hmm, i wonder if they compose on a Commodore 64?

[jbuonacc]

Im sorry, but I doubt they use a SID. That just seems really dumb that they would use one, not saying it isn't possible but I think that they are much more organic.

actually, this sentence seems really dumb, and naive on top of it. what is this 'sounds too 8-bit' jive? i've said exactly why i think all this...

seriously, if anyone has a SID or emulation, try it. not sure how well an emulation would work, there's something about the way the frequencies are interacting with each other that gives it that 'warped tape' quality. i noticed something like this on the gameboy with Nanoloop when the R waves would phase sometimes. different, but the same in how the oscillators had an effect on one another.

i will now go through trying to figure out how to record this little 'boc interlude' that i've got running here along with whatever else i can cook up. i'll be back in a while...

[mechanismj]

I don't think it's very BOC of BOC to use the SID chip, personally... as ridiculous as that sounds. For one thing, there's a billion other ways out there to achieve that exact same sound. I've even done with various software synths... but that doesn't mean they used softsynths to acheive it.

I will admit that it's entirely possible they used it, because they never disclosed any info about it otherwise. However, knowing what they've said in interviews regarding their intense obsession with sound design, audio degradation, etc, it would seem almost to easy for them to acheive that sound with the SID chip, as well as a bit cheap and boring, and therefore they would probably not bother doing it that way. They seem like the kind of guys that get just as much of a kick out of putting intense detail and design into their sounds as they do writting a song... if not more.

In other words, it's possible they designed that sound with the SID chip, but judging from what they say in interviews, it's just as plausible they got the same sound by farting into a half empty jar of expired mayonaise, then looping it and running it through an old tape deck... whilst worshiping the devil of course.

[jbuonacc]

haha. perpetuate the myth...

http://www.soundclick.com/util/download ... 588C0A46-9

it was a pain in the ass to record and sounds like shit. you'll probably have to crank your monitors, this mic is garbage.

this is all too much to be a coincidence, though i never would have thought of it if not for the tracker link. believe what you will.

[mechanismj]

Eh, that doesn't really prove much.

I just slapped this together...

http://download.yousendit.com/59B635564424EE9A

[isawdrones]

obviously they use other gear , but listen to these:

http://qotile.net/audio/cynth2.mp3
http://qotile.net/audio/cynth3.mp3

those are two demo clips for 'Cynthcart' which is a program for the c64's SID chip. i couldn't believe how 'boc' it sounded, i'm almost certain that they use some sort of SID synthesizer in their setup (whether it be a real c64, SIDstation, HardSID, QuadraSID, etc). never really thought of that before, even with the mod-tracker association in that one Old Tunes track...

sounds too thin to be boc.

[esselfortium]

Your sample doesn't really sound...anything like BoC. Even if it did, though, there's more than one way to get a sound. Check out these BoC imitations I did in Reason: http://sl4.dmclub.org/music/bocfake/ They're far from perfect, but you get the idea. Just because one can sound like BoC using [insert hardware/software here] doesn't mean that BoC must use it.

[jbuonacc]

sounds too thin to be boc.

ehh, you can do better than that. the SID isn't quite 'thin' compared to a lot of synths out there. some would even say it's rough and nasty.

mechanismj - now that is something, good show.

i stick to what i said for now, i think it fits a bit too well. of course they use plenty of other gear i'm sure. even just listening through Old Tunes Vol. II a little bit ago, i swear there's sounds on there that must be a SID (and a few that sound quite obvious, like 'Iraq Says...', etc. then again, it could be a video arcade sampled from an old tv show ).

believe what you want, but don't give me anything like 'it's too 8-bit', 'BoC wouldn't do something like that', or that these examples sound nothing like BoC. you're too funny.

it's something to think about though...

[mechanismj]

I heard that the sound in Iraq Says was from an old Sega game... I can't remember where I heard that or who said it, so don't quote me.

That's what I love about the Old Tunes tapes. They remind me a lot of old video games. It's very strange.

[Infinite E]

I, for one, am honestly not bothered. Not that I begrudge youse the right to wonder about it... I just realised that those two sentences cancel each other out and this post is pointless.





Just enjoy the music!

[wwbjd]

Spoons.

[domco77]

Back in the late 80's and early 90's, there was a music scene bubbling up known as the Mod or Demoscene. It often consisted of groups or teams who designed, coded, drew art, and made music for products like games or music demos, as well as participating in cracking software. The music was usually performed and programmed using computers and software known as trackers. Some programs of note include Amiga Pro Tracker, Scream Tracker 3, Impulse Tracker, and Fast Tracker 2.

