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List of samples used by Boards of Canada

For more detailed info on a particular sample, see the individual song pages.

Contents

A Few Old Tunes (1996)[edit]

Spectrum[edit]
  • Beginning at :38, the same drum loop that appears in "Twoism" plays throughout
P:C:[edit]
  • A man and a woman breathing heavily, with 1970's music in the background[1]
Trapped[edit]
  • A remix of Trapped by Colonel Abrams (1985)
  • A much different version of this remix was released under the Hell Interface moniker in 1997 as part of the Skam Records MASK200 compilation[2]
Devil[edit]
  • A commercial for Dirt Devil (a brand of portable vacuum cleaner).[3]
Blockbusters[edit]
  • Dialogue, applause, and music from an episode of the British television game show Blockbusters
The Way You Show[edit]
  • The chorus of "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang
I Love U[edit]
Sequoia[edit]
  • A drum fill from Fragment by Bleach (1992)[4]

Old Tunes Vol. 2 (1996)[edit]

We've Started Up[edit]
  • The beginning of the song "Falling in Love Again" by Techno Twins[5]
  • Sample featuring the lyrics "We're startin' up, now we're on our way" from "Flashback" by Imagination (1981)[6]
  • Sample with the words "He's a dream" from the song of the same name by Shandi (1983)[7]
Jimbo Rehearsing[edit]
  • This song is a sped up recording of "Berceuse" from the Dolly Suite by Gabriel FaurΓ©[8]
Staircase Whip[edit]
  • Main vocal sample comes from "Zableyalo mi AgΕ­ntse", as it appears on the compilation album Le MystΓ¨re des Voix Bulgares (1991)[9]. Marcus also references this compilation album in an interview.[10]
Dave (I'm A Real Traditionalist)[edit]
  • Vocal sample of David Bigham saying "I'm..er...a Real Traditionalist myself of course, because of Orbison, and Holly, and The Fireballs and The String Along, and er, all the things that happen in the studio. I'm so glad to...take care of...studio and..."[11]
  • Contains a sample of a woman ordering at a drive-thru also used in "R35TT A06" [12]
Peace-Tony-Devil[edit]
  • "The royal family should be left in peace!"
  • A commercial for Frosted Flakes[13]
  • A commercial for Dirt Devil (a brand of portable vacuum cleaner.)[14]
Iraq Says[edit]
  • Voices saying "Iraq says nineteen people died" and "We won't know that until a full assessment has taken place in due course" (source unknown)
  • Brief jingle from Sesame Street[15]
  • Samples from opening screen of The Terminator (1992) game on the Sega Genesis.[16]
Nine-Rubber Wisdom[edit]
  • The hook from Toni Basil's 1982 hit "Mickey"[17]
On A Rolling Sea[edit]
  • A group saying "Fly!" from Sesame Street episode 3174 (1994)[18]
Iced Cooly Beatnik[edit]
  • Main melody sampled from the horror film The Haunted House of Horror (1969)[19]
Sir Prancelot Brainfire[edit]
  • Uses a full exerpt of "Sir Prancelot", a theme song of the cartoon The Adventures of Sir Prancelot, with an added synth line.[20]
  • A vocal sample from the adult film Summer of '72.[21]
Heysanna Hosanna[edit]
  • The music is a rendition of "Hosanna" from the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. The source is unknown, and could have been played by BoC.
Apparatus[edit]
  • From the 1958 horror film Terror from the Year 5000: "Dad, look at the TV"[22]
  • An old Amiga module called "Voyager" by Hellraiser[23]
Music For Pylons[edit]
  • A synthesizer loop from the ending of "Karn Evil 9, Third Impression" on the album Brain Salad Surgery by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer[24]
  • Drums from "Cocaine Sex (Turbo Lust Mix)" by Renegade Soundwave (1987)[25]
Orange Hexagon Sun[edit]

BoC Maxima (1996)[edit]

Niagara[edit]
  • Two men talking about the Niagara river sampled from the documentary The Falls (1991)[26]
  • Background music from the adult film Summer of '72[27]
  • Beginning at :22, a giggle and two metallic-sounding high notes from the I Love You Sesame Street vignette[28]
Concourse[edit]
  • Dialogue from episode 509 of Bob Vila's Home Again (1992)[29]
Whitewater[edit]
  • Speech from the "Many Me's" Sesame Street segment[30]

Hi Scores (1996)[edit]

