Track Listing

1. Sixtyniner
2. Oirectine
3. Iced Cooly
4. Basefree
5. Twoism
6. Seeya Later
7. Melissa Juice
8. Smokes Quantity

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60090 in Music
• Released on: 2002-11-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued

Album Description
Remastered re-release of an early, limited Boards Of Canada release, this nine track mini album is available on CD for the first time, seven years after its original vinyl only release. Track nine '1986 Summer Fire' is unlisted on artwork. Includes Boards Of Canada sticker. Digipak. Warp. 2002.

Amazon.com
Originally issued in 1995, Boards of Canada's Twoism EP makes it clear the Scottish duo of Michael Sandison and Marcus Eoin were on to something from the start. As their first recorded work, scarce, vinyl-only copies of Twoism have been lustily sought after by rabid fans since the 1998 release of BoC's amazing, impossibly original Music Has The Right To Children and the quieter, but equally devastating Geogaddi. While not as adventuresome as those records, this EP is still Boards Of Canada all the way, as ample chunks of the band's unsettling and deeply involving style are easily found in songs like "Smokes Quantity" and the title track. Other songs such as the almost danceable "Seeya Later" show a more straightforward ambient/techno side that, while presented more nakedly here, is still quite apparent in their later work. While some might be disappointed after spending God knows what on a copy of Twoism only to find it suddenly available anywhere, others looking for more of BoC's melancholy, spellbinding compositions should take fast advantage. --Matthew Cooke

From URB Magazine
Waking from a dream to misty sunshine filtered through a forest canopy; kaleidoscopic visions of Branch Davidians in ecstasy; bleary-eyed school children tripping acid at recess: Boards of Canada’s music is evocative of many things, but there’s been little of it relative to the weight of their reputation. Kevin Shields’ reclusiveness and My Bloody Valentine’s inability to follow up on what is probably the most venerated underground psychedelic meltdown to date — Loveless — comes to mind. Boards of Canada’s Music Has the Right to Children served as a touchstone for the handful of people who first heard it (see: Freescha, Casino Versus Japan), the sort of album that makes you wonder why more people don’t bother to make electronic music so lush and, well, pretty.

Before Music Has a Right was Twoism, released in 1995 on Boards of Canada’s tiny Music70 label in the sort of ultra-limited quantities that guarantee collector interest. This year, popular mythology among BoC fandom held that a copy of the 36-minute LP traded hands in an online auction for over $1,000. Of particular interest to potential disciples was the address of the duo’s rural Scottish Hexagon Sun compound still on the wrapping.

In many ways Twoism is more satisfying than their more difficult second album, Geogaddi, if only due to its reliance on the sort of timeless electronic melodies and mournful psychedelic pop that easily fits with pleasant, haunted music from Pink Floyd and Can to Aphex Twin and the Orb.

Daniel Chamberlin

Customer Reviews

BoaRds of CaNadA
The Best there is. Genius. I recommend all of their albums since each has its own unique vibe. I also say track down A Few Old Tunes vol. 1 & 2 online (unreleased) especially for "5-9-78"

The earliest BoC available
Boards of Canada are all about nostalgia, from the rough analog sounds of their synthesizers to the cover art design, and so it goes without saying that Twoism is a gem unto itself. This is one half hour head trip no electronica nut should be without. The album gives off a kind of duality between childhood nostalgia and chemically enhanced daydreaming like no other. A few of these tracks were later used on other releases, notably the vibrato riding "Smokes Quantity" being recycled for Music Has The Right To Children, and it's understandable; this material deserved another go-round after Twoism all but dropped off the face of the earth before being reissued in 2002. The melodies contained here are so infectious they may catch you off guard. Seemingly at random, in the midst of some mundane chore or daily routine the melody of "Sixtyniner" or "Iced Cooly" may enter your consciousness from out of nowhere. Rest assured that it's a good thing, just so long as you don't begin humming the melodies in falsetto.

Twoism: Convoluted Cacophonies
Twoism is such a great little treat from Boards of Canada. The name of this EP really could be called "Dualism" and/or "Dichotomy". Why you might ask, because this 8 track EP really is both dark/mellow and catchy/foot tapping. The collection of songs on this EP is some of the best BOC has put out. As a general statement, the music of BOC isn't really poppy or light, but the mood on this EP seems much more sullen and dim than any of their other releases. I always found it amazing that BOC sound has both elements of minimalism and convoluted cacophonies. This is a great CD to listen to when you would like to relax, or drive down an autumn road with a tapestry of leaves descending around you.