old albums

joyrex you have great patience to keep responding to these.

of course the 3 cassettes are real. Of course everything else is fake (for now).

If the other early albums exist, I'll wager they're on cassettes and look just as home-made as the other 3. I agree with those who say there's a good probability they never existed, at least in any finished form. I think it's telling that the 3 tapes that did leak are very hand-made looking, have black-and-white covers that could have been made at the local photocopy shop,and two of them share tracks, exactly what you'd expect from a band just starting out, making collections of their tracks for friends. That's not to say I don't think they have a very extensive collection of early unreleased tracks, I just think they are probably even less finished sounding than the old-tunes tracks, and completely different from any of the tracks listed on Hooper Bay, Acid Memories, etc. My guess.

I think you're probably right.

However, you can't really blame fans for believing that these older "releases" were more legit considering the fact that they were listed on discographies either by the band or by those close to them for many years without any way of verifying either way. Most of us probably believed that these things were real until the various old tunes collections were leaked when it then became a little more evident how far along BOC were in their evolution as a band prior to Twoism.

All of the discographies that have floated around all these years are a bit misleading.

if you look at the artwork for some of the mysterious, out of print shit, it actually looks like they might have been stretched out a bit. hence the CD cover shape. also, werent they all reprinted on cdr at some point in the 90s?

  On 3/29/2010 at 8:50 PM, LOL Alzado said:

All of the discographies that have floated around all these years are a bit misleading.

From a 1998 interview:

  Quote

q: Have you always had the name "Boards of Canada"?

a: No; officially, only for four years. But the name existed for years before that, as the title of one of our tracks, before it became the name of the group.

I've always seen this quote as pretty solid proof of the non-existence of those first 5 mysterious albums no-one's ever heard.

  On 3/26/2010 at 4:30 PM, Murveman said:

I think I read once that BOC was surprised that Acid Memories didn't get leaked. I assume the same guy that leaked BOC Maxima also had Acid Memories or something like that.

maybe he left it on some plane

and maybe they switched. maybe the mp3 player richard picked up wasn't his

being new to BoC, I´m kinda lost

The hooper bay tape mentioned on page 1, is it out and about or not?

I´ve seen a link, but not exactly sure what to look for

thanks.

ok

  On 4/16/2010 at 3:06 PM, uiert said:

ok

Also: http://bocpages.org/wiki/About#FAQ

heh

I´m sure you´ve all been through this, but being new to BoC its rather confusing

quoting from your link Fred :

I downloaded Catalog 3 / Acid Memories / Closes Vol. 1 / Play by Numbers / Hooper Bay on Soulseek. Legit?

No, they aren't. Please read the first paragraph of the discography. Also copies of these albums were only given to friends and family of the band which implies that it is not possible to acquire them on the internet.

Yeah the bocpages are pretty awesome.

Btw Fredd-E, it says in the article for Gyroscope that the sampled numbers station was recorded by Sean Booth (mdg said that I think), and that it wasn't taken from the Conet Project. I think I am hearing some quite big similarities in track no. 38 though: http://www.archive.org/details/ird059

Could be the same station or the same voice used on another station perhaps? Or I'm mis-hearing...

  On 4/17/2010 at 8:23 PM, Terpentintollwut said:

Yeah the bocpages are pretty awesome.

 

Btw Fredd-E, it says in the article for Gyroscope that the sampled numbers station was recorded by Sean Booth (mdg said that I think), and that it wasn't taken from the Conet Project. I think I am hearing some quite big similarities in track no. 38 though: http://www.archive.org/details/ird059

 

Could be the same station or the same voice used on another station perhaps? Or I'm mis-hearing...

the sample on gyroscope is not on conet

How about the excerpts from those early albums? Are these not proof of the early albums existence? These are believed to be authentic, right?

"Duffy" from Acid Memories

"Wouldn't You Like To Be Free" from Play By Numbers

"Circle" from Hooper Bay

That's a good point actually ... I think I've never even heard these samples. Are they still around? And was the band okay with the website-guy putting them on the net in the first place?

  On 4/18/2010 at 2:40 AM, Mesh Gear Fox said:

remember that numbers stations broadcast periodically, it's likely they use the same voices for the counting too over different stations. hence either sean recorded the same station that appears on one of the conet project tracks or he recorded a different station that uses the same voice samples.

