Is Warp Testing the waters with SAW II?

[2020k]

Unless you live under a rock, you'll know that Warp just launched pre-orders for an elaborate repressing of Aphex Twin's SAW II. The album's now 3 CDs, 4 LPs, and 2 cassettes, includes Stone in Focus (yay), has all sorts of bundles, and has a $300 boxset.

We've been interested in a box set of old BOC music for eons and there was an interview during the TH era where one of the brothers mentioned that they were spending a lot of time çataloging their old music. I think one of them mentioned that part of this cataloging was to make it easier for their children to sift through, but I can't recall.

I realize this could go in the general speculation thread, but this discussion seems like it could stand on its own. I feel like if this Aphex Twin pressing goes the way Warp wants it to, the next logical step is doing it with Boards of Canada.

Some casual fans thought that it was BOC when Warp was dropping hints on social media. Also, if anyone from Warp is reading this I'd love to be hired as a product manager so I can just...make this happen for you.

[qukk_]

Maybe, but I wouldn't bet money on it. They probably need some more time before anything is ready to be announced.

[Fredd-E]

We've been interested in a box set of old BOC music for eons and there was an interview during the TH era where one of the brothers mentioned that they were spending a lot of time çataloging their old music. I think one of them mentioned that part of this cataloging was to make it easier for their children to sift through, but I can't recall.

"MIKE SANDISON We spent some time overseas and then we were busy expanding our studio space back here in Scotland. A couple of years ago we decided to start collating and cataloging all our early recordings, just for ourselves really, to know that we could tidy it all up and hand it on to our kids someday, but there are literally thousands of tracks going way back into the ’80s. It’s a huge task, and this just seemed to eat up time. We’ve been working on new music all the time throughout this, so we have a lot of material to wade through."

https://bocpages.org/wiki/Brothers_Who_ ... ca_by_Hand (2013 era)

This post kinda destroys our bocset dreams...

[Magrathea]

Why would their kids want that, really, unless as some form of memory vault like a dusty picture book, maybe?

What is said in interviews is just a set point in time, an instant thought, it might have changed a trillion times since.

I personally have no desire for a bocset, this is BoC not KISS

[rodox_head]

Why would their kids want that, really, unless as some form of memory vault like a dusty picture book, maybe?

What is said in interviews is just a set point in time, an instant thought, it might have changed a trillion times since.

I personally have no desire for a bocset, this is BoC not KISS

you're a bigger Buzzkill than even me.

[Sherbet Head]

Presentation is quite clearly the priority with the Aphex set. If BoC were to ever unleash their archives, I hope that it would be more in line with Autechre's NTS Sessions, which IIRC, was a 12LP boxset priced at £120. Initially, it seems like a lot, but when you compare it to the 4LP SAW II boxset at £300, it's an absolute steal.

Also, let's face it, squeezing an archival BoC compilation onto a 4LP would require tons of curation. The Old Tunes comps alone probably equate to around 6LPs, and that's probably a fraction of what they actually have tucked away.

[Glen_Glog]

this brings up an interesting point about how expensive the next BoCanada release will be

[Fredd-E]

this brings up an interesting point about how expensive the next BoCanada release will be

What about something very similar to SAW2?
- I wouldn't mind a lush box set,
- with a beautiful boc artwork design,
- comprising of 4 LPs with a total runtime of 182 min 42 sec.
- That's about 3 hours of unreleased cherry picked BoC music. I hope the current tapes are excluded.

I never expected BoC to release a bocset of hundreds of songs so to speak. It's not because they allegedly have tons of songs since their early days we should expect they publish all of them. It has to be a realistic and affordable compilation in the end.

[Glen_Glog]

I would prefer just a nice 1 or 2 disc lp of new album in a sensible matte jacket like Carol King's Rhymes and Reasons. No bonus balloons, boc buttons or oldtunes outlines. Pressed on the wobbliest Dynaflex petroleum shortage vinyl.

I don't think a retrospective is really necessary or old tunes box set. If anything like that a concise EP with the 4 greatest missing tracks from 1998-2002 era. I am not sure they are excessive enough for a giant gross box anyway -- putting out 15 seconds of Spyro for instance I still haven't gotten over that one

[Glen_Glog]

Edit 1.5 seconds forgot the decimal

[Sherbet Head]

I never understood why, as a BoC fan, you wouldn't want to hear a mountain of unreleased BoC? I've witnessed several folks here share a similar stance over the years and I honestly find it quite baffling.

It's like winning the lottery and choosing only to claim a small portion of the winnings.

[Magrathea]

I never understood why, as a BoC fan, you wouldn't want to hear a mountain of unreleased BoC? I've witnessed several folks here share a similar stance over the years and I honestly find it quite baffling.

