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|title= Hardware Addicts | |title= Hardware Addicts | ||
|author= Gregor Wildermann | |author= Gregor Wildermann | ||
| − | |date= | + | |date= 1997/09 |
|publication= De:Bug | |publication= De:Bug | ||
| − | |issue= | + | |issue=03 |
| + | |pages=p.06 | ||
}} | }} | ||
</onlyinclude> | </onlyinclude> | ||
| − | |||
<onlyinclude> | <onlyinclude> | ||
| − | + | "[[Hardware Addicts]]" is an interview (In German) by Gregor Wildermann originally published Sept. 1997 in De:Bug Magazine Number 03, page 06 <ref>http://de-bug.de/mag/boards-of-canada/</ref> | |
| − | "[[Hardware Addicts]]" is | ||
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== Original text == | == Original text == | ||
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<onlyinclude> | <onlyinclude> | ||
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{{original}} | {{original}} | ||
| − | "It's just by default that we do electronic music. | + | "It's just by default that we do electronic music." Dieser in Ironie getränkte Satz stammt von [[Mike Sandison]], der zusammen mit Marcus Es die achte Platte auf [[SKAM]]-Records veröffentlichte und damit dieses Label aus Manchester nochmals interessanter machte. Gleich den Mitbetreibern von [[Autechre]], ist das Duo aus Edingburgh eine der Gruppen, die moderne elektronische Musik von der Landkarte Englands nicht verschwinden lassen. |
Ihr erster Auslandsbesuch führte sie zum Sunflower-Festival bei Regensburg, wo sie in guten Absichten auf die Folgen von schlechtem Wetter trafen und wie viele andere DJs, Liveacts und Raver mit Schlammfüßen zu kämpfen hatten. Mittendrin auch Michael Fakesch und xxxxx, die [[Boards of Canada]] für die MASK 1 gewinnen konnten. Das, der [[SKAM]]pler-Sampler und ihr kommendes Album auf eben diesem Label waren Grund genug, wieder einmal die Fragen nach Wohin und Woher zu stellen..... | Ihr erster Auslandsbesuch führte sie zum Sunflower-Festival bei Regensburg, wo sie in guten Absichten auf die Folgen von schlechtem Wetter trafen und wie viele andere DJs, Liveacts und Raver mit Schlammfüßen zu kämpfen hatten. Mittendrin auch Michael Fakesch und xxxxx, die [[Boards of Canada]] für die MASK 1 gewinnen konnten. Das, der [[SKAM]]pler-Sampler und ihr kommendes Album auf eben diesem Label waren Grund genug, wieder einmal die Fragen nach Wohin und Woher zu stellen..... | ||
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{{boc|[[Mike Sandison]]: Angefangen haben wir auf der Schule, eigentlich schon in den frühen 80er Jahren, so etwa 1983/84. Ich bin jetzt 26 Jahre alt, Marcus ist 24. Zu der Zeit haben wir unter diversen Namen und mit verschiedenen Musikern gearbeitet und es gab auch Zeiten, da waren wir eine richtige Band mit 4 Musikern und einem Vocalist. Ich selbst war da der Drummer. We are kind of multi-instrumentalists. Irgendwie fanden wir dann heraus, daß wir zu zweit am besten arbeiten konnten und wurden in dieser Phase auch immer elektronischer. Wir benutzten dabei aber sehr roughes Equipment wie z.B.. Ghettoblaster und älteres HiFi-Gear und wir wollten es so gut wie möglich klingen lassen. Selbst als wir uns immer teureres Equipment kauften, wollten wir auch damit diesen roughen Sound entstehen lassen. Wir benutzen es auf eine Weise, wie es andere nicht tun würden. Viele würden High-Tech-Sampler dazu benutzen, sehr cleane und reine Sounds zu machen; wir spielen absichtlich falsche Tonlagen und zerhacken die normalen Strukturen. We deliberatly fuck it about so that it gets really kind of rough. Es gibt ja mittlerweile auch moderne Verfahren, mit denen man etwas so klingen lassen kann, als ob es in den 60ern aufgenommen worden wäre, was in sich schon ein bißchen ironisch ist.}} | {{boc|[[Mike Sandison]]: Angefangen haben wir auf der Schule, eigentlich schon in den frühen 80er Jahren, so etwa 1983/84. Ich bin jetzt 26 Jahre alt, Marcus ist 24. Zu der Zeit haben wir unter diversen Namen und mit verschiedenen Musikern gearbeitet und es gab auch Zeiten, da waren wir eine richtige Band mit 4 Musikern und einem Vocalist. Ich selbst war da der Drummer. We are kind of multi-instrumentalists. Irgendwie fanden wir dann heraus, daß wir zu zweit am besten arbeiten konnten und wurden in dieser Phase auch immer elektronischer. Wir benutzten dabei aber sehr roughes Equipment wie z.B.. Ghettoblaster und älteres HiFi-Gear und wir wollten es so gut wie möglich klingen lassen. Selbst als wir uns immer teureres Equipment kauften, wollten wir auch damit diesen roughen Sound entstehen lassen. Wir benutzen es auf eine Weise, wie es andere nicht tun würden. Viele würden High-Tech-Sampler dazu benutzen, sehr cleane und reine Sounds zu machen; wir spielen absichtlich falsche Tonlagen und zerhacken die normalen Strukturen. We deliberatly fuck it about so that it gets really kind of rough. Es gibt ja mittlerweile auch moderne Verfahren, mit denen man etwas so klingen lassen kann, als ob es in den 60ern aufgenommen worden wäre, was in sich schon ein bißchen ironisch ist.}} | ||
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== Translated text == | == Translated text == | ||
| + | <onlyinclude> | ||
