Ranking pre-Twoism releases

[Skimming Stone]

Kind of interested to see if there are favourites among the community, so I'm ranking the elusive pre-Twoism releases in order of how much I want to hear them, based on any information we have about them so far.

1. Closes Vol 1 - This one will probably be the closest to the sound of the Old Tunes compilations, which is definitely a good thing for me. It would be amazing to hear an actual album in this style, instead of an assortment of tracks from everywhere like the Old Tunes seem to be. Would also be a bonus if '5D' is really the track we think it is, seen as it's one of the best BoC tracks ever.

2. Hooper Bay - Absolutely love the album cover, and I imagine the bleak and ominous vibe that this album most likely gives off would be right up my alley. Would also be a bonus if 'Noatak' is really the track we think it is, seen as it's really really good.

3. Acid Memories - Again, love the album cover. The 'Duffy' sample is really nice, and it would be interesting to see what music they think fits with a cover and album title as trippy as this one.

4. Catalog 3 - Interested in this just to see what kind of music BoC were making as far back as 1987, especially with tracks over 10 minutes! Droney BoC sounds quite interesting.

5. Play By Numbers - Not particularly interested in hearing Shoegaze BoC, although 'Infinite Lines of Colourful Sevens' is the best track name in the world, and I would be pretty happy if it turned out to be Audiotrack A08 from R35TT.

So there's my ranking, what are yours?

[drillkicker]

1. Hooper Bay — This is the most special to me by far because of all the fond memories I have of living in Alaska. The first track is named after the town where I would go camping all the time and the short clip we have of the album is some nice shit.

2. Closes — The track that's believed to be 5d is my favorite Boards of Canada track ever and the one that's purported to be Godever is not far behind. The mysterious track labeled Close3 as well as the two others accompanying is are also very intriguing and have some nice atmosphere.

3. Acid Memories — Judging by album covers alone, I like this one the most out of them all. I don't know enough about the music to really want it as much as Closes, though, and it doesn't have the personal memories that Hooper Bay's track titles evoke. The photo on the cover does remind me of my childhood in a similar way to Selected Ambient Works, Volume II does, but the music probably isn't quite as good as that classic Aphex album.

4. Catalog 3 — I really don't know anything about this album but that's what makes it interesting. The titles and track lengths suggest something very different from what I know of BoC, which creates some strong curiosity.

5. Play By Numbers — Same as Skimming Stone, I'm not a fan of shoegaze and I'm not very interested in hearing BoC do it. I do love the song on YouTube that's labeled as Numerator, though, and I believe it could very well be the actual track.

[Skimming Stone]

Yours is very similar to mine, DrillKicker I was tempted to put Hooper Bay first too, but I think I'm much more into the wide range of track lengths. I love how many short tracks there are on Closes, as well as a fair few long ones.

[Omikron]

1. Catalog 3: It's their earliest release we know of, so for me it would be the most interesting one to hear. Also happens to be the lengthiest pre-twoism release. Visual Drone 12 in particular appeals to me, just the name of it.

2. Hooper Bay: the only one to have been (purportedly) pressed to vinyl. I really like the live track that's possibly a version of Noatak. Listening to it gives me a feeling that I can't really describe. I hope the other tracks have the same kind of style.

3. Play By Numbers: Just to hear the full version of Wouldn't You Like To Be Free. I must have listened to that tiny excerpt thousands of times. I like the guitar tracks on R35TT, I imagine PBN would contain more of the same.

4. Acid Memories: The excerpt of Duffy sounds nice, and obviously it would be excellent to be able to hear all of it, but it doesn't intrigue me as much as the other releases. Also the text on the cover art looks like it was drawn in MS Paint.

5. Closes Vol. 1: I've put this one in last place simply because we already know what at least two of the tracks sound like, so being able to hear it would probably be the least rewarding experience out of the five.

I have a feeling the 'closes' are all radio recordings - BOC have talked about how they used to record bizarre things from short-wave radio as some of their earliest musical adventures. I've always thought the fourth track on R35TT was Close1 for that reason.

[tonx]

I'll contribute $500 to the bounty pool for each and any of these.

[Skimming Stone]

I'll contribute $500 to the bounty pool for each and any of these.

While I couldn't possibly afford to put that much in, I'd be happy to contribute to this as well

[drillkicker]

Yours is very similar to mine, DrillKicker I was tempted to put Hooper Bay first too, but I think I'm much more into the wide range of track lengths. I love how many short tracks there are on Closes, as well as a fair few long ones.

Well I've noticed over my time here on Twoism that we have very similar tastes. I think we're two of the very few on the site who listen to the unofficial releases more than the official ones.

[TheStatPow]

1: Closes
If people Say this one should be kinda like old tunes, then defo number 1, Old tune 2 is my all time fav, it has something very special <3
2: Play By Number
Unlike most people in here, I am definitely interested in hearing shoegaze BoC
3: Hooper Bay
Because of the cover
4: Acid Memory
Meh
5: Catalog 3
Too early no thanks

[THE BOB]

We ought to establish a bounty for a verifiable release/leak of any of those tapes/CDs -- which short of the brothers pulling an Aphex Twin and dumping them on soundcloud, is likely the only way we'll ever hear them. A complete BoC Set would be too much work, even without factoring in the insane sample clearances they'd have to chase down.

