the dead flag blues [16:27]
the dead flag blues (intro) [00:00 - 06:37]
slow moving trains [06:37 - 10:10]
the cowboy... [10:10 - 14:27]
(;outro)... [14:27 - 16:27]
east hastings [17:58]
nothing's alrite in our life / dead flag blues (reprise) [00:00 - 01:35]
the sad mafioso... [01:35 - 12:19]
drugs in tokyo / black helicopter [12:19 - 17:58]
providence [21:15]
divorce & fever... [00:00 - 02:44]
dead metheny.. [02:44 - 10:51]
kicking horse on brokenhill [10:51 - 16:44]
string loop manufactured during downpour... [16:44 - 21:15]
j.l.h. outro [24:54 - 29:02]
re-issue of the constellation lp. remastered and changed in some areas, with some new material, and some material missing. completely different booklet/cover/liner notes, but as with the lp, each track is made up of several different segments
Hailing from Montreal, the nine-piece ensemble that is godspeed you black emperor! Have already amassed a fiercely devoted following. This is an incredible feat, given the lack of a major record label or any mainstream press.
The band originate from the underground scene in Canada. Their name comes from a 70s Japanese documentary about biker culture, Godspeed You: Black Emperor. Their actual genesis is shrouded in the mists of the recent past, but what is known is that the communal loft space they refer to ironically as Hotel2 Tango was the setting for various parties at which people would screen their own short films or play music for a select group of like-minded individuals. Although these events seem to be re-enactments of the 'happenings' of the 60s, instead of hippie idealism the Hotel2 Tango crowd shared a fierce disdain for the overt commercialism of 90s society. This is a belief that still permeates much of godspeed's work.
Guitarist Efrim and bassist Mauro were the first of the current line-up to commit their experimentalism to tape. Using a friend's equipment, the result was the ultra-limited cassette, "All Lights Fucked On The Hairy Amp Drooling". Only 33 numbered copies were distributed, making it nigh-on impossible to track down an original. However, as usually happens with these things, the tape has been bootlegged and no doubt counterfeited.
The songs on the tape were much shorter than godspeed's later conceptual pieces. Efrim later told Making Music, "We didn't have much of a vision at the time. The original idea was to play one note for one hour. That was the first brick." And to prove the band do possess a (slightly surreal) sense of humor, other song titles included "And The Hairy Guts Shine" and the beautifully macabre "Perfumed Pink Corpses From The Lips of Ms.Celine Dion". This release, while not being as expansive as their later material, did foretell their incorporation of various sound sources, including spoken-word and film dialogue in their sound.
From these gradual beginnings, things started to speed up. The band expanded to a 15-piece outfit, although the pressure of carrying around such a large number soon took its toll, and they slimmed down to a more manageable nine players. The new members included two drummers (Bruce and Aidan; previously they'd used loops), a violinist (Sophie), cellist (Norsola), and three guitarists. Efrim described this expansion to Making Music as born of " a wish to go beyond the conventional rock formula:..There's no one leader of this band. Different people contribute different things, different flavors which make it more complicated."
As the band expanded, so too did their means of publicizing their music. A new independent label, Constellation, began in Montreal with a vision, as many labels in North America do, of documenting some of the exciting local bands. godspeed had amassed enough music for a second release, and the result was the album "f#a#oo" or, in simple terms, the symbol for infinity, released in June 1998.
Their sonic canvas had certainly become more expansive - there were only three pieces on the album, each lasting well over fifteen minutes. Parallels can be drawn with classical music, as certain sections and motifs appear and reappear over the course of the album. Opening track "The Dead Flag Blues" contains a darkly-intoning voice reciting what sounds almost like a grisly mantra, "We're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine/And the machine is bleeding to death". The voice is actually taken from Incomplete Movie About Jail, a film guitarist Efrim has been working on for five years, and excerpts from which feature in the band's live shows. The images conveyed in the songs recall the dismal world-view of some of William Burroughs' futuristic novels or the films of independent directors like Larry Clark. The music veers from guitar-laden white-noise passages which recall Mogwai at their most splenetic, to the spaghetti western soundtracks of Ennio Morricone.
"f#a#oo" was originally released by Constellation in a limited vinyl run of 500 hand-numbered copies with several inserts. It has subsequently been reissued unnumbered, making the original copies more collectable. The Chicago-based indie, Kranky, picked up the rights to the album for the rest of the world.
The album garnered excellent reviews from a music press jaded by verse/chorus/verse guitar music. The New Music Express called it "a genuine classic" and an album of "soothing repetitious beauty". The band then hit the road in earnest, playing right across the States with barely a day off.
During the tour, they found time to record their third release, an EP (although it's more of a mini-album), the aptly-titled "Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada". Although there were only two songs on the EP, it lasted for a staggering 28 minutes. First track, "Moya", is a beautifully evocative piece, but it's the second, "Blaise Bailey Finnegan III", which really resonates long after you've stopped listening to it. Essentially a street recording of the eponymous person, recorded in Rhode Island, it sets his fevered world-view against an alternately agitated then calm music backdrop. "America is a third-world country::..third-rate, third-class slum" he rails against the pulsing musical backdrop.
Again, Constellation released a gorgeous vinyl edition with a foil-inked, debossed sleeve and hand-screened insert. The minimalist cover, featuring Hebrew scripture, again emphasized the band's refusal to play the corporate game of having their name emblazoned across their releases. The cd is commonly available on Kranky. The ep was also universally praised: "impossibly beautiful music for plain impossible times" wrote Victoria Segal in the NME.
In April 1999, godspeed headlined the second stage at Belle and Sebastian's Bowlie Weekender festival at Camber Sands Holiday Camp. They played a few more dates in Britain in June/July of that year, with ardent admirers Mogwai playing a "secret" support act set at their Glasgow show. The tour climaxed with two sold-out nights at a suitably imposing venue, London's Union Chapel.
Since then the band have released a new track that will undoubtedly challenge collectors. "Sunshine and Gasoline" was featured on a split 7" single alongside new Constellation signings Fly Pan Am, available with the excellent Canadian fanzine, aMAZEzine! The single was initially released in a limited edition of 500 on white vinyl with white labels, with the remaining 600 or so on regular black vinyl with black labels.
aMAZEzine! Editor Marie reveals the song to be their "noisiest song so far". She's been friends with the band since the beginning and describes them as "very cultured and passionate people, authentic and sincere about what they do in their music. Let's just say they will be the last band on Earth to ever sell out commercially". Copies of the magazine have long since sold out, so expect to pay a lot more than the original cover price. There's also one other release for collectors, as an edited version of "The Dead Flag Blues" was released on an NME compilation, "Annual Probe Vo. 2". However, this 'edited version' is basically the first segment of the song which is then faded out.
