of the music industry loses its purity and innocence and thus its credibility, the duo firmly believes. The only alternative is to release your records quietly and then step away from them. Let the consumer find it and decide for themselves.

Mike emphasizes.

This was indeed the case with Music Has The Right To Children ('98). The official debut came quietly, began to grow slowly, and has now reached almost mythical proportions. It is a modern classic, timeless and genreless. Pure beauty, nostalgia, and mystique captured in abstract beats, warm synthesizers, comforting melodies, and alienating children's voices: distorted, cut up, and played backward. Music for a fairy tale that ends badly. Playful, innocent, but with a dark undertone. Bit by bit, the mystery around the creators also unfolded. Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin supposedly. Two recluses from Scotland, it soon became clear. As children, they both emigrated to Alberta, where they spent hours glued to the TV, mesmerized by the images and music of the National Film Board Of Canada nature documentaries. The background music of these films still serves as a significant influence on their own work. Via a stopover in southern England, the two (no family relation) returned to the east coast of Scotland in the early '80s. They have been playing together in a band since '86. Between '92 and '94, they organized Redmoon parties, which were actually happenings, in a ruin in the wilderness of the Pentland Hills, near Edinburgh. Attractions: Super-8 films from their youth, old children's songs mixed over electronic beats, a large campfire, and a red moon. In their own Hexagon Sun studio, located in a bunker in the hills near the ruin, they recorded their first LP, Twoism ('95), which found its way to Skam through Autechre's Sean Booth a year later. The Manchester label immediately contacted the Scots and released the mini-LP Hi Scores ('96). Warp then signed them, and the story with Music Has The Right To Children truly began. Four years later, a genuine cult has erupted around the duo - a recent auction on eBay saw one of the hundred LPs of Twoism sell for 710 pounds - and Geogaddi is already one of the most anticipated albums of 2002.

GEOGADDI MEETS ALL HIGH EXPECTATIONS. Again, 'Boards' creates its own fairytale world full of echoes from an unknown past - a universe far removed from the here and now.

Mike agrees.

, Marcus adds,

Electronic music is always associated with science fiction, futurism, cyberspace, a world of robots and machinery. A cliché, according to Mike.

In the music of Boards Of Canada, the innocence of a child, the wonder of nature, and the ancient land of our ancestors resonate. This does not depict a future but unearths a memory from the collective subconscious. Like the return to a lost childhood.

, says Mike,

, I ask. Mike cryptically:

explains Marcus,

Tracks like "Music Is Math," "A Is To B As B Is To C" and "The Smallest Weird Number" ('70' according to Mike) reveal an above-average interest in mathematics. An interest that runs like a thread through Geogaddi, Mike admits. Marcus even confirms the rumor that the duo occasionally incorporates the Fibonacci sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.) into their compositions.

he adds,

BOARDS OF CANADA IS A TYPICAL EXPONENT OF THE WARP SCHOOL. The abstract electronics of Aphex Twin, Autechre, and Plaid gently echo in the warm sound of the Scots, who in turn influence many new technicians, and even mega acts like Radiohead, U2, and Björk. Boards Of Canada is the most important innovator in electronic music in recent years. Many reviewers, however, mostly recognize a folk influence in their music.

Rightly so, says Mike.

Marcus responds.

Mike confirms,

Marcus:

Mike:

scoffs Marcus.

So, does Boards of Canada make dance music? That's also debatable. In the NME, a comparison was made—with the duo's approval—to Lovess by My Bloody Valentine. Boards of Canada is just as inscrutable. Their music lacks the dynamics of the dance floor. The rhythm of nature suits them just fine. Ebb and flow. The sun and the moon. The blooming of a flower—and how the Fibonacci sequence reveals itself in the pattern of leaves on some flowers, plants, and fruits. Things like that. Try finding that with The Chemical Brothers! Dance music builds up to a climax, vertically, along the same rhythm. Boards of Canada composes horizontally, constantly changing tone and color, and once the melody is set, it disappears as quickly as it came—like a cloud briefly forming a recognizable shape, a snowflake melting in your hand. Boards of Canada's CDs are filled with short, elusive miniatures, little pieces of music that are over before you know it. They are the sounds to the images in their heads. Images of a volcanic eruption ("Gyroscope") or a documentary on energy conservation ("Energy Warning"), undoubtedly inspired by an old broadcast from the National Film Board of Canada. Or one of their own films, as they also make those as part of the collective Music 70.

writes Mike,

In my mind, it starts to snow gently.

Boards of Canada has no plans to perform at this time, but they are keeping all options open. The rumor that Warp will re-release their self-produced work is neither confirmed nor denied. For the full email interview, visit www.oor.nl.

Highlights[edit]

• Mike and Marcus are not yet regarded as brothers in this interview.
• Mike: “We prefer not to publicize our music at all.”
• Mike: “Our intention is to give people something familiar while simultaneously alienating them from the world they know.”
• Marcus: “A part of us wants everything to be perfect, another part tries to destroy everything we've carefully built, but in a brilliant way.”
• Mike: “Those short pieces, we make many more of those than our actual tracks, and they are actually our favorite pieces. If we wanted, we could release ten albums with these miniatures.”

External Links[edit]

Scans[edit]

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References[edit]

1. ↑ https://bocpages.org/wiki/Play_Twice_Before_Listening