[Skimming Stone]

Well I've noticed over my time here on Twoism that we have very similar tastes. I think we're two of the very few on the site who listen to the unofficial releases more than the official ones.

I've thought the same thing as well. Part of me feels bad for preferring the material that they never really wanted people to hear, but it just ticks every box. To me the old releases are melody and composition in their purest form, they will never get old in my eyes

[drillkicker]

I've thought the same thing as well. Part of me feels bad for preferring the material that they never really wanted people to hear, but it just ticks every box. To me the old releases are melody and composition in their purest form, they will never get old in my eyes

Yeah, I'm one of those weird individuals who thinks that a finished track doesn't sound as interesting as something that's rough and unpolished. I guess it just ruins the magic when you make something easier for others to listen to, like adding milk or sugar to your coffee. It's nice that I'm not the only one.

[Omikron]

We ought to establish a bounty for a verifiable release/leak of any of those tapes/CDs -- which short of the brothers pulling an Aphex Twin and dumping them on soundcloud, is likely the only way we'll ever hear them. A complete BoC Set would be too much work, even without factoring in the insane sample clearances they'd have to chase down.

That sounds familiar...
http://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.p ... 24#p262224

[deadfly]

I've thought the same thing as well. Part of me feels bad for preferring the material that they never really wanted people to hear, but it just ticks every box. To me the old releases are melody and composition in their purest form, they will never get old in my eyes

Yeah, I'm one of those weird individuals who thinks that a finished track doesn't sound as interesting as something that's rough and unpolished. I guess it just ruins the magic when you make something easier for others to listen to, like adding milk or sugar to your coffee. It's nice that I'm not the only one.

I wouldn't go quite as far as saying that I prefer the unreleased stuff, but I do sort of agree with this. I think there's an unavoidable change in mentality when an artist knows that something is going to be commercially released. I don't really like this expression, but it's like when people say 'dance like nobody is watching'. It's really hard to do if you know that loads of people definitely are watching.

[Skimming Stone]

Yeah, I'm one of those weird individuals who thinks that a finished track doesn't sound as interesting as something that's rough and unpolished.

I don't really like this expression, but it's like when people say 'dance like nobody is watching'. It's really hard to do if you know that loads of people definitely are watching.

Both of these things are what I was trying to say but couldn't figure out how. The great thing about these rough sketches are that they never manage to overstay their welcome. I sometimes get a feeling with certain released BoC material that if I've heard the first few minutes, I know what to expect from the rest, so I don't stay as interested. With the old tunes, they come in, leave their mark, then a minute or so later they're gone.

[Opothecary]

I will agree with the posters above, I love what they are doing now, I think TH is a step back towards doing what they want to do, but there's something to be said about the creation of art without expectation.

1. Hooper Bay - I criticize them for getting too wrapped up in creating an album around a certain concept now, and it sounds like this might be the first time they've ever done something like that, but based on the era and some of the music that may have been played live, this just sounds too good. Dry run for Twoism and their modern sound.

2. Closes Vol. 1 - I'm sure we have heard a bunch of this on R35TT and the titles are intriguing.

3. Acid Memories - I have a feeling this is a mix of acoustic goth and ambient electronic based on interviews and some of the sounds on R35TT. If Play by Numbers is their MBV era, this is likely their Cocteau Twins.

4. Play By Numbers - I guess this is a known quantity at this point, I enjoy shoegaze but I'd prefer to hear the other stuff in full first given the choice.

5. Catalog 3 - Too far back and too little known about it, so it's the one I'm least interested in.

[Cupz]

I'll be the party pooper and say I refuse to rate anything I haven't heard.

[Skimming Stone]

I'll be the party pooper and say I refuse to rate anything I haven't heard.

Fair enough, although the entire point of this exercise is to rank them based on how much you want to hear them, when taking into account excerpts/artwork/speculation on the sounds of the albums. This would be completely pointless if we had already heard them

[THE BOB]

We ought to establish a bounty for a verifiable release/leak of any of those tapes/CDs -- which short of the brothers pulling an Aphex Twin and dumping them on soundcloud, is likely the only way we'll ever hear them. A complete BoC Set would be too much work, even without factoring in the insane sample clearances they'd have to chase down.

That sounds familiar...
http://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.p ... 24#p262224

true! and if you read it backwards it sounds exactly like dialogue from Close Encounters!

[*Insert Name Here*]

[1] Acid Memories: Would love to hear early BoC with guitar and ambient (am I the only one who thinks Acid Memories artwork is stunning?)
[2] Play By Numbers: Shoegaze from BoC? Hell yes!
[3] Hooper Bay: I would love to hear more of Circle's dark ambient in other tracks from Hooper Bay. If ATP Track 7 is Noatak, it possible be the best track of the EP
[4] Closes, Vol, 1: I imagine it would sound like some of the tracks from the Random 35 Tracks Tape
[5] Catalog 3: I would imagine that it would just be BoC Drone