[ the above was stolen from www.rough-trade.com ]
BAND MEMBERS FROM 1995 - 1997
Moya, Thea, Aidan, Dave, Mauro,
Thierry, Christophe, Norsola, Efrim,
Bruce, Colin, Amanda, Jesse,
Dan, Peter, Steph
BAND MEMBERS FROM 1998 - PRESENT
Roger Tellier-Craig (guitar)
Norsola Johnson(cello)
Efrim Menuck (guitar)
Mauro Pezzente (bass)
David Bryant (guitar)
Thierry Amar (bass)
Sophie Trudeau (violin)
Aidan Girt (percussion)
Bruce Cawdron (percussion)
John Littlefair (films)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada: approximately nineteen hundred and ninety five. The core of Godspeed gather in a slum-like loft-space called the Hotel 2 Tango to practice or put on impromptu bring-your-own-beer performances for their friends. From the hermetic community that they build around themselves, they refine their vision, both musically and politically Disillusioned with the way punk has become just another crass marketing tool and disgusted by the cult of celebrity that surrounds even the most mediocre musicians, they resolve, emphatically, to let their music speak for itself And it has done, in their trademark orchestral-enhanced grooves that rarely fail to swell into an ear-melting crescendo of noise and intensity. In the process, Godspeed have done precious few interviews - what little press they do is conducted through email. Publicity shots consist of a blurred photo of four people standing on a railway track. It could be anyone, but that's the point. Personality is submerged in favor of the band vision. Even now, when head lining the second stage on Friday night, it's still not clear who's actually in the band. At various points GYBE! has consisted of any or all of some twenty people.
Such shadowy reticence leads inevitably to myth making. In their attempts to hide their identities, the band only make themselves more interesting. And it doesn't take much investigation before you discover that Godspeed are not like most other bands.
Their contempt for the dictates of commercialism, fashion and the music industry could be debilitating, yet, like the Crass empire, or Washington DC's Discord hardcore community, GYBE! are thriving on pursuing their own path on their own terms. Likewise their music, for all its funereal tension, sense of paranoia and mournful beauty, is immensely hopeful, building and fading in a way that can never be less than uplifting, even empowering. This is the kind of thing that Mogwai mean when they talk about their own music being punk rock; punk as a personal enabler, rather than ear-candy for postcard gonks with Exploited T-shirts and green mohawks. 'Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada' EP, for example, managed to convey a chilling sense of despair with the machinations of the modern world, yet, crucially, offered some kind of alternative.
Musically speaking, Godspeed may have come a long way from their first recording (a limited edition cassette, delightfully entitled 'All Lights Fucked On The Hairy Amp Drooling'), but their adherence to an anti-corporate code means that they're still a band living on the fringes of both society and the music business.
It's rumored that, in the last eighteen months, they've turned down deals from several major record companies and a number of indies such as Mute and Creation. As their website disseminated mission statement makes clear: "We've been ploughing our little field up here for a couple of years now, but the yard is still filled with rocks and dust and sick trees so we bide our time, waiting for the purer kick to bloom and the future is still bleak, uncertain and beautiful..."
[ the previous several paragraphs were stolen from www.alltomorrowsparties.co.uk ]
discography
yanqui u.x.o.
released: november 4th, 2002 (europe)
november 11th, 2002 (north america)
09-15-00
09-15-00
rockets fall on rocket falls
motherfucker=redeemer
motherfucker=redeemer
lift yr. skinny fists like antennas to heaven!
released: october 23rd, 2000
storm
static
sleep
antennas to heaven
slow riot for new zero kanada
released: march 8th, 1999
moya
bbf3
f# a# oo
released: june 8th, 1998
the dead flag blues
east hastings
providence
gear
apparently the band sometimes uses rented gear on the road, so the information in this section may not always be accurate.
the pictures below are not the actual instruments of the band. in some cases the exact models are not represented, and are for example only.
guitars:
Efrim usually plays a sunburst color Fender Jaguar (not a reissue), that has been modified with a full-size humbucker pickup in the neck position. It appears that the stock Jaguar pickup is still in the bridge, but the tremolo unit has been replaced by a Bigsby vibrato system. Efrim has used a Travis Bean metal neck guitar while on tour with ASMZ, and more recently with gybe!
Dave plays an old dark brown Kramer metal neck guitar (appears to be a 450G), that he plays most of the slide parts on (which should not to be confused with a Travis Bean). He also plays a very cool '65 or '66 Fender Jazzmaster.
Roger plays an ivory color Ibanez Talman.
Mauro plays with a natural wood color Fender Jazz Precision bass (without a pick guard).
Thierry plays with a natural wood color MusicMan bass (unknown which model).
amplifiers:
Norsola has been seen using Ampeg combo amps (possibly VT-22's), as well as Fender Twin Reverb reissues, and an ART Tube PAC - a tube preamp and a compressor in one. More recently she was using an Ampeg SVT 400-T head through an Ampeg 4x10 cabnet.
Sophie has been seen using Ampeg V-4 heads into mostly 4x12 cabinets (mostly Marshall and a few times Orange). She has played through Ampeg VT-22's, as well as an ART Tube PAC.
Roger has usually been seen plugged into Fender Twin Reverb reissues, ocassionally a Roland Jazz Chorus 4x10 combo, and sometimes an older Marshall head.
Thierry plugs into an Ampeg SVT bass head and 4x10 or 8x10 cabinets.
Mauro uses an unknown bass head (possibly a Trace Elliot or an Earth Sound Research), and into a 4x10 or 8x10 cabinet.
Dave usually plays through Ampeg V-4 heads into mostly 4X12 or 4x10 cabinets (mostly vintage Marshall).
Efrim has on at least one occasion been seen using a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Trem-O-Verb head (more than likely it is a rental because it's very costly). Most of the time he uses Ampeg V-4 heads into 4x12 or 8x10 cabinets (usually Marshall and a few times Orange).
effects:
Roger uses an Ernie Ball volume pedal, as well as Boss GE-7 and Boss RV-3 effects pedals.
Thierry sometimes uses a violin bow on his bass. Occasionally he uses a Boss PN-2 for bass tremolo.
Mauro does not use any effects onstage.
Dave has used a Pro Co Turbo RAT and a Pro Co RAT2, as well as a Boss DD-3, Boss RV-3, Boss CS-2, and a Boss PN-2. He also uses a Morley Volume-Wah Pedal and possibly an Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress. The guitar player has also been seen using a Mini-Disk player to broadcast some of the monologues, as well as using a screwdriver and violin bow on his guitar strings similar to the way Efrim does. Recently Dave was seen using a SustainPunch Creamy Dreamer, and an original Digitech Whammy WH-1.
