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Difference between revisions of "Random 35 Tracks Tape"

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==Background==
 
==Background==
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*''[[Random 35 Tracks Tape]]'' seems to have been sourced from a cassette entitled ''For Friends Tape'', a set of pre-[[BoC Maxima]] tracks given to friends and family of the group. The leaking of these tracks to P2P networks ([http://www.slsknet.org Soulseek], originally) provided much drama on [[WATMM]].
+
*[[Random 35 Tracks Tape]] is sourced from a cassette compiled by an unknown individual or individuals with access to rare material. These tracks were compiled from one or more CDrs produced by [[Boards of Canada]] and acquired by the compiler by some unknown means. The music itself is consistent with their mid-90s output (with some exceptions), likely representing a period prior to 1995/96. The widespread leaking of these tracks to P2P networks ([http://www.slsknet.org Soulseek], originally) provided much drama on [[WATMM]].
−
**All files are encoded as 320kbps MP3.
+
* During or around 2000, prior to any widely available leak, the cassette was ripped twice in a seemingly short time span, likely due to a perceived issue with the initial rip. These two rips were shared in trading circles via private servers during the period of 2000 through about 2004. The two rips were continuously degraded by the processes of file compression, poorly executed noise reduction, and disc rot (from many people ripping the album to and from CDr). Due to a lack of any information, there was considerable confusion and misidentification of several of the tracks.
−
* For a long time, it was assumed that this tape was the missing ''[[Old Tunes Vol. 1]]'' (since ''[[A Few Old Tunes]]'' and ''[[Old Tunes Vol. 2]]'' were already known), although this was never confirmed.  This was finally proven false when, on 8th August 2009, [[Twoism forum]] member dealer posted new photos of a cassette and liner notes showing that ''[[A Few Old Tunes]]'' and ''[[Old Tunes Vol. 1]]'' were, in fact, the same release.
+
* In 2004, various versions of these tracks became widely available via peer-to-peer networks. As this roughly coincided with the [[Old_Tunes_saga|leak of the old tunes tapes]], there was no general consensus on what exactly the Random 35 Tracks Tape was or if they represented genuine [[Boards of Canada]] material. As a result of the nature of early file sharing, the only available rips were heavily degraded, with a significant loss of fidelity across all versions.
−
*[[MDG]] has said that it is not known who compiled the tracks, calling it "a mystery, just a mixture".<ref>http://bocpages.org/wiki/Statements_from_Hexagon_Sun#September_2009</ref>
+
* For a long time, it was assumed that this tape was the missing ''[[Old Tunes Vol. 1]]'' (since ''[[A Few Old Tunes]]'' and ''[[Old Tunes Vol. 2]]'' were already known), although this was never confirmed.  This was finally proven false when, on the 8th of August, 2009, the [[Twoism forum]] member, [[Dealer|dealer]], posted new photos of a cassette and liner notes showing that ''[[A Few Old Tunes]]'' and ''[[Old Tunes Vol. 1]]'' were, in fact, the same release.
−
*Zoetrope, a user on radiomute.com, referred to not only the commonly known ''[[A Few Old Tunes]]'' and ''[[Old Tunes Vol. 2]]'', but also a third volume, which he appeared to refer to this leaked release as. Some also seem to believe that this is a 'Closes Vol. 2'.
+
* On September 3rd, 2009, band associate [[MDG]] stated that it was not known who compiled the tracks.<ref>[[Statements_from_Hexagon_Sun#September_2009]]</ref>
−
*In 2026, two lossless rips were made available online by Samamdj. Soon after, information came to light that the source for almost all of the songs is a tape entitled ''For Friends Tape'', a cassette compilation the duo made and gave out to friends. A majority of the songs from R35TT appear there too.[https://archive.org/details/forfriendstapehq]
+
<blockquote>
 +
"I've seen comments a few times about a mystery "35 track" tape which itself is a mystery to us too, sorry" <br>
 +
"No I'm not saying they're not BOC, but the compilation itself is a mystery, just a mixture."
 +
</blockquote>
 +
*In the 2020s, renewed interest and investigative effort on the part of several members of the [[Communities|community]], notably Niski, revealed several details about the compilation. Firstly, it was long believed the tape originated in 2004; however, it is now known that leaks of the tape were circulating as far back as 2000 and perhaps earlier. This period of activity revealed the existence of the second tape rip, the tape's compilation from BOC CDrs, numerous found samples, and various pieces of [[Equipment|gear]] used throughout the compilation. Specifically, the Ensoniq VFX keyboard (1989) was found, thanks to the efforts of OliveOil, to feature on at least 12 of the 35 tracks, with the Casio CZ-101 (1984) on at least 5. Garx and Personman, among others, have identified several drum shots used on many of the tracks. These ongoing discoveries continue to reveal a more concrete composition and timeline for the Random 35 Tracks Tape.
 +
*In 2026, the two original lossless rips were made available online thanks to the combined efforts of Niski and [[Samamdj]].
  
