Boards of Canada have joined a growing list of artists publicly condemning the Trump administration for using their music without permission. The elusive Scottish electronic duo and their label Warp Records issued a joint statement on Friday after the White House uploaded a social media video featuring the band’s new song as an unauthorised soundtrack to what can only be described as a deeply strange piece of political content.
The song in question is Deep Time, taken from Inferno — Boards of Canada’s first album in 13 years, released on Friday May 29th. The White House posted a 15-second clip featuring ghostly, glitchy imagery of a tattered waving American flag, the presidential seal, a Marine One helicopter, a border patrol boat, and what appears to be a detention centre. The only caption was a shifty eyes emoji. No context was offered. No permission had been sought.
The administration did not just borrow the music. The visual style of the clip — staticky, degraded, VHS tape-style distortion — appeared to deliberately mimic Boards of Canada’s own signature aesthetic, which prompted immediate and furious responses from fans in the comments. “File a copyright claim,” wrote one. Another pleaded with the band to “sue them into oblivion.” A third simply asked what was happening.
A spokesperson for Warp Records confirmed to press on Friday morning 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.” The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Boards of Canada are far from alone. The Trump administration has developed a pattern of attaching contemporary music to its social media content — almost always, it appears, without the consent of the artists involved. The roster of those who have pushed back is long and spans virtually every genre: The White Stripes, Eddy Grant, Sabrina Carpenter, Celine Dion, Foo Fighters, Neil Young, Olivia Rodrigo, Pharrell, Rihanna, the Rolling Stones, and many more have all objected to their music being used for political purposes without authorisation.
The timing makes the situation particularly galling for the band. Inferno is their first new album since 2013 — a 13-year gap that made its release one of the most anticipated events in electronic music this year. Having that release immediately overshadowed by an unauthorised White House video is not the kind of attention any artist wants on launch day.
Whether Warp Records pursues legal action over the copyright infringement remains to be seen. The statement issued Friday stops short of announcing any specific next steps — but the language is unambiguous about where the band stands.
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