Norsola has been seen with a volume pedal (possibly a Morley PVO). At least one person has reported her using a Boss RV-3. Recently she was using an Ernie Ball volume pedal and a Boss RV-3 reverb pedal.
Sophie has been seen using a Boss GT-3 multi-effects unit, and an Ernie Ball volume pedal.
Efrim uses a Boss GE-7 and Boss TR-2. He uses a volume pedal (possibly an Ernie Ball or Morley), along with a Maestro Fuzzstain, and Boss PSM-5 power supply. If that were not enough, he also uses an unknown green colored pedal and an old Boss multi-effects unit that he only uses for distortion. We cannot forget to mention that he operates the tape deck for the monologues, and his excellent skills with a screwdriver on the guitar strings! Recently it appears that he may be using a Z.Vex Tremolo Probe & Super Hard On, as well as a Line 6 DL-4, and a vintage Mutron Phasor.
* the band uses electronic tuners on stage, which they pass around and tune silently while they are not playing their parts. Efrim has own on his tuner on his pedal-board.
percussion:
Bruce owns an old Ludwig drum kit that was made in the sixties (unknown model). He purchased it in 1990 from the first drummer of the Doughboys (Brock Pytel). From the kit he uses the kick drum, one 13" rack, and a 16" floor tom. He also uses a cheap Pearl snare that he cranks as tight as it can go, because he likes to hear the higher harmonics ring out (in order to be heard over the guitars). He uses an old Ludwig bass drum from his marching band which is 29"/9", and the companion marching snare was used in the early days as his main snare. Both he and Aidan use his concert version glockenspiel (either a Musser or Ludwig), which is tuned from G two and a half octaves to C....which he got extended a whole step on either side from F to D now. Bruce uses about twenty different types of mallets and sticks; ranging from classical, marching percussion, homemade, used, and custom made. He uses either Paiste or Sabian ride cymbals, and a Zildjian crash cymbal. They use Sabian Hi-Hats for the sit-down drum kit. In the studio, Bruce has used an old Deagan marimba (1919), as well as an old Leedy vibraphone (1921).
Aidan uses an old Sonor drum kit. From the drum kit, he takes the snare, the 13" rack tom, and the 16" floor tom on tour with them.....which are used for the stand-up kit. It is believed that he uses either a Zildjian or Sabian ride cymbal.
monologues - the dead flag blues (intro)
this monologue appears at the beginning of the dead flag blues from the album f#a#oo; it's read by lee marvin and comes from incomplete movie about jail, an unfinished film that efrim wrote and has been working on for the last five years.
the car's on fire and there's no driver at the wheel
and the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides
and a dark wind blows
the government is corrupt
and we're on so many drugs
with the radio on and the curtains drawn
we're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine
and the machine is bleeding to death
the sun has fallen down
and the billboards are all leering
and the flags are all dead at the top of their poles
it went like this:
the buildings tumbled in on themselves
mothers clutching babies picked through the rubble
and pulled out their hair
the skyline was beautiful on fire
all twisted metal stretching upwards
everything washed in a thin orange haze
i said: "kiss me, you're beautiful -
these are truly the last days"
you grabbed my hand and we fell into it
like a daydream or a fever
we woke up one morning and fell a little further down -
for sure it's the valley of death
i open up my wallet
and it's full of blood
monologues - providence (divorce&fever)
this monologue appears at the beginning of providence from the album f#a#oo; it takes the form of an interview with blaise bailey finnegan the third (of BBF3 fame); the interviewer's words are in a stronger font.
d'you think the end of the world is coming?
the preacher man says it's the end of time...he says that america's rivers are going dry. the interest is up, the stock market's down. you guys have to be careful walking around here this late at night...this...this is the perfect place to get jumped.
but d'you think the end of the world is coming?
no. so says the preacher man but...i don't go by what he says.
Godspeed You Black Emperor!- [ Kranky ]
this music filed under:
Experimental, Post-Rock, Rock, Indie Rock, Field Recordings
Listening to Montreal nine-piece Godspeed You Black Emperor! is a bit like opening up the face of a clock and trying to make sense of its works. They're fascinating in their shiny metallic complexity, beautiful in their technical sophistication, yet ultimately unknowable for a mere layman, representing a prototype for a strange world with a different physics more than a functional machine. In other words, true understanding takes work and effort, but true understanding with respect to Godspeed, unlike a clock, is always a matter of subjective interpretation.
What Godspeed You Black Emperor! actually presents its listeners are dense, epic instrumental compositions, which tend to start small and stark and build inexorably towards intense climaxes, swaying and bending as they go under the weight of so much accumulated instrumentation. Strings, in varying shapes, sizes, and degrees of distress, are their pieces' most dominant element. These include guitars which rarely sound like guitars -- some bathed in layers of feedback and fuzz, some prepared and painful sounding, almost all broodingly dolorous -- as well as achingly pretty cello, viola, and violin parts which often sound almost as if they'd been plucked from some forgotten backwoods folk tune. Complementing all this stringed noise are brassy waterfalls of French horn, repetitive organ and synth parts, heavily processed machine noise, found sounds, and a lot more. As the pieces build from delicate sound poetry to frenzied eruptions, martial percussion rhythms -- often featuring glockenspiel, chimes, and nontraditional percussive instruments in addition to the drum kit -- emerge, underpinning the rest of the instrumental mix. It all adds up to varying degrees of incredibly nuanced, repetitious hum, the sound of an alien life force, its heartbeat and breathing, expressed through music.
Left out of that description are the snippets of narrative plucked from sources ranging from a street corner prophet's cynical rantings to clips from corporate recorded messages. The group weaves this postmodern found poetry throughout its music, offering oblique hints at what the instrumental anguish is all about: the decay of a bloated capitalist culture, a world's spiritual crisis, a planet in precipitous decline.
This music is by turns harrowing, mordant, violent, indulgent, delicate, and unspeakably beautiful. Though Godspeed clearly owes allegiance to a handful of great innovators -- Lamonte Young, John Cale, Glenn Branca, and Sonic Youth among them -- there's never been anything quite like their ambient orchestral dirges. The group, an amorphous, enigmatic entity of uncertain, fluctuating membership, never even intended to seek success as a rock ensemble, forming in 1994 as a multimedia film and music ensemble and self-releasing a limited 33-cassette release of their first recording, All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling. Three years later they released F#A# Infinity on the Canadian Constellation Records label. A year after that it was picked up and re-released by Kranky. Meanwhile interest in the band was growing rapidly, thanks to college radio, the band's memorable live performances, considerable critical praise, and a recording session with John Peel. In 1999, the Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada EP came out simultaneously on Constellation and Kranky, and in 2000, the eagerly awaited double LP Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven followed.
