Deeparshi Roy released Dream Sequence on January 1st 2025; one of the first records we reviewed this year. You can read our review here.

Deeparshi is a member of Sitar Metal; the World’s first & only Sitar fronted Indian Classical Metal band. Dream Sequence is his first solo album and one that sees him exploring otherworldly plains through his music. Pulling on a selection of influences in his music, Deeparshi has taken the time to share his love of Boards Of Canada for our Why I Love column.

A UNIQUE ABILITY

I discovered Boards of Canada three years ago and my life has never been the same again. Their music holds a very special place in my soul. What stands out most about Boards Of Canada is their unique ability to evoke a deep sense of nostalgia, something I’ve never felt with any other music before. There’s something in the frequencies they create that transports me back to my childhood, visualizing vivid, forgotten memories from the past. They have this hypnotic way of blending warmth and mystery, creating a soundscape that feels both timeless and incredibly intimate.

Boards Of Canada is an electronic duo consisting of the brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin. Although they have their legacy imprinted as one of the pioneers of electronic music for a long time, it was rather quite an eye-opening experience when I finally discovered them on a chilly December night in 2021. It always felt like Boards Of Canada found me before I found them.

OLSON

I was shuffling through some random IDM tunes on my Spotify until I stumbled upon their song Olson. The warm synth chords with the beautifully soulful melodies hit me like a rush of warm air on that chilly winter night. I remember playing the song in a loop for at least 10 times before I finally went to their catalogue and listened to the album that song was from.

Music Has The Right To Children is, to date, one of the most influential records in my life. I still think of that night; literally experiencing a strong sense of euphoria while spinning the entire record. It was such a wonderful experience. The next six months were something that I describe as my worshiping Boards Of Canada era. I am someone who prefers to dive deep into an artist’s discography before listening to or wanting to discover any new music. I did the same here, and it still gives me chills remembering those amazing nights I would spend spinning one record after the other experiencing Boards Of Canada in their true element. 

FAVOURITES

It’s very difficult to point out a specific favourite album from the discography of Boards Of Canada. Instead, I prefer to view each of their works as a separate entity which evokes a completely different set of emotions while maintaining the signature Boards Of Canada aura. For me, Music Has The Right To Children is like a childlike innocence while Geogaddi is like the shadow that lured behind that innocence.

The Campfire Headphase leans more towards warmth and melancholy. It embraces a more natural and organic texture which I love so much. The tracks Dayvan Cowboy, Tears From the Compound Eye, Peacock Tail and Constants Are Changing from The Campfire Headphase are my personal favourites and perfectly showcase the quieter, more reflective side of the album.

GEOGADDI

My current Boards Of Canada listening phase is taking me through the depths of their record Geogaddi. Geogaddi is, in my opinion, their most cryptic and mystical work so far. Geogaddi is a very mesmerizing and enigmatic album.

Released in 2002, Geogaddi deepens the bands exploration into the realms of nostalgia, memory and abstracts while exploring further into darker, more cryptic territories. The tracks Over The Horizon Radar, Corsair and In The Annexe are my personal favourites from the record.

Boards Of Canada have always played with the idea of lost time and hidden memories and this record is no exception. Geogaddi’s sound often feels like you’re wandering through a forgotten landscape, somewhere between a dream and a distant memory. The cryptic undertones of the album can also be seen on the brilliant album cover. The more I stare at it, the more new details I keep discovering and that’s one of the many aspects that make BoC truly ahead of their time.

TOMORROW’S HARVEST

Their latest album, Tomorrow’s Harvest, explores a more dystopian and darker moods. Consisting of complex, glitchy beats, ambient synths, and field recordings of nature and layers of static and distant noises, this album truly takes me on a journey to a post-apocalyptic environment and leaves a lasting effect on me. The tracks Sundown and Cold Earth are my favourites from this album.

The best part of Boards Of Canada’s music is that you never run out of it! I keep discovering some obscure tracks on YouTube which always keeps the surprise element alive, even today. One such hidden gem discovery I made was of their ambient piece Echus, which is definitely in my top 3 Boards Of Canada tracks of all time. This song really hits me in the soul with its minimal instrumentation and choice of soothing tones that teleports me to a whole new dimension.

ANONYMITY

With some in-depth research on the duo, I discovered that Boards of Canada actually thrive by leading a rural life in the Scottish countryside. But since they stay away from the hustle and bustle of big cities, rarely give interviews, and basically hardly ever played live. Very little is known about their live performances and the thought process they have behind the music they make. This is something I truly love about them and this mysticism about them adds to the entire magical experience Boards Of Canada offers.

Being a musician myself, I completely agree and respect their decision to stay anonymous because I feel giving away too much about one’s creative process/life, waters down the general experience for the listener. It is my dream to meet the brothers once and let them know about the profound impact their music has had on me.

A QUIET MOMENT

It might sound a bit strange, but I don’t wish to see them perform live or hear their thoughts on the music. For me, the greatest Boards Of Canada concert takes place inside my head and I do not look forward to changing it anytime soon. Instead, I’d love to just have a conversation with them on literally anything and enjoy a quiet moment together over a cup of coffee.

Boards Of Canada not only evokes nostalgia, but also floods me with memories hitting me on a subconscious level. I believe that the ability to do this is what makes nostalgia one of the most profound human emotions. Nostalgia touches everyone, without exception, because we all experienced childhood. In the midst of the stresses and responsibilities of adult life, it’s important to remember that. We’re still the same child we were in those old polaroid photos, even if we sometimes feel like a completely different person. The child is very much alive and artists like Boards Of Canada do their best to take me to that place in time where I can meet him again. Their music reminds me of the good old times and also prepares me for the realities of adulthood.

The past inside the present.

Our thanks go to Deeparshi Roy for this wonderfully evocative piece about Boards Of Canada. If you would like to check out more of Deeparshi Roy’s music, you can listen to/order Dream Sequence on his Bandcamp page, here.

Check out In Nothingness, from Dream Sequence, below.

Deeparshi Roy: Bandcamp / Facebook / Instagram

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