A Boards theory,

lurkingrecords · Post by **lurkingrecords** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 8:16 pm

Rodheh wrote:
krs wrote:I thought TCH was brilliant, never understood why some people thought it was a 'step down' from what they'd done before.

This clip pretty much explains it: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/38909028/a.mp3

There's just a serious contrast in sound density, ambiguity, layering, etc. Personally, my opinion on it is pretty basic, Geogaddi feels immensely stimulating to me and requires my full attention to its detail, while The Campfire Headphase feels more like relaxed background to your life music. I'll completely respect the opinion of someone who prefers TCH or thinks it's brilliant. This mainly is the reason why it's seen as a step down by many though.

I agree with the extreme contrast in sound density, etc., and you picked great A/B examples....but that leads me to believe that it was an intentional artistic choice on their part (if you base it from their interviews). Geogaddi was a psychedelic album....so they made it sound that way. TCH was probably not supposed to be psychedelic-sounding.

krs · Post by **krs** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 8:23 pm

See, I don't understand that either... TCH sounds really psychedelic to me.

lurkingrecords · Post by **lurkingrecords** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 8:30 pm

krs wrote:See, I don't understand that either... TCH sounds really psychedelic to me.

Understandable because it still is to a degree (it's BoC how can it not be), but I meant in comparison with Geogaddi?

And don't think that I'm hating on TCH, that is definitely not the case!!

Bryan · Post by **Bryan** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:59 pm

This is one of those times where I wonder if someone is listening to completely different music than I am.

cbm · Post by **cbm** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 11:34 pm

krs wrote:I thought TCH was brilliant, never understood why some people thought it was a 'step down' from what they'd done before.

I think people thought it was a step down from previous albums because pitchfork gave it a mediocre review. Most people have no opinions of their own.

HappyCyclist · Post by **HappyCyclist** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:08 am

I don't buy it. If you go back to their Old Tunes there are songs that sound like they could belong on either Geogaddi or TCH. They've always had variety album-to-album, but both albums are very BOC.

Jonse · Post by **Jonse** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:59 am

cbm wrote:
krs wrote:I thought TCH was brilliant, never understood why some people thought it was a 'step down' from what they'd done before.

I think people thought it was a step down from previous albums because pitchfork gave it a mediocre review. Most people have no opinions of their own.

Fuck Pitchfork dude, who the hell thinks that? They're a bunch of whiny pretentious college kids trying to "review" music and instead write anecdotes about their life.

I also recall pitchfork giving MHTRTC a 10/10. As much as I love BoC and that album, it's not a 10/10 for me. I don't automatically think it's the holy grail of BoC albums because of what the critics say. If there's anyone that does then well, that's pretty sad.

And to lurking, I have no doubt it's probably an artistic choice. However, I can't help but feel like it was made by different people or at the very least, a Mike and Marcus that went through extreme life changes. It's all speculation though, not like I'm perpetuating this theory as fact, just an idea I thought I'd share with you guys since we're bored here waiting for the new BoC stuff.

Negamuse · Post by **Negamuse** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 11:48 am

Honestly, the idea that Mike and Marcus are just frontmen for a larger secret collective of anonymous musicians seems to me one of those ideas like a teenager thinking "I wonder if I'm adopted". It *could* be true in that it's not physically impossible, but there's zero evidence to support it, and let's face it, it's just not true.

As for TCH sounding "suspiciously" different to earlier stuff that only really comes across when you listen to just their officially released output. Listening to the unreleased stuff, you get a better sense of the totality of what they do, and you can see threads between tracks on TCH that have been picked up from earlier experiments, that just hadn't been pursued on anything released up till then. Its easy to listen to just MHTRTC and get hung up on the monosynth, nostalgia and kid samples. Or Geogaddi and the warped, hidden messages stuff. But relisten to that other stuff and you see where it all slots in, and you realise TCH couldn't have been made by anyone else, actually.

Vexille · Post by **Vexille** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:15 pm

seriously?

(@ entire thread, really)

Ender · Post by **Ender** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:20 pm

MrMessiah wrote:Honestly, the idea that Mike and Marcus are just frontmen for a larger secret collective of anonymous musicians seems to me one of those ideas like a teenager thinking "I wonder if I'm adopted". It *could* be true in that it's not physically impossible, but there's zero evidence to support it, and let's face it, it's just not true.

As for TCH sounding "suspiciously" different to earlier stuff that only really comes across when you listen to just their officially released output. Listening to the unreleased stuff, you get a better sense of the totality of what they do, and you can see threads between tracks on TCH that have been picked up from earlier experiments, that just hadn't been pursued on anything released up till then. Its easy to listen to just MHTRTC and get hung up on the monosynth, nostalgia and kid samples. Or Geogaddi and the warped, hidden messages stuff. But relisten to that other stuff and you see where it all slots in, and you realise TCH couldn't have been made by anyone else, actually.

