Boards of Canada Release First New Song in 13 Years: Stream

Boards of Canada have shared a new recording called “Tape 05,” which marks their first new music in 13 years.

The influential Scottish electronic duo haven’t released an album since 2013’s Tomorrow’s Harvest, but they occasionally reemerged to offer remixes, archival reissues, and an NTS DJ set for Warp Records’ 30th anniversary in 2019. The band became active again in the last month after they sent a select few fans a VHS featuring the duo’s signature hexagonal logo; according to Reddit threads, Discogs users, and a Boards of Canada fan site, the VHS contained audio of an ad for a Christian bible school magazine that discontinued in 1991.

Then, they launched a poster campaign with eerie artwork akin to the design found on their 1998 album Music Has the Right to Children; the posters went up in London, New York, California, and Shibuya, Japan’s Liquidroom venue. Warp, their longtime label, hasn’t confirmed a new project from the duo, but they did post a carousel of photos of the posters to their Instagram page on April 14th.

“Tape 05” then appeared on the duo’s YouTube page on the morning of April 16th, though Warp and Boards of Canada have made no official confirmations that a new album is on the way. Still, “Tape 05” certainly boasts Boards of Canada’s unique, evocative style; with an ambient crawl featuring strings and a thick atmosphere of sound, it’s a nerve-touching turn from the duo. The song really illuminates itself close to the two-minute mark, where the clouds part and warm, hopeful chords begin to ring out. Check out “Tape 05” below.