 
== Discovery ==
 
== Discovery ==
Line 87: Line 92:
 
Side B:  
 
Side B:  
 
* "[[It's Too Orangey]]" is believed to be the name of the vignette at the end of "[[Triangles and Rhombuses]]", also on ''[[Music has the Right to Children]]''.
 
* "[[It's Too Orangey]]" is believed to be the name of the vignette at the end of "[[Triangles and Rhombuses]]", also on ''[[Music has the Right to Children]]''.
−
* [[R35TT B10|Track 10]] is a reversed version of "[[The Smallest Weird Number]]", later released on "[[Geogaddi]]"
+
* [[R35TT B10|Track 10]] is a reversed version of "[[The Smallest Weird Number]]", later released on ''[[Geogaddi]]''.
  
 
== Videos ==
 
== Videos ==

Latest revision as of 11:20, 23 September 2026

Random 35 Tracks Tape
Label(s) (unknown)
Catalogue No(s) N/A
Release date(s) 1995?
Format(s) Cassette
Running time(s) 84:00
Random 35 Tracks Tape refers to a collection of 35 tracks leaked on P2P networks in 2000 and 2001, with it reaching the majority of fans around September of 2004.

Unlike the "Old Tunes" tapes, the tracks are completely unlabeled; however, a few match known tracks from other sources, including commercial releases. No liner notes or tape scan have ever surfaced.

Despite its uncertain provenance, the tape is believed to be authentic.

Background[edit]

  • Random 35 Tracks Tape is sourced from a cassette compiled by an unknown individual or individuals with access to rare material. These tracks were compiled from one or more CDrs produced by Boards of Canada and acquired by the compiler by some unknown means. The music itself is consistent with their mid-90s output (with some exceptions), likely representing a period prior to 1995/96. The widespread leaking of these tracks to P2P networks (Soulseek, originally) provided much drama on WATMM.
  • During or around 2000, prior to any widely available leak, the cassette was ripped twice in a seemingly short time span, likely due to a perceived issue with the initial rip. These two rips were shared in trading circles via private servers during the period of 2000 through about 2004. The two rips were continuously degraded by the processes of file compression, poorly executed noise reduction, and disc rot (from many people ripping the album to and from CDr). Due to a lack of any information, there was considerable confusion and misidentification of several of the tracks.
  • In 2004, various versions of these tracks became widely available via peer-to-peer networks. As this roughly coincided with the leak of the old tunes tapes, there was no general consensus on what exactly the Random 35 Tracks Tape was or if they represented genuine Boards of Canada material. As a result of the nature of early file sharing, the only available rips were heavily degraded, with a significant loss of fidelity across all versions.
  • For a long time, it was assumed that this tape was the missing Old Tunes Vol. 1 (since A Few Old Tunes and Old Tunes Vol. 2 were already known), although this was never confirmed. This was finally proven false when, on the 8th of August, 2009, the Twoism forum member, dealer, posted new photos of a cassette and liner notes showing that A Few Old Tunes and Old Tunes Vol. 1 were, in fact, the same release.
  • On September 3rd, 2009, band associate MDG stated that it was not known who compiled the tracks.[1]

"I've seen comments a few times about a mystery "35 track" tape which itself is a mystery to us too, sorry"
"No I'm not saying they're not BOC, but the compilation itself is a mystery, just a mixture."

  • In the 2020s, renewed interest and investigative effort on the part of several members of the community, notably Niski, revealed several details about the compilation. Firstly, it was long believed the tape originated in 2004; however, it is now known that leaks of the tape were circulating as far back as 2000 and perhaps earlier. This period of activity revealed the existence of the second tape rip, the tape's compilation from BOC CDrs, numerous found samples, and various pieces of gear used throughout the compilation. Specifically, the Ensoniq VFX keyboard (1989) was found, thanks to the efforts of OliveOil, to feature on at least 12 of the 35 tracks, with the Casio CZ-101 (1984) on at least 5. Garx and Personman, among others, have identified several drum shots used on many of the tracks. These ongoing discoveries continue to reveal a more concrete composition and timeline for the Random 35 Tracks Tape.
  • In 2026, the two original lossless rips were made available online thanks to the combined efforts of Niski and Samamdj.