There's a lot of really good music out there from the demoscene.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demoscene
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracker

Cheers for the info

[esky]

i stick to what i said for now, i think it fits a bit too well. of course they use plenty of other gear i'm sure. even just listening through Old Tunes Vol. II a little bit ago, i swear there's sounds on there that must be a SID (and a few that sound quite obvious, like 'Iraq Says...', etc. then again, it could be a video arcade sampled from an old tv show ).

Hi, a "SID" Sound could be any Synth that has a LFO modulating the pitch and is degraded to 8bits and a low sampling frequency. And if you want to know about the equipment they're using, just read through the interviews on Freddy's website, BOC do not make a secret out of their gear...in fact it's nothing exotic or special...pretty common stuff...

[polar sky]

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?a ... c28621aeb5

that sounds closer...

i don't know. whatever. i could care less if they recorded on talkboy fx. who really gives a fuck anymore.

I got you wobbly tracking tape effect right here BoC.

Last edited by polar sky on Thu Feb 08, 2007 2:56 pm, edited 5 times in total.

[boardsofdublin]

Spoons.

thats what they must use! no one would think of that! and a comb and some paper!

[domco77]

ok, after playing around a bit... i have come to the conclusion that not only do they definitely use the SID, but that most of those meandering interludes we all love were done on the c64 as well!! no doubt in my mind at least. i'm running 'Instant Music' right now by Electronic Arts ('86) which features a simple interface that allows you to simply drag notes across the screen for eight bars or whatever you'd like. i just did this using two of the three 'instruments' just dragging almost randomly for eight bars, and the result was interesting to say the least. instant BoC - genuine sound included. the problem with this program is that there's so few available parameters for the instruments, not sure why they had to dumb it down so much. even still, this was close enough, the C64 is warbling along like it's being fed through whatever secret sound techniques they supposedly use. it's all right here, i really can't believe nobody found this before.

and no, i'm not joking and i'm not shit out of my mind. i have no way to record the audio at the moment (though maybe i could try mic'ing it?), but i am not bullshitting about this.

if anyone is able to, try it out.

Sounds intrigueing. I've got to get me a C64 or an emulator or whatever!

[domco77]

Your sample doesn't really sound...anything like BoC. Even if it did, though, there's more than one way to get a sound. Check out these BoC imitations I did in Reason: http://sl4.dmclub.org/music/bocfake/ They're far from perfect, but you get the idea. Just because one can sound like BoC using [insert hardware/software here] doesn't mean that BoC must use it.

Fine sounding clips there

[Flyingpurplepeopleeater]

Can't remember if it was here I saw the thread but someone found the track- one of those mod demos I think, that was used in Apparatus. It's sampled and sped up, but made by someone else. There was a link to a whole load of similar tracks. Sounded great.

[mechanismj]

Can't remember if it was here I saw the thread but someone found the track- one of those mod demos I think, that was used in Apparatus. It's sampled and sped up, but made by someone else. There was a link to a whole load of similar tracks. Sounded great.

Yeah. That was me. Hense the reason I believe they had some affiliation to the mod scene in some way or another. Good track, too.

[jbuonacc]

there's more examples for sure, but what are your thoughts on track number 16 off 'a few old tunes'? seriously. this is a pretty obvious example, but there's a lot of tracks that 'meet the criteria' to have been done on a C64. there's also a lot which utilize only two or three voices, which is a limitation of the C64 having only three oscillators to work with.

another thing is something i noticed in the Remix Magazine interview. it says:

"...Eoin and Sandison learned to play various musical instruments when they were children. Sandison formed a band and began making experimental tracks with old synths, drums and tape decks in 1980, when he was only nine years old. Influenced by television documentaries and soundtracks, particularly those by the National Film Board of Canada, Sandison named his band Boards of Canada. When Eoin became the band's bassist in 1986, Boards of Canada were mixing real instruments with computer effects and found sounds from radio and television broadcasts. Sandison dabbled with Super 8 home-movie visuals for the band early on, and by the late '80s, BoC were making full-length films accompanied by their own soundtracks."

first, how many 'old synths' do you think were available to a nine year old in 1980? there weren't even that many 'new synths' at the time, and this stuff wasn't cheap by any means. six years later they're working with computers. (please correct me if i'm way off here)
i would think that around this time the C64 was probably the most advanced and accessible computers for music at the time. not sure what other options there were at the time, but the C64 seems the most likely. an Atari 1040ST was about $1000 at the time, which could be pretty steep for a fifteen year old and his little brother. they may have been big into the C64 music scene around this time, seems it was even more popular in europe than over here.

again, could be a long shot but who knows... and really, what's more 'BoC' than this?

[mechanismj]

Are you referring to Sac?