Hypothetical retirement

[Echelon]

Not starting this thread to start drama or complain but I am very curious what people think on the matter. What if BOC have retired or decided to stop releasing music?

I've been pondering a lot and there are a few things that make me think about their hypothetical retirement.

1. Tomorrow's Harvest seemed to complete a cycle of albums. It signaled the end of times musically and visually. Seeds of The Dead seems to be the perfect way to close out the BOC story. Everything is just eternal blackness. Everything is dead.

2. No website. Boardsofcanada.com just links to the Bleep Website. Seems a kind of "legacy act" move, not an artistic one.

3. No new material during Warp 30. Unless they're saving everything for a special event, we didn't get any new music after 7 years of waiting. Nothing was expected but it doesn't bode well for the future.

4. Remixes might have been favors for friends. Odd Nosdam was proding them for years for a remix.

5. No MDG. During the first drought, he was constantly telling people there was going to be an album. He's hasn't posted on the forum in years.

I do want to be hopeful for the future of this band since they're one of my favorites, but eh, all things pass. The catalog is perfect as is.

That said, I'd love to be proven wrong and I more than welcome it

The likes on Twitter are always a step in that direction!

[Echelon]

Also this is purely a hypothetical thread. Just to speculate this hypothesis. BOC probably do exist and we're going to get something one fateful day! This is all a big "What if"

[Roswell]

pic (peter iain campbell) told us to sit tight. imo, he is just as good of a source as MDG

[Echelon]

pic (peter iain campbell) told us to sit tight. imo, he is just as good of a source as MDG

That might be the only thing that makes me believe. Even though it was said last year.

The other signs aren't looking so good. Still, I want to believe that there is something right around the bend. Especially since they're such a big band in the IDM community so I doubt they could just hang everyone out to dry

[adecentman]

pic (peter iain campbell) told us to sit tight. imo, he is just as good of a source as MDG

That might be the only thing that makes me believe. Even though it was said last year.

The other signs aren't looking so good. Still, I want to believe that there is something right around the bend. Especially since they're such a big band in the IDM community so I doubt they could just hang everyone out to dry

The Societas X Tape and their recent remixes for the cLOUDDEAD boys give me a "we're still out here" vibe. I would understand if they ever decided to stop releasing tunes for personal reasons, but I hope they continue to remember how much of a positive impact they can make with just a few releases here & there . Others have mentioned it in other threads, but thanks again for the Societas Mix brothers BoC – gotta love hearing new approaches to organizations of harmonic patterns with unique studio glimpses!

[ryetronics]

Don't they still have at least 1 album left on their contract with WARP? If they were retired then why not just release something, get paid and go on with their lives?

I think they're both fathers now, and as a father myself, finding the time and the headspace to be as creative and productive as you were in your 20's is not easy, dare I say very difficult.

They likely just have other things in life that take up time they used to put into music (kids school, sports, you name it!) and the creative juices just don't flow like they used to. That's a recipe for an album taking 8 years to release if you ask me.

Still doesn't change the fact they still owe WARP another album. They're not retired.

Best thing to do? Stop obsessing about it and start exploring other music. There is lots of other music out there that has nothing to do with BOC or even their style. It sure has helped me weather this long gap simply because I'm not really thinking about it.

[arvy]

50/50

[ParticleGhost]

Best thing to do? Stop obsessing about it and start exploring other music. There is lots of other music out there that has nothing to do with BOC or even their style. It sure has helped me weather this long gap simply because I'm not really thinking about it.

This 100x! It's great to branch out and broaden your horizons.

[Echelon]

Don't they still have at least 1 album left on their contract with WARP? If they were retired then why not just release something, get paid and go on with their lives?

I think they're both fathers now, and as a father myself, finding the time and the headspace to be as creative and productive as you were in your 20's is not easy, dare I say very difficult.

They likely just have other things in life that take up time they used to put into music (kids school, sports, you name it!) and the creative juices just don't flow like they used to. That's a recipe for an album taking 8 years to release if you ask me.

Still doesn't change the fact they still owe WARP another album. They're not retired.

Best thing to do? Stop obsessing about it and start exploring other music. There is lots of other music out there that has nothing to do with BOC or even their style. It sure has helped me weather this long gap simply because I'm not really thinking about it.

