Not THAT B.O.C. you old rocker dudes. Boards of Canada.

I've been turned on to a collection of 50 old and/or rare, and possibly in some cases, apocryphal BOC tunes. Some of those tracks are accounted for in the "Rare/Early" section of this site.

I understand what drives completist fans. I can understand the compulsion to own every possible product by an artist you adore, and I can even understand the interest in following the evolution of an artist from teething to maturity, but I'm sorry to say, this collection--referred to as "A few old tracks Volumes 1 and 2"--is ample evidence in support of an artist's rights to withhold and/or suppress early work, or work they just don't like. On the whole, this collection is shockingly inferior to B.O.C.'s widely available and much, much better known work.

The reputation they have is largely deserved. In that difficult to name genre of electronic music they work in, they are among the best. Their releases on Warp and Skam are superb. The first Skam e.p., Music has a right to Children, and In a beautiful place out in the country are particularly beautiful. But these 50 odd tunes don't hold up in comparison to their officially released material.

I discussed this this morning with a friend. He finds the idea of studying the development of B.O.C. interesting. I don't, just as I really have no interest in studying or owning anything by Page, Clapton, or Beck prior to the Yardbirds. And even the Yardbirds--as good as they were--aren't exactly music for the ages. I think half the interest anyone has in them at all anymore is as a kind of looking glass in on the development of those guitarists, and I suppose I'd rather just have and appreciate them--and B.O.C.--as fully formed, mature artists.

But, what do I know?

Around the time I discovered "Music has the right" and BOC, someone gave me a burned CD of an early EP they put out -- or maybe just a collection of tracks -- titled "Maxima".

I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment -- it just didn't have the same magic or feel that MHTR did.

Unfortunately, I felt much the same about Geogaddi. While the album was, no doubt, more finished and complex than the early works I heard, it didn't hold the same moxie. It is almost as though BOC had a "time" -- when their music was somehow aligned with the stars.

That Maxima release is one of the ones accounted for in the early/rare section of that site.

It's funny...I'd heard about some of these tracks a year or two ago, and had heard that they weren't so special. It was interesting to be able to put them to the test.

I don't have Geogaddi and I've only heard it in fits and starts, so it's hard for me to fairly evaluate it.

But you know In a beautiful... is the rinse!

re: Maxima (Boc Maxima) & Geogaddi

Funny, Maxima & Geogaddi are my favorite two albums from BOC. I imagaine it depends on which albums you are exposed to first- whichever ones they are, they are the ones that define BOC for you, & by which all other albums will be judged.

re: Some Early Tracks vol 1&2

Of course these tracks are inferior- the band had to grow up. But- I've heard a few bits & pieces of the music this compilation must cover, & SOME of it is definately worth listening to. I, for one, would appreciate any help in obtaining a copy of any/all of these songs.

BOC Maxima isn't MHTRTC. Something about the sound seems rougher and grainier, but that's really the charm to it. I think you'll either dig it or not, there's no middle ground. I happen to think all of the tunes on there are killer. WAY skewed style, fairly offbeat for BOC. But these were the tracks I first heard of them so I guess I'd be fonder of those. As for A Few Old Tunes, I thought it was crap until I put it on one night before going to bed. I was suprised how subtle most of it is. It really has a mid 80's retro vibe to it, but somehow it manages to go deeper. Calling it inferior is kind of harsh. It's just way damned different. If anything, "Forest Moon" and some of the BOC Maxima tracks that show up on there are pretty killer.

I personally favor most of the tracks from 'A Few Old Tunes' for varying reasons. In defense of BoC, one may find this collection to be less favorable than other B.o.C. releases for the simple reason that most of these tracks are said to have been recorded in and before the year 1995. 1996's BoC Maxima was indeed a fine set of musical compositions, very much unlike anything released at the time. But, we certainly cannot forget those first old tunes, whose songs remain a silent mystery to most of us: Catalog 3 (1987), Acid Memories (1989), Closes Vol 1 (1992), Play By Numbers (1994). and Hooper Bay (1994). I would be willing to guess the tracks on these releases either sound similar to, or possibly lack a few qualities, later gained from these earlier demo recordings and practice to what helped create and finalize Boards of Canada's superior collections of Old and New Tunes.