The featured selections, "Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven" and "The Buildings They Are Sleeping Now" are taken from larger movements found on the first disc of that double LP, respectively titled Storm and Static.
Jesse Ashlock
reviews of f#a#oo
the declaration
magnet
nme
now magazine
ray gun magazine
the wire
jerrod hood, the declaration, october 1998
i'm not sure what happened. i showed up for work around nine as usual and went about my business -- setting up, counting the till, stocking. i ordered dinner and went back to the basement to wait for it. there were a lot of people milling around, and on the stage, spilling over into the floor, was a small city of amps, stands, guitars, violins, and things i vaguely recognized as musical instruments. inhabited by roughly 10 people, this metropolis shifted and bled into form, annexing a significant portion of the floor in front of the stage. the doors opened slightly after the city ceased its restless movement, and i served as i was chosen to serve. my dinner hadn't come yet. as the lights dimmed, movement in the city swam back, and it began to produce sound. i served. i made change. i wondered about my dinner. motion above the city, on the wall, caught my attention. from somewhere behind the growing crowd assembled just beyond the city limits, someone had begun to project images. the city droned, it began a subtle noise that lasted for an indeterminate period. it grew. it receded. it grew again. from underneath this din came the shreds of melody. a guitar. some strings. a voice, taped, looped, worn, passed over. the melody gained, twisted, sought refuge in the strings. i turned at the tap of a hand on my shoulder, disoriented. i served. i turned back toward the city. something strange and beautiful began. it ended. i looked at my watch and thought about the hour and a half that i had just lost. my dinner had come. i hadn't noticed. it was cold. those assembled had come to see low. what had just happened? godspeed you black emperor!
maybe my flair for the dramatic has gotten the best of me -- this band inspires it. no, demands it. i must say, this is the biggest shock my system has suffered in many months. when i heard that low was to pay a visit to our fair city, i was pleased. when i heard they were bringing along label-mates godspeed you black emperor!, i thought, "godspeed you black emperor!?" no, now I know -- godspeed you black emperor! in some sense this band is what you might expect from kranky, home of labradford and jessamine: drony, ambient, epic music -- the soundtrack to the post-apocalypse. maybe that's what is going on here, but add melody, not just any melody, but that brand that reaches down your throat, grabs your colon and shakes it vigorously. standing in the basement of the tokyo rose watching the show was a lot like having someone intermittently rub your temples and run over you with a combine. that is to say, this band has learned the lesson of dynamics. scratch that; they teach the class on dynamics. unfortunately, this may be the place where i have to distinguish between the live band and the recorded material the band has produced.
okay, so let's talk about the album (as if this were a record review or something). the cd i have in my hot little hands is a remix of the original vinyl release that had a limited 500 copy pressing on constellation. the original tapes were recorded at hotel 2 tango, the nonet's (their van is huge) performance/recording space in montreal (yes, they're canadian), then mixed and sequenced for cd in toronto at chemical sound (i know you're fascinated) where two pieces were added. one can't really talk about this record in terms of songs, really; it's more like movements. the cd has three tracks, each containing three or four pieces/movements/units/whatever, and the album works fluidly, moving from bit to bit with ambient noises, strange tape loops, and voice-overs filling the void between instrumental outbursts. all i can really say about it is that it is beautiful. intense, lush, voluptuous, supple, full-bodied with good legs and oaky overtones, this album takes a little effort to listen to but pays serious dividends in terms of north-of-the-border enjoyment (i.e. don't plan on just popping it into your car stereo unless you plan on driving well past staunton).
if the album stutters at all, it only does so in relation to their live performance. you get the feeling while listening that when things get huge, they should get even huger. it seems like the music wants to break out of the confines of a compact disc, maybe transcend something, but just can't. on the other hand, maybe my stereo just sucks. then again, maybe it's just impossible to capture on tape the sound of someone's faith in the world being renewed.
fred mills, magnet, july/august 98
this instrumental montreal nine-piece with the unwieldy name unquestionably fits the post-rock bill without necessarily fitting any titular mold. in fact, godspeed breaks it. on the surface, the band's existential morricone-esque soundscapes, wrought by desolate guitar twang, echoey dobro slide, sweetly mournful violin and cello, and an astonishingly patient rhythm section (the bassist and dual percussionists apparently took grade-school lessons in "dynamic tension"), bear favorable comparison to late, great tribal rockers savage republic, the first a small good thing record (slim westerns) and recent work by labradford. yet, by incorporating sonic nuances as disparate as glockenspiel, bagpipes, vocal samples and/or snippets of recorded urban sounds (such as street-corner preacher), moments of silence and tape loops, the group chronicles epiphanies of a radically unique nature. each of these three lengthy cuts can be served up as staggering psychedelia for a headphone or surround-sound context - or as accompaniment for your daily household movements wherein textures vary remarkably as you walk down the hall, pass by an open window, etc. notice I didn't say background music. godspeed is "ambient interactive": it trails you, taps your shoulder, turns your head around (such as during a roaring, mid-song guitar/strings crescendo of "east hastings"), even darts past, daring you to catch up. f#a# infinity will not only enhance your life, it will become part of the soundtrack.
james oldham, nme, june 1998
anyone frightened by glockenspiels should turn away now. godspeed you black emperor! are a marvellous (mostly instrumental) ten-piece band from montreal, featuring twin percussionists, three guitarists, cello, violin and glockenspiel players and - inevitably - a man making strange sucking noises with a tape recorder. and some bagpipes.
stranger still, the end result of this frankly ludicrous musical setup is not an avant garde big country record in moose antlers, but an album of soothing, repetitious beauty.
anyway, godpseed's debut album is a genuine classic, which will remind you of either mogwai soundtracking spaghetti westerns or the dirty three in a freezer factory. in the space of three tracks stretched over 60 minutes, we're treated to an ever-shifting collage of spiralling violins, echoing guitars, air-raid sirens, a brass section, distressed wasps, an occasional glockenspiel solo and some wilfully apocalyptic samples along the lines of, "the car's on fire and there's no driver at the wheel". well, quite.
the album closes with 'providence', a 29-minute instrumental epic that's part the good, the bad and the ugly and part spiritualized drone freakout. obviously, it's brilliant. and it's not every day you get to say that about instrumental music from canada. still, that's godspeed you black emperor! for you. crazy name, er, crazy guys.
matt galloway, now magazine, august 1998
cram 10 headstrong, unhinged musicians in the same tiny room for any significant length of time and you'll either set off a civil war or emerge with something completely out of the ordinary.
montreal's sprawling instrumental art-rock combo godspeed you black emperor! managed to achieve the latter, but with a lineup that includes a cellist, two violinists, glockenspiel, tape loops and projections, in addition to the usual guitar/bass/drums, anything less would have been a disappointment.
last year's stunning f#a# infinity sessions - released on vinyl by montreal indie constellation and recently pressed up on cd with extra material by chicago imprint kranky - seemed to come out of nowhere. sounding more like an old-time radio play than a conventional album, the disc interspersed dreamy dust bowl soundscapes and gradually unfolding prog epics with disconcerting lee marvin voice-overs and field recordings of chugging steam trains. and while it all works as one continuous 60-minute program, putting the noise to tape apparently wasn't as easy as it sounds.
getting the 10 members of godspeed in the same room to talk is impossible enough - they communicate collaboratively by e-mail. the scene in the studio is apparently outrageous.
