Bleep

The first widely released record from Boards Of Canada marked a stepping out of the shadows and into a music career that would captivate many for thirty years following. 1995’s Twoism followed a decade of elusive, long sought after tape experiments heard only by friends and family during Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin’s time in bands; they reformed as a duo with this mini album functioning as a demo tape that landed them their fabled Skam signing via Autechre’s Sean Booth. Warp saved this record from being out of print for years, and in doing so elevated the cult status that makes it so intriguing.

Right from the opening distant chiming synths of ‘Sixtyniner’, which settle within faded yet impactful boom bap inflected rhythms, it’s clear this is music that exerts a rare and magical power through sounds which suggest and entice. The track shivers with whistling sines that colour much of Twoism, their gently distorted melodies adding mystery alongside cryptic messages lifted from obscure films. As with much of their discography, these tracks sound like eroded VHS memories, brittle with the ghostly wails of organ pipes and solemn dissonant chords that are thrust into motion by propulsive, skipping hip hop drum patterns.

Two Tomorrow’s World synths delicately wrap around one another on the infectious ‘Melissa Juice’, while a degraded shuffle pins down its ambiguous and understated texture. The title track allows the percussion to dominate more, with slowly undulating synth pitches inducing a seasick melancholy, while in ‘Seeya Later’ melodic elements and a constantly ascending bassline appear to be continually receding into the foggy pads, with synths so saturated by tape that they sound like memories of orchestral brass.

From their earliest material comes some of Boards Of Canada’s most commanding tracks, as Twoism sets out their unique vision.