| − | + | '''Gregor Wildermann''' | |
| − | {{ | + | '''[email protected]''' |
| + | |||
| + | {{boc|It's just by default that we do electronic music.}} This sentence soaked with irony is by '''Mike Sandison''', who together with Marcus released the eighth record on Skam Records making this label from Manchester even more interesting. Like the co-operators of Autechre , The duo from Edingburgh is one of the groups that do not allow modern electronic music to disappear from the map of England. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The band's first visit abroad took them to the Sunflower Festival near Regensburg, where with good intentions met the consequences of bad weather and, like many other DJs, Live-acts and ravers, they had to struggle with muddy feet. In the middle of Michael Fakesch and xxxxx, the Boards of Canada for the MASK 1 were able to prevail. This, the Skampler sampler and their upcoming album on this label were reason enough to ask again the questions about where and when ..... | ||
| + | |||
| + | {{boc|'''Mike Sandison''': We started at school, actually in the early 80s, about 1983/84. I am now 26 years old, Marcus is 24. At the time we worked under different names and with different musicians and there were also times when we were a real band with 4 musicians and a vocalist. I myself was the drummer. We are kind of multi-instrumentalists. Somehow we found out that we could work best as the latter and were also more electronic in this phase. We used very rough equipment such as a ghettoblaster and older hi-fi gear and we wanted to make it sound as good as possible. Even as we bought more and more expensive equipment, we wanted to create this raw sound. We use it in a way that others would not. Many would use high-tech samplers to make very clean and pure sounds; We play deliberately wrong pitches and hack the normal structures. We deliberately fuck it about so that it gets really kind of rough. There are now also modern methods with which one can sound something as if it had been recorded in the 60s, which in itself is a bit ironic.}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | {{question|Where does the name Boards of Canada come from?}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': There is an agency in Canada called "The National Film Board of Canada". They produce nature and animal films and / or political documentaries, mainly dealing with North America and Canada. In the 70s these films were very popular and their soundtracks have influenced us very much. There were always very beautiful tunes, which were composed by an Acid-Casualty with long hair and many synthesizers. There were brilliant sounds and we tried to make our tracks sound like this. Since we could not name ourselves National Film Board of Canada for legal reasons, we simply changed the name slightly, and from this became Boards of Canada.}} | ||
| + | {{question|Is the picture on the skam record also from one of these films?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': This picture comes from a movie made by a friend of mine. We have a small company called Music70 and it also produces Super 8 and video films, many of which are quite experimental. I myself am also doing some of these film works and we will soon be shooting our first Super 8 film in feature film length, complete with our own music.}} | ||
| + | {{question|What is the theme of this film?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': It will probably be a road movie, but also in a rather broad concept. It is supposed to be a road movie in five parts and that is all we know at the moment.}} | ||
| + | {{question|How did the record get on the Skam label?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': After making a first record on our own label, Music70, we wanted to get in contact with Rephlex, Warp and Skam, as we were somewhat fans of these labels and their music. There were only 100 copies of this record and I myself still have 70 copies with me. The other 30 were sent to record stores and these three labels, and after two days, Sean Booth from Autechre called, saying, "Yah, we're gonna do something together." That naturally pleased us.}} | ||
| + | {{question|What do you think is the quality of Autechres music?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': They are doing really original rhythm-work, but they do not do jungle music. Many make the mistake that Jungle is the only alternative. On every new record, you notice their introspection for technical details, and they try to make one of a kind, truly independent music you can not pack into any genre.}} | ||
| + | {{question|Will there be more releases on Music70 and what else can we hear from you in the future?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': Music will certainly be released in the future, but at the moment we have too many other projects. On Skam will be an album in CD format to appear and I hope that we can finish it in the next 6 to 8 weeks. In addition, we will make a single and then an album for Mike Paradina's label Planet-μ. He had received a copy of the Twoism-EP, which came out in January '96 and contains material from the summer '95. One of the tracks ( "See ya later") was then also on the B side of the Skam-EP. Mike got a hold of this record somehow and then a few months later also called.}} | ||