Nlogax[edit]
  • The opening drums Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life by Indeep[31]
June 9th[edit]
Everything You Do Is A Balloon[edit]
  • Melodic fragment from Timeless by John Abercrombie[33]

Music Has The Right To Children (1998)[edit]

Wildlife Analysis[edit]
  • A sample from Sesame Street's Alphaquest slowed by ~15.86 semitones repeats throughout[34]
An Eagle in Your Mind[edit]
  • All percussion on this track is constructed using the voice of Mike's girlfriend[35]
  • At 1:53, a speech sample from the documentary On the Tracks of the Wild Otter (1983) is heard[36]
  • At 2:50 a processed voice saying "I love you", from Sesame Street[37]
The Color of the Fire[edit]
  • Throughout the song, a child sounding out the sentence "I love you" from Sesame Street is heard[38]
Telephasic Workshop[edit]
  • Chopped-up voices saying "now this is very irresponsible" and, in a Scottish accent, "yer no gonnae"
  • A slightly slowed-down male voice saying "bordering Canada"
  • A young man shouting "twenty cent" (?)
Triangles and Rhombuses[edit]
Sixtyten[edit]
  • A sound effect from the science fiction film Terror from the Year 5000 (1958)[40] begins the song.
  • Various vocal samples from Getaway by Earth, Wind & Fire (1976)[41]
  • Various vocal samples from On Your Face by Earth, Wind & Fire (1976)[42]
  • A child saying "There are a lot of different 'me's, you know. There's the made me, when I get angry." from Sesame Street[43]
Turquoise Hexagon Sun[edit]
Kaini Industries[edit]
  • What might be a recording from a native American ceremony, culled from the recordings Calling an Enemy's Arutam Soul (1973) and Song of Kundi, the Flute Bird (Flute Solo) (1973)[44] [45]
Roygbiv[edit]
  • Melodic fragment from Sesame Street episode 2852 (1991)[46]
  • A child saying "Lake" from Sesame Street episode 2852 (1991)[47]
  • Similar Slow Kick and Snare Sample from "Spectrum"
Rue the Whirl[edit]
Aquarius[edit]
  • Drums, bass and other elements from "Aquarius" from the Musical Hair (1979)[49]
  • The word "orange" from a short vignette from Sesame Street[50]
  • Children's laughter, and the same children saying "yeah, that's right" from an episode of Sesame Street[51][52]
  • A sequence of numbers read by a professional-sounding woman's voice
  • A girl saying "We'll sail to the stars." from Sesame Street[53]
Pete Standing Alone[edit]
One Very Important Thought[edit]
  • A voice-over from the adult film A Brief Affair (1982), rerecorded, and with the words "listening to Boards of Canada" replacing "viewing an adult film."[54]
Happy Cycling[edit]
  • Dissonant tone and drum beat from Heart Beat, Pig Meat by Pink Floyd (1970)[55]
  • Beginning at :39, eerie choir samples from The Crucifixion, from the soundtrack to Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)[56]
  • At 4:51, a reversed interview with with Jeff Lynne of the Electric Light Orchestra on the subject of ELO's supposed use of backmasked vocals and the resulting controversy[57]
  • Beginning at 1:19, bird calls and a male singing voice from La FΓͺte Sauvage by Vangelis[58] plays intermittently.

In a Beautiful Place out in the Country (2000)[edit]

Kid For Today[edit]
  • A slide projector switching to the next slide
In a Beautiful Place out in the Country[edit]
  • Children laughing and the creaking of a porch swing
  • The phrase "Come out and live with a religious community in a beautiful place out in the country", quoted from Amo Bishop Roden, processed through a vocoder.[59]

Geogaddi (2002)[edit]

