GENERAL NEW RELEASE SPECULATION TOPIC

[Echelon]

https://www.reddit.com/r/boardsofcanada/comments/l46es1/what_i_know/

I'm taking that with a grain of salt, but it's fun fan fiction all the same. I like some of the ideas he lists.

A 10 minute BOC track?! I wish they were all 10 minutes. I also think a Smell the Glove BOC album cover would be pretty cool too

[demo]

https://www.reddit.com/r/boardsofcanada/comments/l46es1/what_i_know/

This post is clearly false, as I am the one who holds the information.

What I know (the real information)

-A new album will launch on March 2nd as this is the date that Pioneer 10 launched. It is also the day that all the celestial bodies will align perfectly.

-The album is space themed and is about humans leaving earth to journey across the galaxy. Samples have been taken from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

-The album cover will be white with a black hexagon, reminiscent of David Bowie's Black Star album, as the album itself is a tribute to David Bowie.

-There will be sixty-ten tracks, with one of BoC's longest tracks to date coming in at 20 minutes, the track is titled speed this bird up and contains the sample from 2001: A Space Odyssey as previously mentioned.

-My dad works at Hexagon Sun, I would know.

[writetomhatcher]

A happy cycling edit made with the choir from to the opening of 2001 instead of the Jesus Christ Superstar sample?

[Echelon]

Someone in that thread mentions a Warp release with a ????? next to it. What are they talking about?

If it's the ????? for the Beatink 2020 Campaign, someone needs to pull them out of October 2020 and into the present haha

[Twoist]

I never understood the appeal of fanfic until I saw that Reddit thread. Am actually kinda impressed at the effort that went into the post.

[Sherbet Head]

Ok, let's get back on track by setting ourselves up for further disappointment lol

Providing the plaque is hinting at a specific date, we can now rule out the following:

Pioneer 11 last contact: September 30th, 1995
Pioneer 11 last signal: November 24th, 1995
Pioneer 10 last signal: January 22nd/23rd, 2003

That leaves us with these:

Pioneer 10 launch date: March 2nd, 1972
Pioneer 11 launch date: April 6th, 1973
Pioneer 10 last telemetry: April 27th, 2002

All of these dates fall on a Tuesday, which is good news, because Warp usually make their announcements on Tue/Wed/Thur. One of my main reasons for doubting a big reveal last week was the fact that the 22nd/23rd fell on a Friday and Saturday, so these remaining dates seem a lot more promising to me.

[egbdf]

I never understood the appeal of fanfic until I saw that Reddit thread. Am actually kinda impressed at the effort that went into the post.

Yeah but the one thing that stood out as implausible to me was

"The track titles will be reminiscent of the theme of space, the need to escape Earth and start again."

I don't profess to know for sure, but BoC don't seem like the type to unreservedly approve of humanity colonizing other planets just because we screwed up so bad on this one. TH had the 'reap what you sow' vibe and all.

With that said, I like the idea of a space-themed BoC album. I think Sunshine Recorder is the closest we've gotten to that so far.

[Sl Flk]

About 6 years ago I made an album (mostly electro/acid house) about people leaving our birth planet to find a new home and a fresh start. It was the release of Tomorrow's Harvest that gave me the idea and concept. It would make sense than any follow up album from Tomorrow's Harvest would have this theme... Or they make another 'Trial by fire' album, whereas the crops failed and the world descends into chaos and human sacrifice?

I watched Kubrick's 2001 a few times last year. I remember when 2001 happened there were articles and chatter about how far off Kubrick's vision had been. That we should all be floating around on space stations talking to Leonard Rossiter. It was a vision of the future of course, but I think the 2001 date wasn't a prediction of where we would be, but when we'd get serious about it. I believe he just meant the 21st century.

The things Elon Musk as said about needing a colony on Mars before world war 3 breaks out, so we can 'sit it out' are quite frightening ideas.

It also dawned on me that the space craft in 2001 sort of looks like a big sperm swimming through space.

[SamuraiDrifter]

Yeah but the one thing that stood out as implausible to me was

"The track titles will be reminiscent of the theme of space, the need to escape Earth and start again."

I don't profess to know for sure, but BoC don't seem like the type to unreservedly approve of humanity colonizing other planets just because we screwed up so bad on this one. TH had the 'reap what you sow' vibe and all.

This exact same thing occurred to me. I've been reading the work of some of the authors BoC recommended (Kunstler and Orlov's writing on collapse in particular) and I cannot for the life of me see them supporting the whole "tech bros will save us by funding colonization" fantasy.

BoC's statements that a "crash feels not only inevitable, but in fact necessary" and "an inevitable stage that lies in front of us" reflect the ideas of people like Kunstler and James Lovelock, who foresee a global collapse and staggering decline in the human population as unavoidable at this point (Lovelock suggests that by the end of the century less than a billion humans will remain). Rather than "escaping Earth to start again," (which would only ever be an option for the mega-rich, as there would never be enough resources to allow for mass evacuation of billions of people to space), collapsitarians foresee a return to more local and sustainable ways of life for those of us who remain, with collapse potentially ending corporate rule, consumerism, globalization, and other ills that result in the control and exploitation of people for money and power.

