What makes Boards of Canada tick?
- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 25852 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
I remember when Music Has The Right To Children hit the record shop shelves in 1998. I thought, who are these upstarts?
By the time of the release of A Beautiful Place Out in the Country, my preconception had luckily subsided so much that I listened to it, and it blew my mind. Now the BOC sound is almost like a religion to me
But what is it that makes it what it is, breaking it down:
-The drums, heavy, but more trip hop than IDM
-Main motives/riffs can be very simple, like the Beach at Redpoint (H, H A), still appear complex and rich
-Clever usage of film/tv samples, to create atmosphere
-Heavy use of chorus
By the time of the release of A Beautiful Place Out in the Country, my preconception had luckily subsided so much that I listened to it, and it blew my mind. Now the BOC sound is almost like a religion to me
But what is it that makes it what it is, breaking it down:
-The drums, heavy, but more trip hop than IDM
-Main motives/riffs can be very simple, like the Beach at Redpoint (H, H A), still appear complex and rich
-Clever usage of film/tv samples, to create atmosphere
-Heavy use of chorus
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- KVRAF
- 3983 posts since 20 Feb, 2004
Wow & flutter, distortion, etc.; anything that makes things sounds like they were run through old gear and recorded to tape which sat in an attic for years...
A well-behaved signature.
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thecontrolcentre thecontrolcentre https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=76240
- KVRAF
- 35171 posts since 27 Jul, 2005 from the wilds of wanny
Hardware. Acoustic instruments. Resampled and run through fx. Real playing.
- KVRAF
- 3187 posts since 31 Dec, 2004 from People's Republic of Minnesota
Sh-101 and PBS documentary audio from the 70s.
- KVRAF
- 4818 posts since 25 Jan, 2014 from The End of The World as We Knowit
Musicianship: simple melodies and a basic song structure; the sounds are actually played (unlike EDM repetition); all is on tempo and pitch-- even the modulation-- which creates nice harmonies; it is mixed to maintain listener interest. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they started with the availability of free, public-domain video!
s a v e
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- KVRian
- 541 posts since 15 Jun, 2011 from Betwixt or between
Don't forget the ability to blur the line between nostalgia and alienation. I was just thinking the other day- there's almost as much time between now and BoC's first releases, as there was time between those first releases, and the era that music was evoking...
Music can no longer soothe the worried thoughts of monarchs; it can only tell you when it's time to buy margarine or copulate. -xoxos
Discontinue use if rash or irritation develops.
Discontinue use if rash or irritation develops.
- KVRAF
- 4818 posts since 25 Jan, 2014 from The End of The World as We Knowit
... and they 'blur the line between nostalgia and alienation' with the slow tempo, groove, key and chord progression, yesno? I also see some BOC sheet music and chords online.
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- KVRAF
- 4290 posts since 31 Oct, 2004
One thing that helps understand the BOC music is to analyze their chord progressions and play with them:
https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/vi ... da/roygbiv
https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/vi ... -and-omega
http://twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=102521
Also, you can have a look at their source of inspiration:
http://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2013/09/23/musi ... ren-sound/
As for the production techniques themselves; slight pitch detuning, rich chorus, tape echo, tape simulation, flanger/phaser at a very slow rate, a bit of subtle reverb.
https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/vi ... da/roygbiv
https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/vi ... -and-omega
http://twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=102521
Also, you can have a look at their source of inspiration:
http://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2013/09/23/musi ... ren-sound/
As for the production techniques themselves; slight pitch detuning, rich chorus, tape echo, tape simulation, flanger/phaser at a very slow rate, a bit of subtle reverb.
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- KVRian
- 513 posts since 26 Nov, 2009
Lower the pitch (20-30 cents) of your instruments for more "relaxed sound".
- KVRAF
- 5678 posts since 25 Dec, 2004
for somebody who has avoided this act, what can people recommend to me as their best tracks?
sketches... http://soundcloud.com/onesnzeros
some artists i support... https://bandcamp.com/spectraselecta
some artists i support... https://bandcamp.com/spectraselecta
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- KVRAF
- 7540 posts since 7 Aug, 2003 from San Francisco Bay Area
Crunchy drums
Desolate, melancholy melodies
Occasional dialogue samples
The sound of tape
Keep in mind that they are not "simulating" their tape effects. They actually do record to real tape to get that sound. Or at least they did on the first albums... no idea what their current production workflow looks like.
I have a particularly strong affinity for their influences. In the 1980's, I used to go to a lot of animation festivals, and I quickly noticed the best shorts were always "Produced with a grant from the Film Board of Canada". Those poetic, evocative animations and the abstract soundtracks to them were a huge source of inspiration to me. I've also been going to a couple of local film festivals for the better part of 30 years now which celebrate the history of low budget b-movies and educational and industrial 16mm films from decades past. Combined with my memories of growing up in the 70's and 80's with after school specials and that sort of thing, and that is pretty much the formula for BoC. I suppose they also have a bit more hiphop influence than I ever did, but that seems like a fairly minor component in most of their output.
Desolate, melancholy melodies
Occasional dialogue samples
The sound of tape
Keep in mind that they are not "simulating" their tape effects. They actually do record to real tape to get that sound. Or at least they did on the first albums... no idea what their current production workflow looks like.
I have a particularly strong affinity for their influences. In the 1980's, I used to go to a lot of animation festivals, and I quickly noticed the best shorts were always "Produced with a grant from the Film Board of Canada". Those poetic, evocative animations and the abstract soundtracks to them were a huge source of inspiration to me. I've also been going to a couple of local film festivals for the better part of 30 years now which celebrate the history of low budget b-movies and educational and industrial 16mm films from decades past. Combined with my memories of growing up in the 70's and 80's with after school specials and that sort of thing, and that is pretty much the formula for BoC. I suppose they also have a bit more hiphop influence than I ever did, but that seems like a fairly minor component in most of their output.
Incomplete list of my gear: 1/8" audio input jack.
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Winstontaneous Winstontaneous https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=98336
- KVRAF
- 2351 posts since 15 Feb, 2006 from Berkeley, CA
Dayvan Cowboysqigls wrote:for somebody who has avoided this act, what can people recommend to me as their best tracks?
New Seeds
Music is Math
The Devil is in the Details
Twoism
- KVRAF
- 8181 posts since 22 Sep, 2008 from Windsor. UK
- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 25852 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
How do you know that, why do they only release albums every 5 years if they aren't spending all their time on darknet or Gearslutz all daytehlord wrote:Less time on forums than you.
Well, they are two and I am only one. I could have had as many posts on Gearslutz as well, if I were twoMore talent than you.
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- KVRAF
- 2625 posts since 2 Jun, 2016
Nature, human wistfulness, subtextual themes of escape and darkness.