Pete Standing Alone "growl"

[bleak.]

My favorite part of the track is the "cassette being pushed into the deck" noise. It plays throughout the track, but you can really hear it at the 5:04 mark.

i agree with you!

[Alvin]

I wonder if the growl is a vocal sample being amplitude modulated at audio rate? Might even be a combination of techniques.

i remember when all the pieces of this song came together for me...i got chills at the intricacy and detail that is put into it....not that every boards of canada song doesnt have those subtle nuances tucked away in every millisecond, but there is something about the way this song unravels that truly makes it stand alone...no pun intended...

Well said. I get goosebumps starting at 3:29 as the whole thing kicks up a notch. The flute-like melody that is introduced absolutely lifts off while the percussive dynamics are so freaking creative, rhythmically but also texturally. Curious details emerge. Is that a blade being sharpened on a stone? What does that mean?!

[steeldancer-x]

I will have to go digging for the quote again, but I read from an interview that a lot of MHTRTC's percussion was done/sampled thru someone's voice (it was mentioned that a few drums from an Eagle in Your Mind were done from Mike's girlfriend's voice). I would not be surprised if it was something similar with Pete Standing Alone

[steeldancer-x]

Found it, not gf's voice (my mistake) but definitely a voice:
https://bocpages.org/wiki/Mysterious_and_Undefined

Heh, a real mixture. This is a common question. We have a mixture of old and new gear. We record a lot of live sounds into samplers. We like making things sound as though they've come from a film or an old record, but you'll be looking for a long time to find those sources, because they don't exist. Almost all of our sounds are created on acoustic instruments such as guitars or drums or voices, then processed and fucked over in the samplers, and turned into something completely different. For instance, all the percussion on "An Eagle In Your Mind" was made with the human voice. Sometimes we create sounds on old synths. A lot of kids who want to get into electronic music ask that question, and they're missing the point really. If you have a strong musical vision, you should be able to achieve it with whatever comes to hand. If you gave us a bucket and two pieces of plywood we would try to make a good album with them.

[J.Jardine]

Isn't it common knowledge that the Pete Standing Alone Growl is a distorted sample of the 'Boing' from Kraftwerk - Boing Boom Tschak

[Glen_Glog]

In this thread what exactly was the "growl" was it the sample that kind of like fader cuts that said ONE (Pete Standing Alone) ??

[Alvin]

Yes, that’s it. Although I don’t think there’s clear consensus on what it says. Some hear it as another ORANGE. The Spotify lyrics say BONDS but they can be unreliable.

[Glen_Glog]

gotcha no way to confirm on my end

[Fredd-E]

Yes, that’s it. Although I don’t think there’s clear consensus on what it says. Some hear it as another ORANGE. The Spotify lyrics say BONDS but they can be unreliable.

Spotify has a partnership with Musixmatch and they have 20 million users building the lyrics database. Pretty unreliable for Boards of Canada samples indeed. Unless M&M are one of those 20 million.

[Glen_Glog]

[Distant Nebulus]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always thought the "growl" was a pitched down voice saying "BONDS", which may have been taken from the NFB Standing Alone documentary or another source.

[Glen_Glog]

this is interesting i will visit the nfbc site and listen for it

[WATER_CAN-_-]

[Jonse]

Crazy to me that between the point this thread went dormant and now, for certain, there's some 17 year old kid, now entering adulthood, with real opinions and real views, real stories to tell (even if they're not interesting) that is also a BoC fan.