Look out a BoC thread to appear..........myths and facts

Post by **wiss** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:37 pm

ok....I was reading a article about them from the WIRE. It sold out before I could get a copy from the local rag shop and I finally back ordered it. Along with a few other that I missed in the last 3 years of so.

ok.....

1. They use real drums
2. They also use an analog drum machine
3. They own over 200 instruments
4. They own a sampler that has some kind of time stretch and they use this time stretch in a lot of pre and post production
5. They are from scotland moved to canada as kids and both moved back to scotland. (kevin shields family did this as well but they lived Ireland/brooklyn/Ireland)

outside of that the article didnt say much but they like the myths about them and have no desire to "set the record" straight. They dislike the myth that their music comes out they way it does becuase they live on the outskirts

I know this didnt add anything but I found it amusing all the same.

brian.only · Post by **brian.only** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:11 am

I liked the more acoustic sound of the latest offering, but I ended liking the Nosdam remix more than the rest of the EP.

Brave to post a BoC thread as it kinda taboo here.
8)

ThinkTanx · Post by **ThinkTanx** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:58 am

This is in the latest Wire Magazine? Had a subscription for years but finally let it lapse a couple of years ago. What a fantastic rag! Unparalleled, imo.

I'll have to scour around and see if I can find this one. Sounds like a great article.

neandrewthal · Post by **neandrewthal** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:08 am

Random person: Their signature sound comes from running everything thru old Reel to Reels

Jugel: Any 70's monosynth will get you close enough

Random person 2: OUTBOARD, OUTBOARD, OUTBOARD!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry........... anyway, thanks for the info. I appreciate any clues to unlocking the BOC mystery.

ThinkTanx · Post by **ThinkTanx** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:44 am

If one wants to utilize some of their techniques, I think that is a worthwhile endeavour.

Any kind of overall emulation of their sound is very, very boring imo. It is just too synonymous with BoC. There are even other artists who do it quite well (I won't name names), but when I listen to the emulators, all I can really think of is 'bad BoC ripoff' (even when the music is not half bad). That aesthetic is just too closely aligned with BoC.

hageir · Post by **hageir** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 2:01 pm

supposedly their studio

doubt it though..

Suburban Bather · Post by **Suburban Bather** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:29 am

Remix mag interviewed them and they discussed how they get their sound. Basically its lots of analog post processing via re-amping, eq, compression, various analog fx, and recording to tape. So, in BOC's case its not really the source material(synth, drum machine, or sample), its what they do with what they have recorded.

Who ever says its dumb to mimic BOC's sound is stupid. As long as the composition is your own, then who cares if it sounds like BOC. The BOC sound is perfect for chilling, plus Dub Reggae and Trip Hop was doing the smoky/lo-fi sound years before BOC anyways, so WTF!!!!!

Altitude · Post by **Altitude** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:40 am

um, is this a Blue Oyster Club thread?

Suburban Bather · Post by **Suburban Bather** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:46 am

Altitude wrote:um, is this a Blue Oyster Club thread?

Only if the cowbell is processed through analog gear, plus the high end of the cowbell has to be rolled off for extra phatness

ThinkTanx · Post by **ThinkTanx** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:53 am

Suburban Bather wrote:Who ever says its dumb to mimic BOC's sound is stupid. As long as the composition is your own, then who cares if it sounds like BOC. The BOC sound is perfect for chilling, plus Dub Reggae and Trip Hop was doing the smoky/lo-fi sound years before BOC anyways, so WTF!!!!!

Wow, that was a little hard, don't ya think?

That was me who made the comment. I didn't say it was 'dumb', I said it was 'boring' and, as any out and out imitation is, unoriginal. That is a turnoff to me. If you dig it, so be it.

And as I said in my original post, I'm not talking about using some of the same techniques, or creating a lo-fi sound. I was referring to the raft of artists who have completely imitated BoC's compositional practices, aesthetics, sound design, etc. There seem to be a large number of artists out there whom I hear and immediately think 'Boards of Canada'. That is off-putting to me, especially since most of the imitators fall well short of the original. That opinion certainly doesn't make me 'stupid' (what is this... third grade?).

Suburban Bather · Post by **Suburban Bather** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:47 am

ThinkTanx wrote:
Suburban Bather wrote:Who ever says its dumb to mimic BOC's sound is stupid. As long as the composition is your own, then who cares if it sounds like BOC. The BOC sound is perfect for chilling, plus Dub Reggae and Trip Hop was doing the smoky/lo-fi sound years before BOC anyways, so WTF!!!!!
Wow, that was a little hard, don't ya think?

That was me who made the comment. I didn't say it was 'dumb', I said it was 'boring' and, as any out and out imitation is, unoriginal. That is a turnoff to me. If you dig it, so be it.

And as I said in my original post, I'm not talking about using some of the same techniques, or creating a lo-fi sound. I was referring to the raft of artists who have completely imitated BoC's compositional practices, aesthetics, sound design, etc. There seem to be a large number of artists out there whom I hear and immediately think 'Boards of Canada'. That is off-putting to me, especially since most of the imitators fall well short of the original. That opinion certainly doesn't make me 'stupid' (what is this... third grade?).