| + | {{question|Does your new material differ from the tracks on the Skam EP?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': We have already developed further. Much of it sounds much more organic and the tracks are also much more composing. We also often try to change the track from the beginning to the end, and we describe it as a 'psychedelic approach', which we find somehow good. We have also heard a lot of folk-music from the 70s, such as Incredible String Band or Joni Mitchell, who also sound very organic and natural by their choice of instruments such as flutes. These sound sources we have increasingly sampled. We processed them, destroyed them and turned them back into something very electronic. It will nevertheless be noted that these influences exist.}} | ||
| + | {{question|What is the risk that a label like Skam will lose quality through a certain popularity?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': I know from Andy Maddocks (Label boss) that he is concerned that the label is currently being given too much attention and that too many interviews and articles appear. He is worried and I agree with him. For journalists like you or musicians like me, a label like Skam is of course very attractive, especially since you have to imagine how little financial resources behind it. It is best to have a label so underground that nobody knows where it comes from and who makes it. It is also up to the artists of a label to try everything, so that the label remains unique and represents something special.}} | ||
| + | {{question|Do you think that your music benefits from different artistic interests??}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': Definitely. Personally, I would not want to concentrate solely on music; That is not in my nature at all. Many musicians are also DJs and many from the television and film industry are interested in music. In my opinion, it is the rather cheap hardware that allows many people to record their own records and make their own videos. With computers you can do the artwork yourself and distribute it over the internet.}} | ||
| + | {{question|Richard James uses special software to make records like the Rubberjohnny. Do you also experiment with such programs?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': We do not use any computers at all. Every time we try to do something with a PC or Mac, we just have problems and it is annoying. We like Hardware. Much of our equipment looks like it could be in a big factory. We like knobs. Big things with knobs and dials. Of course, we also have digital equipment, but computers are not among them. I do not like these small displays, either because you can not work at all instinctively. Computers are simply not designed for it, are too fragile and go way too fast. We like to come into the studio and kick it about.}} | ||
| + | {{question|What are the advantages of working as a duo?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': Definitely quality control. Some artists, which I will not mention here, publish too much and often too average material. If they had a partner, he could tell them: I understand why you did it, but it's just shit. So we do it. Actually, we produce a lot of tracks, of which I write the most and Marcus tells me then what he thinks of it. Before others hear our tracks, we've both found them good enough.}} | ||
| + | {{question|What is a BoC Liveset like?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': We change our live setup again and again. At our first gigs, we actually took all our equipment, which was, of course, total nonsense. Then less and less built up, which was also an interesting aspect for our way of working. At the moment, we are thinking about building everything on a single sequencer, and we will probably choose an MPC2000 from Akai. At a live gig, you can still play parallel to the drums on a synth without sounding inaccurate.}} | ||
| + | {{question|Live-Acts is often muttered because there is no real standard for it. What do you think is the most common mistake of live acts?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': Often something completely different is played than is known from the records. I was always very disappointed when a band played something different at the live gig. Some say that you should create something unique on a stage, but I personally disagree. Some are only stubborn, and forget every form of melody, which I find rather a pity.}} | ||
| + | {{question|Dave Being is also from Edinburgh. Do you know him?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': No, unfortunately not, and we have been asked that often. We should call him. We also don't live directly in Edinburgh, but a bit out in the country. I could say we don't belong to any scene.}} | ||