This.

GeometricPish · Post by **GeometricPish** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 3:17 pm

I just can't buy in to the theory that Mike & Marcus are just the frontmen for a larger collective. BoC is a very personal project for the brothers and a lot of the way their music sounds comes from their own personal experiences growing up, and theirs alone. The fact that their music resonates with so many others is just a bonus. Even if it didn't, I doubt they'd be making music any other way than they do already. As for TCH sounding different to anything that they released before, in my personal opinion TCH sounds a lot more polished, not in a radio friendly way, but in that there is a clear separation between each song's different elements and they are given space to breathe. Geogaddi is a hectic mix with perhaps at times too much going on at any one time creating an overwhelmingly intoxicating experience.

As I see things, both Geogaddi and TCH convey a psychedelic experience. Geogaddi is a paranoid, unsettling trip that decends in to mania where all your senses are overloaded, then the trip starts to ease off and you return to relative normality. TCH however, is a much more serene trip, the kind which you can only have when the sun is shining and everything seems right with the world. The tracks on TCH all have similar midpaced tempos, but in the context of the record as a whole, a faster track would really disrupt the flow. I don't see TCH as a step back, it's just a different sounding record exploring a different concept. As the brothers mentioned in the 'Around the Campfire' DJ Mag interview:

Each record we do has a vague theme, with ‘Music Has the Right…” it was public information films, with “Geogaddi” it was a kind of psychotic look at mathematical patterns in art, and “The Campfire Headphase” is pretty much an imaginary road trip in a rusty pick-up heading west through the brain. So we’re re-setting the clock now to a point where it’s all about structured tracks with simple, instantly gratifying melodies again.’

All in all, it makes me excited to see what sort of themes and concepts they will be exploring next.

Finally, I would like to add that of the two, Geogaddi is my favourite. However I still think TCH is great record. They are just two very different records for two different kinds of moods.

Jonse · Post by **Jonse** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 5:45 pm

MrMessiah wrote:Honestly, the idea that Mike and Marcus are just frontmen for a larger secret collective of anonymous musicians seems to me one of those ideas like a teenager thinking "I wonder if I'm adopted". It *could* be true in that it's not physically impossible, but there's zero evidence to support it, and let's face it, it's just not true.

As for TCH sounding "suspiciously" different to earlier stuff that only really comes across when you listen to just their officially released output. Listening to the unreleased stuff, you get a better sense of the totality of what they do, and you can see threads between tracks on TCH that have been picked up from earlier experiments, that just hadn't been pursued on anything released up till then. Its easy to listen to just MHTRTC and get hung up on the monosynth, nostalgia and kid samples. Or Geogaddi and the warped, hidden messages stuff. But relisten to that other stuff and you see where it all slots in, and you realise TCH couldn't have been made by anyone else, actually.

Again, I don't see in the slightest how TCH sounds like any of their earlier stuff and honestly I've heard other albums by other artists that if were officially labeled as being by Boards of Canada, I'd feel like that were particularly truer than TCH.

Of course it's Boards of Canada. The entire idea is that we honestly don't know all that went on in the production of the albums. Something had to have happened, whatever it might have been. Probably an artistic change. Still a very strange progression. I'm interested to see the next progression they make, because after Geogaddi to TCH it's very difficult to gauge what direction they'll go in.

But I'm fine with the idea of them changing their style

Archrival · Post by **Archrival** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:52 am

They work with other people and friends on their albums. They stated this in interviews that they bring in friends for vocal parts/recording sessions etc

itscomingsoon · Post by **itscomingsoon** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 2:33 pm

Guys, you are comparing music from 1986-2000 (boc maxima/hi scores/twoism/mhtrtc/abpoitc) to music made 2002-2005 (post Geogaddi)

That's a HUGE timespan covering time when they were growing up and possibly living together/sharing studio and no doubt 100% hardware to time when they were probably living with partners or at least separately and post success and using computers as well as old kit.

You have to remember (and if you have been making electronic music over this timespan you will agree), music making technology changed HUGELY over this timespan. Its not surprising their sound did as they would have been in a perfect position to try out all these new technologies.

So many variables and you really think their sound/processes would not progress at all?

Personally I think Campfire is a great album and showing their love of guitar music (Incredible String Band anyone?).