Discovery[edit]

These tracks appear to have first surfaced on Soulseek under various names, such as "random 35 tracks tape (rarities and the best of - not old tunes v1 or v2)" and "A Few Older Tunes Disc 1/Disc 2", reflecting the uncertainty of the collection's provenance. Early sightings include:

Availability[edit]

  • On 26 May 2026, two new lossless rips appeared on YouTube, courtesy of Niski and Samamdj.[2][3]
    • v1 (lossless download) is faster, bit quieter, ripped using a different deck, source for a rather obscure real audio leak from the early 00s that is audibly faster
    • v2 (lossless download) is the source for nearly every other leak of R35TT, but obviously lossless and without any post-processing like NR
  • A rip can be downloaded at rareboc.org.
  • March 15th 2022 a new restoration by oliveoil22[4] was posted on the Twoism forum.[5]
  • June 27th 2025 a new denoised version by alexw44 was posted on the subreddit.[6][7]

Tracks[edit]

Important: Track titles and lengths are estimations; original listings are not available.

Side A:

  1. "R35TT A01" – 1:22
  2. "R35TT A02" | "She Is P" – 2:12
  3. "R35TT A03" – 3:45
  4. "R35TT A04" – 0:50
  5. "R35TT A05" | "Finity" – 5:04
  6. "R35TT A06" – 4:57
  7. "R35TT A07" – 3:58
  8. "R35TT A08" – 6:34
  9. "R35TT A09" – 1:50
  10. "R35TT A10" – 2:59
  11. "R35TT A11" | "Blueberry" – 0:26
  12. "R35TT A12" – 2:59
  13. "R35TT A13" – 2:12
  14. "R35TT A14" – 1:46
  15. "R35TT A15 | "I Will Get It Tattooed" – 1:05

Side B:

  1. "R35TT B01" – 1:29
  2. "R35TT B02" – 3:51
  3. "R35TT B03 | "House Of Abin'adab" – 1:04
  4. "R35TT B04" – 4:26
  5. "R35TT B05" – 1:52
  6. "R35TT B06" – 0:23
  7. "R35TT B07" – 3:42
  8. "R35TT B08" – 0:57
  9. "R35TT B09" – 3:12
  10. "R35TT B10" | "The Smallest Weird Number" in reverse – 0:59
  11. "R35TT B11" – 3:31
  12. "R35TT B12" – 3:33
  13. "R35TT B13" | "Davie Addison" – 1:11
  14. "R35TT B14" – 3:15
  15. "R35TT B15" – 2:04
  16. "R35TT B16" – 2:21
  17. "R35TT B17" | "It's Too Orangey" – 0:19
  18. "R35TT B18" – 2:02
  19. "R35TT B19" – 1:23
  20. "R35TT B20" – 0:27

Samples/Lyrics[edit]

Side A:

Side B:

Videos[edit]

Lossless[edit]

Lossy[edit]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Statements_from_Hexagon_Sun#September_2009
  2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnFKkqPctwU
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9hkUMVLYnI
  4. ↑ https://www.twoism.org/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4843
  5. ↑ https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15027
  6. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/boardsofcanada/comments/1lm3b7o/using_modern_denoising_techniques_i_created_a/
  7. ↑ https://archive.org/details/r35ttdenoise
Discography Overview | view ⬢ edit
Albums Music Has the Right to Children ⬢ Geogaddi ⬢ The Campfire Headphase ⬢ Tomorrow's Harvest ⬢ Inferno
EPs Twoism ⬢ Hi Scores ⬢ Aquarius ⬢ Peel Session ⬢ In a Beautiful Place out in the Country ⬢ Trans Canada Highway
Singles Reach For The Dead ⬢ Introit / Prophecy At 1420 MHz
Rare / Early Releases Catalog 3 ⬢ Acid Memories ⬢ Closes Vol. 1 ⬢ Play by Numbers ⬢ Hooper Bay ⬢ Boc Maxima ⬢ Old Tunes Vol. 1 ⬢ Old Tunes Vol. 2 ⬢ Random 35 Tracks Tape ⬢ Boc Remii Vol. 1
Mixtapes Marcus Eoin's Campfire Mixtape ⬢ Societas x Tape
Live Sets Live @ Warp10 ⬢ Live @ Lighthouse ⬢ Live @ ATP ⬢ All Gigs
Promotional Releases Telephasic Workshop ⬢ MHTRTC (promo cassette) ⬢ Orange Romeda ⬢ Geogaddi (promo lp) ⬢ Geogaddi (test pressing) ⬢ Geogaddi (promo cassette) ⬢ ------ / ------ / ------ / XXXXXX / ------ / ------ ⬢ Reach For The Dead (promo cd) ⬢ Come To Dust (promo cd)
Compilation Exclusives Korona ⬢ Orange Romeda ⬢ Seven Forty Seven
Produced by BoC for Others Here Come The Rubber Cops ⬢ Orangutang
Bootleg Releases Unreleased Tracks
Other Kaleidoscope ⬢ Promotional Events ⬢ Promotional Items ⬢ Merchandise ⬢ Web media
Lead-up RSD 2013 ARG ⬢ Road to Inferno ⬢ 2026 Promo Campaign
To Be Determined BoCset



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