 

EDIT: Oh, I see you've already accounted for that.

have you listened to track 38 (5 Dashes something). I think they do sound alike... the "nine" especially. BoC version would be pitched and edited of course.

  On 4/18/2010 at 5:32 PM, Terpentintollwut said:

That's a good point actually ... I think I've never even heard these samples. Are they still around?

Sounds legit to me.

  On 4/18/2010 at 4:50 AM, username7410 said:

How about the excerpts from those early albums? Are these not proof of the early albums existence? These are believed to be authentic, right?

 

"Duffy" from Acid Memories

"Wouldn't You Like To Be Free" from Play By Numbers

"Circle" from Hooper Bay

Yes, they are all real tracks by BoC - now, just because BoC have tracks that are not on their commercial releases, does not automatically mean they are part of these releases - look at the Old Tunes tracks, for example - lots of tracks on there actually DO appear on their commercial releases, but before they did, they were part of those compilations. There's nothing to say these tracks are one and the same, and were (mis)attributed to releases that don't actually exist for the sake of building a back catalogue to give an aura of "mystery" and "musical legacy" to a band that, I've gathered, want us to focus on their current output.

  On 4/18/2010 at 10:09 PM, manmower said:

  On 4/18/2010 at 5:32 PM, Terpentintollwut said:

That's a good point actually ... I think I've never even heard these samples. Are they still around?

 

Sounds legit to me.

They all are - funny how RealAudio clips from 1998 still sound pretty decent all these years later and subsequent re-encodings...

  On 6/27/2007 at 7:15 PM, Joyrex said:

If you think the Mp3s of [insert any pre-Twoism BoC release] you found on the P2P networks are "the real deal" or are curious if they are, please don't bother - any of these releases, if they ever do leak, are going to come from someone on "the inside" and unless you have knowledge of their origins, please don't bother making a thread about it. The odds of finding these rare tracks online are slim to none.

I'm honestly not trying to flame or be a dick, but has anyone ever actually read this since it was pinned?

  On 4/19/2010 at 7:36 PM, Joyrex said:

  On 4/18/2010 at 4:50 AM, username7410 said:

How about the excerpts from those early albums? Are these not proof of the early albums existence? These are believed to be authentic, right?

 

"Duffy" from Acid Memories

"Wouldn't You Like To Be Free" from Play By Numbers

"Circle" from Hooper Bay

 

Yes, they are all real tracks by BoC - now, just because BoC have tracks that are not on their commercial releases, does not automatically mean they are part of these releases - look at the Old Tunes tracks, for example - lots of tracks on there actually DO appear on their commercial releases, but before they did, they were part of those compilations. There's nothing to say these tracks are one and the same, and were (mis)attributed to releases that don't actually exist for the sake of building a back catalogue to give an aura of "mystery" and "musical legacy" to a band that, I've gathered, want us to focus on their current output.

 

 

  On 4/18/2010 at 10:09 PM, manmower said:

  On 4/18/2010 at 5:32 PM, Terpentintollwut said:

That's a good point actually ... I think I've never even heard these samples. Are they still around?

 

Sounds legit to me.

 

They all are - funny how RealAudio clips from 1998 still sound pretty decent all these years later and subsequent re-encodings...

The idea that BoC created the myth of these albums is almost more interesting to me than the albums existing.

Edit* Been awhile since I heard these. Sound pretty amateurish compared to everything post Twoism.

There are some true BoC aficionados here. It astounds me how people are so interested in there old-never-released-music, and all the nooks and crannies that go with it. Bordering on cultish.

A question. Do you think all of their unreleased tunes will ever see an official release? As in a way it seems to create a lot of interest and if they did release it then it would dispel a myth which seems to serve them well.

  On 4/20/2010 at 8:18 PM, beerwolf said:

There are some true BoC aficionados here. It astounds me how people are so interested in there old-never-released-music, and all the nooks and crannies that go with it. Bordering on cultish.

 

A question. Do you think all of their unreleased tunes will ever see an official release? As in a way it seems to create a lot of interest and if they did release it then it would dispel a myth which seems to serve them well.

Well, in brief, there has been talk of older unreleased material possibly seeing the light of day, but nothing concrete just yet. I personally wouldn't hold my breath waiting.

