Boards of Canada

Boards of Canada (commonly abbreviated BoC) are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of brothers Michael Sandison (born June 1, 1970) and Marcus Eoin Sandison (born July 21, 1971). They are signed with Warp Records and have released several works on that label with little advertising and few interviews, while also having an elusive and obscure back-catalogue of releases on their self-run Music70 label. They have also recorded a few minor works under the alias Hell Interface.

Boards of Canada's music is reminiscent of the warm, scratchy, artificial sounds of 1970s media and contains themes of childhood, nostalgia and the natural world. Michael and Marcus have mentioned the documentary films of the National Film Board of Canada, from which the group's name is derived, as a source of inspiration.

BoC's sound is a product of their use of analog equipment, mix of electronic and conventional instrumentation, use of distorted samples as well as live and recorded lyrics, and their layering and blending of these elements. Their avoidance of a purely synthetic sound gives their music a warmer, emotive quality often meant to inspire nostalgia. This is helped by the use of samples sourced from 1970s television shows and other media prevalent in the era of the brothers' shared childhood, especially the nature-inspired documentaries produced by the National Film Board of Canada.

Boards of Canada