02. Reach For The Dead (4:47)

[Snufkin]

It's so much like XYZ, i feel like they must have partly re-worked it for a proper release. Still good though.

Huh? RFTD is like XYZ just like Dayvan Cowboy is like Kiss' God of Thunder

I said the same thing. reminiscent. Not a rework or anything, mind you, but reminiscent for sure.

If anything the song I think is most reminiscent of RFTD is Corsair.

More reminiscent of Magic Window, to me, so far (...haven't listened to it yet... JUST ABOUT TO!)

[zeoevil]

If anything the song I think is most reminiscent of RFTD is Corsair.

It can't be both?

[Magrathea]

If anything the song I think is most reminiscent of RFTD is Corsair.

It can't be both?

This late, My brain is in binary mode It could be, I just tried weaving through XYZ again but I must be listening to a completely different layer because I can't find it.

[cbm]

Not really getting the XYZ comparisons with this song.

[fdamb]

If anything the song I think is most reminiscent of RFTD is Corsair.

It can't be both?

This late, My brain is in binary mode It could be, I just tried weaving through XYZ again but I must be listening to a completely different layer because I can't find it.

well it's all the same kit, methods, etc. it sounds like boc!

[Snufkin]

Okay, wow... first listen. At first, I liked-- by the end, after all this layering came into play and done some 'magic' stuff to me... yes... yes, yes! Like. Very much. This is a good opener.

I also imagine this track might be a bit of a grower, for me. I can imagine having one of those 'Geogaddi moments', months down the line, where I hear a new thing/aspect/dimension of the song... and it will blow my freakin' little Snufkin mind! >_<

<3

[jcotteri]

very very important question here everyone, prepare yourselves.

should I scrobble this as album name 'Reach For the Dead', or put it under 'Tomorrow's Harvest'?

take your time, don't rush this.

i'd say leave the tags intact as they are official... wait until you have the full album to scrobble as TH

But then if if I play this 100+ times between now and the album then that's -100 plays for TH and the whole thing get's skewed!
I am a pathetic husk of a man.

I understand this, as long as the artist is Boards. No worries.

[Helios]

XYZ is def. in my top 25 but this seems a little plain compared to it. The melody for the second half is kind of uninspiring. Then again, it is growing on me with every listen. I guess I expect a little more to chew on in a BOC song.

I agree. While I really enjoy the track, the melody seems a bit off to me. It's borderline amateur, and sounds almost trance-y. I expected a more bizarre sound. Great track, still. Am I alone here?

I've seen a couple people say this here and elsewhere. I don't agree with the amateurish sounding though, I think there are a lot of intricacies here that I didn't notice at first listen. It isn't one of their "weirder" tracks, but that doesn't bother me in any way.

I am also thinking about some songs on geogaddi and wondering what I'd think about them if I heard them as stand alone tracks without hearing the album, and I imagine they would sound a bit off to me too, even though they're amazing in context. I think this song holds up pretty well on it's own though.

I can see where you might hear some trance though, but hey, a little trance never hurt anyone*

*actually I'm not sure about this, it seems entirely possible that trance has been involved in some way in causing bodily harm to someone

Oh, yea - I definitely love all the intricacies and layers. I keep finding more with each listen. I was strictly talking about that string melody in the second half. Just doesnt fit for me at the moment. Perhaps it will tomorrow.

[Snufkin]

very very important question here everyone, prepare yourselves.

should I scrobble this as album name 'Reach For the Dead', or put it under 'Tomorrow's Harvest'?

take your time, don't rush this.

i'd say leave the tags intact as they are official... wait until you have the full album to scrobble as TH

But then if if I play this 100+ times between now and the album then that's -100 plays for TH and the whole thing get's skewed!
I am a pathetic husk of a man.

I understand this, as long as the artist is Boards. No worries.

