Boards of Canada seem to be teasing a comeback
The long-dormant Scottish electronica titans have been sending VHS tapes to fans. Is this the start of a glorious return?
Boards Of Canada, the Scottish duo who revolutionised electronica music in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, appear to be mounting a comeback in their usual cryptic way.
The band have been largely silent since their last album, Tomorrow’s Harvest, released in 2013, but they've been more visible over the past year or so, with social media accounts emerging for the band, including a YouTube channel that looked like no more than a place for them to archive past material.
Now, all of that has changed. According to a report from Resident Advisor, fans of Boards Of Canada have reported receiving mysterious VHS tapes in the mail, sent through distribution channels connected to Warp Records and its retail arm Bleep.
The videos therein feature degraded visuals, vocal fragments, shortwave audio and the haunting quality of a Boards Of Canada mood board. Watch the video below.
Famously mercurial, the actual reasoning behind the video is ripe for speculation (although it’s remarkably similar to the ARG-like launch of Tomorrow’s Harvest). A new album? An archival box set for Record Store Day? A somewhat delayed April Fool? Fans are speculating across the internet but, for now, both Boards Of Canada and Warp are keeping shtum.