Boards of Canada Return with Inferno After 13-Year Gap, Prompting Global Listening Sessions and a Viral VHS Campaign
Boards of Canada, the Scottish electronic duo of brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin, broke a 13‑year silence with the release of their fifth studio album, Inferno, on 29 May 2026. Recorded at Hexagon Sun studio in Pentland Hills, the album arrives 13 years after Tomorrow’s Harvest and marks the longest interval between releases in the duo’s career.
The promotional rollout began in April, when Warp Records sent unlabeled VHS cassettes to fans worldwide and dropped posters in cities such as London, New York, and Tokyo. On 22 April the duo posted a video titled “Tape 05” on YouTube, teasing the track that would later be named “Deep Time.” A week later, Warp announced the release date and issued the lead single, “Introit / Prophecy at 1420 MHz,” accompanied by a music video directed by Robert Beatty.
Between 25 and 30 May, Warp organized curated listening sessions in London, New York, Tokyo, Berlin, Paris, São Paulo, and Melbourne. The events were not live performances; the duo had not performed publicly since 2001. Instead, each venue played the album in its entirety, following the original track order:
1. Introit 2. Prophecy At 1420 MHz 3. Hydrogen Helium Lithium Leviathan 4. Age Of Capricorn 5. Father And Son 6. Somewhere Right Now In The Future 7. Naraka 8. Acts Of Magic 9. Memory Death 10. The Word Becomes Flesh 11. Into The Magic Land 12. Blood In The Labyrinth 13. Deep Time 14. All Reason Departs 15. Arena Americanada 16. The Process 17. You Retreat In Time And Space 18. I Saw Through Platonia
Musically, Inferno blends ambient textures, IDM rhythms, and hauntology motifs, layering guitars, live drums, synthesizers, and sampled vocal snippets. Critics noted the work’s spiritual and occult allusions, while some reviewers described portions of the music as “dull.”
During the same week, the White House incorporated elements of Inferno’s aesthetic into a political messaging campaign. Warp publicly condemned the use, stating that the duo had no affiliation with the project.
Commercially, Inferno entered the top ten of several national charts, including the UK Albums Chart, the US Billboard 200, and the German Media Control Charts. Streaming platforms reported strong first‑week activity, with the album appearing in Spotify’s Global Top 50 and Apple Music’s Top 100.
The release also attracted attention from the music‑analysis community. The YouTube channel iximusic, known for its in‑depth theory coverage of electronic music, posted a live‑listening review of Inferno on 30 May. The video, which has nearly 100 000 subscribers, includes timestamps for each track, allowing viewers to follow the album’s progression in real time.
Inferno is available on CD, vinyl (including a limited deluxe edition on transparent red vinyl), and digital download. Warp has also released a series of merchandise items tied to the album’s themes.
The album’s release and the accompanying events underscore Boards of Canada’s continued influence on IDM and ambient music, while highlighting the duo’s unique promotional strategies and the enduring interest in their cryptic output.