"the writing process in this band is like trying to shit 50-pound bowling balls," guitarist efrim eloquently explains. "generally, it works likes this - someone comes up with a simple riff and starts playing it, and then everybody starts playing along at the highest volume imaginable until the original riff is completely lost.
"then we stop playing and nobody talks for a while. then someone loses their temper and disappears into the corner. someone will earnestly try to suggest a structure or game plan, but everyone is too busy smoking cigarettes and sighing to listen or care. then we'll all start playing again, just as loudly and stupidly. then someone else has a tantrum. then practice is over.
"eventually, we book a tour or make recording plans, proceed to ignore the impending deadline as best we can, and then, at the last minute, hammer out shit in a spiralling panic and compliment each other on our savvy and flair."
comedic chaos aside, godspeed do manage to get their shit together to perform the occasional revelatory show. american and european tours are scheduled for this winter. an appearance friday (august 14) at club shanghai with montreal's intriguing guitar/oud/tabla/tape-loop driven shalabi effect will be followed by a late-night session at the gas station studio. the results of that meltdown see the light this fall as an ep on kranky.
"we're more of a real regular band than a lot of bands out there," efrim insists. "touring is still where most of our stuff gets written, though. the live stuff is always a bit more chaotic and ramshackle, while the studio stuff seems a bit more timid and restrained.
"someday we will hit the nail on the head and sleep good for a change."
matt hanks, ray gun, september 1998
two years ago, the olivia tremor control released dusk at cubist castle, music for an "unrealized film script." though they make no claims as such, canada's godspeed you black emperor! have taken a similar line of creative precocity one step further, offering music and script for an unrealized armageddon.
f#a#oo is an epic, three-act narrative on the boundlessness and inertia of a world (or perhaps, just a band) stripped of context; a telling limited only by its single-cd format, and the listener's imagination. the album commences with an apocalyptic, "day after"-esque dialogue describing mass suicide and dead flags, toppled buildings and burning skylines. pretty gloomy stuff for certain, but this intro articulately foretells the hour of music that lies ahead. in that hour the nine-piece gybe! slither through lilting string melodies, barely-there electronic drones, and full-bore guitar onslaughts. but their movements are always linear and plot-driven, with no single section sounding remotely like its preecessor.
in a live setting, gybe! utilize twin film projectors to flesh out their script, but if your audio-visual synapses are up for a good stoking and your attention span is of hearty stock, f#a#oo can be an exceptionally rewarding album on its own. it's an enhanced cd of an entirely different sort.
david keenan, the wire, july 1998
if you're after a soundtrack for your own personal apocalypse, you'd do better to chase down the debut cd from montreal ten-piece godspeed you black emperor!, whose obliquely titled f#a# infinity (is a stunning evocation of kerouac's "end of the land sadness/end of the world gladness").
the album's sardonic fatalism is articulated at the outset by a world-weary lee marvin voice calling down the last days: "we're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine and the machine is bleeding to death". the mood thus primed, the mostly instrumental godspeed... bury it even deeper with orchestral sweeps of melancholic violin and cello. with three guitar players sliding blues damaged sustain in and out of the mix, godspeed create some of the most emotionally charged music this side of the dirty three.
at times their orchestral parts evoke the beautiful, doomed youth sensibility of music for egon schiele, by the string ensemble rachel's. at others, their way of raising powerful, blasting forces out of the nothingness into which they just as quickly recede echoes parts of the first cul de sac album. ultimately though, godspeed are out there somewhere, heading for some dark place that is theirs alone.
reviews of f#a#oo (lp)
earshot/exclaim
hour magazine
now magazine
stylus
transmission
gordon krieger, earshot/exclaim!, date unknown
the second full-length lp from constellation, a new montreal label, is a debut release from this large, loft-inhabiting group. "ensemble" is perhaps a more appropriate term for them since they seem to grow in size with each show. a core of guitars (several), bass and drums (two at last count) is joined by a french horn, cellos and violins, tape loops and assorted extras. together they produce a slow soundtrack of regret and desire, equal parts morose and expectant. the only element missing is the trance-inducing visuals of their live show, which makes the experience overwhelming.
lucinda catchlove, hour magazine, october 1997
a moody, atmospheric, romantic soundtrack for contemporary urban decay, or more appropriately, the industrially declined. created with classical acoustic instruments (violin, cello, guitar, drums) using distortion, the harmonics that ride the swell of coloured noise on the opening track are richer and fuller than could ever be achieved by purely electronic means. these acid-tinged, filmic compositions reside in the mysterious, misty realm of experimental music close to - but centuries away from - ambient, chill-out music. classically fucked up, godspeed could be really pretentious but the sounds they make are way too cool to be merely coldly superior. sensitive, intelligent, original music for gentlemen and women of all persuasions.
matt galloway, now magazine, october 1997
art rockers with the focus squarely on the art side of the equation, shady montreal collective godspeed you black emperor! doesn't come off so much as a fully formed band as it does an experiment, a dozen folks making noise in a room and sorting out the results as they go.
even with a to-scale blueprint included, the group's cryptically named, limited edition, vinyl-only f#a# infinity album doesn't make things much clearer. two beautifully packaged, side-length pieces of cinematic space-rock ambience, sounds and moods flow into each other at a dreamy pace, mixing tape loops, twanging guitars, violins and a huffing locomotive. how this will work live is anyone's guess. godspeed you black emperor's gig at symptom hall as part of canzine 97 should not be missed.
barb l. stewart, stylus, october 1997
this full-length 12" from godspeed you black emperor! is only constellation's third release, but they are fast becoming canada's most intriguing independent record label. the group is a loose collective of musicians from montreal who intersperse tape loops and varying sound effects with walls of experimental soundscapes. not surprisingly, this configuration often collaborates with filmmakers to produce multi-media events in their homequarters. the instrumentation includes everything from guitar and percussion to strings and french horn, invoking ghostly spirits of dark alleys and desolate highways.
