Boards of Canada discography - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This page contains a comprehensive collection of information related to recordings made by electronic music

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

duo Boards of Canada

Boards of Canada

Boards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin...

Purported early albums

Catalog 3
Catalog 3
Catalog 3 is an album by the Scottish duo Boards of Canada. Currently, it is the earliest known recording by the group. The album was originally released only as a cassette in 1987...

- Summer 1987 (Music70
Music70
Music70 is a record label run by Boards of Canada. Boards of Canada used Music70 as a front to release many of their very early works. These albums were mostly distributed among friends and relatives and are, therefore, extremely rare. It has released only Boards of Canada's music, which is...

). Limited cassette release. Limited CD re-release in 1997.
Acid Memories
Acid Memories
Acid Memories was a cassette created by Boards of Canada released in 1989 under their own label Music70. It was released in highly limited quantities to friends and family of the band...

- 1989 (Music70). Limited cassette release.
Closes Vol. 1 - 1992 (Music70). Limited cassette release. Limited CD repress in 1997.
Play by Numbers
Play by Numbers
Play by Numbers was a CD produced and created by Boards of Canada. Most of Boards of Canada's early works were made in very small runs and Play by Numbers is no exception...

- 1994 (Music70). Limited CD & cassette release.
Hooper Bay
Hooper Bay (album)
Hooper Bay was purportedly an EP created by Boards of Canada, issued in both vinyl and cassette formats. The title refers to the small city of that name in Alaska, and all track titles on the album share a similar Alaskan theme...

- 1994 (Music70). Limited 12" release.

Studio albums

Twoism
Twoism
Twoism was an album released by Boards of Canada on their own Music70 record label in 1995. It was a self-financed cassette and record distributed privately. Major public releases would not happen until 1996's Hi Scores EP on Skam Records. This album was, however, the work which got them noticed by...

- 1995 (Music70). Limited cassette and LP release. 2002 general re-release on LP and CD (Music70/Warp).
Boc Maxima
Boc Maxima
Boc Maxima was released by Boards of Canada on Music70 in 1996. This is prior to their more public releases on Skam Records and Warp Records. After Hi Scores was released on Skam Records, many of Boc Maxima songs were reused in 1998's Music Has the Right to Children. Boc Maxima was broadcast in...

- 1996 (Music70). Limited CD & cassette release.
Music Has the Right to Children
Music Has the Right to Children
Music Has the Right to Children is the debut public album of the Scottish electronic music duo Boards of Canada. It was published by Warp Records and released on 20 April 1998 in Europe and 20 August in the United States...

- Aug 1998 (Warp/Skam). CD, 2xLP.
Geogaddi
Geogaddi
Geogaddi is the second album by Boards of Canada. It was released in February 2002 on three different days for each region to a large degree of anticipation. It presents a darker sound than its predecessor Music Has the Right to Children. The title of the album has no conclusive meaning; the...

- Feb 2002 (Warp/Music70). 3xLP, CD, Limited Edition CD.
The Campfire Headphase
The Campfire Headphase
The Campfire Headphase is the third studio album by Boards of Canada. Released by Warp Records in October 2005, the album featured the addition of heavily treated acoustic guitars and the use of more conventional song structures...

- Oct 2005 (WarpLP123). 2XLP, CD, digital download (iTunes, Bleep).

Singles and EPs

Hi Scores
Hi Scores
Hi Scores is an EP by Boards of Canada. It was released on CD and vinyl in 1996, and subsequently re-released in 1998, 2002, and 2005.-Track listing:# "Hi Scores" – 4:57# "Turquoise Hexagon Sun" – 5:09# "Nlogax" – 6:54# "June 9th" – 5:18...

- 1996 (Skam
Skam Records
Skam Records is an independent Electronic record label based in Manchester, England, founded by Andy Maddocks around 1990. Skam also runs a smaller sub-label called 33.-History:...

). 12" release. Re-pressed on 12" and CD in 1998 and 2002.
Aquarius - Jan 05 1998 (Skam). 7" EP.
Peel Session TX 21/07/1998
Peel Session TX 21/07/1998
Peel Session TX 21/07/1998 is an EP by Boards of Canada of their 21 July 1998 Peel Session broadcast on BBC Radio 1. It was released on 11 January 1999 as 12" or CD by Warp Records as catalogue numbers WAP114 and WAP114CD...

