Boards of Canada

This Scottish duo came to the surface on the influential Skam label in 1996. Their ability to combine loping, Trip-Hop beats with modulated, warm, muted electronics was immediately apparent. This earlier EP showed a heavy debt to Electro while laying down the specifics for the themes that they would pursue on their debut record, Music Has the Right to Children. Released in '98, the record was a bright light in the haze of electronic music that year, marked by stripped-down warm tones, handclaps, random vocal samples and melodies which seemed childlike (but these children were playing on a much colder, enshrouded playground). Their slow motion Funk has also been captured on a recent Peel Sessions release.