Boards of Canada - new theory regarding band name origin

[Buckie High]

Other than the well-known and obvious reference to the National Film Board of Canada, a gentleman from Scotland I spoke to in the line up at the NYC Inferno Session last week cited another theory he was told by a "credible source" (his words, not mine). I found it interesting, nonetheless.

He said the band name is in reference to the planks of wood used for the boardwalks within the Red Moss Nature Reserve in Balerno, Scotland (near Pentland Hills). The lumber used was cedar and pine from Canada. Hence the name, Boards of Canada. Also, the Red Moss Nature Reserve is almost certainly the inspiration for their song, Red Moss.

[Skytree]

I've been there but live in the US so sadly cannot confirm such exotic details as lumber sourcing.

Canada does export lumber to Scotland...it's an interesting theory at the least. Can anyone local to the Pentland Hills verify?

I've also experienced first hand that "credible sources" can be anything but, though sometimes very much so, to a surreal degree

[Skytree]

Also, Buckie High, we've had someone by a similar username around these parts for some time now, but I see you just joined...

[Rex Reynolds]

I always assumed it was in reference to the film board. There's too many PSA tones & projector sounds for it not to be a nod back to watching stuff in a darkened classroom with the sound of kids playing drifting in through the cracks in the curtains. Or maybe that's just where it takes/grabs me.

I'm more curious about Buckie High... Is it named after the school in the Scottish town or the effects of the Scottish drink Buckfast (aka Buckie)? If it's the latter then the hiss sample might be a mixer being opened to add to the lunatic soup.

[adecentman]

Funny you say that, because when I was first getting into them in highschool I would visualize wooden boards when I heard their name. I like your concept, returning to nature/home in two places simultaneously…

Nowadays, in addition to the prevailing themes, I like to think of it as slang for a mixer, a ‘mixing board’. How they blend all their Canadian samplers/samples together

[wingster3]

Here is my theory

I think that Mike and Marcus are the best friends of all of the girls that are on this team but they have been together since they came up with BOC, so they have been in a lot more relationships with each other’s lives than they were with other girls. And they are the ones who have a relationship that is not just for me to have fun.

[ryetronics]

I think he's on to something. The link below shows the boardwalks with a metal hexagonical mesh over the top. I'm no fan of random hexagon's in life shitposts but holy shit, this would make a ton of sense if those hexagon patterns were there back in the early 90s!

https://maps.app.goo.gl/cPJb9CTmhYWqkJsi9

[Rex Reynolds]

The metal mesh is chicken wire. They put it on the boards to make them less slippy. It is actually more of a 90s/00s thing as they usually use sand/grit painted onto the top of the boards these days because the mesh gets quite dangerous itself after a while of weather and walking.

[Buckie High]

I've also experienced first hand that "credible sources" can be anything but, though sometimes very much so, to a surreal degree

The conversation I had with this guy leads me to believe that he is genuinely in contact with some people "in the know". Who knows, though.

I always assumed it was in reference to the film board. There's too many PSA tones & projector sounds for it not to be a nod back to watching stuff in a darkened classroom with the sound of kids playing drifting in through the cracks in the curtains. Or maybe that's just where it takes/grabs me.

I assume that the inspiration for the band name comes from multiple sources, including the well-established reference to the NFBOC.

Funny you say that, because when I was first getting into them in highschool I would visualize wooden boards when I heard their name. I like your concept, returning to nature/home in two places simultaneously…

He said the paradox of destroying nature (harvesting the trees for lumber in Canada) to protect another area of nature (the raised bog habitat at Red Moss) likely appealed to them.

[Scories]

National Film Boards of Canada all the way.
My take : They are way more influenced by TV than nature.

[The Other]

Wouldn't that be something if we were mislead all these years...

[Altruizine]

I’ve always liked the name but it’s a little silly too. Reminds me of Venetian Snares but with Canadian Boards instead.

I imagine it could refer to various administrative boards of Canada. Because it sounds like something massive. Canada is big and their boards have big responsibilities that affect a lot of people. In Canada they need to survive and thrive in some tough conditions too. The name just demands respect.

Somehow it really seems to work with Canada though. Boards of Russia sounds pretty bad. So it’s clearly purely a phonetic thing too.

It’s surprisingly clever actually because it’s hard to come up with a name that sounds huge without sounding extravagant or a pretentious tryhard. Something like… Wrath of God or something

[Scories]

Hey young man !! Show respect for the ONF/NFB.
You could spend days exploring their science/nature documentaries :

https://www.nfb.ca/film/from_ashes_to_forest/
https://www.nfb.ca/film/foresters/
https://www.nfb.ca/film/changing_forest/
https://www.nfb.ca/film/another_side_of_the_forest/
https://www.nfb.ca/film/day_in_forillon/
https://www.nfb.ca/film/look_to_the_forest/
https://www.nfb.ca/film/universe/

And it's also home of the French-Canadian Cinéma-Vérité :
https://www.nfb.ca/film/shimmering_beast/
https://www.onf.ca/film/mon_oncle_antoine/

[niknak]

National Film Boards of Canada all the way.
My take : They are way more influenced by TV than nature.

More than one thing can be true.

Sounds plausible to me.

[Scories]

I invite you all to take a look at the opening credits of the first two links I posted above:
https://www.nfb.ca/film/foresters/
https://www.nfb.ca/film/from_ashes_to_forest/

[Rex Reynolds]

The first one could fit on an old tunes tracklist no problem. And the Foresters one comes in like Prancelot Brainfire. Quality opening but the trees being violated by machines is a bit of a downer. Love old films like this, The BFI is a cracking source for old educational & promotional films too.

I do think that they are heavily influenced by nature, weather & geography too, you can feel the vast Scottish/Canadian landscapes in some of their tracks imo.

[Altruizine]

Btw I can’t help noticing that ”Arena Americanada” is something that sounds grandiose. Arenas are big, Americanada is a huge area. But it has that ”cheesy tryhard” vibe. I haven’t heard it but maybe this means that it’s the biggest track of all time

[WATER_CAN-_-]

National Film Boards of Canada all the way.
My take : They are way more influenced by TV than nature.

More than one thing can be true.

Sounds plausible to me.

"We are always inspired by nature." (Marcus)
https://bocpages.org/wiki/B_to_the_O_to_the_C

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[Buckie High]

[Den]

Beautiful.