| + | {{question|But most artists do not notice this until the press writes about the scene of a certain city and tries to create a "sound of ..." again..}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': You're probably right. Certainly, it would be more noticeable if we were not to live and work in Edinburgh for a while. From Manchester it can be said that many musicians use the same or very similar elements in their music. We ourselves nevertheless are rather loners.}} | ||
| + | {{question|If your music was to be played in a public place, what would it be?}} | ||
| + | {{boc|'''MS''': This is a difficult question. I think I would probably choose an open field. Our music is more like daytime music as opposed to nighttime music. If we could choose where and from where our music is heard, it would probably be from well-drunk people on a sunny day somewhere outside. That's the situation when I'm writing stuff.}} | ||
</onlyinclude> | </onlyinclude> | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Highlights and Notes == | ||
| + | * This is the first known published article on Boards of Canada. Previously thought to be published in 2000, this article was in fact published in September of 1997 making it pre-MHTRTC. | ||
| + | *Refers to the Sunflower Festival, which is one of the few known live BoC [https://bocpages.org/wiki/Gigs gigs]. It also states that it is their first gig abroad. | ||
| + | * Mike reveals the Hi Scores album photo comes from a film of a friend. | ||
| + | * Mike also reveals they had once planned a 5-part road movie in Super 8 film. | ||
| + | *Article has an early photo of the two, albeit poor quality. Possibly taken at the Sunflower Festival considering the context of the article and what appears to be music passes that they are wearing. | ||
| + | * The same De:Bug issue has what is safe to say the first published review of the Twoism EP. The review is done by the same author, Gregor Wildermann. | ||
== Scans == | == Scans == | ||
| − | |||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
| − | + | image:1997 09 DeBug No03 Cover.jpg | |
| + | image:1997 09 DeBug No03 pg06.jpg | ||
| + | image:1997 09 DeBug No03 pg46.jpg | ||
| + | image:BoC Debug 1997 09.jpg | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
| Line 110: | Line 156: | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
| + | [[Category: Interviews]] | ||
[[Category: Music Has the Right to Children era]] | [[Category: Music Has the Right to Children era]] | ||
Latest revision as of 22:06, 2 December 2021
| title | Hardware Addicts |
|---|---|
| author | Gregor Wildermann |
| publication | De:Bug |
| date | 1997/09 |
| issue | 03 |
| pages | p.06 |
"Hardware Addicts" is an interview (In German) by Gregor Wildermann originally published Sept. 1997 in De:Bug Magazine Number 03, page 06 [1]
Original text[edit]
This is an original text copied verbatim from the original source. Do not edit this text to correct errors or misspellings. Aside from added wikilinks, this text is exactly as it originally appeared.
"It's just by default that we do electronic music." Dieser in Ironie getränkte Satz stammt von Mike Sandison, der zusammen mit Marcus Es die achte Platte auf SKAM-Records veröffentlichte und damit dieses Label aus Manchester nochmals interessanter machte. Gleich den Mitbetreibern von Autechre, ist das Duo aus Edingburgh eine der Gruppen, die moderne elektronische Musik von der Landkarte Englands nicht verschwinden lassen. Ihr erster Auslandsbesuch führte sie zum Sunflower-Festival bei Regensburg, wo sie in guten Absichten auf die Folgen von schlechtem Wetter trafen und wie viele andere DJs, Liveacts und Raver mit Schlammfüßen zu kämpfen hatten. Mittendrin auch Michael Fakesch und xxxxx, die Boards of Canada für die MASK 1 gewinnen konnten. Das, der SKAMpler-Sampler und ihr kommendes Album auf eben diesem Label waren Grund genug, wieder einmal die Fragen nach Wohin und Woher zu stellen.....
Mike Sandison: Angefangen haben wir auf der Schule, eigentlich schon in den frühen 80er Jahren, so etwa 1983/84. Ich bin jetzt 26 Jahre alt, Marcus ist 24. Zu der Zeit haben wir unter diversen Namen und mit verschiedenen Musikern gearbeitet und es gab auch Zeiten, da waren wir eine richtige Band mit 4 Musikern und einem Vocalist. Ich selbst war da der Drummer. We are kind of multi-instrumentalists. Irgendwie fanden wir dann heraus, daß wir zu zweit am besten arbeiten konnten und wurden in dieser Phase auch immer elektronischer. Wir benutzten dabei aber sehr roughes Equipment wie z.B.. Ghettoblaster und älteres HiFi-Gear und wir wollten es so gut wie möglich klingen lassen. Selbst als wir uns immer teureres Equipment kauften, wollten wir auch damit diesen roughen Sound entstehen lassen. Wir benutzen es auf eine Weise, wie es andere nicht tun würden. Viele würden High-Tech-Sampler dazu benutzen, sehr cleane und reine Sounds zu machen; wir spielen absichtlich falsche Tonlagen und zerhacken die normalen Strukturen. We deliberatly fuck it about so that it gets really kind of rough. Es gibt ja mittlerweile auch moderne Verfahren, mit denen man etwas so klingen lassen kann, als ob es in den 60ern aufgenommen worden wäre, was in sich schon ein bißchen ironisch ist.
Woher stammt der Name Boards of Canada ?