- Jan 1999 (Warp). 12", CD.
In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country
In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country
-In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country in popular culture:The track "Kid for Today" was used in a 2002 British television advertisement for BMW 7 Series.-External links:* at the official Warp Records website* at the official Warp Records website...

- Nov 2000 (Warp/Music70). Sky-blue 12" LP, CD.
Roygbiv/Telephasic Workshop 10" limited release (taken from Music Has the Right to Children)
Korona (mask100) Dec 1996 (skam) - 12" Vinyl release only. Bootlegged in 2007 on 12" vinyl on "Unreleased Tracks" (BOCNM-1104)
Orange Romeda - 29 Jun 1998 (taken from the various artists album, WAP100 - We Are Reasonable People
We Are Reasonable People
We Are Reasonable People is a compilation album released by Warp records on 29 June, 1998. The title of the album is a backronym of WARP....

- Warp Records
Warp Records
Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....

). CD and 12" clear LP.
Trans Canada Highway
Trans Canada Highway (EP)
-External links:* at the official Warp Records discography.* at Bleep.com* music video .* on YouTube* at the official Warp Records site*...

- 29 May 2006 (Wap200 12" / Wap200CD digipak / Wap200cddf FLAC
FLAC
FLAC is a codec which allows digital audio to be losslessly compressed such that file size is reduced without any information being lost...

digital audio download)
Seven Forty Seven - 5 Oct 2009 (taken from the Warp Records
Warp Records
Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....

20th anniversary box set, Warp20). Exclusive 10" vinyl LP release.
Spiro - 5 Oct 2009 (taken from the Warp Records
Warp Records
Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....

20th anniversary box set, Warp20). Exclusive 10" vinyl LP release as a locked groove.

Live and radio appearances

Peel Session TX 21/07/1998
Peel Session TX 21/07/1998
Peel Session TX 21/07/1998 is an EP by Boards of Canada of their 21 July 1998 Peel Session broadcast on BBC Radio 1. It was released on 11 January 1999 as 12" or CD by Warp Records as catalogue numbers WAP114 and WAP114CD...

- January 1999, BBC Radio 1 (Released on Warp)
Warp 10th Anniversary Party: Live @ Warp10
Live @ Warp10
Live @ Warp10 is a collection of songs recorded during the performance of Boards of Canada at the Warp Records 10th anniversary party. The performance took place at the Old Truman Brewery in London, England...

- November 1999
Warp Lighthouse Party: Live @ Lighthouse - October 2000
All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....

at Sussex: Live @ ATP
Live @ ATP
Live @ ATP is a collection of songs recorded during the performance of Boards of Canada at All Tomorrow's Parties on April the 7th, 2001. These songs were later released onto P2P networks where they are still widely available. Along with a few known songs, the majority of the songs have never...

- April 2001
Helterskelter FM Radio Broadcast - 2002

Collaborations, covers/remixes and soundtrack appearances

Boards of Canada have remixed a number of artists' songs. The work of these artists is generally described as electronic, ambient, experimental, or hip-hop. Most artists come from the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

or United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Boards of Canada has additionally remixed two older, popular songs under the alias Hell Interface, detailed below.

Remixes of Boards of Canada

“An Eagle In Your Mind" by Push Button Objects
Push Button Objects
Push Button Objects is the alias of Edgar Farinas, a producer of IDM. His style of music uses hip-hop as an underlying foundation, but with the addition of DSP-processed sounds, unusual samples, elements of electro, Detroit techno, Miami bass, jungle, and other musical rudiments somewhat alien to...

on Warp 10+3 Remixes
Warp 10: Influences, Classics, Remixes
Warp 10 is a series of compilation albums issued by Warp Records in 1999 to celebrate the label's tenth anniversary. The collection spans three double CD/quadruple vinyl sets, which can be purchased individually...

, 1999
“Kid For Today" by Stereolab
Stereolab
Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...

on Warp 10+3 Remixes, 1999
“Dayvan Cowboy (Odd Nosdam Remix)" by Odd Nosdam
Odd Nosdam
Odd Nosdam is a musician, DJ, artist, and co-founder and ex-art director of record label/collective Anticon.Nosdam was first noticed for the drone and warped pop of his former group cLOUDDEAD ; he has worked closely with Mike Patton on his Peeping Tom project and remixed tracks by a variety of...

on Trans Canada Highway
Trans Canada Highway (EP)
-External links:* at the official Warp Records discography.* at Bleep.com* music video .* on YouTube* at the official Warp Records site*...

