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Geogaddi

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Geogaddi
Studio album by
Boards of Canada
Released18 February 2002 (2002-02-18)
Recorded1999–2001
StudioHexagon Sun (Pentland Hills, Scotland)
Genre
Length66:06
Label
Producer
  • Marcus Eoin
  • Michael Sandison
Boards of Canada chronology
In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country
(2000) 		Geogaddi
(2002) 		The Campfire Headphase
(2005)

Geogaddi is the second studio album by Scottish electronic music duo Boards of Canada, released on 18 February 2002 by Warp Records.[2] It was recorded between 1999 and 2001 at Hexagon Sun, their Pentland Hills studio. The album was intended to be—and has been described as—darker in tone than their debut studio album Music Has the Right to Children, released in 1998.

Geogaddi received critical acclaim upon release, in addition to being acclaimed by several publications as one of the year's best albums. It was listed by music website Pitchfork as one of the best intelligent dance music albums of all time.

Background and composition

[edit]
The album was recorded from 1999 to 2001 at Hexagon Sun, their Pentland Hills (pictured) studio.

Boards of Canada are a Scottish duo composed of brothers Michael Sandison and Marcus Eoin (born Marcus Eoin Sandison), formed initially as a group in 1986 and later as a duo in the 1990s. They started making music during their childhood, using tape decks to do so. Boards of Canada takes their name from the National Film Board Of Canada.[3] They released their debut album Music Has The Right To Children in 1998 to critical acclaim.[4]

Geogaddi is a psychedelic electronic album that has been categorized as IDM, downtempo,[3] and hauntology.[1][5] Compared with their previous releases, Boards of Canada aimed to record a project "with more facets, more detail and a kind of concentrated recipe of chaotic little melodies", as well as something "more fuzzy and organic".[6] The duo recorded over 90 tracks for the project from 1999 to 2001 at Hexagon Sun, their Pentland Hills studio,[7][8] ultimately choosing 22 based on how well they fit the intended atmosphere of the album.[6] Michael Sandison, half of the duo, stated that the album features acoustic instrumentation that was significantly manipulated and processed.[6]

Sandison described the album as "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."[6] The September 11 attacks drastically influenced the tone of the album during its production in 2001, with the duo "glued to the TV for the whole day" and Sandison saying that they had subsequently been pushed "into making a darker record".[9] Mark Richardson of Pitchfork wrote that "the atmosphere on this album is a shade darker than on previous releases, and comparatively tense with a noticeable thread of paranoia."[5] The album has been noted for featuring esoteric references, samples and subliminal messages, including references to numerology, Wicca and the Branch Davidians.[a][10][1] Boards of Canada have claimed that the album's title is made up of several words with a specific meaning, but left it up to the listener to interpret it.[11]

Release

[edit]

Geogaddi was first released by Vivid in Japan on 8 February 2002[12] and by Warp Records on 18 February 2002 in Europe.[13][14] The album has been released on compact disc, vinyl, digital download and as a limited edition compact disc.[14]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The Boston Phoenix[16]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[17]
The Guardian[18]
NME9/10[19]
Pitchfork8.6/10[20]
Q[21]
Rolling Stone[22]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[23]
Spin8/10[24]
Uncut[25]

Geogaddi received critical acclaim upon release. It currently holds a score of 84 out of 100 from review aggregate site Metacritic based on 21 critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[15] John Bush of AllMusic drew comparisons between the album and Music Has the Right to Children, including both albums' cover art.[7] He also praised the use of samples, as he felt that it fit the tone of the album.[7] Critics at Q compared Geogaddi to the album Drukqs by Aphex Twin, saying that it was "satisfying in every way that Aphex Twin's Drukqs wasn't".[21][15]

Pat Blashill of Rolling Stone gave the album 3 stars out of 5, calling it "marvelously vague".[22] A later review of the album on the Rolling Stone Album Guide gave it 2 stars out of 5, writing, "the contrast of evil undertones and electronic lullabies simply wasn't as compelling."[23] Kitty Empire of NME named it "the electronic album of the year."[19] Mark Richardson of Pitchfork wrote: "While some will complain about Boards of Canada's failure to cover new territory, [...] the rest of us will delight in what we see as a very accomplished album packed with great music."[20]

Geogaddi was ranked on year-end lists of the best albums of 2002 by numerous publications, such as Mojo,[26] NME,[27] Uncut[28] and The Wire.[29] In 2017, Pitchfork placed Geogaddi at number five on its list of "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time".[30] It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Boards of Canada.[7]