And you raise an interesting point: IF BoC did release any of the material supposedly from those EPs that nobody outside of HS has, would they 'keep the myth alive' by acknowledging the materials' sources? OR, does the possibility that none of the pre-Twoism releases actually exist as EPs (DIY effort or not) preclude their ever seeing the light of day due to the fact it would 'dispel the mythos' the band has cultivated from it's earliest days?

How upset some fans might be if all that was ever released from the unreleased material was stuff readily available on the Old Tunes cassettes! I would be in the camp of enjoying properly mastered releases in lush packaging, so I personally wouldn't be annoyed by this, but I could see how some fans could be, desperately wishing to hear "Wouldn't You Like To Be Free?" in it's entirety and never getting the chance to.

  On 4/20/2010 at 8:43 PM, Joyrex said:

  On 4/20/2010 at 8:18 PM, beerwolf said:

There are some true BoC aficionados here. It astounds me how people are so interested in there old-never-released-music, and all the nooks and crannies that go with it. Bordering on cultish.

 

A question. Do you think all of their unreleased tunes will ever see an official release? As in a way it seems to create a lot of interest and if they did release it then it would dispel a myth which seems to serve them well.

 

 

Well, in brief, there has been talk of older unreleased material possibly seeing the light of day, but nothing concrete just yet. I personally wouldn't hold my breath waiting.

 

And you raise an interesting point: IF BoC did release any of the material supposedly from those EPs that nobody outside of HS has, would they 'keep the myth alive' by acknowledging the materials' sources? OR, does the possibility that none of the pre-Twoism releases actually exist as EPs (DIY effort or not) preclude their ever seeing the light of day due to the fact it would 'dispel the mythos' the band has cultivated from it's earliest days?

 

How upset some fans might be if all that was ever released from the unreleased material was stuff readily available on the Old Tunes cassettes! I would be in the camp of enjoying properly mastered releases in lush packaging, so I personally wouldn't be annoyed by this, but I could see how some fans could be, desperately wishing to hear "Wouldn't You Like To Be Free?" in it's entirety and never getting the chance to.

Thanks for the sane reply Joyrex. I must admit I sometimes think twice about posting on the BoC forum as I don't think I have earned my BoC stripes just to go wading in. I am a fan of the music but a lot of the myths and whatnot goes over my head.

Do you think they engineer a lot of it (the myths or whatever you want to call it) or are they just so nonplussed that it gets engineered by the fans?

  On 4/20/2010 at 9:02 PM, beerwolf said:

  On 4/20/2010 at 8:43 PM, Joyrex said:

  On 4/20/2010 at 8:18 PM, beerwolf said:

There are some true BoC aficionados here. It astounds me how people are so interested in there old-never-released-music, and all the nooks and crannies that go with it. Bordering on cultish.

 

A question. Do you think all of their unreleased tunes will ever see an official release? As in a way it seems to create a lot of interest and if they did release it then it would dispel a myth which seems to serve them well.

 

 

Well, in brief, there has been talk of older unreleased material possibly seeing the light of day, but nothing concrete just yet. I personally wouldn't hold my breath waiting.

 

And you raise an interesting point: IF BoC did release any of the material supposedly from those EPs that nobody outside of HS has, would they 'keep the myth alive' by acknowledging the materials' sources? OR, does the possibility that none of the pre-Twoism releases actually exist as EPs (DIY effort or not) preclude their ever seeing the light of day due to the fact it would 'dispel the mythos' the band has cultivated from it's earliest days?

 

How upset some fans might be if all that was ever released from the unreleased material was stuff readily available on the Old Tunes cassettes! I would be in the camp of enjoying properly mastered releases in lush packaging, so I personally wouldn't be annoyed by this, but I could see how some fans could be, desperately wishing to hear "Wouldn't You Like To Be Free?" in it's entirety and never getting the chance to.

 

Thanks for the sane reply Joyrex. I must admit I sometimes think twice about posting on the BoC forum as I don't think I have earned my BoC stripes just to go wading in. I am a fan of the music but a lot of the myths and whatnot goes over my head.

 

Do you think they engineer a lot of it (the myths or whatever you want to call it) or are they just so nonplussed that it gets engineered by the fans?