, 2006
"D C (Bit)" (remix of "Dayvan Cowboy") by Odd Nosdam on Pretty Swell Explode, 2008
“In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country" by Mira Calix
Mira Calix
Mira Calix, real name Chantal Passamonte, is an artist signed to Warp Records, specialising in mixing her intimate vocals with jittering beats and experimental electronic textures...

& Oliver Coates on Warp20 (Recreated)
Warp20 (Recreated)
Warp20 is a compilation album released by Warp Records in 2009. It contains covers of Warp artists, such as Aphex Twin, LFO, Boards of Canada and Grizzly Bear by other Warp artists, such as Plaid, Autechre and Mira Calix.-Track listing:...

, 2009
“Kaini Industries" by Bibio
Bibio
Stephen Wilkinson, better known as Bibio, is a British music producer. His music is primarily electronic and experimental in nature. He currently releases music on the Warp Records label, and previously on Mush Records.-Biographical information:...

on Warp20 (Recreated), 2009

Remixes by Boards of Canada

“Surfaise (The Trade Winds Mix)", on Demon 1, Michael Fakesch, May 1997
“Dirty Great Mable" on Dirty Great Mable (Remixes), Bubbah's Tum, 1998
“Prime Audio Soup (Vegetarian Soup Remix)" on Prime Audio Soup, Meat Beat Manifesto
Meat Beat Manifesto
Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened to Meat Beat or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens formed in 1987 in Swindon, UK...

, 1998
“Sandsings" on Pin Skeeling, Mira Calix, May 1998
“Poppy Seed (Boards of Canada Remix)" and "Poppy Seed (Reprise) (Boards Of Canada Remix)" on So Soon, Slag Boom Van Loon, 21 May 2001
“Last Walk Around Mirror Lake" on From Left to Right, Boom Bip
Boom Bip
Bryan Charles Hollon, better known as Boom Bip, is an American producer and musician. His music is mostly instrumental, but over the course of his career he has collaborated with several vocalists. He is currently signed to Lex Records, which, until 2005, was a division of Warp Records in the...

, May 2003
“Dead Dogs Two" on Dead Dogs Two, cLOUDDEAD
CLOUDDEAD
Clouddead was a musical group consisting of the experimental hip hop musicians Doseone , Why? , and Odd Nosdam . Generally Drucker and Wolf provide the group's vocals while Madson produces the music...

, 26 January 2004
“Broken Drum" on Guero
Guero
Guero is the ninth studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, first released in March 2005 on Interscope Records. It debuted on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart at #2 , and in the UK at #15 . To date, this is Beck's highest charting CD...

Deluxe Edition, Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...

, 28 March 2005 and Guerolito
Guerolito
Guerolito is the first remix album by Beck, released in December 2005. It features all of the songs from regular edition of Guero in remixed forms by a variety of artists, with the addition of "Clap Hands", originally found on the special limited edition of Guero.Guerolito reached #191 on the...

, Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...

, 13 December 2005
"Good Friday (Boards of Canada Remix)" on Alopecia, Why?, 18 November 2007

Remixes by Boards of Canada as Hell Interface

“Trapped" by Colonel Abrams
Colonel Abrams
Colonel Abrams is a house and urban musician who was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in New York City, New York. He graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School currently known as Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics which is in East Harlem section of Manhattan, there he met a fellow...

on mask200 (Skam
Skam Records
Skam Records is an independent Electronic record label based in Manchester, England, founded by Andy Maddocks around 1990. Skam also runs a smaller sub-label called 33.-History:...

Compilation), 1995
“Soylent Night" (Bach's Magnificat BWV 243a) by Hell Interface on Whine And Missingtoe (V/Vm
V/Vm Test Records
V/Vm Test records is a record label based in Stockport, England and was started by James Kirby and Andrew Macgregor in 1996...

), 1997
“The Midas Touch" by Midnight Star
Midnight Star
Midnight Star is an R&B and electro-funk group that had a string of R&B hits in the 1980s.-Band history:The group was formed in 1976 at Kentucky State University by trumpeter Reggie Calloway, vocalist Belinda Lipscomb, guitarist/vocalist Melvin Gentry, bassist Kenneth Gant, multi-instrumentalist...

on mask500 (Skam
Skam Records
Skam Records is an independent Electronic record label based in Manchester, England, founded by Andy Maddocks around 1990. Skam also runs a smaller sub-label called 33.-History:...

