Any additional details you noticed in Inferno’s production? -The production feels larger, grander and broader than ever before. More use of direct instrumentation and less use of their conventional methods from earlier works e.g. tape degradation of samples. Seems like a natural direction since many of their previously known esoteric methods of production can be emulated with high accuracy by modern plugin libraries these days.
- Vocal chopping is back on the menu (Father & Son and The Word Becomes Flesh). Their methods for doing have noticeably evolved from their early days (compared to e.g. Telephasic Workshop, Spiro, even Julie and Candy)
Anything else you’d like to share about Inferno? I’ve never been more excited for the release of an album more than Inferno. Especially not one that delivered far above and beyond what I had expected.
What do you think BoC meant with Inferno and what does it mean to you? I don’t honestly know yet, but maybe I’ll grow into one cohesive interpretation some day. They seem to explore some deep ass existential questions on the human condition with their return to cultic themes, the nature of consciousness and human will, birth and death. Given the dark vibe of the album, they are probably still “nihilistic” of some sort or maybe the friction of getting older has made them less inclined to recreate the optimism of their early albums. I’m also getting a slight impression that they might be chewing on the question of AI and how AI may (or fails to) express the humanity of art, but that might just be the current state of affairs leaking into my interpretation. I’m wagering this album will stick with me for the next decade.
Was “You Retreat In Time And Space” a love letter to your fans signifying that you are done making music under the Boards of Canada “project” or was it more of a “take care for now”?