Boards and Mental Disorders

[Navaru]

Been meaning to post this for a good while, and since we are on a nihilistic kick figured the time fnord is now. I was gifted Bipolarism from my mom. It really isn’t the “superpower” Kanye claims it to be (I suppose feeding into narcissistic mania whenever I wanted to would be fun if I didn’t have to worry about losing jobs, friends, and family members, which is what actually happens to the average joe).
But one of the benefits has always been the ability to really feel music. I was just wondering if anyone else has this same experience within such a taboo topic.

Turquoise Hexagon Sun is the perfect example of the melancholia I feel 95 percent of the time, and Dawn Chorus has come to represent the come up to a manic episode. To the point where both can drive me to those states now pretty quickly, but that probably has to do with me listening to 3 or so albums a day at work. Their music has truly become ingrained into my psyche at this point.

[Navaru]

I’ve always been curious if either of them suffer from a mood disorder, because their work is infused with so much emotion. The kind that flips back and forth too, a perfect balance of happy and sad.

[Fredd-E]

I’ve always been curious if either of them suffer from a mood disorder, because their work is infused with so much emotion. The kind that flips back and forth too, a perfect balance of happy and sad.

Mike is known to have suffered from severe depression.

https://bocpages.org/wiki/Interviews-all

Do a keyword search for “depression” on the above link to see some quotes in context.

[Sky and Trails]

I did not know that! But it makes total sense that they would either suffer from or at least be familiar with the feelings associated with certain mental health issues.

When I describe my experience listening to Boards of Canada to other people they look at me like they feel sorry for me. But that's because what I describe to them is incredibly depressing, maybe even nihilistic, since we're talking about that, as well as jaded and very cold and distant. It's almost as if I'm changing the definition of nostalgia to mean something dark and negative whenever I explain my feelings about this music to people.

That being said, what I can't seem to communicate to these people is that it's the total opposite! I feel an extreme amount of elation, happiness, comfort, and beautifully sad and happy nostalgia.

Dawn Chorus - I can relate to your comments on that, Nav.
Forgive the vulgarity of this next comment, but when I first described how that song sounded to me I would often say that it sounded like two young children falling in love. But then the strange sex sounds would start and people would start to form other opinions, never good.

For me it's still about two children falling in love. I can even envision a boy and a girl on a swing set. Think of the video for that song by Enigma, Return to Innocence. That's Dawn Chorus to me.

[Navaru]

Fun fact it’s not a sex sound at all, but a drawn out sample that they use of a kid off Sesame Street saying “bye”.

Same bye is at the end of Sunshine Recorder

[Echelon]

Fun fact it’s not a sex sound at all, but a drawn out sample that they use of a kid off Sesame Street saying “bye”.

Same bye is at the end of Sunshine Recorder

An interviewer thought that Gyroscope was sex sounds too which is even weirder because to me it sounds like a child counting!

I get why people take that stuff the wrong way. The first two albums especially featured some weird ass sounds that are quite suggestive but ironically most were taken from innocuous sources and warped

[Navaru]

If I remember correctly it is a kid counting, I think one of the boys from Autechre (I could be totally wrong) gave them the sample of a number station they recorded.

On another tangent, if you’ve never listened to the Conet Project I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s a nearly 6 hour collection of number station recordings from around the globe. Best in a few sessions, but there are some gems hidden on it. Fits really well with the radio wave quality of Tomorrows Harvest.



If anything it’s an absolute goldmine for sampling.

[Navaru]

I’ve always been curious if either of them suffer from a mood disorder, because their work is infused with so much emotion. The kind that flips back and forth too, a perfect balance of happy and sad.

Mike is known to have suffered from severe depression.

https://bocpages.org/wiki/Interviews-all

Do a keyword search for “depression” on the above link to see some quotes in context.

Thanks a bunch Fredd-E, appreciate the response!

[Echelon]

If I remember correctly it is a kid counting, I think one of the boys from Autechre (I could be totally wrong) gave them the sample of a number station they recorded.

On another tangent, if you’ve never listened to the Conet Project I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s a nearly 6 hour collection of number station recordings from around the globe. Best in a few sessions, but there are some gems hidden on it. Fits really well with the radio wave quality of Tomorrows Harvest.



If anything it’s an absolute goldmine for sampling.

I gotta hear that honestly. I remember people thinking BOC sampled from that but MDG back when he posted on here shot it down. Thanks for the background info on that

[Navaru]

Sky and Trails, if you’ve never gone through every song on BoC pages to geek out you should. You can learn a lot about each track and where many of the samples are derived from. It’s a rabbit hole though, you’ve been warned.