"MS: Es gibt eine Behörde in Camda, die " The National Filmboard of CanadaÒ heißt. Sie produzieren Natur- und Tierfilme bzw. politische Dokumentarfilme, die sich hauptsächlich mit Nordamerika und Canada beschäftigen. In den 70ern waren diese Filme sehr beliebt und ihre Soundtracks haben uns sehr beeinflußt. Es waren immer sehr schön gemachte Tunes, die bestimmt von einem Acid-Casualty mit langen Haaren und sehr vielen Synthesisern komponiert worden sind. Es waren brillante Sounds und wir haben versucht, unsere Tracks in dieser Art klingen zu lassen. Da wir uns aus rechtlichen Gründen nicht National Filmboard of Canada nennen konnten, wandelten wir den Namen einfach ein wenig ab und daraus wurde Boards of Canada.
st das Bild auf der SKAM-Platte auch aus einem dieser Filme?
"MS: Dieses Bild stammt von einem Film, den ein Freund von mir gemacht hat. Wir haben ja eine kleine Firma namens Music70 und die produziert auch Super-8 und Videofilme, wovon viele recht experimentell sind. Ich selbst mache auch einige dieser Filmarbeiten und wir werden demnächst unseren ersten Super-8 Film in Spielfilmlänge drehen, bei dem wir auch komplett die Musik machen."
Was ist das Thema dieses Filmes?
"MS: Es wird wohl ein Roadmovie sein, aber auch das in einem eher weit gefassten Begriff. Es soll ein Roadmovie in fünf Teilen sein und das ist auch schon alles, was wir im Moment wissen."
Wie kam es zu der Platte auf dem SKAM-Label?
"MS: Nachdem wir auf unserem eigenen Label Music70 eine erste Platte gemacht hatten, wollten wir mit Rephlex, Warp und SKAM in Kontakt treten, da wir irgendwo auch Fans dieser Labels und ihrer Musik waren. Es gab nur 100 Stück dieser Platte und ich selbst habe noch 70 Stück bei mir liegen. Die anderen 30 verschickten wir an Plattenläden und diese drei Labels und nach zwei Tagen rief schon Sean Booth von Autechre an und meinte nur: "Yah, we' gonna do something together.Ò Das hat uns natürlich gefreut. "
Was macht deiner Meinung nach die Qualität von Autechres Musik aus?
"MS: They are doing really original rhythm-work, but they don't do jungle music. Viele machen den Fehler, daß Jungle die einzige Alternative sein soll. Bei jeder neuen Platte merkt man ihnen ihre Versessenheit für technische Details an und sie versuchen als einer der wenigen, wirklich eigenständige Musik zu machen, die man in keinerlei Genre packen kann. "
Wird es auf Music70 noch mehr Releases geben und was wird man sonst von Euch in Zukunft hören können?
"MS: Auf Music70 werden in Zukunft sicherlich noch Platten erscheinen, aber im Moment haben wir noch zu viele andere Projekte. Auf SKAM wird eine CD im Albumformat erscheinen und ich hoffe, daß wir das in den nächsten 6 bis 8 Wochen fertigstellen können. Außerdem werden wir eine Single und dann auch ein Album für Mike Paradinas Label Planet-µ machen. Er hatte eine Copy der Twoism-EP bekommen, die etwa im Januar '96 herauSKAM und Material vom Sommer '95 beinhaltet. Einer der Tracks ("See ya laterÒ) war dann auch auf der B-Seite der SKAM-EP. Mike hat diese Platte irgendwie in die Hand bekommen und uns dann ein paar Monate später auch daraufhin angerufen. "
Klingt Euer neues Material anders als die Tracks der EP auf SKAM?
"MS: Wir haben uns schon weiterentwickelt. Vieles klingt wesentlich organischer und die Tracks sind auch viel durchkomponierter. Oft versuchen wir auch, daß sich der Track vom Anfang bis Ende völlig verändert und wir beschreiben das als einen 'psychadelic approach', den wir irgendwie gut finden. Wir haben auch viel Folkmusik aus den 70ern gehört wie z.B. Incredible String Band oder Jonie Mitchell, die durch ihre Instrumentenwahl wie z.B. Flöten ebenfalls sehr organisch und natürlich klingen. Diese Soundquellen haben wir verstärkt gesampelt. We processed them, destroyed them and turned them back into something very electronic. Man wird aber trotzdem merken, daß diese Einflüsse bestehen."
Wie groß ist die Gefahr, daß ein Label wie SKAM durch eine gewisse Popularität an Qualität einbüßt?