Here's my take on it: I think initially the band did present a mythos about themselves, and it got out of hand, so they dialed it back (when the incessant demand for the pre-Twoism stuff was probably driving them batty), and inadvertently (or purposely) created MORE mystique and demand for their older material and info about the band's history (basically, they created a monster that has been loosed upon themselves they can no longer control). Then again, this may not be a bad thing, as it keeps the aura of mystery surrounding their early days intact, and is self-serving to keep the band's fanbase engaged. If that's the case, then any fan-fueled speculation, rumour, etc. only adds to it and basically makes it's own gravy now, to coin a phrase.

  On 4/20/2010 at 10:07 PM, Joyrex said:

  On 4/20/2010 at 9:02 PM, beerwolf said:

  On 4/20/2010 at 8:43 PM, Joyrex said:

  On 4/20/2010 at 8:18 PM, beerwolf said:

There are some true BoC aficionados here. It astounds me how people are so interested in there old-never-released-music, and all the nooks and crannies that go with it. Bordering on cultish.

 

A question. Do you think all of their unreleased tunes will ever see an official release? As in a way it seems to create a lot of interest and if they did release it then it would dispel a myth which seems to serve them well.

 

 

Well, in brief, there has been talk of older unreleased material possibly seeing the light of day, but nothing concrete just yet. I personally wouldn't hold my breath waiting.

 

And you raise an interesting point: IF BoC did release any of the material supposedly from those EPs that nobody outside of HS has, would they 'keep the myth alive' by acknowledging the materials' sources? OR, does the possibility that none of the pre-Twoism releases actually exist as EPs (DIY effort or not) preclude their ever seeing the light of day due to the fact it would 'dispel the mythos' the band has cultivated from it's earliest days?

 

How upset some fans might be if all that was ever released from the unreleased material was stuff readily available on the Old Tunes cassettes! I would be in the camp of enjoying properly mastered releases in lush packaging, so I personally wouldn't be annoyed by this, but I could see how some fans could be, desperately wishing to hear "Wouldn't You Like To Be Free?" in it's entirety and never getting the chance to.

 

Thanks for the sane reply Joyrex. I must admit I sometimes think twice about posting on the BoC forum as I don't think I have earned my BoC stripes just to go wading in. I am a fan of the music but a lot of the myths and whatnot goes over my head.

 

Do you think they engineer a lot of it (the myths or whatever you want to call it) or are they just so nonplussed that it gets engineered by the fans?

 

Here's my take on it: I think initially the band did present a mythos about themselves, and it got out of hand, so they dialed it back (when the incessant demand for the pre-Twoism stuff was probably driving them batty), and inadvertently (or purposely) created MORE mystique and demand for their older material and info about the band's history (basically, they created a monster that has been loosed upon themselves they can no longer control). Then again, this may not be a bad thing, as it keeps the aura of mystery surrounding their early days intact, and is self-serving to keep the band's fanbase engaged. If that's the case, then any fan-fueled speculation, rumour, etc. only adds to it and basically makes it's own gravy now, to coin a phrase.

Quote

'...is self-serving to keep the band's fanbase engaged'

I def believe this to be the case. And I actually admire them for it. Very clever indeed.

Peter Grant managed Led Zeppelin in a similar way back in the 70's, not that I was around at the the time! (Just what I read lol.)

Thanks for answering my questions.

although they claim not to in interviews, I think they actively maintain the mythos surrounding both their work and themselves. if they truly did not care about such things, they wouldn't be so cloistered. the reclusiveness is a deliberate effort at fueling anticipation. why do I think so? if silence was nothing more than mere silence, they wouldn't do (or allow) some of the other strange things that they do (or allow to be done on their behalves). for example, the whole faux red moon secret message thing on the music70 site a few years back. there's no explanation for that other than stoking fans' interest. if they wanted to send a private message to friends, they would send an e-mail or pick up the phone, not put a cryptic message on their website for all of us to contemplate. same thing with all the hebrew messages on their myspace page. why if not to stir us into wondering what the messages mean and what the boys are up to?

if they truly did not care about massaging the interest of their fan base, they would either maintain a true silence without the occasional oddity or they would provide us with the occasional "still in the studio folks, hold your horses."

I love BoC myths