[Twoist]

BoC's statements that a "crash feels not only inevitable, but in fact necessary" and "an inevitable stage that lies in front of us" reflect the ideas of people like Kunstler and James Lovelock, who foresee a global collapse and staggering decline in the human population as unavoidable at this point (Lovelock suggests that by the end of the century less than a billion humans will remain). Rather than "escaping Earth to start again," (which would only ever be an option for the mega-rich, as there would never be enough resources to allow for mass evacuation of billions of people to space), collapsitarians foresee a return to more local and sustainable ways of life for those of us who remain.

'collapsitarians', nice, i like that

We're still heading down the road of a population decline powered by the twin factors of climate change fuelling environmental disasters and falling fertility rates. I'm ready to believe BoC's next album will be a sequel to TH in the truest sense of the word - they saw where things were heading in 2013 and it's more and more obvious to all of us now. None of us are going to Mars and it's unlikely many of the next couple of generations will be going either.

[arvy]

https://www.reddit.com/r/boardsofcanada/comments/l46es1/what_i_know/

digging everything, except black cover artwork... like wtf man, it should be Turquose with some orranges.

[Sl Flk]

I don't believe it would be the rich that would colonize Mars in the initial fist stages. I think at first it would be a few military people alongside lots engineers and robots. Then after a bit of infrastructure and a start base they'd just send in the peasants, lol. I think if the population is reducing dramatically then the rich will stay here for as long as possible whilst they manipulate the rest to reach for the stars for a bit of assured continuity. They'll make their trip as soon as the last apple has fallen from the tree.

[SamuraiDrifter]

If extra-planetary colonization did actually get underway, there are a few ways it could play out. I could see the wealthy buying incredibly expensive seats aboard SpaceX vessels to lay first claim to other planets while Earth becomes increasingly uninhabitable (think Cowboy Bebop, for anyone who's seen that); alternatively, we could see undesirables sent away to reduce population load on the Earth and build an infrastructure the wealthy profit off (think The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein, or to some extent Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by PKD).

Fun to think about, but it's definitely not going to be a large scale solution to avoid social collapse triggered by climate change, state failure, depletion of fossil fuels, etc. And tying back to the original topic, based on the authors BoC have mentioned and their attitudes toward big business, the state, and modern technology (all of which would be heavily involved in space colonization) I cannot see this Reddit user's claim that a new album is about "leaving Earth to start again" being accurate.

[SamuraiDrifter]

I think if the next album were to have a space theme, it would be more likely to take the angle of examining humanity's insignificance in a beautiful and bittersweet way, ala Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot."

[vonS]

I don’t get all this obsession with a space themed album, Pioneer plaque speculation aside. Their references are always retrospective and bound to past media (public information films, 80s horror flicks, sesame street). If they did go all space travel, it would probably be in a prog rock way, and reference obscure dystopian 70s SciFi series like Ark II and the Starlost).

I predict they are going to surprise us all and resurrect Stadium Dance a la KLF, complete with robed horned guitarists and Ta,my Wynett samples. You heard it here first...

[Echelon]

I think the space theme might be more an ironic, retro-styled one, like Donald Fagan's IGY. During the space age, we predicted that humanity would achieve new levels of prosperity and technological advancement (think Jetsons) but in reality, especially in 2021, where we are now is far from that glamorous future.

It could be a very peaceful, beautiful album like TCH, but in an ironic way, depicting the future that never was.

[demo]

I imagine it to be like TCH but more in the direction of what you might hear on SxT

For example:
https://youtu.be/SQ959s4j3o4

I feel like BoC could pull of this kind of thing very well, but obviously with their unique BoC flare, this sounds so spacey to me, like I'm floating around in orbit of a star.

[Echelon]

The things Elon Musk as said about needing a colony on Mars before world war 3 breaks out, so we can 'sit it out' are quite frightening ideas.

Also for those of you who believe BOC are against colonization on other planets (which I agree they are) and probably are cynical about the way Elon Musk is handling things. I still think it's funny Societas X Tape can be rearranged to A Site To Spacex, which might be a dig at them, and also quite frankly, maybe there actually is another site on the web like New Clear Dawn, dedicated to exposing Spacex or at least mocking them.

[arvy]

I don’t get all this obsession with a space themed album, Pioneer plaque speculation aside. Their references are always retrospective and bound to past media (public information films, 80s horror flicks, sesame street). If they did go all space travel, it would probably be in a prog rock way, and reference obscure dystopian 70s SciFi series like Ark II and the Starlost).

I predict they are going to surprise us all and resurrect Stadium Dance a la KLF, complete with robed horned guitarists and Ta,my Wynett samples. You heard it here first...

They will go back to at Outpost Zeta

[Geogandhi]

TH is the most concise concept they have done right? Who is to say they'll do it again? Other albums have not had a theme, more a vein, an idea to steer the timbre and feel of the album. I kinda like the space idea but honestly, I think that their work will be so much more vague than any idea we project on it. I prefer that personally as they don't give any of themselves away, I don't care what beliefs they have, they could be awful and spoil my enjoyment of their art so if they push further with more solid themes I think it would feel less BoC.