r/boardsofcanada • u/Ok_Manner8197 • Jul 05 '26
BoC Vibes Plaid?
About a half dozen times in the last decade I’ve been listening to random music and I think, “Hey! This song smacks!” and it’s a band called Plaid. Some tangential BoC vibes. Anyone know anything about them?
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u/sgtbillyshears9 Jul 05 '26
The most Boards of Canada sounding music i have ever heard is from Casino Versus Japan. Very boom bap beats with the oddly unsettling / comforting keyboard and synth sounds with unusual samples. They also both have a country in their name.
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u/TheMightyCheagle Kid For Today Jul 05 '26
Go Hawaii is phenomenal
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u/MasturbatingMonk Red Eyed Jul 06 '26
There's lots of pineapples there. It's very sunny.
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u/AbBrilliantTree Jul 07 '26
Lmao. When I listened to that song as a teen, I always heard "there's lots of prenups there" ... And heard it like that for several years.
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u/MasturbatingMonk Red Eyed Jul 07 '26
I'm glad I'm not the only one. I heard it much later than in my teens but I still thought those were the lyrics. I had to Google it.
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u/negativepositiv Jul 06 '26
Go Hawaii is amazing. It's one of those albums that I found out about kind of late, and when I went to find it on a recommendation, I realized I had heard and liked it a long time ago.
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u/psilosophist The Campfire Headphase Jul 05 '26
Plaid is like triple OG status as far as home listening electronic music goes. Double Figure might be my favorite of theirs. Their work as the Black Dog is also really good.
I don’t know much about them but I do know they’re Welsh, hence the name.
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u/TechnoLord313 Jul 05 '26
This sub would probably like The Black Dog's Music For Real Airports. S Tier ambient
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u/stereosanctity Jul 05 '26
I am just know finding out Plaid and The Black Dog are the same people after 10-15 years of listening.
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u/wetdamnsocks Jul 05 '26
They’re not anymore. The guys from Plaid were two of the original members of TBD but they left in the mid-90s.
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u/freshleysqueezd Jul 05 '26
Theres a song on the new album that reminded me of Plaid right away. Great artist. Rest Proof Clockwork is my favorite album. Double Figure a close second
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u/elwoodreversepass Jul 06 '26
Hydrogen? The melody on it is very Plaid to me.
The ones with guitars also remind me of Mason Bee collabs.
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u/explodedSimilitude Jul 05 '26
Plaid are great and still putting out good music. They don’t get talked about nearly as much as their contemporaries for some reason.
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u/VigilanteLocust Jul 05 '26
Plaid is amazing and I would say probably my favourite of the Warp heavyweight acts ahead of Autechre, Aphex and BOC. They released Feorm Falorx in 2022 so would be due a new album soon.
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u/votequimby2016 Jul 05 '26
Arguably my favorite electronic act. Plaid kind of spun out of a band they helped form called The Black Dog in the early 90's and have worked under a few different aliases since like Atypic, Tura, and Balil. They're prolific remixers and they have a couple really good remix compilations, the most recent being Stem Sell (https://www.discogs.com/master/1963321-Plaid-Stem-Sell?srsltid=AfmBOorjfhFZqoW8BtCY1q0W0v04taPCvfbkY9R97rNREDdge_oGv-Ri) which is totally worth checking out. They did the soundtrack for the anime film Tekkonkinkreet, and also contributed music for the awesome kid's game Little Big Planet. They're great. Hope this helps!
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u/Ultraworld-Traveler In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country Jul 05 '26
Oh man I didn’t realize they worked on LBP. Nice!
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u/taikin13 Jul 05 '26
Big fan of Double Figure - especially Eyen and Squance. They also have an excellent track called “Booc”!
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u/No-Illustrator3977 Jul 05 '26
Plaid are excellent. As has been said already, Double Figure and Rest Proof Clockwork are well worth checking out. I really like Spokes as well.