"MS: Ich weiß von Andy Maddocks (Labelchef) Bedenken, daß dem Label im Moment zu viel Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt wird und das zu viele Interviews und Artikel erscheinen. Er macht sich da schon Sorgen und ich stimme ihm da auch zu. Für Journalisten wie dich oder Musiker wie mich ist so ein Label wie SKAM natürlich sehr attraktiv, zumal man sich vorstellen muß, wie wenig finanzielle Mittel dahinter stehen. Am besten ist es, wenn ein Label so Underground ist, daß niemand weiß, woher es kommt und wer es macht. Es liegt ja auch an den Künstlern eines Labels, alles zu versuchen, damit das Label einzigartig bleibt und etwas Besonderes darstellt."
Glaubst du, daß Eure Musik von den verschiedenen eigenen künstlerischen Interessen profitiert?
"MS: Bestimmt. Persönlich würde ich mich auch gar nicht nur auf Musik konzentrieren wollen; daß liegt überhaupt nicht in meiner Natur. Viele Musiker sind auch DJs und wiederum viele aus dem Fernseh- und Filmbereich interessieren sich für Musik. Meiner Meinung nach liegt es an der doch recht billigen Hardware, die es vielen Menschen ermöglicht, eigene Platten aufzunehmen und eigene Videos zu drehen. Mit Computern kann man selbst das Artwork machen und über das Internet vertreiben. "
Richard James benutzt spezielle Software, um Platten wie die Rubberjohnny zu machen. Experimentiert ihr auch mit solchen Programmen?
"MS: Wir benutzen überhaupt keine Computer. Jedesmal, wenn wir versuchen, etwas mit einem PC oder Mac zu machen, haben wir einfach nur Probleme und es nervt. We like Hardware. Viel von unserem Equipment sieht so aus, als könnte es in einer großen Fabrik stehen. We like knobs. Big things with knobs and dials. Wir haben natürlich auch digitales Equipment, aber Computer gehören nicht dazu. Ich mag diese kleinen Displays auch nicht, weil man damit überhaupt nicht instinktiv arbeiten kann. Computer sind einfach dafür nicht ausgelegt, sind zu zerbrechlich und gehen viel zu schnell kaputt. We like to come into the studio and kick it about."
Worin liegen die Vorteile bei der Arbeit als Duo?
"MS: Definitiv die Qualitätskontrolle. Manche Künstler, die ich jetzt hier aber nicht nennen werde, veröffentlichen einfach zu viel und oft zu durchschnittliches Material. Wenn sie einen Partner hätten, dann könnte der ihnen sagen: Ich verstehe warum du das gemacht hast, aber es ist einfach shit. So machen wir das. Eigentlich produzieren wir eine Menge Tracks, von denen ich die meisten schreibe und Marcus sagt mir dann, was er davon hält. Bevor Andere unsere Tracks hören, haben wir beide sie für gut genug befunden."
Wie sieht ein Liveset von BOC aus?
"MS: Wir ändern unser Live-Setup immer wieder. Bei unseren ersten Gigs haben wir tatsächlich unser ganzes Equipment mitgenommen, was natürlich totaler Schwachsinn war. Danach haben wir dann immer weniger aufgebaut, was auch für unsere Arbeitsweise ein interessanter Aspekt war. Im Moment überlegen wir, alles auf einen einzigen Sequencer aufzubauen und da werden wir uns wohl für einen MPC2000 von Akai entscheiden. Bei einem Live-Gig kann man dann immer noch parallel zu den Drums auf einem Synthi spielen, ohne daß es unharmonisch klingt."
Über Live-Acts wird ja oft gemäkelt, weil es keinen wirklichen Standart dafür gibt. Was ist deiner Meinung nach der häufigste Fehler von Live-Acts?
"MS: Oft wird etwas völlig anderes gespielt, als es von den Platten her bekannt ist. Ich war immer sehr enttäuscht, wenn eine Band beim Live-Gig etwas ganz anderes spielte. Manche sagen zwar, daß man auf einer Bühne etwas Einzigartiges schaffen sollte, aber ich persönlich bin da anderer Meinung. Manche versteifen sich auch nur auf Rhythmik und vergessen jede Form von Melodie, was ich dann auch eher schade finde. "
Dave Being ist auch aus Edinburgh. Kennt ihr euch eigentlich?
"MS: Nein, leider nicht und wir sind das auch schon öfter gefragt worden. Wir müssen ihn wohl anrufen. Wir wohnen auch nicht direkt in Edinburgh, sondern etwas außerhalb auf dem Lande. Ich könnte auch nicht sagen, daß wir zu irgendeiner Szene gehören."
Das fällt den meisten Künstlern aber auch erst dann auf, wenn in der Presse über die Szene einer bestimmten Stadt geschrieben wird und mal wieder versucht wird, einen "Sound of..." zu kreieren.