OK, I must have come off with a little too broad of a statement and I did not mean any harshness towards you, ThinkTanx. To me BOC seems like an instrumental and more minimal approach to Trip/Hip-hop. Of course, both genres incorporate lo-fi qualities into their sound and the beats are often very similar sounding.

I really feel that BOC perfected that hazy lo-fi sound that just happens to go oh so well with hip-hop beats. Hip-hop has been around for so long that it makes sense to hear people complain that any artist that came after BOC to complain about copying another artists sound. While the truth is that there are many artistst before BOC that have similar ideas but never quite nailed it like BOC. To me the only REAL uniqueness BOC has is there childlike atmospheres of samples and synth tones. Other than that, minimal approaches and lo-fi approaches to genres are not ground breaking pre-BOC.

In a nutshell to this entire thread, I LOVE BOC, but I also understand the frustration, other artists that try to capitalize on the ENTIRE BOC ideal. Kinda like how Faith No More spawned rap-metal(RATM, Korn, Limp Bizkit, etc...)

BOC are f**k fantastic!!!!!!!!!!! Long live purposely noisy and lo-fi music whether its rock, rap, or techno(of any sub-million genre)

ThinkTanx · Post by **ThinkTanx** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:12 am

Suburban Bather wrote:
ThinkTanx wrote:
Suburban Bather wrote:Who ever says its dumb to mimic BOC's sound is stupid. As long as the composition is your own, then who cares if it sounds like BOC. The BOC sound is perfect for chilling, plus Dub Reggae and Trip Hop was doing the smoky/lo-fi sound years before BOC anyways, so WTF!!!!!
Wow, that was a little hard, don't ya think?

That was me who made the comment. I didn't say it was 'dumb', I said it was 'boring' and, as any out and out imitation is, unoriginal. That is a turnoff to me. If you dig it, so be it.

And as I said in my original post, I'm not talking about using some of the same techniques, or creating a lo-fi sound. I was referring to the raft of artists who have completely imitated BoC's compositional practices, aesthetics, sound design, etc. There seem to be a large number of artists out there whom I hear and immediately think 'Boards of Canada'. That is off-putting to me, especially since most of the imitators fall well short of the original. That opinion certainly doesn't make me 'stupid' (what is this... third grade?).
OK, I must have come off with a little too broad of a statement and I did not mean any harshness towards you, ThinkTanx. To me BOC seems like an instrumental and more minimal approach to Trip/Hip-hop. Of course, both genres incorporate lo-fi qualities into their sound and the beats are often very similar sounding.

I really feel that BOC perfected that hazy lo-fi sound that just happens to go oh so well with hip-hop beats. Hip-hop has been around for so long that it makes sense to hear people complain that any artist that came after BOC to complain about copying another artists sound. While the truth is that there are many artistst before BOC that have similar ideas but never quite nailed it like BOC. To me the only REAL uniqueness BOC has is there childlike atmospheres of samples and synth tones. Other than that, minimal approaches and lo-fi approaches to genres are not ground breaking pre-BOC.

In a nutshell to this entire thread, I LOVE BOC, but I also understand the frustration, other artists that try to capitalize on the ENTIRE BOC ideal. Kinda like how Faith No More spawned rap-metal(RATM, Korn, Limp Bizkit, etc...)

BOC are f**k fantastic!!!!!!!!!!! Long live purposely noisy and lo-fi music whether its rock, rap, or techno(of any sub-million genre)

I agree with every word.

JSRockit · Post by **JSRockit** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:46 pm

Suburban Bather wrote:Basically its lots of analog post processing via re-amping, eq, compression, various analog fx, and recording to tape. So, in BOC's case its not really the source material(synth, drum machine, or sample), its what they do with what they have recorded.

They do this well, but I'm pretty sure I'd still like their songs if they were done in a more traditional manner... they do write good instrumentals as well. None of the extra sauce would matter if the compositions sucked.

ThinkTanx · Post by **ThinkTanx** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:56 pm

JSRockit wrote:
Suburban Bather wrote:Basically its lots of analog post processing via re-amping, eq, compression, various analog fx, and recording to tape. So, in BOC's case its not really the source material(synth, drum machine, or sample), its what they do with what they have recorded.
They do this well, but I'm pretty sure I'd still like their songs if they were done in a more traditional manner... they do write good instrumentals as well. None of the extra sauce would matter if the compositions sucked.

Always. Always. Always.

clusterchord · Post by **clusterchord** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 4:34 am

Suburban Bather wrote: None of the extra sauce would matter if the compositions sucked.

so true, and so easy to forget doodling on infinite posibilities some instruments offer today.

otoh, sometimes, the specific sound and the very process of creating the "extra suace" can actually inspire one to a melody or harmonic solution that wouldnt get out otherwise.. its beautiful when that happens, and ive experienced it on instruments ive already been bored with, just by starting to use em in unorthodox way, that i wasnt prepared to think thru yet.. my mind had to let go of control.. my inspiration took off..

im rumlbing yes, but this was always an interesting subject for me. "good song/composition" and "good sound" can definiley interact with one another in a major way.