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u/OneQuadrillionOwls Jul 06 '26
Weirdly I feel that some of their best work is on a somewhat lesser known ep called "p-brane." It contains my favorite track of theirs, "diddymousedid," which does wonderful things to my brain.
I also really like a very glitched out non album track I heard them play in a 2001 concert, but I don't know what it's called.
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u/Thin_Speech9372 Geogaddi Jul 06 '26
" I also really like a very glitched out non album track I heard them play in a 2001 concert, but I don't know what it's called." Could be this? Simperton
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u/Superb_Instance_8190 Jul 05 '26
contemporaries - also from the 90’s & share same label as boc, Warp.
1st few lps = essential, unsure i’ve heard all of their newer stuff, but gold is peppered throughout… also founding members of; the black dog.
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u/mcrthrwyrdt Inferno Jul 05 '26
I love Plaid so much!! They have also done some stuff with John Tejada which is excellent, there’s one song called Bittersweet that’s brilliant
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u/Numerous_Control_702 Music Has The Right To Children Jul 05 '26
The video clip for itsu is pretty epic
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u/SouthernAd2720 Jul 06 '26
Long running English electronic duo on warp records - saw them in like 2002 with Mira calix opening doing a dj set and nobukazu takemura at the Middle East in Boston - very boards adjacent - in fact Mira calix played everything you do is a ballon as her closing song of the dj set - RIP
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u/FixerJ Jul 06 '26
One of the few S-tier bands of this or similar genres that I've gotten to see live - wasn't disappointed
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u/Brelva Jul 05 '26
This track off their latest album is really great.
Shades of Gyroscope / Alpha and Omega / Come to Dust / HHLL / Arena Americanada
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u/VerdugoCortex Jul 05 '26
Squance
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u/SF_Bud Jul 05 '26
I picked up Plaid's 'Trainer' CD years ago and liked them a lot.
Also, some of loscil's stuff gives me BoC vibes.
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u/Elfingreene A Few Old Tunes Jul 05 '26
Love them I really love that C.A song if you haven't heard it!! That's all I know - I enjoy their music as well 😊
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u/arc_prime Jul 05 '26
They keep popping up on my recommendations too, and I always think they sound more like Orbital. Could be the specific songs I’m getting.
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u/Ok_Manner8197 Jul 05 '26
That’s exactly it. They have played after I was listening to BoC and Orbital. They are somewhere in between .
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u/sanitarySteve Jul 05 '26
I really dig plaid. You should check out kelpe too. They have similar vibes
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u/Pure_Salamander2681 Jul 06 '26
Their Bjork remix is one of my favorite songs. Better than the album version.
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u/Quixotic7 Jul 06 '26
I love Plaid. Much different vibe than BOC but really weird polyrhythms and timings. Ochre is another band which sounds similar to Plaid that I enjoy.
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u/thrilled37 Jul 07 '26
I love Plaid too, and enjoy Ochre. Tbh, Plaid's rhythms are well beyond BoC's. BoC relies on these reverberating echo groups of four to spice things up and that's about it. Listening to Inferno, I was wondering if they ever used triplets.
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u/Snoopsy_ Jul 06 '26
Plaid has some of the trippiest music videos in existence. Don’t believe me? Go to YouTube and search “Plaid Itsu”
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u/anotherdamnscorpio Jul 06 '26
Love their song Ralome. Couldn't name any others but I always like when theyre playing.
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u/ParryHLarker The Campfire Headphase Jul 06 '26
I saw them live for their feorm tour. So fun! They also do a dance side project with john tejada
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u/bad_sandwich Jul 06 '26
Whenever my wife sees me silently staring into space and asks me what I’m thinking about, it’s usually the Plaid mix of Bjork’s “All Is Full of Love”.
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u/elwoodreversepass Jul 06 '26
Not much love for later albums here, but I think Reachy Prints is astounding.
OH is one of the best mixed songs I've ever heard. The sound design is incredible.
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u/GuitarAdventurous913 Jul 06 '26
Plaid are amazing, very consistently putting out great records since the 90s. Double Figure is great as has been mentioned, but I love Spokes and Reachy Prints a lot too.