All valid points and definitely stuff I didn't think about. Basically I was just going by face value: We haven't been presented with very much evidence of anything happening in the future. But yes, if you think about what's going on behind the scenes, I guess there's a lot more to consider.

Was it really a five album deal? That was also something I didn't think about. Unless the deal was modified since it's taking BOC much longer to release their final two albums.

As for the "exploring other music," right ahead of you, buddy. Been trying to complete my Zappa collection. I think the reason I posted this thread is because I'm legitimately curious what people think about it.

[arvy]

Best thing to do? Stop obsessing about it and start exploring other music. There is lots of other music out there that has nothing to do with BOC or even their style. It sure has helped me weather this long gap simply because I'm not really thinking about it.

This 100x! It's great to branch out and broaden your horizons.

Unfortunately. It is impossible to unsee now.

"Sit tight"

[sixtyniner]

Are you kidding? Societas x Tape is a massive sign of life, so are the remixes. They may just have less time to make music or are taking more time to come up with what they feel is the perfect album for whatever reason. They've said before that they love making music for themselves and have no intention of stopping.

There’s no way to not call it a comeback. Question is: Is this record a new beginning or maybe the end? How does it feel for you?
"Marcus: It feels like neither of those things from our perspective because we’ve always been working! We’d be making music anyway even if nobody was listening, and we’ve no intention of stopping, so this is just a continuation."
https://bocpages.org/wiki/The_Charms_of_the_Sphinx

HUMO: "I recently talked to the guys from Daft Punk, same generation as you, getting close to becoming 40, who have been listening to music all these lives; and they can feel a bit paralyzed by the weight of the history of music resting on their shoulders"
"Sandison: "Not us. Music is an almost endless series of possible combinations of notes, melodies, chords, textures, rhythms and so on. In the short period of time people are composing music we only tried a few, I'm very curious to find out where we'll find ourselves in the future""
https://bocpages.org/wiki/Talk_To_The_Hand,_Chokri

I do think though that it is a bit disappointing we didn't get to hear any unreleased tracks like we did with Seven Forty Seven on Warp 20. Wish they'd have at least finally given us the full version of Spiro instead of a track we've all heard.

[The Spaniard]

Don't they still have at least 1 album left on their contract with WARP?

Is this true?


------------------------------------------

I have said it several times already. BoC is NOT a band. BoC is two brothers (The Bros) that have multiple commitments. The last thing in their list is to make music for us. I think that they have other sources of income and a family to support. They don't depend on our money.

They are not retired because they have not been in serious business in a long time.

Making music is one of their hobbies (or it was many years ago), but they don't release it because it is just a hobby.

The last remixes from them were produced probably as a favour, because The Bros were asked by artist friends.

[PurpleFlurp]

Im in the “not retired” camp. A new album will come, but in the meantime, ill just enjoy the music I have now. When their next project drops, I’ll let myself get truly excited. No point in musically blue-balling myself for god-knows how long [emoji28]

[Echelon]

They are not retired because they have not been in serious business in a long time.

Making music is one of their hobbies (or it was many years ago), but they don't release it because it is just a hobby.

If we go by your theory, Mike and Marcus made Tomorrow's Harvest in the garage while their wives were visiting each other. "C'mon bro, it'll be just like old times. Except we'll throw in some of our favorite cheesy sci-fi soundtracks from the eighties"


Also, I just want to say. Is there really proof that they have a five album contract? They've already released four albums, three EPs, a single and the peel session. I'm pretty they've already fulfilled their contract and then some.

I can't go by that fact unless someone hands me definite proof of this five album contract.

[Soul_Slip]

Societas X reminded me of BoC’s ending “credits” to the movie of their musical lives. Just my thoughts on it but it also felt like there will be so much more, although i did get the feeling that they were essentially saying... “we are not the only ones out there, guys...”
i also get the feeling they deliberately don’t release more material because of obsessive fans. They will never be satisfied no matter what is given. Maybe they simply feel what they have given so far is enough and maybe they are satisfied with that. If anything is clear, we do not really influence anything on them.... we get what they give us.
They would probably rather have us go outside and hike or camp or something and gather together and hang out rather than lurking here or elsewhere in the internet... if i have gotten anything from them, it has been that they are “cognitive” guides on what “not” to do... the brothers are quite caring actually if you think about it, maybe not in the way we are used to with other artists... at least that is how I see them

[scottp014]

i hope they continue to release new music but i always thought that the "thank you, bye bye" sample in Sick Times was their cheeky way of saying, "this is it everyone, enjoy the second half of the album"

[sixtyniner]

i also get the feeling they deliberately don’t release more material because of obsessive fans. They will never be satisfied no matter what is given. Maybe they simply feel what they have given so far is enough and maybe they are satisfied with that. If anything is clear, we do not really influence anything on them.... we get what they give us.