Music Is Math[edit]
  • A man or low-voiced woman slowly saying "the past inside the present"
  • The phrase "we all fall down" spoken slowly, processed through a vocoder, and melodized
  • A similar voice to the "past inside the present" voice saying either "purple", "be careful", or "perfect circle"
Beware The Friendly Stranger[edit]
  • The sound of a crackling campfire
  • A playground with children, played very quiet
Gyroscope[edit]
  • A number station broadcast recorded by Sean Booth on a shortwave radio and gifted to BOC[60]
  • Reversed high notes played on a 12-string guitar (probably an acoustic guitar and most likely sped up)
Dandelion[edit]
  • Dialogue from Dive to the Edge of Creation (1980)[61]
Sunshine Recorder[edit]
Julie And Candy[edit]
  • Dialogue between a man and a woman sampled from the Season of the Witch (1972)[64]
The Smallest Weird Number[edit]
  • The flute solo at the end of When the Music Starts to Play (1966) by The Incredible String Band, heard in reverse and at a lower speed[65]
  • Track 10 from side B of (Random 35 Tracks Tape), reversed
1969[edit]
  • An interview with Amo Bishop Roeden featuring the line "Although not a follower of David Koresh, she's a devoted Branch Davidian" (1969 (with "David Koresh" reversed); Same words occur in BoC remix of Poppy Seed by Slag Boom Van Loon
  • A vocoded voice, similar to the one heard counting in Aquarius, saying "1969 in the sunshine"
Energy Warning[edit]
  • A 1979 public information advert on the topic of energy conservation by the youth organization 4-H[66]
  • A synthesizer line from the documentary The Falls (1991) [67]
Opening The Mouth[edit]
  • Continuous, repeated whispering of the word "us", or the sound of air being sucked from a person's mouth as by a dental vacuum
Alpha And Omega[edit]
  • "Alpha and Omega" said over a loudspeaker
  • A vocoded voice saying "Yellow"
  • A man's voice saying "I'm a God-darned Satanist, and, if I wanted, I'd be in this business too", reversed
The Devil Is In The Details[edit]
  • A spoken passage that seems to have been taken from a self-improvement-oriented self-hypnosis tape and which has been modified to sound as if it is being spoken underwater
  • Very slowly-spoken speech (words unknown) processed through a vocoder and harmonized at close intervals for a dissonant sound (not confirmed)
A Is To B As B Is To C[edit]
  • A sound similar to a bubbling cauldron
  • A vocoded voice singing: "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Now in Spanish, then in French, we'll say that twice again". Sampled from the song Languages We Speak by Sarah Barchas[68]
  • A group singing "We love you all"
  • From the film Season of the Witch, a man: "I'll be gone about a week. Oh, by the way, I brought..."[69] forwards and reversed
  • From the song "Teddy Bear's Picnic": "If you go down to the woods today, you'd better not go alone!" (reversed)
  • A reversed excerpt of an interview with Tommy Silverstein on the A&E investigative report Behind Bars: Supermax[70]
  • "So, those prophecies you've been describing" ... "and now to business [matters?]..." (reversed)
  • A distorted voice repeating "It must be a musical computer!" sampled from Make a Joyful Noise!: introducing Colby! [71]
Dawn Chorus[edit]
  • An English woman possibly saying "round the, round the, round the cauldron" and/or "but you may be dead ... you may be dead", which heavy echo applied
  • A child wailing semi-melodically
You Could Feel the Sky[edit]
  • The sound of velcro pieces being separated, the tightening of a rope, or the compression of two rubber surfaces such as rubber gloves. (not confirmed)
  • A grunting noise resembling the sound of a taut tope being pulled across the hull of a wooden ship
  • A man saying "A god with horns" and/or "A god with hooves", played in reverse
  • Whispered: "take my hand" (You Could Feel the Sky, also in Seven Forty Seven)
From One Source All Things Depend[edit]
  • Various young speakers discussing the nature of God, sampled from an album entitled Family of God (1970)[72]

The Campfire Headphase (2005)[edit]

Chromakey Dreamcoat[edit]
  • Conversation from the anti-drug education film The Social Seminar: Tom (1972) [73]
  • Slowed down voice on the right channel from Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial (1979) repeating "peanut butter. It's doggone good!"[74]
Peacock Tail[edit]
  • Various voices including a baby crying
A Moment of Clarity[edit]
  • A choir sample from Foreign Affair (1979) by The Manhattan Transfer[75]
'84 Pontiac Dream[edit]

The sampled piano chord at 1:02 also appears in Chromakey Dreamcoat at 4:29[76]

Sherbet Head[edit]
  • Various garbled voices that seem as though they may have been recorded in a highly reverberant public space on a handheld recorder
Hey Saturday Sun[edit]
  • An underlying drone sound that bears a strong resemblance to the drone heard in the cabin of an airliner during travel
Slow This Bird Down[edit]
  • Shortwave radio noise, including morse, teletype, and various data signals, one which seems to be a Harris RF-5710 radio modem
Farewell Fire[edit]
  • This is a certified Marcus Track[77]

Tomorrow's Harvest (2013)[edit]

