BoC, Autechre, and musical polarity

[Auditor]

A thought occurred… these are two of the most interesting successful electronic groups to me. I won’t say I love them both equally, but we’ll get to that... 

 

BoC and (late) Autechre are almost polar opposites in my view, yet they share much of the same fanbase. To me, Autechre evokes images and feelings of armageddon, or a dystopia, brought on by soulless robots/AI, or that computer in I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (an amazing novella if you haven't read it). On the other hand, BoC evokes images of armageddon, or a dystopia, brought about by a malevolent force that is organic or god-like…maybe like something out of a Lovecraft story.  

 

This is why I say they are almost polar opposites, because they both bring about feelings of destruction, or a birth/rebirth of something sinister. Now, my personal preference between BoC and (late) Autechre leans towards BoC more often than not. Yet, when I think about it, armageddon brought on by technology is far more interesting/palpable/scary to me than one brought about by a fleshy/spiritual malevolent force (although, the thought of a cult leader leading the world to ruin is even more interesting, and BoC are all about their cults!). I think the reason I prefer BoC on the daily has to do with the fact that I simply like more danceable/head noddy beats than later Autechre tend to give us. Still, I find Autechre just as interesting (sometimes more so) as BoC. 

 

Shit, you know what? I had a point…and now it’s gone. Goddamn it...

 

I guess I’ll just ask what you thoughts are on the two groups, and whether they evoke similar or dissimilar feelings in you. Do you tend to prefer one or the other? Anyone seen my lost point? 

 

(I was originally thinking of titling the thread “BoC vs. Autechre”, but quickly realized what a terrible idea that would be)

[Kennylogg Bubblebath]

This thread has made me realise that I (subconsciously) tend to listen to BoC in the day and Autechre at night, very rarely the other way round.

[Auditor]

This thread has made me realise that I (subconsciously) tend to listen to BoC in the day and Autechre at night, very rarely the other way round.

You know what, that might be a big reason why I listen to BoC more. I tend to listen to the most music during the day, while walking through the woods. 

[Adamovich]

Why late Autechre? What happened to early ambient stuff? Is it also apocalyptic and robotic? 

[KovalainenFanBoy]

[Friendly Foil]

they both need vocals

[beerwolf]

This thread has made me realise that I (subconsciously) tend to listen to BoC in the day and Autechre at night, very rarely the other way round.

 

That's bizarre, I don't think I've ever played BoC much (hardly ever) at night either....

 

Never realised that before

[zkom]

To me Autechre's music isn't really dystopic most of the time. Abstract, yes, but not like malevolent or soulless. For example to me Quaristice and Oversteps are optimistic and positive most of the time. Elseq has pretty feel good moments towards the last parts also.

 

Autechre's music has more like this kind of unquantifiable depth that makes it feel almost spiritual. Also BoC's music has this same kind of depth but it's colored a bit differently. It's less abstract and down to earth and more attached to human intuitive thinking and symbolism.

[ghOsty]

I don;t think BoC and Ae are all the opposite, certainly not polar opposites.

 

Wormrot is a bit more opposite of BoC...

this:

 

compared to this:

 

[Braintree]

Wormrot is awesome.

 

I've always thought that Autechre sounds very cold and mechanical whereas Boards of Canada sounds more organic and human. BOC's music tends to be a lot more emotive.

[dingformung]

[Auditor]

Yeah, I mean Autechre and Rebecca Black are polar opposites. I guess I meant in the "idm" genre they seem to dominate opposite sides of the coin, but operate in the same universe...if that makes any sense. I get completely different vibes from each group, yet they are both infinitely fascinating and I listen to both a lot. 

 

And I discounted Ae's earlier stuff just because a lot of it is a tad more similar to BoC. Once they each fully developed their "sound", the differences became more significant. 

[NorthernFusion]

they both need emotion

[keanu reeves]

if i ever read "soulless robot music without emotion" to describe electronic music again, especially written by fans of that music, well, i just might close my browser and go outside.

[Rpeg]

I've felt those AI warfare moments too, like on Surripere, a rich fabric of terror and wonder.

But 'chre's music encompasses so much breadth of emotion. More range than BoC.

 

What I think they have in common is psychedelia, in exploring those depths of consciousness with texture and everything outside the boundaries of speech.  They each go off in different directions toward a similar goal.  Mining the psyche.  Autechre is way more explorative tho.  BoC taps that alternate history childhood stuff heavily.

[KovalainenFanBoy]

autechre sound like robot

 

bleep dink donk no soul ?????? sound like machine

 

boc nice and music-y

[Auditor]

if i ever read "soulless robot music without emotion" to describe electronic music again, especially written by fans of that music, well, i just might close my browser and go outside.

Not saying the music is soulless, just that much of it evokes images of technological apocalypse, imo. 

 

 

I've felt those AI warfare moments too, like on Surripere, a rich fabric of terror and wonder.

 

But 'chre's music encompasses so much breadth of emotion. More range than BoC.

 

What I think they have in common is psychedelia, in exploring those depths of consciousness with texture and everything outside the boundaries of speech.  They each go off in different directions toward a similar goal.  Mining the psyche.  Autechre is way more explorative tho.  BoC taps that alternate history childhood stuff heavily.

I think you're right. Autechre definitely go a little further with sound design and such. I hope they include some more melodies on future releases. That's the main thing I think is missing from a chunk of their newer stuff. Sometimes I am totally in the mood for it though, and it kills. 

[spptrl alt del]

with all of the futuristic imagery and vibes Autechre evoke, much of what pleases me is that they come close to mimicking (or conjuring the feeling of) action and detail of unhinged music, like the most enjoyable free jazz (excited percussive stumbling etc.), or even natural phenomena (like weather) - though there are a variety of textures (peeling/splintering metal/electricity etc.) and colors (reverb wafts/clouds etc.) that take it beyond anything else, their music really is singular. I don't get these impressions very much at all from BoC, I enjoy them for other reasons.