"MS: Da hast du wohl recht. Sicherlich würde es uns eher auffallen, wenn wir eine Zeit lang nicht mehr in Edinburgh wohnen und arbeiten würden. Von Manchester kann man schon behaupten, daß dort viele Musiker gleiche oder sehr ähnliche Elemente in ihrer Musik benutzen. Wir selber sind dennoch eher Einzelgänger."
Wenn eure Musik an einem öffentlichen Platz gespielt werden sollte, welcher wäre das dann?
"MS: Das ist eine schwierige Frage. Ich glaube, ich würde mir wohl ein offenes Feld aussuchen. Unsere Musik ist eher Daytime-Music im Gegensatz zu Nighttime-Music. Wenn wir uns ausuchen könnten, von wem und wo unsere Musik gehört wird, dann wäre es wohl von gut angetrunkenen Menschen an einem sonnigen Tag irgendwo im Freien. That's the situation when I'am writing stuff."
Translated text[edit]
Gregor Wildermann [email protected]
It's just by default that we do electronic music.
This sentence soaked with irony is by Mike Sandison, who together with Marcus released the eighth record on Skam Records making this label from Manchester even more interesting. Like the co-operators of Autechre , The duo from Edingburgh is one of the groups that do not allow modern electronic music to disappear from the map of England.
The band's first visit abroad took them to the Sunflower Festival near Regensburg, where with good intentions met the consequences of bad weather and, like many other DJs, Live-acts and ravers, they had to struggle with muddy feet. In the middle of Michael Fakesch and xxxxx, the Boards of Canada for the MASK 1 were able to prevail. This, the Skampler sampler and their upcoming album on this label were reason enough to ask again the questions about where and when .....
Mike Sandison: We started at school, actually in the early 80s, about 1983/84. I am now 26 years old, Marcus is 24. At the time we worked under different names and with different musicians and there were also times when we were a real band with 4 musicians and a vocalist. I myself was the drummer. We are kind of multi-instrumentalists. Somehow we found out that we could work best as the latter and were also more electronic in this phase. We used very rough equipment such as a ghettoblaster and older hi-fi gear and we wanted to make it sound as good as possible. Even as we bought more and more expensive equipment, we wanted to create this raw sound. We use it in a way that others would not. Many would use high-tech samplers to make very clean and pure sounds; We play deliberately wrong pitches and hack the normal structures. We deliberately fuck it about so that it gets really kind of rough. There are now also modern methods with which one can sound something as if it had been recorded in the 60s, which in itself is a bit ironic.
Where does the name Boards of Canada come from?
MS: There is an agency in Canada called "The National Film Board of Canada". They produce nature and animal films and / or political documentaries, mainly dealing with North America and Canada. In the 70s these films were very popular and their soundtracks have influenced us very much. There were always very beautiful tunes, which were composed by an Acid-Casualty with long hair and many synthesizers. There were brilliant sounds and we tried to make our tracks sound like this. Since we could not name ourselves National Film Board of Canada for legal reasons, we simply changed the name slightly, and from this became Boards of Canada.
Is the picture on the skam record also from one of these films?
MS: This picture comes from a movie made by a friend of mine. We have a small company called Music70 and it also produces Super 8 and video films, many of which are quite experimental. I myself am also doing some of these film works and we will soon be shooting our first Super 8 film in feature film length, complete with our own music.
What is the theme of this film?
MS: It will probably be a road movie, but also in a rather broad concept. It is supposed to be a road movie in five parts and that is all we know at the moment.
How did the record get on the Skam label?
MS: After making a first record on our own label, Music70, we wanted to get in contact with Rephlex, Warp and Skam, as we were somewhat fans of these labels and their music. There were only 100 copies of this record and I myself still have 70 copies with me. The other 30 were sent to record stores and these three labels, and after two days, Sean Booth from Autechre called, saying, "Yah, we're gonna do something together." That naturally pleased us.
What do you think is the quality of Autechres music?
MS: They are doing really original rhythm-work, but they do not do jungle music. Many make the mistake that Jungle is the only alternative. On every new record, you notice their introspection for technical details, and they try to make one of a kind, truly independent music you can not pack into any genre.
Will there be more releases on Music70 and what else can we hear from you in the future?
MS: Music will certainly be released in the future, but at the moment we have too many other projects. On Skam will be an album in CD format to appear and I hope that we can finish it in the next 6 to 8 weeks. In addition, we will make a single and then an album for Mike Paradina's label Planet-μ. He had received a copy of the Twoism-EP, which came out in January '96 and contains material from the summer '95. One of the tracks ( "See ya later") was then also on the B side of the Skam-EP. Mike got a hold of this record somehow and then a few months later also called.
