Twoism

Twoism is the first EP released by Boards of Canada, on their own Music70 record label in 1995. It was a self-financed cassette and record distributed privately. Major public releases would not happen until 1996's Hi Scores EP on Skam Records. This EP was, however, the work which got them noticed by Skam Records. In 2002, the EP was reissued on vinyl and CD by Warp Records.

Twoism
EP by
Boards of Canada
ReleasedAugust 1995
Recorded1995
StudioHexagon Sun, Pentland Hills
Genre
Length36:37
LabelMusic70
Producer
  • Michael Sandison
  • Marcus Eoin
Boards of Canada chronology
Hooper Bay
(1994)		 Twoism
(1995)		 Boc Maxima
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Blender[2]
Drowned in Sound(8/10)[3]
Pitchfork Media(7.0/10)[4]

Content

Before Twoism was re-pressed years later, it was a highly sought-after item, being pressed only about 100 times. It would often be exchanged from one person to the next for around £800 (US$1500).[5]

There are differences between "Sixtyniner" on this EP and other releases, as Boards of Canada have often re-released early songs on later, more popular releases, sometimes with changes. On the original Music70 pressing of the record, "Sixtyniner" lasted 5:40, while reissues shortened it to 5:14.

Twoism is the only widely available Boards of Canada release with early third member Chris Horne, who was credited (as Chris H.) on the original release. However, his name was omitted on the 2002 Warp re-released version at his own request. According to credits from Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency he only co-wrote "Melissa Juice".

The channels are reversed on the CD reissue compared to the original vinyl EP. This can also be noted on the tracks "Seeya Later" and "Smokes Quantity", which have the channels reversed compared to their appearances on Hi Scores and Music Has the Right to Children respectively.

"Smokes Quantity" includes the hidden track "1986 Summer Fire" at the end. On some pressings, the two tracks are combined.

Artwork

The album cover is taken from the 1980 film The Killings at Outpost Zeta.

The first pressing of the CD from Warp Records was on a black CD, similar to original PlayStation discs, and included a sticker with the yellow Boards of Canada logo on it. The barcode on the CD's digipack was also an easily removable sticker.

Reception

AllMusic said of the reissue of Twoism:

"Excepting only the rigid drum monster "Basefree" (which sounds a bit like Aphex Twin circa 1992), Twoism features the same exquisitely spooky, textured emotronica that fans will want to hear, all at as high a level as the brilliant Music Has the Right to Children to boot."

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Sixtyniner"5:40
2."Oirectine"5:11
3."Iced Cooly"2:22
4."Basefree"6:35
5."Twoism"6:06
6."Seeya Later"4:33
7."Melissa Juice"1:32
8."Smokes Quantity"3:10
9."1986 Summer Fire" (hidden track)1:36

Credits
  • Michael Sandison - production, photography
  • Marcus Eoin - production
  • Chris Horne - production

References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. Blender review
  4. Pitchfork Media review
  5. Matthew Walton (2002). "Scottish Duo Re-release Their Ultra Rare Seminal Debut". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2006-11-26.
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