Gemini[edit]
  • The words "Does anybody copy me?" followed by "Roger"
Reach For The Dead[edit]
  • A male voice says "Listen" or possibly "Risen."
Telepath[edit]
  • A male voice counting to ten repeatedly along with some speech
Transmisiones Ferox[edit]
  • A female voice saying "Nineteen-ninety-nine"
  • A female voice saying "The others."
Sick Times[edit]
  • A voice at 1:46 saying "thank you"
Palace Posy[edit]
  • The word "eleven" from WTCN-TVs 1970's jingle[78]
Split Your Infinities[edit]
  • A quote at 1:45 about FEMA camps from the documentary America Under Siege (1994)[79]
  • A sample from an MCA Videodisc bumper. The sample appears deeper in the mix at 1:48, but can be heard most clearly and in its entirety starting at 4:00. [80]
Nothing Is Real[edit]
  • A distorted voice reciting about or talking to Jesus
New Seeds[edit]

Unsorted[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ https://youtu.be/wGKhFfMUTwc?t=63
  2. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/2967-Various-MASK-200
  3. ↑ https://youtu.be/5hIdVAFs3dk
  4. ↑ https://youtu.be/bPW3YRn_uAI . Slowed down and possibly rerecorded.
  5. ↑ https://youtu.be/ZsLw0BCI6u4
  6. ↑ https://youtu.be/iqPVMw939j8?t=8
  7. ↑ https://youtu.be/YOgejpn6CII?t=103 . Sample is slowed down by ~25%.
  8. ↑ https://youtu.be/r1jUmqel1Is . The exact recording is unknown, but the cited material should demonstrate the compositional source.
  9. ↑ https://youtu.be/dluBzT6kVno?t=83
  10. ↑ https://bocpages.org/wiki/Breaking_Into_Heaven
  11. ↑ https://youtu.be/vJiREhmiUQs The video in this reference is unrelated, and just for visual interest. Additionally, it is not confirmed that the sample source is from David Bigham. For more discussion about the source, see the full page for this song.
  12. ↑ Appears at :31 in this song, and 3:20 in "R35TT A06"
  13. ↑ https://youtu.be/0L4iuauTuEQ?t=25
  14. ↑ https://youtu.be/5hIdVAFs3dk
  15. ↑ https://youtu.be/QimBkBFspbY?t=151
  16. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asG9Ksx69YA
  17. ↑ https://youtu.be/WFrmapGCuhs?t=6 . Sample appears around :35 in Nine-Rubber Wisdom.
  18. ↑ https://youtu.be/eDTAnUCmapU?t=152 . This sample also appears prominently in "Orange Romeda"
  19. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d1aOKXnMGc&t=3539s
  20. ↑ https://youtu.be/nf1HmWmaCZc
  21. ↑ https://youtu.be/wGKhFfMUTwc?t=120 . As noted in this video, excerpts from the film also appear in "Niagara", "P:C:", and "Sixtyniner".
  22. ↑ https://youtu.be/JZs5qTGtKfk?t=2872
  23. ↑ https://youtu.be/siIqv8178xo?t=14
  24. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2W7l4IPptY&t=512s . Sample has been slowed.
  25. ↑ https://youtu.be/lbDkut1bLKQ?t=397 . Sample is also slowed and distorted.
  26. ↑ http://youtu.be/UGrNQcPLwWE?t=2956
  27. ↑ https://youtu.be/wGKhFfMUTwc
  28. ↑ https://youtu.be/mpQXqnOStAs?t=40
  29. ↑ http://youtu.be/CUt_PPzFAdY . Comes from multiple parts of the episode, most notably 8:49 and 9:45
  30. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZyRR-18EVU . The speech used here is treated heavily. As noted in further citations, this clip is used in many other BoC tracks, such as "Sixtyten", "Dawn Chorus", and "Sunshine Recorder"
  31. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgGiCKbud5I
  32. ↑ https://youtu.be/nMuNULvJRvg?t=1332
  33. ↑ https://youtu.be/CHsZ_-9442o?t=84 . This song also appears in the background of the original vocal sample used in "One Very Important Thought"
  34. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBFLBBgRpY0&t=25s . Original sample, unedited.
  35. ↑ https://bocpages.org/wiki/Northern_Exposure
  36. ↑ https://youtu.be/NvIneE_fcHM?t=1591
  37. ↑ The original sample: https://youtu.be/mpQXqnOStAs?si=26dYmAf0FqeLp3xI&t=38 This additional source demonstrates the processing: https://youtu.be/pfTks0bgEO4?si=xp30LGFs0U4w_a60&t=128