Consider the possibility you had never heard any of these rare tracks...okay, so you wouldn't know the difference. But, you have to admit that it is quite exciting to experience the early attempts and experiments, which helped to strengthen and build the amazing texture and sound, which make up their more current releases.

Prancelot Brainfire was the very first track I listened to from A Few Old Tunes. The first thing that excited me about this song was that it gave me goosebumps and triggered a certain, dark, uneasy feeling, similar to what one experiences during a scary or suspenseful movie. A lof of the deep, bass tones from old horror movies were created on vintage, electronic equipment, similar to that blended deep into some B.o.C. tracks. The other song that gave me a chill was Apparatus. It brought back an uneasiness that a lot of us kids felt during the early 80s talks of nuclear war, as a result of the radio wave sounds, enhanced with the deep synthesizer pulse patterns, which somehow seemed to emulate an emergency broadcast alert, used for such an event.

BoC have never been that obvious to just sample a familiar set of sounds that everyone knows the source of, either. These guys know the power of sound on mind, with respect to its ability to trigger inner regressed emotion, feeling, and memory blurbs. As a whole, use of old, organic, sound textures can perhaps bring forward feelings of past innocence and youth, when we were not bombarded with as many responsibilities or 'real life' woes currently on our maturing plates.

Most of the listeners of BoC's music grew up during the 1970s and 1980s, which we all remember as being flooded with the new sounds of electrosynthesis. Television commercials, sound effects from movies and video games, etc were everywhere. So it's no wonder we can't pinpoint an exact source for this audio familiarity. It's probably best not to analyze these things too much. Just appreciate its existence, and enjoy anything extra it may bring to your life.

I'm seven months after the debate on this, but agree with most of what has been said above. I got two Volumes of "Some Old Tunes..." off Soulseek and whilst much of it is simply indicative of the way that BOC have developed as musicians, there are some tracks that stand up with their best work (Forest Moon and Kiteracer springing to mind). On a practical note, the download that I got of these was pretty clean, but has some occasional 'digital noise' that manifests itself as weird bloops and clicks in the background at times. Does anyone have, or know the whereabouts of, some cleaner files?

All I want to know is how can I get a copy of these tracks?

Some Old Tunes vol.1 & 2 are not real Boards Of Canada releases.

Just because some of the sounds are 'similar' to Boards Of Canada, does not indicate a BOC release. I am rather shocked that so called 'fans' can not discern between actual material and that which is clearly a Skam.

hmm i've got to argue that 'a few old tracks' is a valid boards of canada album. Having listened to them since i was 14, with mhtrtc as my first album, i think AFOT portrays the same kind of ambience which i appreciated in early teenage years, when listening to mhtrtc on lazy days in a bedroom smoking pot. Although i believe i will have to listen to the complete albums before my mind comes to rest about the authenticity... nice to have something new though ;]

raver

You can find these tunes on Soulseek and other similar filesharing networks. Do a google search and good luck. On another note, BOC are lovely and Maxima has Everything you do is a balloon. Nuff said.

Sorry these are for sure BoC there is no doubt. Stop the attempt at damage control.

I'm sorry but i have to disagree here, Some Old Tunes vol.1 & 2 are definatly boards of canada and not some hoax as i know some people choose to believe. Because BoC keep a quite low profile something like this can be said because they have a sort of mystery to them, which i find really interesting, if you listen to Some Old Tunes vol.1 & 2 and know BoC stuff quite well you can clearly hear that it is them. Someone could copy someone elses style as we know from other artists, but they can never capture the same magic and the same track of thinking.

As for what was said about BoC Maxima i very much disagree, it is an amazing CD and as you know quite a few of the songs were used on other albums like roygbiv, wildlife analysis, chinook (B side to aquarius LP) and more. so to say its not on the same level as the other albums is stupid because if they didnt feel that the songs were upto standard then they wouldnt have used them again! and remember its the early albums that made the more recent ones!

I think the first album i heard was geogaddi or music has the right to children, but after listening to them i havent looked back since, its like i've been put under a spell they are just amazing!

