Enigmatic Scottish electronic icons Boards Of Canada have officially returned, announcing the release of Inferno – their first studio album in 13 years.
The familial duo – comprising brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin – announced the news today, revealing their fifth album will arrive via Warp Records on May 29th.
The 18-track record is their first since 2013’s Tomorrow’s Harvest, and comes following weeks of speculation as to whether the duo would be releasing new music.
Back in 2013, Tomorrow’s Harvest was promoted by way of an immersive campaign which saw a handful of rare vinyl records issued at independent record stores, with the discs containing coded messages that led to a promotional website for the album.
Though a series of reissues and remixes emerged in the years since, the elusive pair ignited speculation about a return in 2025 when the Tomorrow’s Harvest website was reported to now feature the words “nobody home...”
Earlier this month, however, fans of Boards Of Canada began receiving VHS tapes branded with the duo’s logo. The enigmatic footage was soon followed by a batch of promotional posters appearing in cities around the world, and last week, a track titled Tape 05 was uploaded to YouTube – their first piece of original music in 13 years.
It’s currently unclear as to whether Tape 05 will feature on the forthcoming Inferno album, or whether it will remain a standalone preview.
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Boards Of Canada first began making music in the mid '80s, with the pair utilising vintage synthesisers and analogue equipment to craft a prolific catalogue of music alongside a revolving cast of collaborators.
While much of these early creations were distributed to family and friends, a pair of official EP releases in 1995 and 1996 gave way to the release of 1998’s Music Has The Right To Children, a warmly-nostalgic piece of electronica which has seen been considered one of the genre’s most beloved albums.
The pair further retreated from the public eye during this time, playing their last live show in 2001. They returned with new music in 2002 with Geogaddi, following things up again with 2005's The Campfire Headphase before an eight-year wait gave rise to the critically-acclaimed Tomorrow's Harvest in 2013.
Boards Of Canada’s Inferno is available for pre-order now.