innovative and inventive, godspeed you black emperor! stake out unique territory in a world overrun with hackneyed experimentation. not an exercise in useless meandering, the musicians always have a destination, never leading you on a wanking wild goose chase.
soundbites cascade eerily into gentle dirges with no static beginning or end, weaving in and around each other. musical building blocks are artfully constructed into a greater whole, which is fragile, yet steady in its precision.
a strikingly beautiful handcrafted package from constellation (again!), including a cover featuring an actual photograph and a carefully assembled one-of-a-kind bag of treats containing such delights as a train-flattened penny a once-crumpled show flyer. that alone would be worth the $14 for which you can pick up this beautiful package, but the music itself merits any price.
jam tidy, transmission, autumn 97
i usually refrain from writing about records that are impossible to find, however, when i saw this band open for storm and stress (while on holiday in chicago) there was no way i could keep such a monumental experience to myself. ten musicians on stage (although 17 were involved with the record) playing lush dense mesmorizingly breathtaking soundscapes with instruments such as cello, french horn, glockenspiel, bagpipes, banjo, and a bevy of guitars. think of a mix of labradford, rachel's and rex layered with some intense environmental elements (a fixation with trains is apparent). as of now, it is a vinyl-only release with embossed lettering, a photograph glued on the sleeve and loads of cool inserts, some printed on a letterpress, (independent projects eat your heart out)! my most treasured recording of the year, you will definitely be hearing more about this most unique and inspiring band in these pages!
Godspeed You Black Emperor!
f#a#
Kranky (krank 027)
Canada 1998
various musicians
Tracklist:
1. the dead flag blues - 16:27
2. east hastings - 17:58
3. providence - 29:04
total time 63:29
heather
This band lies under the moniker of post-rock, but don't let that scare you away. This is true progressive rock and great at that (my vote for best of 98...). The style is dark minor-key orchestral rock, featuring guitars, bass, stringed instruments, samples, and occasional brass. The guitars have that 50s instrumental sound: clean and soaked in reverb, though obviously not as happy as all that. Also, the orchestral instrumentation brings to my mind cinema, rather than strict classical (which I mean in a good way).
The mood-painting pieces are mellow, very spacious sounding, easily paced, and very dark, making me think of a soundtrack to an old western movie - I think the heavily reverbed clean guitars really push that impression. Other pieces take the dramatic tension track, starting out mellow and steadily/gradually growing more and more intense to finish with a dramatic frenzy. The band also uses sound effects and spoken word/voice samples to heighten that dark mood. For example, check out the chopping helicopter in "East Providence" and the chugging train in "Dead Flag Blues".
This is very original stuff, and a very unique take on orchestral rock, by bringing in the desolate western feel, the dramatic cinematic style, and the story-telling effects, all cloaked in a cohesive gloomy mood. There is a lot of wonderful guitar and violin here, and despite the length of the pieces, there are a lot of catchy melodies.
sean
An excellent up-and-coming Canadian post-rock band, this is Godspeed's first full-length CD release. While not necessarily progressive rock in the strictest sense, this will certainly be of interest to those fans who enjoy the darker ambient bands.
A 9-piece, Godspeed uses the normal rock instrumentation as well as various string players. The music is brooding, despairing, minimal and sparse but not quite ambient, with slowly building themes and occasional vocal samples (but no actual singing). The songs are all rather lengthy, which is necessary for the style of music the band is playing. The material is very dark, with the message being that there is no hope, never has been and never will be. An anti-authority sentiment runs very strongly here.
Comparisons to prog bands are rather difficult, because this doesn't sound a great deal like any of them. There is no real virtuoso playing here, with the overall strengths being from the moods and tones rather than a parade of 64th notes. Progressive rock fans looking to expand their horizons might want to check these guys out.
brandon
A darkly restless chamber ensemble hailing from Canada, GYBE! (sporting one of the coolest band names ever) made quite a splash with critics with this, their debut album. The album consists of three long tracks, totalling 63 minutes. Each track develops slowly and darkly, with densely layered instrumental repetition working over a continually changing backdrop of bleak samples and voiceovers (the album begins: "the car is on fire/and there's no driver at the wheel/and the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides"). Each track generally only has two or three major instrumental themes that are developed slowly but surely; the transitions between the themes are mostly seamless and effective. The instrumental makeup is diverse: a number of guitars (three?), basses (two, I think), violins, cellos, drums, along with some glockenspiel and bagpipes. Some parts remind me of a darker, harder-edged Pink Floyd circa Meddle (specifically ref. the slow buildup after the psychedelic section of "Echoes"). The relentlessly repetitious string backdrop might remind one somewhat of Philip Glass, but the subtle, atmospheric guitar work brings more Floydian references to mind. This music would not be at all out of place as the soundtrack to some old, bleak, black-and-white art film. Suffice it to say that this is perfect stuff for contemplating the darker side of life - complete with a few rays of hope shining through the bleakness.
godspeed you black emperor!
f#a# infinity [1995-1997]
august 14, 1997
cst003 lp
nervous, sad, poor...
bleak, uncertain, beautiful...
Prior to the release of f#a# infinity, the only recording issued under the godspeed name was a cassette called all lights fucked on the hairy amp drooling. At that time, godspeed consisted of only Efrim and Mauro. The cassette was limited to a run of 33 copies.
f#a# infinity was the culmination of godspeed's evolution into a large ensemble. By early 1997, the band had taken shape as a quasi-orchestral outfit involving most of the current players and had mounted a number of live performances combining multiple film projections with sense-rattling sonics. The recording of f#a# infinity took place at their loft (Hotel 2 Tango) on a rented 16-track analogue machine and was supplemented with 4-track recordings and material from the band's archive of field recordings. The opening monologue on Side A (Dead Flag Blues) is taken from Incomplete Movie About Jail, an unfinished film written by Efrim.
The original vinyl pressing was limited to 500 hand-numbered copies. It has since been re-pressed many times, with virtually all of the original packaging preserved.
Godspeed You Black Emperor!