Maxima is also one of my favourite BOC albums.. It has such an alien atmosphere to it. Maybe it's that most tracks don't force some kind of emotion upon the listner but just trigger curiosity. This is something which defines most of BOC's tracks for me btw. Maxima just doesn't have any tracks I dislike, contrary to MHTRTC.

boc maxima is my favorite:)

I just listened to a few old tunes vol.1, and unless there is some fantastic work on volume 2 that I'm missing, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that although it certainly gives some insight into BOC progression, the album simply doesn't hold a candle to any of the major releases. The version of Happy Cycling is interesting because you have to really struggle to hear what came to be the song we know and love.

BOC have always given me a very uncomfortable vibe, yet more than any other electronic group, I find myself coming back to them all the time. To say uncomfortable I don't believe explains enough. The songs really make me feel almost sick sometimes, like I've been twisted. In any case, I didn't get any of that while listening to A Few Old Tunes. I'm sticking with MHTRTC, geogaddi, and the ep's for my doses of discomfort.

AFOT 1 & 2 are certainly BOC. Make sure to at least give the following tracks a fair chance:

North Sea Arbeit
Mukinabaht
BMX Track
Hiscores
Apparatus
Alpha Rainbow (this one especially)
Buckie High
I Love My New Shears
Rodox Video
Finity
Forest Moon

One could make a pretty damn decent old-school BOC album from these tracks.

I have pretty much everything these guys ever released, but I'm missing the last few tracks of AFOT volume 1 (the last one I have is 5-9-78). The best thing they ever released has to be A Beautiful Place Out in the Country though.

They draw me in a certain way that I cannot describe. Every release contains beautiful material. These are a few: Focus On The Spiral, Godever, Trillions, To the Wind, Mukinbaht, Rogbiv, Dawn Chorus, Constants are Changing.

It is a shame that all the tracks are not readily availble to listen to. When you're trying to find everything they made - you love the music, their sound. I search and I find. They grow and grow and grow on you.

Each album, the sound is slightly different - but you know who's behind it, so you're comfortable while exploring new sonic landscapes.

I recently listened AFOT 1 & 2, there's some really good stuff of BoC, but some of these tracks sounds weird, like "David Came To Mahana'im" ... not sounds like BoC... well i don't know, anyway, tracks like BMX Track, Kiteracer 2, Lick, Zander Two & Orange Hexagon Sun are beautiful.

I have to say I probably disagree with this article.

AFOT2 is what I am listening to at the moment, and I love it. I have listened to their mainsteam albums (possibly a bit too much!), but a small number of tracks on AFOT2 are ace (namely 5-9-78, to the wind and mukinabaht).

Boards of Canada rule supreme, would like to know if a few good tunes 1 & 2 are actually the enigmatic scottish duo in action, i have nearly their entire discography, missing 'catalog 3' 'play by numbers' and 'acid memories' and unfortunatley i may never get the chance to get them...

The best boards track is a toss up between Roygbiv and In a beautiful place out in the country...

ROLE ON THE BOARDS!!!!

Geez! I can't believe no one has mentioned "On A Rolling Sea", it's really short, but I absolutely LOVE that song! I don't understand how people still don't believe this (AFOT 1&2) is really BoC. It might be quite uneven in general, but there's still some really high quality stuff on here!

I am one of those who wishes they would re-release their older material. We all know how good they can be, so who cares if some of the earlier material is not to the group's or some of the fan's liking. I would still LOVE to hear it! They are beyond failure at this point!

Geez! I can't believe no one has mentioned "On A Rolling Sea", it's really short, but I absolutely LOVE that song! I don't understand how people still don't believe this (AFOT 1&2) is really BoC. It might be quite uneven in general, but there's still some really high quality stuff on here!

I am one of those who wishes they would re-release their older material. We all know how good they can be, so who cares if some of the earlier material is not to the group's or some of the fan's liking. I would still LOVE to hear it!

You guys have to realize that BoC 10 years ago isn't going to sound the same as BoC today (and post-MHTRTC in general), and that a collection like A Few Old Tunes is going to show BoC trying seriously different things.

Either way though, I love this stuff. I'm sorry for the fans that can't get into it; try not to expect it to sound like another Geogaddi or something.

Faves: Staircase Whip, To The Wind, Iraq Says, Nine-Rubber Wisdom, David Came to Mahana'im, 5-9-78, Forest Moon... And more I'm sure.l