They're scared of obsessive fans hounding them for not releasing enough if they were to release unreleased material so much that they don't do it? Really? I can't agree with that line of logic, especially if they're so against being influenced and dictated by other people. In my opinion, the reason they don't release more is because they want to uphold having such a crystal clean discography by only releasing music as part of thematic albums.

[Soul_Slip]

i also get the feeling they deliberately don’t release more material because of obsessive fans. They will never be satisfied no matter what is given. Maybe they simply feel what they have given so far is enough and maybe they are satisfied with that. If anything is clear, we do not really influence anything on them.... we get what they give us.

They're scared of obsessive fans hounding them for not releasing enough if they were to release unreleased material so much that they don't do it? Really? I can't agree with that line of logic, especially if they're so against being influenced and dictated by other people. In my opinion, the reason they don't release more is because they want to uphold having such a crystal clean discography by only releasing music as part of thematic albums.

That is not what I meant. I did not say or mean they are scared... whatsoever, I meant annoying obsessions, as they do exist with this band and other bands as well... not every fan wanting something they don’t have yet. Such as what happened with Societas X. It was only my opinion. I still stand by that opinion. And while I haven’t read that specifically in an interview, that is sort of a feeling I get when they are asked about the older releases... could be something completely different and that is ok... I do agree with you in that they are very particular with what they release, including thematic albums

[sixtyniner]

That is not what I meant. I did not say or mean they are scared... whatsoever, I meant annoying obsessions, as they do exist with this band and other bands as well... not every fan wanting something they don’t have yet.

Yeah and I was saying how even if there are "annoying obsessive fans" which do exist for the band, they would still be letting this minority dictate what they do and so the logic behind that is flawed. Maybe "scared" was a bit hyperbolic.

Such as what happened with Societas X. It was only my opinion. I still stand by that opinion. And while I haven’t read that specifically in an interview, that is sort of a feeling I get when they are asked about the older releases... could be something completely different and that is ok...

Societas x Tape wasn't their material though, it was other people's. I think that a lot of the disappointment (which was pretty limited, mind) was down to the promotion by Warp which lead to a lot of fans thinking they'd release some of their unheard material, like Seven Forty Seven with Warp 20. Societas x Tape was still great though and the vast majority of fans appreciated it. If that minor disappointment is enough to warrant not releasing any of their own material then... that's insanity imho.

[Soul_Slip]

That is not what I meant. I did not say or mean they are scared... whatsoever, I meant annoying obsessions, as they do exist with this band and other bands as well... not every fan wanting something they don’t have yet.

Yeah and I was saying how even if there are "annoying obsessive fans" which do exist for the band, they would still be letting this minority dictate what they do and so the logic behind that is flawed. Maybe "scared" was a bit hyperbolic.

Such as what happened with Societas X. It was only my opinion. I still stand by that opinion. And while I haven’t read that specifically in an interview, that is sort of a feeling I get when they are asked about the older releases... could be something completely different and that is ok...

Societas x Tape wasn't their material though, it was other people's. I think that a lot of the disappointment (which was pretty limited, mind) was down to the promotion by Warp which lead to a lot of fans thinking they'd release some of their unheard material, like Seven Forty Seven with Warp 20. Societas x Tape was still great though and the vast majority of fans appreciated it. If that minor disappointment is enough to warrant not releasing any of their own material then... that's insanity imho.

Yeah, Societas x is awesome. The reason i said that is because sometimes these forums reminds me of what it is like sometimes on the bootleg Nirvana forums. People can seem sort of demanding sometimes, but I get it. That’s all. I am really curious as to the bros’ personal music collection... cassettes and vinyl... which is why i hope for another societas X... hopefully this time they would not milk it and market it as a mixtape and not new material.