Boards of Canada haven't played a live show in over a decade, so you can forgive the Scottish duo for attempting to subsidize their income through their physical product. That's why it was no big surprise when Skam Records announced that they would commemorate their 20th anniversary by (once again) reissuing Boards of Canada's first commercial release. Hitting shelves two years before their groundbreaking debut, Music Has the Right to Children, 1996's Hi Scores EP showed the duo blending digital drill and bass rhythms with the chromatic analog melodies that they would soon become known for.
While earlier reissues of Hi Scores (in 1998, 2002 and 2005) offered little more than additional pressings, Skam's latest re-release features not just a new mix of the EP, but new(ish) versions, as Boards of Canada opted to re-record the six songs from the original DAT tapes. Couple the brighter, more dramatic recordings with new packaging and artwork and Hi Scores could qualify as perhaps the most essential reissue in Boards of Canada's nearly flawless catalogue.
(Skam)While earlier reissues of Hi Scores (in 1998, 2002 and 2005) offered little more than additional pressings, Skam's latest re-release features not just a new mix of the EP, but new(ish) versions, as Boards of Canada opted to re-record the six songs from the original DAT tapes. Couple the brighter, more dramatic recordings with new packaging and artwork and Hi Scores could qualify as perhaps the most essential reissue in Boards of Canada's nearly flawless catalogue.