Geogaddi
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Geogaddi is the second album by Boards of Canada. It was released in February 2002 on three different days for each region[1] to a large degree of anticipation.[2][3][4] It presents a darker sound than its predecessor Music Has the Right to Children. The title of the album has no conclusive meaning; the intention is that it should be decided on by the listener. It is the most commercially successful album by the band.[2]
Overview
Geogaddi revisits the innocent, child-like melodic and harmonic structure found throughout the band's previous album, Music Has the Right to Children. This album, however, explores motifs considered by some to be quite dark, while to others they appear very innocent. For example, some fans interpret the song titles as having various dark/occult connotations: references to horned gods ("You Could Feel the Sky"), Branch Davidian cultism ("1969"), backmasking ("A Is to B as B Is to C") and hypnotism ("The Devil Is in the Details"): these are of course interpretations, unconfirmed by the band and open to further analysis. Though it retains Boards of Canada's trademark soundscapes and melodic vignettes, the album can be unsettling and fraught with paranoia to some.
Geogaddi is a record for some sort of trial-by-fire, a claustrophobic, twisting journey that takes you into some pretty dark experiences before you reach the open air again. It has a kind of narrative. – Michael Sandison
The album received mixed reviews the year of its release from some critics who were unimpressed by what they saw as the lack of development since 1998's Music Has the Right to Children. However, it has since become considered a classic of the genre.[citation needed]
The duo and their record label, Warp Records, announced Geogaddi with little fanfare. The album premiered in six cities around the world: London, New York, Tokyo, Edinburgh, Paris, and Berlin. They provided only one press interview, for the NME via email.
The album is available in three formats: Standard jewel case CD packaging, limited edition hardbound book packaged with a CD and extra artwork enclosed, and a triple record package.[1] Side F of the vinyl package, with the track "Magic Window", is uncut and contains a visible etching of a nuclear family.[1] "Magic Window" is a track of pure silence in all three formats.
The artwork of the album carries a distinct kaleidoscopic motif. The limited edition version comes with a 12-page booklet exhibiting artwork.[5] The triple record set holds inner-sleeves that feature artwork on either side. In fact, a kaleidoscope was originally for sale when Geogaddi was first released[5] and can often be found floating around online auctions.
The band received the idea to make the track time total 66 minutes and 6 seconds from Warp Records president Steve Beckett, his reasoning being to joke around with the listeners and imply the Devil had created the album.[6] The track "Gyroscope" contains samples of a numbers station sampled by Sean Booth of Autechre, as confirmed by a representative of Hexagon Sun on the WATMM forum. [1]
The Japanese edition of Geogaddi features an additional track titled "From One Source All Things Depend". This short track contains many samples of children praying and explaining who they believe God to be. Some of the same children's audio samples can be heard in the song "I Can Feel Him in the Morning'" by the American rock band Grand Funk Railroad on their 1971 album Survival. The original source of these samples is unknown.
Reception
Template:Album ratings prose 9 out of 10 - ...Easily the electronic album of the year....Deliciously saturated with the recurring motifs which have marked them out as an individual voice in electronic music...a meeting of the natural with the digital, and here it's eerier than ever before... NME (16 February 2002)
...A rare 2nd album that matches a brilliant debut... Magnet (June 2002)
7 out of 10 - ...Experimental and brave... Alternative Press (May 2002)
...Murky electronic grooves lurch forward llike industrial bilge through a junkyard....Their depth-of-field approach is abstract but has just enough focus to sustain clarity... - Rating: B+ Entertainment Weekly (22 March 2002)
...66 minutes of pure tones, pensive clanks and chopped-up nature film commentaries... Mojo (April 2002)
4 out of 5 stars - ...A labyrinth of melodic and textural twists that enthrals rather than assaults... Q (April 2002)
8 out of 10 - ...The Scottish duo favors smudgy, just slightly out-of-tune analog synth tones evocative of faded home movies and washed-out photographs....a thoroughly satisfying album... Spin (May 2002)
3 stars out of 5 - ...A lovely, strangely comforting collection of electronic introspection, mood and shadow. Rolling Stone (11 April 2002)
Ranked #22 in Uncut's 100 Best Albums of the Year - ...An antidote to the ongoing chill-out fad... Uncut (January 2003)
Ranked #16 in Mojo's Best Albums of 2002 Mojo (January 2003)
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ready Let's Go" | 0:59 |
| 2. | "Music Is Math" | 5:21 |
| 3. | "Beware the Friendly Stranger" | 0:37 |
| 4. | "Gyroscope" | 3:34 |
| 5. | "Dandelion" | 1:15 |
| 6. | "Sunshine Recorder" | 6:12 |
| 7. | "In the Annexe" | 1:22 |
| 8. | "Julie and Candy" | 5:30 |
| 9. | "The Smallest Weird Number" | 1:17 |
| 10. | "1969" | 4:20 |
| 11. | "Energy Warning" | 0:35 |
| 12. | "The Beach at Redpoint" | 4:18 |
| 13. | "Opening the Mouth" | 1:11 |
| 14. | "Alpha and Omega" | 7:02 |
| 15. | "I Saw Drones" | 0:27 |
| 16. | "The Devil is in the Details" | 3:53 |
| 17. | "A Is to B as B Is to C" | 1:40 |
| 18. | "Over the Horizon Radar" | 1:08 |
| 19. | "Dawn Chorus" | 3:55 |
| 20. | "Diving Station" | 1:26 |
| 21. | "You Could Feel the Sky" | 5:14 |
| 22. | "Corsair" | 2:52 |
| 23. | "Magic Window" | 1:46 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 24. | "From One Source All Things Depend" | 2:10 |
The track '1969' is used in an episode of the BBC's motoring show Top Gear.
Personnel
Boards of Canada
- Michael Sandison – performer
- Marcus Eoin – performer
Technical
- Peter Campbell – cover photograph
- Michael Sandison – producer, artwork, photography
- Marcus Eoin – producer, artwork, photography
Notes
- ^ a b c "Boards of Canada Discography". 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-24.
- ^ a b Mark Pytlik (2002). "The Colour & The Fire". HMV. Retrieved 2006-11-24.
- ^ John Bush (2002). "Geogaddi Overview". All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved 2006-11-24.
- ^ John Mulvey (2002). "The Most Mysterious & Revered Men in Electronica". NME. Retrieved 2006-11-24.
- ^ a b Warp Records (2002). "Warp Records; Geogaddi". Warp Records. Archived from the original on 2007-05-21. Retrieved 2006-11-24.
- ^ Heiko Hoffmann (2005). "Stirred Up the Ashes". Flavorpill Productions LLC. Archived from the original on 2006-11-21. Retrieved 2006-11-24.
External links
- Geogaddi at the official Warp Records website
- Geogaddi ⚠ "
mbid" is missing! at MusicBrainz - Analysis of the meaning of Geogaddi titles, with quotes