Article on Alain Clavier, the composer who inspired BOC

Totopatter · Post by **Totopatter** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:18 pm

http://music.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2012/2/Did- ... -of-Canada[url][/url]

This topic has been covered here before but I think it needs more merit. What's particularly haunting is the fact that Parks Canada commercials from the 80s could have been the single solitary sliver of momentary creation that might have inspired the Boards of Canada concept.

As I rediscovered this Parks Canada ad http://youtu.be/IXkm0oqKfKw I realized I had completely forgotten about the ad series, lost memories of my childhood just came back. The Parks Canada commercials were aired quite often during the day on CBC, so as I child, watching tv was daily routine, I suppose I've seen them all many times over. I actually remember finding the ads kind of dark, sad and boring. Like the Hinterland's Who's Who commercials.

But the music had been deeply drilled, so embedded within me, the entire aesthetic... when I watched the ad on youtube for the first time in 30 years, I understood where it all came from.... It felt like a immense surge of greatness and sadness. A haunting, beautiful memory that gives me more and more shivers with every listen.

"During the early 80's, Parks Canada commissioned a series of commercials featuring footage from our national parks, with music by Canadian film and television composer, Alain Clavier. This spot http://youtu.be/IXkm0oqKfKw I think is my favourite, as it bespeaks of the vastness of the Canadian wilderness, and captures the quality of solitude that a visitor may experience in the huge tracks of land set aside for however long we might exist as a nation.

And what's particularly interesting about this series of Parks Canada commercials is that they are very likely in part what inspired Boards of Canada to create their dreamy analogue synthscapes, over a decade later."

thinkdontpray · Post by **thinkdontpray** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:20 am

great article and i as well adore the parks canada music. heres another one with better quality sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKpfPjX1El0

nordheim · Post by **nordheim** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:36 pm

this stuff rules! man. i love old library music so much. thanks for making my day with this stuff.

thinkdontpray wrote:great article and i as well adore the parks canada music. heres another one with better quality sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKpfPjX1El0

Magrathea · Post by **Magrathea** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 3:04 pm

Totopatter wrote:http://music.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2012/2/Did-this-Parks-Canada-TV-spot-inspire-Boards-of-Canada[url][/url]

This topic has been covered here before but I think it needs more merit. What's particularly haunting is the fact that Parks Canada commercials from the 80s could have been the single solitary sliver of momentary creation that might have inspired the Boards of Canada concept.

As I rediscovered this Parks Canada ad http://youtu.be/IXkm0oqKfKw I realized I had completely forgotten about the ad series, lost memories of my childhood just came back. The Parks Canada commercials were aired quite often during the day on CBC, so as I child, watching tv was daily routine, I suppose I've seen them all many times over. I actually remember finding the ads kind of dark, sad and boring. Like the Hinterland's Who's Who commercials.

But the music had been deeply drilled, so embedded within me, the entire aesthetic... when I watched the ad on youtube for the first time in 30 years, I understood where it all came from.... It felt like a immense surge of greatness and sadness, needless to say, it was hard to hold back the tears. A haunting, beautiful memory that gives me more and more shivers with every listen.

"During the early 80's, Parks Canada commissioned a series of commercials featuring footage from our national parks, with music by Canadian film and television composer, Alain Clavier. This spot http://youtu.be/IXkm0oqKfKw I think is my favourite, as it bespeaks of the vastness of the Canadian wilderness, and captures the quality of solitude that a visitor may experience in the huge tracks of land set aside for however long we might exist as a nation.

And what's particularly interesting about this series of Parks Canada commercials is that they are very likely in part what inspired Boards of Canada to create their dreamy analogue synthscapes, over a decade later."

I had completely forgot about it but as soon as the music started playing it all came back to Me, lovely compositions and what a throwback at childhood times, I am quite sure that the images are showing Mount Asgard

mechanismj · Post by **mechanismj** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 5:53 pm

thinkdontpray wrote:great article and i as well adore the parks canada music. heres another one with better quality sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKpfPjX1El0

Seriously reminds me of Advisory Circle.

cubistking1906 · Post by **cubistking1906** » Sun Apr 08, 2012 11:12 pm

thanks for sharing. these spots are awesome. I'm always intrigued to find possible roots to boc's sound.

Looking through The National Film Boards of Canada's website awhile back, I found this nature documentary set to an experimental synth soundtrack which I thought was awesome, and just screamed boc to me.

NFBC: Temples of Time [1973]

(Someone's likely pointed this one out, but I thought it was worth mentioning here.)

thinkdontpray · Post by **thinkdontpray** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:28 pm

heres another one with even better sound quality, this one is my favorite

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyvjggq3TS4

Totopatter · Post by **Totopatter** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:45 pm

cubistking1906 wrote:thanks for sharing. these spots are awesome. I'm always intrigued to find possible roots to boc's sound.

Looking through The National Film Boards of Canada's website awhile back, I found this nature documentary set to an experimental synth soundtrack which I thought was awesome, and just screamed boc to me.

NFBC: Temples of Time [1973]

(Someone's likely pointed this one out, but I thought it was worth mentioning here.)

absolutely fantastic. Thank you for sharing

Totopatter · Post by **Totopatter** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:55 pm

more nostalgia...

http://youtu.be/oRPH84GlIzk

Totopatter · Post by **Totopatter** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:57 pm

http://youtu.be/M3lFitHsD7Q

when you read stuff like:

"I was searching for just this composition. It's resided in memory for over 30 years and I've wanted to listen to it again before I died. It's exactly the way I remembered it. I just know that if I never got the opportunity in this life I'd hear it again in Heaven."

.. it's truly powerful...

Betacord · Post by **Betacord** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 12:51 am

mechanismj wrote:
thinkdontpray wrote:great article and i as well adore the parks canada music. heres another one with better quality sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKpfPjX1El0

Seriously reminds me of Advisory Circle.

You are right, it really does - JB's stuff as The Advisory Circle is brilliant at capturing the whole old television / library music vibe. Often gives the feeling of some old title music, or information film track that was never used.

And BOC are certainly no less great - just great in a slightly different way; a different take on the sound.

aged sea · Post by **aged sea** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 3:07 am

Great find.

____twoism

Article on Alain Clavier, the composer who inspired BOC

Article on Alain Clavier, the composer who inspired BOC

Re: Article on Alain Clavier, the composer who inspired BOC