I understand and agree with this: no worries. For me, very few songs (and very very few 'artists at large') can be 'killed' by over-listening, whilst the majority can. I've 'killed' so much music I once loved in the past, during the course of the last 15-or-so years that I've generally been exploring music (since my early teens). Boards are, for me, one artist whose entire catalogue I have never been able to kill, despite the fact that for good long stints of time, they have been through phases of being pretty much the only artist I have listened to (most notably when I was a student with no money for other music). I wouldn't worry about 'killing' BoC. They can't be killed. You don't even need to reach for the dead in this case... :p

>_<

<3

xxx

[breadmaker]

I've seen a couple people say this here and elsewhere. I don't agree with the amateurish sounding though, I think there are a lot of intricacies here that I didn't notice at first listen. It isn't one of their "weirder" tracks, but that doesn't bother me in any way.

yeah i think for some people it's difficult to reconcile the two very different styles in boards of canada's repertoire. at the risk of oversimplifying, there's the earlier tracks that are more melody-based, like "roygbiv" and "sixtyniner," and then the ones that are more atmospheric and production-based like "reach for the dead." and it does seem that they are moving away from melody to some degree.

i recall one "campfire headphase" review which commented that they're becoming better producers but that their songwriting peak is possibly behind them, which i agreed with at the time to some degree and maybe still do (disclaimer: i love "campfire headphase.") so perhaps something is being lost and something is being gained. "reach for the dead" is a marvel of production - it's absolutely immaculate. "turquoise hexagon sun" now sounds pretty quaint in comparison. however in my heart i still love those early, dorky tracks like "turquoise" and "seeya later." i got on board with boards of canada (absolutely no pun intended) around 97-98 and so the style of that era is the one that's cemented in my brain as "their signature" but i'm finding it really easy to accommodate their new direction (though i still haven't come to terms with "dayvan cowboy" but we needn't get into that.)

when i think of the arpeggiated synth in "reach" as a reference to early 80s thriller/horror cinema soundtracks, it's easier to place the track in the larger context of BoC's work, especially when compared with something like "M9." and as others have noted, it does play out like a less frantic "xyz," with the scale and pacing of "1969."

[jcotteri]

how to download track on bleep, I think with the site being down here and there, the rest of the world is waking up and so many people are trying tot D/L their Reach For The Dead preview that they have stopped it? for now...

[jcotteri]

very very important question here everyone, prepare yourselves.

should I scrobble this as album name 'Reach For the Dead', or put it under 'Tomorrow's Harvest'?

take your time, don't rush this.

i'd say leave the tags intact as they are official... wait until you have the full album to scrobble as TH

But then if if I play this 100+ times between now and the album then that's -100 plays for TH and the whole thing get's skewed!
I am a pathetic husk of a man.

heh! no worries, i am also very conscientious about this type of thing. i like having things tagged properly!

but it is almost always the case (at least in last.fm etiquette) that you should use official tags first, with the exceptions being things like typos or incorrect capitalization. theoretically the just-released MP3 of "Reach For The Dead" won't be bit-for-bit identical to the official album version, so think about it that way if it helps!

you're a wise man, I'll do just that.

when I show my grandchildren my scrobbles in 60 years time and they ask 'pop-pop, why is that album with 1 song called 'Reach For The Dead'?' I can sit them down and say, 'well, it all started on Record Store Day, children. a man had bought a strange record, and we were all very confused'

[mechanismj]

how to download track on bleep, I think with the site being down here and there, the rest of the world is waking up and so many people are trying tot D/L their Reach For The Dead preview that they have stopped it? for now...

I just found out now that I had a free download of it... after searching for it through other means... durr...

[Ciaranarchy]

Ok, here's my honest assessment:

First listen - a little underwhelmed. I thought it was very good but I was hoping for something less ambient and more melodic. Found myself hoping that it was an intro, a taster, and only representative of the album stylistically rather than musically.

Then I listened while watching the video. And wow, it all came together in a big way. That is a stunning video, one of the best I have ever seen if not the best (Krug is now top of my "directors I want to work with" list) And the song, I don't know, it just did something to me. Something it didn't the first time. It was potent.

I gave it a few hours and I've just listened and watched the video again and wow, it drew me in deep. Without seeming like a wank about it, it was pretty transcendent. Truly impressive what they have done here, it goes beyond music. Krug and Boards is an incredible collaboration.