No.TitleLength
1."Ready Lets Go"0:59
2."Music Is Math"5:22
3."Beware the Friendly Stranger"0:38
4."Gyroscope"3:35
5."Dandelion"1:15
6."Sunshine Recorder"6:13
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"4:19
13."Opening the Mouth"1:12
14."Alpha and Omega"7:03
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"1:41
18."Over the Horizon Radar"1:09
19."Dawn Chorus"3:56
20."Diving Station"1:27
21."You Could Feel the Sky"5:14
22."Corsair"2:52
23."Magic Window"1:47
Total length:66:06
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
24."From One Source All Things Depend"2:10
Total length:68:16

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[7]

Boards of Canada

  • Marcus Eoin – production, artwork, photography
  • Michael Sandison – production, artwork, photography

Additional personnel

  • Peter Campbell – cover photograph

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Geogaddi
Chart (2002) Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP)[31] 78
Irish Albums (IRMA)[32] 28
Scottish Albums (OCC)[33] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[34] 21
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[35] 3
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[36] 19
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[37] 10
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[38] 3

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for Geogaddi
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[39] Silver 60,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

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  1. ^ The track "1969" contains sampled quotations of Koresh's name.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Edgar, Robert; Johnson, Wayne (9 October 2023). "'Sounds of our Past': The Electronic Music that Links Folk Horror and Hauntology". The Routledge Companion to Folk Horror. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-95185-1. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  2. ^ Hopwood, Christian. "BBC - Music - Review of Boards of Canada - Geogaddi". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 December 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (11 February 2022). "Geogaddi Turns 20". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  4. ^ Cooper, Sean. "Boards of Canada – Biography". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  5. ^ a b Pitchfork Staff (2 October 2009). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2023. It is a black forest of a record, full of psychedelia and psychosis...
  6. ^ a b c d Poolman, Koen (March 2002). "Play Twice Before Listening". OOR. Archived from the original on 28 March 2002. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Bush, John. "Geogaddi – Boards of Canada". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  8. ^ Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-85828-457-6. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  9. ^ Detourn, Gal (December 2005). "Above Board!". Playlouder. Archived from the original on 21 December 2005. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  10. ^ Murray, Robin (13 July 2021). Listen to This If You Love Great Music: A critical curation of 100 essential albums • Packed with links for further reading, listening and viewing to take your enjoyment to the next level. Ivy Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-7112-5609-5. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  11. ^ Pytlik, Mark (February 2002). "The Colour & The Fire". HMV Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 July 2002. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  12. ^ Bush, John. "Geogaddi - Boards of Canada (JP version)". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Discography". BoardsOfCanada.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2006. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Boards of Canada: Geogaddi". Warp. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  15. ^ a b c "Reviews for Geogaddi by Boards of Canada". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  16. ^ Hsu, Hua (7–14 March 2002). "Boards of Canada: Geogaddi (Warp)". The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  17. ^ Weingarten, Marc (22 March 2002). "Geogaddi". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  18. ^ Wyse, Pascal (22 February 2002). "Boards of Canada: Geogaddi (Warp)". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 June 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  19. ^ a b Empire, Kitty (16 February 2002). "Boards Of Canada : Geogaddi". NME. p. 39. Archived from the original on 3 June 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  20. ^ a b Richardson, Mark (21 February 2002). "Boards of Canada: Geogaddi". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  21. ^ a b "Boards of Canada: Geogaddi". Q. No. 189. April 2002. p. 110.
  22. ^ a b Blashill, Pat (11 April 2002). "Boards of Canada: Geogaddi". Rolling Stone. No. 893. Archived from the original on 25 April 2002. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  23. ^ a b Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Boards of Canada". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 90. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  24. ^ Reynolds, Simon (May 2002). "Boards of Canada: Geogaddi / Takagi Masakatsu: Pia". Spin. Vol. 18, no. 5. pp. 120–22. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  25. ^ "Boards of Canada: Geogaddi". Uncut. No. 59. April 2002. p. 94.
  26. ^ "Best Albums of 2002". Mojo. No. 110. January 2003. p. 75.
  27. ^ "Albums Of The Year". NME. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  28. ^ "100 Best Albums of the Year". Uncut. No. 68. January 2003. p. 95.
  29. ^ "2002 Rewind". The Wire. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  30. ^ "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time". Pitchfork. 24 January 2017. p. 5. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  31. ^ "Lescharts.com – Boards of Canada – Geogaddi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  32. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Boards of Canada". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  33. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  34. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  35. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  36. ^ "Boards of Canada Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  37. ^ "Boards of Canada Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  38. ^ "Boards of Canada Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  39. ^ "British album certifications – Boards Of Canada – Geogaddi". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
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