Geogaddi is the second studio album by Scottish electronic music duo Boards of Canada, released on 18 February 2002 by Warp Records. The album marks a darker sound from the group's debut album Music Has the Right to Children (1998). Characterized by heavily manipulated samples, analog textures and extensive use of subliminal messaging and backmasking, Geogaddi has been noted for its cryptic and mysterious sound design. The album's themes draw on numerology, paganism, the occult and religious cults. The album was recorded between 1999 and 2001 at the group's Hexagon Sun studio in the Pentland Hills. Upon release, Geogaddi received widespread critical acclaim and was ranked among the best albums of 2002 by several publications. It has retrospectively been recognized as a defining work of intelligent dance music, with Pitchfork naming it the fifth-best album of the genre in 2017.
Background and composition
thumb|The album was recorded from 1999 to 2001 at Hexagon Sun, their Pentland Hills (pictured) studio.|left
Geogaddi is a psychedelic electronic album that has been categorized as IDM, downtempo, and hauntology, radically departing from the calmer and more subdued style of the duo's previous album, Music Has the Right to Children. Compared with their previous releases, Boards of Canada aimed to create a "huge psychedelic behemoth" with Geogaddi, containing "more facets, more detail and a kind of concentrated recipe of chaotic little melodies", as well as a "more fuzzy and organic" sound with vocals and flutes. ultimately choosing 22 based on how well they fit the intended atmosphere of the album.
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." 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". 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."
Release
Warp did not distribute promotional copies for Geogaddi to music journalists, and instead—based on a concept the brothers had described—hosted two album listening events in churches. and by Warp Records on 18 February 2002 in Europe. Japanese releases produced by Beat Records contain a bonus track titled "From One Source All Things Depend".
Reception
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". Kitty Empire of NME named it "the electronic album of the year." NME, Uncut and The Wire. In 2017, Pitchfork placed Geogaddi at number five on its list of "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time". It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.