Continuous Mix

[MrDimus]

Don't really understand the point of this. Gaps, fades etc. seem exactly the same as the standard release only it's all combined into a single track. I though they would all blend seamlessly together. Am I missing the something?

[mc10101]

I assume they've done this because the primary carrier of music now is the mp3, and as we know mp3's don't handle segues very well often 'hitching' or pausing briefly between tracks.

[outhudd]

Yes, they're the same.

I downloaded both 24-bit versions and asked claude code to compare the two versions (continuous mix, and separated 18-track version). Here's the result:

Comparison results

Format: Both versions are 24-bit / 44.1 kHz stereo WAV, with identical total duration (4200.000 s = 70:00).

Track boundaries match exactly: The 18 individual tracks sum to 4200.000 s with no gap — they're a clean split of the continuous mix, not separate masters with crossfades trimmed. The continuous mix file even embeds chapter markers at the same boundary positions.

Audio differences: Essentially negligible — the two files agree on the upper ~20 bits of every sample, disagreeing only in the bottom few bits (peak difference -90 dB, RMS around -110 dB). No gain or DC offset. The discrepancy looks like incidental LSB noise from the file being exported twice rather than anything deliberately done to the sound — the kind of byte-level drift you get from a second render passing through non-deterministic floating-point math, not from any mastering or mixing choice. Inaudible in any playback chain.

Interpretation: Both files genuinely contain 24-bit content (effective bit depth 23/24). The difference signal is consistent with the two versions being separate bounces/exports of the same master — what you'd expect from re-rendering a project where some plugin or dither introduces non-deterministic LSB noise. There is no audible difference; the discrepancy sits roughly 90 dB below peak and is well into the noise floor of any playback chain.

[outhudd]

Also, there's some information embedded in the continuous mix file about which revision of the master was used for each track etc.

Seems the final export of the album was done by Matt Colton on April 15th.

[Sherbet Head]

I grabbed this in the bundle and I doubt I'll ever listen to it, but oh well, I'm always happy to chuck a couple extra quid to the brothers Canada.

[burst__of__indigo]

Don't really understand the point of this. Gaps, fades etc. seem exactly the same as the standard release only it's all combined into a single track. I though they would all blend seamlessly together. Am I missing the something?

This is exactly what I thought. Or rather, I thought it would unfold like an FSOL album where the tracks all work together with one another. It's literally the same thing as having good gapless playback, haha.

Definitely my one gripe with this whole release.

[2020k]

*goes back into the consumerism topic with another complaint*

[Cupz]

I like to think of it as a serving suggestion.

[Cavia Porcellus]

I feel silly spending too much time debating which version to listen to the very first time. The track times were 9 seconds off from one another so I assumed a slight difference, but yeah, if you take into account the extra milliseconds on the regular release it adds up to the same time as the continuous release.

I don't think I've used music playing software that didn't have gapless playback in over 20 years, easily, so I don't get the reason for it. My early 2000s physical mp3 player was gapless too. But then why bother?

[burst__of__indigo]

I feel silly spending too much time debating which version to listen to the very first time. The track times were 9 seconds off from one another so I assumed a slight difference, but yeah, if you take into account the extra milliseconds on the regular release it adds up to the same time as the continuous release.

I don't think I've used music playing software that didn't have gapless playback in over 20 years, easily, so I don't get the reason for it. My early 2000s physical mp3 player was gapless too. But then why bother?

This is what I don't understand. Did I also misread this, or was the mix done by some African artist?

The 24-bit WAV for the continuous mix is $15, that's crazy. I would pay that if it was an experience like any FSOL album, ha! I could do this myself and like you said, what software/app doesn't have gapless playback at this point? I know Bandcamp's playback on the website is the only thing.

[Cupz]

My early 2000s physical mp3 player was gapless too. But then why bother?

For me personally, my mp3 player has a kind of crappy and slow file browser, so less songs to scroll through the better.

[Beechwoods]

I was thinking the same thing. Why release a 'Continuous Mix' that was the same as the normal album played end to end?

I've just posted this to r/boardsofcanada

I can only assume this is intentional. Having realised that there is no apparent difference between the Continuous mix and the regular album trancoded to a single gapless WAV, I tried mixing the two together with the one out of phase. And this is the effect. I have yet to listen to whether this exposes hidden audio elements, or whether it's just a pretty Waveform. Someone should check the Spectrals.

[Cavia Porcellus]

My early 2000s physical mp3 player was gapless too. But then why bother?

For me personally, my mp3 player has a kind of crappy and slow file browser, so less songs to scroll through the better.

Fair point. Making an ideal listening experience for every kind of device makes the album more accessible, so that's nice.

But while I got access to both versions since I got the vinyl, selling the digital files separately is kinda weird. With no difference I'd be kind of annoyed if I only got the continuous mix since I couldn't easily switch tracks (though maybe the opposite if I had to listen to it on a slow player). Would have made more sense for the continuous mix to be included as a bonus.

[Redd Panderson]

I like to think of it as a serving suggestion.

This.

Having listened to the continuous mix only so far (first listen was last night), I think there's great value in listening to this in one sitting without fussing over which track is which. I barely yet know what scraps of audio fall under what name, but as a whole this album works so well that folks would do themselves a disservice only listening to cherry-picked individual tracks at first. This demands a single listening session. That and the fact that this seems intended to be a mixtape-inspired composition means offering the continuous mix makes sense as a suggestion to listeners.