  38. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpQXqnOStAs
  39. ↑ https://youtu.be/b4tdPBYeLAE?t=4806 .
  40. ↑ https://youtu.be/nch8WxwcRBk . As the video notes, this film is also sampled in "Apparatus" from Old Tunes Vol. 2.
  41. ↑ https://youtu.be/xN_3nib4r3Y . Notable clips appear at 1:10 & 2:17, and repeat throughout Sixtyten.
  42. ↑ https://youtu.be/2IbTNgdxrpc . Notable clip appears at 1:10
  43. ↑ https://youtu.be/QZyRR-18EVU . Various pieces of this sample also appear in "Dawn Chorus", "Whitewater", and "Sunshine Recorder".
  44. ↑ https://youtu.be/hRoKgx7ioxc , https://youtu.be/D7dvcEkotAE . These recordings are a likely sample source, but this has not be comprehensively confirmed.
  45. ↑ https://youtu.be/D7z-p2XmhTE . Video that contrasts one of the purported samples.
  46. ↑ https://youtu.be/9j4kXWTJXLE?t=696
  47. ↑ https://youtu.be/9j4kXWTJXLE?t=717 . ibid, different timestamp.
  48. ↑ https://bocpages.org/wiki/Two_Aesthetes_of_Electronic_Music
  49. ↑ https://youtu.be/ISYwosO04fg?t=45 . It has been suggested that the sample has been rerecorded due to the slight difference in instrumentation, but this has not been confirmed.
  50. ↑ https://youtu.be/ZHAtrnbu8ts?t=1
  51. ↑ https://youtu.be/LjOzmDqoKyM?t=7
  52. ↑ https://youtu.be/LjOzmDqoKyM?t=32 . ibid, different timestamp.
  53. ↑ https://youtu.be/mN3pAZpBTrE?t=67
  54. ↑ https://youtu.be/pHWjf88n2Mw?t=18 . This is the original sample, which also appears on the original version of One Very Important Thought on BoC Maxima. The sample here is clearly rerecorded, but it is unknown who is speaking.
  55. ↑ https://youtu.be/AGLX5CglVGY?t=15
  56. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAL0Y0PxJFc&t=64s
  57. ↑ http://www.elodiscovery.com/Jeff-Lynne-Electric-Light-Orchestra-Interviews2.html . Link now broken, needs new source.
  58. ↑ https://youtu.be/e8eeCRVVjWc?t=163
  59. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6gCmQ1dxek&t=974s Additionally, the full sample of Roden speaking appears on the Poppy Seed remix.
  60. ↑ https://www.twoism.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=254145#p254145
  61. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2qmf24O0yo&t=2418s
  62. ↑ https://youtu.be/KRD1dgLXu04?t=133
  63. ↑ https://youtu.be/QZyRR-18EVU?t=62 ; also appears in Dawn Chorus, and the full clip in Whitewater
  64. ↑ https://youtu.be/gkBxtZzLlNQ?t=424
  65. ↑ https://youtu.be/RANBgWcPbxU?t=150 ; a different part of this song is used in The Beach at Redpoint and the Dead Dogs Two remix.
  66. ↑ http://dt.prohosting.com/70s/childtv/psa4h.au
  67. ↑ https://youtu.be/UGrNQcPLwWE?t=3017 ; possibly rerecorded
  68. ↑ https://youtu.be/DdGUyK4wyXA?t=20
  69. ↑ See file:
    A is to B sample
  70. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzb27OV7qmo&t=675s
  71. ↑ https://youtu.be/lYJrM9epx-0?t=110
  72. ↑ https://youtu.be/a8SbU8ioHTg
  73. ↑ https://youtu.be/_abTIS0Lg0I?t=600
  74. ↑ https://youtu.be/Wty8UYT6PGw?t=9
  75. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTmR4e-ssdA&t=223s
  76. ↑ https://youtu.be/ex6-A803EnE?t=268
  77. ↑ https://bocpages.org/wiki/The_Last_Secret_of_Pop#Translated_Text
  78. ↑ https://youtu.be/j7DPNQdCuYw?t=6
  79. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P-hvPJPTi4
  80. ↑ https://youtu.be/eRhs70SWc2c?si=KJeoROqreqJ-Hsdg This sample is also pitched down slightly. This particular bumper most likely originates from 1982-1984; LaserDiscs went through many different renamings and rebrandings, and the MCA Videodisc label was only used during this period.
  81. ↑ https://youtu.be/m5YhlMNM6Nk?t=14 . The stuttering synth line is purported to be similar to the primary guitar/synth line of New Seeds.