Formed 1994 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
The instrumental, multi-media Montreal group Godspeed You Black Emperor! creates extended, repetition-oriented chamber rock. The minimal and patient builds-to-crescendo of the group's compositions result in a meditative and hypnotic listen that becomes almost narrative when combined with found sound splices, and the films of their visual collaborators. GYBE! formed in 1994, and that year self-released a limited-run (33 copies) cassette entitled, All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling. The band's next recording, F#A#(Infinity), was initially a limited run release of 550 LPs on the Canadian label Constellation, but was picked up by Kranky and released onto CD as well. Early 1999 brought the EP Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada (released by both labels) and increased recognition for a band intent on retaining anonymity. Nevertheless, interest in GYBE! only continued to grow among new music fans with much positive attention from The Wire magazine, the band's participation in the John Peel-produced Peel Session for the London BBC, and the group's consistently impressive live shows, including their performance at Quebec's 1999 new music festival, FIMAV and the tour with Labradford later that year. GYBE! performances generally include at least nine or more musicians and a projectionist. The instrumentation consists of three guitars, two basses, French horn, violin, viola, cello and percussion. 2000 brought about the release of Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven, pushing their diverse orchestral rock sound even further into the universe. - Joslyn Layne
1996 F# A# (Infinity) Kranky
2000 Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven Kranky
2002 Yanqui U.X.O. Constellation
1999 Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada [EP] Constellation
F# A# (Infinity)
Date of Release 1996
"We are trapped in the belly of this horrible machine, and the machine is bleeding to death." Few albums begin with such promise and foreboding, but this first full-length from Canadian genius collective Godspeed You Black Emperor! succeeds in the first few moments. F#A#infinity contains three compositions that run the gamut from grotesque to sublime. The term "composition" seems an appropriate one to use as this band does not write songs. Each piece is at least fourteen minutes in length, consisting of three to four sections. The band, a nine member unit consisting of guitar, drums, bass, strings, keyboard, marimbas and woodwinds, intersperses voice-over narrative with sprawling instrumental melodies. The arrangements move slowly, building from hushed silence to cathartic crescendo and back again. The narratives that accompany the music meditate on the corruption of the American government and the seeming emptiness of the postmodern era. At times, it seems that the music might offer hope, but alternatively, the haunting melodies can serve to emphasize the confusion encountered in these stories. As "Dead Flag Blues," the album's first track, unfolds, the speaker's voice is undercut by a poignant string melody and the piece builds to a beautiful peak. "Dead Flag Blues" is a four part arrangement in an apparently symphonic pattern. A theme is stated, followed by a quiet interlude out of which the tension builds to disaster/epiphany and finally a quiet reprise of the initial melody is given. The albums second piece, "East Hastings," follows a similar pattern producing brilliant results. "Providence" is the album's final piece, a bit longer than the others, but lacking the consistency and unity of its counterparts. The music on this album is unique and powerful. One would be hard-pressed to find any imitators of this revolutionary musical form created by gybe! Its origins are as much avant-classical as they are rock & roll, and the band has a achieved a true synthesis of the two forms, expanding them to new boundaries. This music is inherently inexplicable, and this is its beauty. - Marc G. Gilman
1. The Dead Flag Blues (Intro)
2. East Hastings
3. Providence
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"nothing's alrite in our life..."
GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR! DISCOGRAPHY
February 1, 1999
Updated April 27th, 2002
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Started and maintained by ren
(jrenih@po-box.mcgill.ca)
With Help From:
Mathieu Belanger
Erlend Hammer
J. Ryan Halpenny
Jon Klein
Emmanuel Tremblay
chris@clearink.com
iwata@rockinon.co.jp
Huge thanks to the GYBE! mailing list.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COUNTRY LEGEND: CA - Canada US - United States UK - United Kingdom
JP - Japan
An "x" next to a line of release information indicates that it is, to
the best my knowledge, out of print.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS:
Part One: GYBE!- Official Releases
Part Two: GYBE!- Bootlegs/ Live Shows
Part Three: Molasses- Official Releases
Part Four: Molasses- Bootlegs/Live Shows
Part Five: A Silver Mt.Zion- Official Releases
Part Six: A Silver Mt.Zion- Bootlegs/Live Shows
Part Seven: Exhaust- Official Releases
Part Eight: Exhaust- Bootlegs/Live Shows
Part Nine: Fly Pan Am- Official Releases
Part Ten: Fly Pan Am- Bootlegs/Live Shows
Part Eleven: 1-Speed Bike- Official Releases
Part Twelve: Set Fire To Flames- Official Releases
Part Thirteen: Official Releases
Part Fourteen: Hrsta- Bootlegs/Live Shows
Part Fifteen: Et Sans- Official Releases
Part Sixteen: Et Sans- Bootlegs/Live Shows
Part Seventeen: Miscellaneous
===============================================================================
GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR!
===============================================================================
PART ONE:
OFFICIAL RELEASES
===============================================================================
All Lights Fucked On The Hairy Amp Drooling
xCS 1994 No Label N/A CA
TRACKS:
Side One:
Drifting Intro Open / Shot Thru Tubes / Three Three Three /
When All The Furnaces Exploded / Beep / Hush / Son Of A Diplomat,
Daughter Of A Politician / Glencairn 14 / $13.13 / Loose The
Idiot Dogs / Diminishing Shine / Random Luvly Moncton Blue(s) /
Dadmomdaddy // 333 Frames Per Second / Revisionist Alternatif
Wounds To The Hair-Cut Hit Head / Ditty For Moya / Buried Ton /
And The Hairy Guts Shine / Hoarding / Deterior 23 / All Angels Gone /
Deterior 17 / Deterior Three / Devil's In The Church / No Job /
Dress Like Shit / Perfumed Pink Corpses From The Lips Of
Ms. Celine Dion
Notes:
Self-Released cassette, limited to 33 copies.
The only document of early Godspeed.
Lineup:
Efrim and Mauro.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
F#A#Infinity
LP 1997 Constellation cst003 CA
TRACKS:
Nervous, Sad, Poor... // Bleak, Uncertain, Beautiful...
Notes:
Initially limited to 500 numbered copies, then repressed.
Hand-Made Jacket, with one of three photographs glued on.
Comes with a package of goodies, including a penny flattened
by a train.
The two tracks each fill a side, and are comprised of different
pieces.
Lineup:
Aidan, Bruce, Thea, Dave, Moya, Mauro, Thierry, Norsola, Efrim,
Christophe, Steph, Sylvain, Colin, Jesse, Dan O., D., Shnaeberg,
Peter, Grayson and Amanda.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
F#A#Infinity
CD 1998 Kranky Krank027 US
CD 2000 P-Vine/Kranky PCD-23058 JP
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / East Hastings / Providence / JLH Outro
Notes:
Re-Issue of the Constellation LP. Remastered and changed in some
areas, with some new material, and some missing material.
Completely different booklet/cover/liners...
As with the LP, each track is made up of several different
segments.
JLH Outro is the name of the hidden track, the JLH stands for
"John Lee Hooker", I assume because the band feels the main
riff sounds like a Hooker riff.
The same people contributed to this version of the record as the LP.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fly Pan Am/Godspeed You Black Emperor!
x7" 1998 aMAZEzine! Maze001 CA
TRACKS:
L'espace au sol est redessine par d'immenses panneaux bleus //
Sunshine + Gasoline
Notes:
Initial 550 copies pressed on white vinyl, last 550 on black.