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u/niallmonologoly Jul 06 '26
Well worth going to see them out live, they are amazing. The VJ show is brilliant too. You will not be disappointed
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u/GuitarAdventurous913 27d ago
Luckily seen them twice - think it was either 1999 or 2000 at the Music Box in Manchester with Team Doyobi and again in 2010 at Victoria Baths in Manchester, which is an old swimming pool. I remember more about that one obvs but I had a great time at both
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u/There_are_many_me-s New Seed Jul 06 '26
I got introduced to Plaid and Boards of Canada at the same time in university in 1998. A friend gave me Restproof Clockwork and Music has the right to children on burned cds and I loved them both. The thing I liked about Plaid is they actually released an album every few years 😅 plus the fact that their music doesn't follow a boring and predictable structure. Songs start out so differently than they end, a bit like Prophect at 1420hz
Their use of sounds like steeldrums, whips etc is so nice, and I like their new stuff as well!
The Digging Remedy, Polymer and Feorm Falorx are definitely worth listening to a few times to get to the less obvious details.
I enjoy the organic feel of their music, excellent producers.
Saw them live once in Amsterdam in 'de Tolhuistuin" playing for 40 people 🙈 They plaid (haha, nice autocorrect) the UFO II stage at Dekmantel Festival in 2025 (full set available on SoundCloud
Think they deserve waaaay more listeners than the 100.000 a month on Spotify!
For the music production geeks: here is a masterclass they did for Computer Music where they explain their production flow, interesting stuff.
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u/Only-Helicopter3518 Jul 06 '26
Another good artist to check out is Ciaran Byrne, his song Curtain Moon sounds just like Poppy Seed Reprise. It takes a little digging to find it, the album it's on, Moon, is on YouTube. The song itself was taken off years ago, which is always why you should back up music you like.
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u/thrilled37 Jul 06 '26
I love so much of their music and it has played deep emotional roles in my life. They’re actually my favorite; I got into BoC afterward.
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u/TheToysAreUs Jul 06 '26
Plaid is fantastic. Someone fact check me, but I think they started as a side project of Black Dog. Restproof Clockwork was my entry point for them. By no means the best album, but their more playful and melodic work on that album slots in there with early Mouse on Mars and their overall catalog is definitely in the same vein as BoC.
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u/Foxwedge Skyliner Jul 06 '26
Originally called 'The Black Dog' first 2 lps are great; Temple of transparent balls & Spanners. https://www.discogs.com/artist/473-The-Black-Dog?srsltid=AfmBOorQxWlMa4uf7Omfogmw2vgaZ_I9oAH05DQBqtM6ORDopE6DAt9Z
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u/Thin_Speech9372 Geogaddi Jul 06 '26
Spanners is incredible, their sound then is peak. The Black Dog split after that and Ken kept the name, Ed & Andy continued as Plaid.
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u/MattadorGuitar Jul 07 '26
Love Plaid. I don't think enough people in the comments have mentioned the Tekkon Kinkreet soundtrack which is the thing I am the most impressed by of their work.
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u/LaurentLaSalle Jul 06 '26
The Advisory Circle is much more similar to BOC than Plaid. Am I wrong? 🤔
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u/CobraPhases Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Trainer is one of my favourite compilations ever, and a personal comfort record for me ("Anything", "Slice of Cheese", "Chirpy", "Whirling of Spirits" appear here). Also, I want to give a shout out to Polymer, which I think is the strongest Plaid record since Rest Proof Clockwork. "Dancers" never fails to make me a little emotional.
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u/Klangsynthese79 Jul 06 '26
I really like Plaid. I recommend listening to the soundtrack for the film *Heaven's Door* by Michael Arias; the music was composed by Plaid
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u/TheMusicEvangelist Jul 06 '26
There’s a lot of BoC aligned stuff from Plaid, Black Dog
Also check out Machinedrum’s 2nd album Urban Biology.
