Synopsis
A surreal collage of degraded educational-film imagery unfolds against Boards of Canada's ominous electronic track. Children wearing unsettling monkey masks ride bicycles through suburban streets, turning familiar safety-film imagery into something nightmarish and uncanny. The footage is edited into a hypnotic visual loop, with cheerful environments and awkward gestures taking on an increasingly sinister quality as the music grows darker. Its contrast between childhood innocence, analog decay, and existential unease closely matches the atmosphere associated with Boards of Canada's work.
Factoids & Trivia
- The widely circulated video is a fan-made production rather than an official Boards of Canada release.
- The clip was uploaded to YouTube in June 2013, shortly after the release of *Tomorrow's Harvest*.
- The imagery is drawn from vintage educational and bicycle-safety film footage, including children wearing grotesque monkey masks.
- The video's creator described it as a fan music video and encouraged viewers to support the band by purchasing the music.
- Another unofficial version, credited to Juani Dominguez, also uses free archival film footage from the Internet Archive.
- "Nothing Is Real" appears on *Tomorrow's Harvest*, which was released in June 2013. The track runs for approximately 3 minutes and 52 seconds.
- The use of faded film stock, awkward instructional imagery, and analog visual degradation reinforces the track's uneasy blend of nostalgia and dread.