Yes it's different but then does any artist do the same thing over and over let alone people as obviously artistically talented as the Sandisons..

w31rd numb3r · Post by **w31rd numb3r** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 5:44 pm

To think: Music Has the Right to Children, perhaps, is a concept album, reminding cold but happy childish memories. Geogaddi, a sophomore album which took four years to complete, is a claustrophobic trip album that changed the proposed style of the last album. This wasn’t expected until The Campfire Headphase, a soundtrack-like post rock album centered in a character, imagined by the Sandisons, stretching and compressing times and moments by a natural way. So, in six years, what they are doing; Remastering those earlier albums, maybe? Thinking on concepts, working in other projects –like MDG stated– or changing its profiles? It’s like wait another Half-Life.

We need news.

w31rd numb3r · Post by **w31rd numb3r** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 5:47 pm

lurkingrecords wrote:
Rodheh wrote:
krs wrote:I thought TCH was brilliant, never understood why some people thought it was a 'step down' from what they'd done before.

This clip pretty much explains it: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/38909028/a.mp3

There's just a serious contrast in sound density, ambiguity, layering, etc. Personally, my opinion on it is pretty basic, Geogaddi feels immensely stimulating to me and requires my full attention to its detail, while The Campfire Headphase feels more like relaxed background to your life music. I'll completely respect the opinion of someone who prefers TCH or thinks it's brilliant. This mainly is the reason why it's seen as a step down by many though.

I agree with the extreme contrast in sound density, etc., and you picked great A/B examples....but that leads me to believe that it was an intentional artistic choice on their part (if you base it from their interviews). Geogaddi was a psychedelic album....so they made it sound that way. TCH was probably not supposed to be psychedelic-sounding.

The sample means that inspiration comes from things that we already have.

Jonse · Post by **Jonse** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 6:33 pm

itscomingsoon wrote:Guys, you are comparing music from 1986-2000 (boc maxima/hi scores/twoism/mhtrtc/abpoitc) to music made 2002-2005 (post Geogaddi)

I was not.

TCH sounds very little like their old work. I have no idea why anyone keeps saying that. Boards of Canada's old work is broadly far too dark to relate to TCH.

I was mainly referring to the change between Geogaddi (worked on somewhere around 1998 - 2002) and TCH (worked around somewhere around 2002 - 2005). It's a broad change in a fairly short time frame and while it is by no means impossible, it's always seemed very strange to me. I have no idea exactly why such a downsizing (not in quality, in density) progression was taken between the two and am bored, so I'm throwing this what if around just for the hell of it. I have no idea why anyone has to take the thread out of context and proportion.

itscomingsoon · Post by **itscomingsoon** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:01 pm

I guess they grew up, they started using DAW's. They had children (a bit of light in your life can completely change your artistic outlook). Maybe they stopped drinking/taking drugs. You gotta think they are late 30's heading for 40 now. Life changes, people change.

Just look at any artist and you see output varies.

To me, all their output is obviously the same people, the chord progressions, the use of samples, the vignettes, the packaging and artwork, the tape treatments and the emotive response their music conjures.

Geogaddi has a particular sound probably due to the extreme warping of samples.

You can hear there is a flavour to that whole album which is probably due to the equipment they used at the time. A simple thing like changing the algorithm used to 'warp' samples can have a massive effect on the sound produced.

TCH is remarkably clean sounding, very reminiscent of modern DAW based productions and probably stands out due to that.

I have been making music for many years myself and although I don't have a shred of the talent they do, I am very interested in the technology and approaches used by many artists.

My honest opinion based on years of playing around with probably most of the same gear they have used is the digital revolution / computer based production changed their sound for that album.

You only have to compare multitrack tape recordings summed on analog desks to multitrack tape recordings summed in DAW's to see this for yourself.

Of course this is all speculation and they could actually be many different people masquerading as two but really, I think my reasoning is much more likely..

itscomingsoon · Post by **itscomingsoon** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:13 pm

Also just to clarify, moving from one system to another can not only change the sound sonically but the use.

Workflow on a hardware based sequencer is very different to working on a DAW and will yield different results.

Someone said earlier about the concept of the album and I totally agree. This was probably intended anyway and I bet it was a horrible shock that TCH was so badly received.

Geogaddi is on another level for me also, but I still think TCH is an outstanding album, musically, technically and sonically.

Jonse · Post by **Jonse** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:05 pm

Do you think, could it possibly be a lack of as much understanding about producing music in a DAW vs. traditional methods that pushed them in the direction of creating a less heavy/dense album? Because DAW's and digital production do not automatically equal the clean, relaxed sound that TCH has and somebody who knows a DAW like the back of their hand could create a Geogaddi-esque album on a computer for sure, albeit with a slightly different sound clarity to it.