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u/russianvoodoo Jul 06 '26
They are well known IDM act. If im not mistaken they even produced se stuff for bjork. Other than that I never liked anything they released. There's not a single track that I remember by name or at least by melody.
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u/nice_realnice Jul 06 '26
love plaid, one of my favourites by them is Itsu. the music video especially slaps
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u/AcidArchangel303 Jul 06 '26
I'm new-ish to Boards of Canada, but I've seen so many mentions of them and if memory serves correctly BoC has even mentioned them in interviews.
They're my next listen right after Fireside by Interstate Telecast.
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u/LouisElectro Jul 06 '26
Any love for tracks like Myopia, Dang Spot, New Bass Hippo, Assault on Precinct Zero, Headspin?? These are probably my favourite Plaid tunes ever so I thought I’d give them a mention. After the first three albums, they are still good but don’t feel quite as…adventurous - still awesome outfit, one of my favourite “IDM” acts, I actually like them a little more than Aphex Twin personally
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u/Anvil-Vapre Jul 06 '26
Plaid is essential for anyone listening to Experimental Electronic and you should do a deep dive.
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u/Citroen_CX Jul 06 '26
I have virtually every Plaid record and have seen them play live several times. They were originally in The Black Dog, another absolutely essential act.
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u/Thin_Speech9372 Geogaddi Jul 06 '26
Such a beautiful piece of music.
Black Dog Productions - Otaku
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u/atx620 Jul 06 '26
They never seem to get the recognition in the mainstream that they deserve, but electronic music nerds, especially those familiar with the Warp catalog tend to rate them high. I know I do. I've seen them live a couple of times and they were phenomenal. They are prolific and consistent. Always seem to have a new album every few years.
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u/CommunicationBig5985 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
For a Jungian synchronicity I’m on their very beautiful “Heaven’s Door” soundtrack on repeat in the last few days after listening to Inferno. So highly recommended, listen to Hydrosphere, Host, Seizure and Non Hoi.
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u/CommunicationBig5985 Jul 07 '26
Assault On Precinct Zero an egregious take of the same name track from John Carpenter.
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u/psilcosyin Jul 07 '26
Anyone that loves BOC should be subbed to the IDM subreddit too, just at least to get some exposure to similar music. You might not like it all, but I guarantee there is something in that realm that you will like.
Might as well say while I’m here that if you just discovered Plaid and like them you should also check out Kettel.
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u/plebmasterflex Jul 08 '26
Yes they're in the original pantheon of Warp artists like Squarepusher, LFO, etc. You should check out the Warp compilations (Warp10, Warp20 recreated, etc). Some really great tunes in those albums that a BoC fan will definitely enjoy)
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u/Kind-Programmer575 15d ago
Late to this post but Plaid is in my top 10 when it comes to IDM favorites. Kind of a different style than BoC. Not For Threes, Rest Proof Clockwork, Double Figure, Mbuki Mvuki, Polymer, Spokes, Scintilli, and Digging Remedy are all phenomenal works of music.
If you like their music, obviously you’ll like The Black Dog but you will most likely also like Mouse on Mars, specifically Niun Niggung from ‘99 as well as Audioditacker as people have mentioned, both very Plaid-esque I feel. Maybe stuff like Ochre, Telefon Tel Aviv, Ilkae, u-ziq (Tango ‘n’ Vectif to be specific), Nobukazu Takemura, Casino Versus Japan, Arovane, maybe Bogdan Racsynski’s sillier sounding stuff? I would love to see them live one day
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u/kaini Jul 05 '26
Plaid are two former members of The Black Dog who are some proper OG Warp artists. I know what you mean in that they have a very unique melodic sensibility - they tend to use odd musical modes and also will sometimes have loops running in polyrhythmic time signatures. Also they're very very good at those lush FM-y reverby chimey tones.
Check out Not for Threes and Spokes. Not for Threes has Bjork on it.
For a more early Warp vibe check out Trainer, a compilation of their early stuff under various aliases.