Does your new material differ from the tracks on the Skam EP?
MS: We have already developed further. Much of it sounds much more organic and the tracks are also much more composing. We also often try to change the track from the beginning to the end, and we describe it as a 'psychedelic approach', which we find somehow good. We have also heard a lot of folk-music from the 70s, such as Incredible String Band or Joni Mitchell, who also sound very organic and natural by their choice of instruments such as flutes. These sound sources we have increasingly sampled. We processed them, destroyed them and turned them back into something very electronic. It will nevertheless be noted that these influences exist.
What is the risk that a label like Skam will lose quality through a certain popularity?
MS: I know from Andy Maddocks (Label boss) that he is concerned that the label is currently being given too much attention and that too many interviews and articles appear. He is worried and I agree with him. For journalists like you or musicians like me, a label like Skam is of course very attractive, especially since you have to imagine how little financial resources behind it. It is best to have a label so underground that nobody knows where it comes from and who makes it. It is also up to the artists of a label to try everything, so that the label remains unique and represents something special.
Do you think that your music benefits from different artistic interests??
MS: Definitely. Personally, I would not want to concentrate solely on music; That is not in my nature at all. Many musicians are also DJs and many from the television and film industry are interested in music. In my opinion, it is the rather cheap hardware that allows many people to record their own records and make their own videos. With computers you can do the artwork yourself and distribute it over the internet.
Richard James uses special software to make records like the Rubberjohnny. Do you also experiment with such programs?
MS: We do not use any computers at all. Every time we try to do something with a PC or Mac, we just have problems and it is annoying. We like Hardware. Much of our equipment looks like it could be in a big factory. We like knobs. Big things with knobs and dials. Of course, we also have digital equipment, but computers are not among them. I do not like these small displays, either because you can not work at all instinctively. Computers are simply not designed for it, are too fragile and go way too fast. We like to come into the studio and kick it about.
What are the advantages of working as a duo?
MS: Definitely quality control. Some artists, which I will not mention here, publish too much and often too average material. If they had a partner, he could tell them: I understand why you did it, but it's just shit. So we do it. Actually, we produce a lot of tracks, of which I write the most and Marcus tells me then what he thinks of it. Before others hear our tracks, we've both found them good enough.
What is a BoC Liveset like?
MS: We change our live setup again and again. At our first gigs, we actually took all our equipment, which was, of course, total nonsense. Then less and less built up, which was also an interesting aspect for our way of working. At the moment, we are thinking about building everything on a single sequencer, and we will probably choose an MPC2000 from Akai. At a live gig, you can still play parallel to the drums on a synth without sounding inaccurate.
Live-Acts is often muttered because there is no real standard for it. What do you think is the most common mistake of live acts?
MS: Often something completely different is played than is known from the records. I was always very disappointed when a band played something different at the live gig. Some say that you should create something unique on a stage, but I personally disagree. Some are only stubborn, and forget every form of melody, which I find rather a pity.
Dave Being is also from Edinburgh. Do you know him?
MS: No, unfortunately not, and we have been asked that often. We should call him. We also don't live directly in Edinburgh, but a bit out in the country. I could say we don't belong to any scene.
But most artists do not notice this until the press writes about the scene of a certain city and tries to create a "sound of ..." again..
MS: You're probably right. Certainly, it would be more noticeable if we were not to live and work in Edinburgh for a while. From Manchester it can be said that many musicians use the same or very similar elements in their music. We ourselves nevertheless are rather loners.
If your music was to be played in a public place, what would it be?
MS: This is a difficult question. I think I would probably choose an open field. Our music is more like daytime music as opposed to nighttime music. If we could choose where and from where our music is heard, it would probably be from well-drunk people on a sunny day somewhere outside. That's the situation when I'm writing stuff.
Highlights and Notes[edit]
- This is the first known published article on Boards of Canada. Previously thought to be published in 2000, this article was in fact published in September of 1997 making it pre-MHTRTC.
- Refers to the Sunflower Festival, which is one of the few known live BoC gigs. It also states that it is their first gig abroad.
- Mike reveals the Hi Scores album photo comes from a film of a friend.
- Mike also reveals they had once planned a 5-part road movie in Super 8 film.
- Article has an early photo of the two, albeit poor quality. Possibly taken at the Sunflower Festival considering the context of the article and what appears to be music passes that they are wearing.
- The same De:Bug issue has what is safe to say the first published review of the Twoism EP. The review is done by the same author, Gregor Wildermann.