[Sky and Trails]

Fun fact it’s not a sex sound at all, but a drawn out sample that they use of a kid off Sesame Street saying “bye”.

Same bye is at the end of Sunshine Recorder

What!?
My head just fucking exploded.

I guess i just need to go ahead and commit a weekend to reading every word on bocpages. It's little things like this that continue my appreciation for their music.

[Echelon]

I've always thought of TH and TCH as Mike and Marcus' personal albums.

Marcus is cited as the folkier one and the guitar player. There is an interview where its mentioned he speaks with a higher register and it kind of makes me think that the happy friendly guy talking to Peel was Marcus.

Marcus also praised Bibios first album himself and TCH is quite similar. So my guess is that TCH was his child. Even Farewell Fire was said to be played by Marcus so even if he is the happier of the two, he is still prone to darker moods.

TH is straight up Mike. Mike is cited to have depression and was the more electronic of the two, composing prime melodies for MHTRTC and Geo. He is also the one with children or at least had them first and he told an interview for the TH era that having kids made him aware of this planet's problems.i get the impression TH is more Mike's lament for the world

Sometimes also gives off a TCH type impression with both it's beauty, happiness and organic build up so it makes me think of Marcus, while Treat Em Right is more electronic and derived from their older hip-hop style so I think it's Mike's.

If we think of the next album in this context, we might possibly be in for a happier Marcusesque album

[Navaru]

I could do with shot of serotonin for sure. After the last few years I think many of us could. That being said I wouldn’t be opposed to a dive to the bottom of the ocean either. The darker the room the brighter the light.

[Brendan Standing Alone]

This is equally terrifying and fascinating.

[Brendan Standing Alone]

This is equally fascinating and terrifying.

[Sky and Trails]

I've always thought of TH and TCH as Mike and Marcus' personal albums.

Marcus is cited as the folkier one and the guitar player. There is an interview where its mentioned he speaks with a higher register and it kind of makes me think that the happy friendly guy talking to Peel was Marcus.

Marcus also praised Bibios first album himself and TCH is quite similar. So my guess is that TCH was his child. Even Farewell Fire was said to be played by Marcus so even if he is the happier of the two, he is still prone to darker moods.

TH is straight up Mike. Mike is cited to have depression and was the more electronic of the two, composing prime melodies for MHTRTC and Geo. He is also the one with children or at least had them first and he told an interview for the TH era that having kids made him aware of this planet's problems.i get the impression TH is more Mike's lament for the world

Sometimes also gives off a TCH type impression with both it's beauty, happiness and organic build up so it makes me think of Marcus, while Treat Em Right is more electronic and derived from their older hip-hop style so I think it's Mike's.

If we think of the next album in this context, we might possibly be in for a happier Marcusesque album

I would just like to point out that every one of us fans totally got the message in Sometimes when they asked us if we were okay.

I won't lie, I tear up every time i hear that part.

I love that the fan base 'gets it'.

[Navaru]

You know when you see movies about people with several personalities in them, like Split or The United States of Tara? My mom also has that, I’m just waiting for mine to creep into my own psyche.

[Echelon]

I could do with shot of serotonin for sure. After the last few years I think many of us could. That being said I wouldn’t be opposed to a dive to the bottom of the ocean either. The darker the room the brighter the light.

Dark or light I'm for anything as long as it's by these chaps

[Fredd-E]

Fun fact it’s not a sex sound at all, but a drawn out sample that they use of a kid off Sesame Street saying “bye”.

Same bye is at the end of Sunshine Recorder

What!?
My head just fucking exploded.

I guess i just need to go ahead and commit a weekend to reading every word on bocpages. It's little things like this that continue my appreciation for their music.

*some weekends

https://bocpages.org/w/index.php?title=Special:AllPages (three pages of articles)

PS: feel free to expand on any given article

[Sky and Trails]

Fun fact it’s not a sex sound at all, but a drawn out sample that they use of a kid off Sesame Street saying “bye”.

Same bye is at the end of Sunshine Recorder

What!?
My head just fucking exploded.

I guess i just need to go ahead and commit a weekend to reading every word on bocpages. It's little things like this that continue my appreciation for their music.

*some weekends

https://bocpages.org/w/index.php?title=Special:AllPages (three pages of articles)

PS: feel free to expand on any given article

It is settled...the next several weekends are now devoted to this.

Fredd-E, I assume this is all your creation, and I just want to let you know how much I appreciate and love it. Your commitment to community and to BOC is amazing.

As for Marcus and Mike: Don't you do a fucking thing until I've read all this stuff. I don't need you ruining my BOCpages education with a new album or something crazy like that.