Compilation), 1999
“The Story of Xentrix" on Warp WIFOF2003 Mix (Warp Records
Warp Records
Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....

Compilation), 2003

Soundtrack appearances by Boards of Canada

“Everything You Do Is a Balloon", on Morvern Callar: Soundtrack to a Film by Lynne Ramsay (Alliance Atlantis
Alliance Atlantis
Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. was a Toronto-based media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operator in Canada. Alliance Atlantis also had offices in Halifax, Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona, Shannon and Sydney.Alliance Atlantis was acquired by Canwest...

under license to Warp Records
Warp Records
Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....

), 2002
“Happy Cycling [*]", on Six Feet Under: Episode 25 - I'll Take You (Home Box Office
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...

), 2001
“Music Is Math", featured on Nathan Barley
Nathan Barley
Nathan Barley is a Channel 4 sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt and Claire Keelan. The series of six weekly episodes began broadcasting on 11 February 2005 on Channel 4...

and the trailer for Pi
Pi (film)
Pi, also titled ,WorldCat gives the title as [Pi] and provides a note which states, "Title is the mathematical symbol for Pi." . Amazon gives the title as Pi with no notation concerning the math symbol . is a 1998 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky...

, among others.
“Turquoise Hexagon Sun", used on several episodes of Monkey Dust
Monkey Dust
Monkey Dust is a British satirical cartoon, notorious for its dark humour and handling of taboo topics such as murder, suicide and paedophilia. There were three series broadcast on BBC Three between 2003 and 2005...

.
“Sunshine Recorder", used on the show Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...

during the Toyota Pickup toughness test.
“Untitled", used on a commercial for Telecom Italia
Telecom Italia
Telecom Italia is the largest Italian telecommunications company, also active in the media and manufacturing industries. Now a private concern listed on the Borsa Italiana, it was founded in 1994 by the merger of several state-owned telecommunications companies, the most important of which was...

, directed by Chris Cunningham
Chris Cunningham
Chris Cunningham is an English music video film director and video artist. He was born in Reading, Berkshire in 1970 and grew up in Lakenheath, Suffolk....

, who is also well-known for his video work with Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...

. This piece is not commercially available but a portion of this track seems to be sampled on "A is to B as B is to C" from the Geogaddi album. The commercial features movie star Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...

.
“The Color of the Fire" and "5-9-78", used on a European Nissan automobile ad. "5-9-78" is not commercially available, but can be found on the bootleg A Few Old Tunes.
“Kid for Today", used on a European BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...

automobile ad featuring the 7-Series luxury sedan.
“Beware the Friendly Stranger", from Geogaddi, used in "Salad Fingers
Salad Fingers
Salad Fingers is a post-apocalyptic psychological horror Flash cartoon series originally created by British cartoonist David Firth in July 2004 which gained rapid internet popularity in 2005...

".
“Rue the Whirl", used on an episode of Spaced
Spaced
Spaced is a British television sitcom written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright. It is noted for its rapid-fire editing, frequent pop culture references and jokes, eclectic music, and occasional displays of surrealism and non-sequitur humour...

.
"Gyroscope", on the soundtrack of the Italian movie Le conseguenze dell'amore ("The Consequences of Love"), directed by Paolo Sorrentino (2004).
"Dayvan Cowboy", used on an MTV promo for Fast Inc., the CBS series CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....

episode # 502 and on "Kyle XY" Season 2, Episode 6.
"An Eagle in Your Mind", used on several episodes of the BBC3 martial arts series "Mind, Body and Kick Ass Moves".
Portions of "Pete Standing Alone" were looped in various German television vignettes for the 2006 World Cup with a fan doing the "Deutschland Dance".
“Turquoise Hexagon Sun" has featured on various episode of British teen drama Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...

.
"Everything You Do Is a Balloon" was used in the short film Waking Up by Ross Robertson.
“Turquoise Hexagon Sun" is used in an episode of The Real Hustle
The Real Hustle
The Real Hustle is a BBC television series made by Objective Productions and written by Alexis Conran and Paul Wilson. The show demonstrates confidence and magic tricks, distraction scams and proposition bets performed on members of the public by presenters Conran, Wilson and Jessica-Jane Clement...

.
"Hey Saturday Sun" and "Chromakey Dreamcoat" used by Cartoon Network as background music during their schedule of upcoming shows.
"Constants Are Changing", used on a commercial bump for Adult Swim.
"Julie and Candy", used briefly in an episode of Top Gear.