Now I feel like Tomorrow's Harvest could be their defining work. All I can think of after listening to that track for the third time is "You can tell it was 7 years in the making, these guys are perfectionists indeed." etc. I can only imagine what wonders the album has in store. And my anticipation is now at fever pitch. The idea of having more incredible, musical experiences like the one I just had - wow.

I am sure Boards of Canada don't read this forum themselves (doesn't seem like their style, in my humble opinion), but just on the off chance: thanks for creating something beautiful.

[re-phaelam-ed]

so far...with the cosecha signal one and reach for the dead....the vibe is VERY 'the hills have eyes'
im diggin this!

cosecha vid make me think of videodrome.

cant wait for the album to land!

[Snufkin]

I simply can't stop listening to this track...

[jcotteri]

XYZ is one of those tracks that I've largely ignored in the past, I think I've literally only heard it once or twice before. Hearing the new track now, I'm really getting into it. It really does give off the same sort of vibe. It's a mystery to me that BOC never properly released XYZ. I heard that it was on original copies of the Peel Session but was quickly removed from subsequent pressings, a mystery in itself. I wonder how much those first pressings go for?

probably more than $5700. and i saw this "though it appeared on initial pressings of the CD, "XYZ" was quickly dropped due to unresolved sampling issues, making original copies a highly prized BoC rarity."
i read somewhere that DJ Food has a copy of Peel Session with XYZ on.

DJ Food is a collective of people mate

[re-phaelam-ed]

XYZ is one of those tracks that I've largely ignored in the past, I think I've literally only heard it once or twice before. Hearing the new track now, I'm really getting into it. It really does give off the same sort of vibe. It's a mystery to me that BOC never properly released XYZ. I heard that it was on original copies of the Peel Session but was quickly removed from subsequent pressings, a mystery in itself. I wonder how much those first pressings go for?

probably more than $5700. and i saw this "though it appeared on initial pressings of the CD, "XYZ" was quickly dropped due to unresolved sampling issues, making original copies a highly prized BoC rarity."
i read somewhere that DJ Food has a copy of Peel Session with XYZ on.

DJ Food is a collective of people mate

DJ Food is actually a dude that calls himself Strictly Kevin. he crashed at my pad with ollie teeba, Herbaliser, when they played in vancouver in 95-96....one guy dude....one guy. he just rolls with the ninja tune crew.

[breadmaker]

XYZ is one of those tracks that I've largely ignored in the past, I think I've literally only heard it once or twice before. Hearing the new track now, I'm really getting into it. It really does give off the same sort of vibe. It's a mystery to me that BOC never properly released XYZ. I heard that it was on original copies of the Peel Session but was quickly removed from subsequent pressings, a mystery in itself. I wonder how much those first pressings go for?

probably more than $5700. and i saw this "though it appeared on initial pressings of the CD, "XYZ" was quickly dropped due to unresolved sampling issues, making original copies a highly prized BoC rarity."
i read somewhere that DJ Food has a copy of Peel Session with XYZ on.

DJ Food is a collective of people mate :P

http://www.djfood.org/djfood/artifacts-13

[Snufkin]

XYZ is one of those tracks that I've largely ignored in the past, I think I've literally only heard it once or twice before. Hearing the new track now, I'm really getting into it. It really does give off the same sort of vibe. It's a mystery to me that BOC never properly released XYZ. I heard that it was on original copies of the Peel Session but was quickly removed from subsequent pressings, a mystery in itself. I wonder how much those first pressings go for?

probably more than $5700. and i saw this "though it appeared on initial pressings of the CD, "XYZ" was quickly dropped due to unresolved sampling issues, making original copies a highly prized BoC rarity."
i read somewhere that DJ Food has a copy of Peel Session with XYZ on.

DJ Food is a collective of people mate

DJ Food is actually a dude that calls himself Simply Kevin. he crashed at my pad with ollie teeba, Herbaliser, when they played in vancouver in 95-96....one guy dude....one guy. he just rolls with the ninja tune crew.

.. you never let me crash at your pad