Add Boards of Canada to the long, long list of artists who are not interested in being part of the Trump administration’s propaganda machine. On Thursday (May 28), the elusive Scottish electronic duo and their label, Warp Records, issued a joint statement lashing out at the American administration for using the group’s music in a strange new promo video.
The song “Deep Time,” from the pair’s first new album in 13 years, Inferno, which was released on Friday (May 29), is the eerie, wordless soundtrack to haunting, glitchy clip uploaded by the White House featuring ghostly image of a tattered, waving American flag, the presidential seal and Marine One helicopter, a border patrol boat and what appears to be a detention center.
The administration offered no context for the 15-second clip, whose only caption was the shifty eyes emoji. It is the latest in a daily deluge of social media posts from the White House attempting to go viral through the use of contemporary music, almost always, it seems, without the consent of the artist who created the soundtrack.
In this case, in addition to glomming onto Boards of Canada’s music, the clip also appeared to copy their staticky, glitchy VHS tape visual aesthetic, which caused some commenters to lash out and demand the duo take action. “File a copyright claim,” wrote one, with another imploring, “@boardsofcanada please sue them into oblivion, jfc,” and a third simply asking, “What the f–k.”
In a statement to Billboard on Friday morning, a spokesperson for Warp Records said that neither the label nor the band — comprised of brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin — “condone the unauthorised use of their music for political messaging.” At press time, a spokesperson for White House had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on the video.
BOC are just the latest act to push back on the administration for using their music in hype videos or at political rallies without authorization, joining a very lengthy roster that includes The White Stripes and Eddy Grant, Sabrina Carpenter, Celine Dion, Foo Fighters, Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo, Pharrell, Rihanna, Rolling Stones and many more.