It's like winning the lottery and choosing only to claim a small portion of the winnings.

Just because I am a fan of an author, creator, maker, does not make me want to have it all. Some of it might be passable, or junk.

[Sherbet Head]

I never understood why, as a BoC fan, you wouldn't want to hear a mountain of unreleased BoC? I've witnessed several folks here share a similar stance over the years and I honestly find it quite baffling.

It's like winning the lottery and choosing only to claim a small portion of the winnings.

Just because I am a fan of an author, creator, maker, does not make me want to have it all. Some of it might be passable, or junk.

But would you not rather possess the work and make that judgment yourself? BoC may well be sitting on your next favourite track, but you'd never get to hear it.

I probably listen to Old Tunes/R35TT more than the Warp stuff nowadays, and even BoC themselves had clearly deemed much of this work as 'passable' at one point in time.

[Orbited insanitarium]

Just because I am a fan of an author, creator, maker, does not make me want to have it all.

Indeed and agreed, especially for music not initially crafted with any kind of public consumption in mind. Yes, I am curious about these lost works but I'm not salivating over the thought of hearing them. Of course that probably would change if a set was announced, as I think most who are regulars in this subforum would be splashing the cash for it, my current thoughts on really old BoC are how I'm feeling now.

[Sherbet Head]

Yes, I am curious about these lost works but I'm not salivating over the thought of hearing them. Of course that probably would change if a set was announced

My point, exactly.

I don't know how any so-called BoC fan would pass on the prospect of an archival release.

[Orbited insanitarium]

Yes, I am curious about these lost works but I'm not salivating over the thought of hearing them. Of course that probably would change if a set was announced

My point, exactly.

I don't know how any so-called BoC fan would pass on the prospect of an archival release.

"so-called BoC fan" dial down the pomposity please.

Why? I'm a BoC fan and I would have to wait and see, I cannot say ahead of time right now whether I would buy it or not without the all important details.
Such a huge self assurance on the position of others irks me, are we not "true fans" if we have second thoughts on an immediate purchase of this? As is this topic's crux, it comes down to the price first, the content second for me, money is very tight in this British climate for working class people like myself. Anyway, it's all just speculation, there's not an actual BoCset out yet!

[Orbited insanitarium]

Though I did order the x3-CD of this upcoming reissue of Selected Ambient Works II on the day itself through bleep.
I'm more a shiny spinney silver disc man than vinyl or boxset collecter, and even then whatever the prices I would have picked the cheapest option of a CD. Which does beg the question and my answer, when a BoC archival release is out, I will go for the CD copy (judging by this Aphex release cd pricing, it will be very affordable in that format)

[Glen_Glog]

It's like winning the lottery and choosing only to claim a small portion of the winnings

awful

Also don't see any of this as "collecting" anything. Is this a generational gap?

[Sherbet Head]

Yes, I am curious about these lost works but I'm not salivating over the thought of hearing them. Of course that probably would change if a set was announced

My point, exactly.

I don't know how any so-called BoC fan would pass on the prospect of an archival release.

"so-called BoC fan" dial down the pomposity please.

Why? I'm a BoC fan and I would have to wait and see, I cannot say ahead of time right now whether I would buy it or not without the all important details.
Such a huge self assurance on the position of others irks me, are we not "true fans" if we have second thoughts on an immediate purchase of this? As is this topic's crux, it comes down to the price first, the content second for me, money is very tight in this British climate for working class people like myself. Anyway, it's all just speculation, there's not an actual BoCset out yet!

Money is irrelevant to my initial point. I totally understand why someone would pass up a boxset from a financial standpoint. I'm sure we've all had to forego luxuries over the years. Also, physical goods aren't for everyone. I totally get that. Possessing a tangible boxset doesn't make someone a bigger fan or a better person.

I was simply struggling to resonate with the mindset of 'fans' that don't want, or would point blank refuse to listen to archival BoC material if the opportunity presented itself, whether that's in the form of a 12LP set, or a Soundcloud dump à la Aphex Twin.

We're starved of BoC material as it is. Boards have a much smaller discography and, are far less active, than any of their peers. Of course, they have a level of quality control and curation that is unmatched, which is likely a major factor contributing to their extremely sparse release schedule, but as I mentioned before, I find myself returning to the unreleased output more than the official Warp material nowadays, so there's something to be said about that,

I don't understand why someone, who loves their music, wouldn't want to hear more of it, particularly material from their formative years.

[Magrathea]

I don't understand why someone, who loves their music, wouldn't want to hear more of it, particularly material from their formative years.

Your inability to understand does not equate other people are not right too, there are all sorts of thinking out there, neuro-spiciness, etc. You just have to use the scientific method and accept the fact as it is.