NEW BOARDS OF CANADA.
DawnNotes no.76
A little light in the dark. Or is the light in the darkness.
So yesterday yielded a very unexpected surprise. I haven't mentioned it here but one of my favorite music makers of all time are the duo Boards of Canada. And they, after 13 years, have released a new single, if I may call it that!!!
You can find it on their youtube channel! It is the most pleasant surprise for me, especially considering what a song it is.
The song starts out with an immense feeling of foreboding. A shrill pad announcing what is left of the world is soon accompanied by a forceful drone that emphasizes the despair of what the world has come to. The stereo field gets populated by tapping arpeggios of clicks and clanks of an echoing past. But with a soft melody comes a direction, that is quickly followed by a switch into the second half of the song, where just a beautiful chord progression takes precedent and brings in a shining beacon of hope (at least in my interpretation). A harp and strings accompany this part of the song for a few bars, which reminds me of the experimentation they did on The Campfire Headphase with more acoustic instrumentation. It really feels like that they are reminding us of the cold world they sounded out on Tomorrows Harvest, but this time with a little more hope.
The video that is released in tandem with the song seems to tell a different story. I have heard some people interpreting the "hopeful" section as a religious ecstasy or state of peace, which the videos of cults and religious gatherings (I am assuming here) do point to in a way. But who knows.
This feels like a triumphant announcement of the world, the world being as troubled as it is, and a return of the band. I can't wait to see what's next.