Came free with Montreal based aMAZEzine!, issue #4.
Apparently the copies pressed on black sounded better, but
I don't know if this is true.
The 'zine includes an interview with the band.
Side A (L'espace au...) is by Fly Pan Am, Side B (Sunshine..)
by gybe!.
Though they were on the B-Side, GYBE! were given top billing.
This was the first official release of FPA material.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada
EP 1999 Constellation cst006 CA
CD 1999 Kranky Krank034 US
CD 2000 P-Vine/Kranky PCD-4204 JP
TRACKS:
Moya // BBF3
Notes:
Vinyl (EP) edition comes in a foil-stamped jacket.
Side One plays at 45rpm, Side Two at 33rpm
CD version doesn't name the two tracks, nor actually mention
GYBE!.
Hebrew lettering on front says "Chaos" (Basically)
BBF stands for "Blaise Bailey Finnegan"
Lineup:
Aidan, Bruce, Dave, Efrim, Mauro, Moya, Norsola, Sophie and Thierry.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Godspeed You Black Emperor!/Shalabi Effect
CD 2000 Alien8 Recordings XXX CA
TRACKS:
X
Notes:
This record did not happen. It instead became Shalabi Effect's
self-titled debut, a 2xCD on Alien8.
For more information, see its entry in the "Miscellaneous" section.
Shalabi Effect's contribution was entitled "Aural Florida".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
2xLP 2000 Constellation Records cst012 CA
2xCD 2000 Kranky Krank043 US
2xCD 2000 P-Vine PCD-5608/9 JP
TRACKS:
Storm / Static // Sleep / Antennas To Heaven
Each track is made up of the following pieces:
Storm:
Lift Yr. Skinny Fists, Like Antennas To Heaven... /Gathering Storm/
"Welcome to Barco AM/PM" / Cancer Towers On The Holy Road Hi-Way
Static:
Terrible Canyons Of Static / Atomic Clock / Chart #3 / World Police
and Friendly Fire / ...The Buildings They Are Sleeping Now
Sleep:
Murray Ostril:"...They Don't Sleep Anymore On The Beach" / Monheim /
Broken Windows,Locks Of Love Part III
Antennas To Heaven:
Moya Sings "Baby-O" / Edgy Swingset Acid / Glockenspiel Duet Recorded
On A Campsite In Rhinebeck, N.Y. / "Attention...Mon Ami... Fa-Lala-
Lala-La-La" / She Dreamt She Was A Bulldozer She Dreamt She Was Alone
In An Empty Field / Deathkamp Drone / Antennas To Heaven
Notes:
Like the previous LP and the A Silver Mt. Zion release, the album is
divided into segments (movements?) which are comprised of other pieces.
What was known as John Hughes is titled "She Dreamt She Was..."
What was known as Gathering Storm takes up both "Lift Yr...." and
"Gathering Storm".
What was known as 3rd Part is titled "Broken Windows, Locks...."
"Chart #3" is the second half of "Hung Over As..."
The track times given are not even close to correct.
Lineup:
Aidan, Bruce, Dave, Efrim, Mauro, Norsola, Roger, Sophie and Thierry.
Additional Musicians:
Brian and Alfons contribute horns on "Lift Yr. Skinny...." and
".. Locks of Love Part III".
===============================================================================
PART TWO:
BOOTLEGS/LIVE RECORDINGS
(Not a complete list, by any means)
===============================================================================
NOTES TO BOOTLEG SECTION:
As gybe! tend to play songs for a long while
before actually releasing them, names can sometimes
be a problem. To make it more confusing, these names
tend to change from setlists to albums. The following
is a list of different names for similar songs, and
what i will be using in this list:
John Hughes:
John Hughes (Setlists), She Dreamt She Was A Bulldozer,
She Dreamt She Was Alone In An Empty Field (Lift Yr....)
Moya:
Moya (Slow Riot...), Gorecki (Setlists)
Chart #3 / Steve Reich:
This is the same song, BUT I have used "Chart #3" when
it is cut off halfway through (as on Lift Yr. Skinny...)
and Steve Reich when it is played to completion (as on
the Peel and VRPO Sessions). On setlists "Chart #3"
is called "Intro to Steve Reich", since it's only
the first half.
12-28-99:
Sometimes accompanied with a slow, soft piece lasting a
few minutes. When this piece is not played, 12-28-99
is marked as 12-28-99(No Ending).
===============================================================================
10.06.97- Can-Zine Fest, Toronto, ON.
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / The Cowboy / The Sad Mafioso / Dead Metheny /
JLH Outro / Kicking Horse On Broken Hill / deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
Playing as part of the Can-Zine Festival, a yearly event in Toronto.
With Fell Gang and Braino.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
03.25.98- Saw Gallery, Ottawa, ON
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / The Cowboy / Moya / Dead Metheny /
The Sad Mafioso
Notes:
With Smallmouth and Guh.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
05.10.98- Metropolis, Montreal, PQ.
TRACKS:
Intro / The Dead Flag Blues / Moya / BBF3 / Dead Metheny /
The Sad Mafioso
Notes:
Opening for Sonic Youth.
"Intro" is a 2 minute spoken word introduction by (I assume)
one of the band members.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.15.98- Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
TRACKS:
Intro / The Dead Flag Blues / Moya / BBF3 / Dead Metheny /
The Sad Mafioso
Notes:
With Spatula.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.02.98- Tokyo Rose, Charlottesville, VA
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / Moya / BBF3 / Dead Metheny
Notes:
Opening for Low.
They did not play "The Sad Mafioso", probably because of the
problems with sound and resulting loss of time.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.10.98- Schuba's, Chicago, IL
TRACKS:
Soundcheck / The Dead Flag Blues / Moya / BBF3 / The Sad Mafioso //
Do You Know How To Waltz? (French Canadian Version)
Notes:
Opening for Low.
The final song, "Do You Know..", is a Low song, which they (Low) closed
their set with this night. At this show, all nine members of gybe!
joined them for it, hence the "French Canadian Version".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.16.98- Montomery Hall, Ottawa, ON
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / Moya / BBF3 / Dead Metheny / The Sad Mafioso /
John Hughes
Notes:
With Seppuku and Fly Pan Am opening.
The first peformance of John Hughes, which is *quite* different.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
??.??.98- John Peel Session
TRACKS:
Hung Over As The Queen In Maida Vale
Notes:
Broadcasted on BBC radio in Britain, John Peel session.
One 18 minute track, consisting of two distinct portions.
These portions are:
1) Monheim
2) Steve Reich
On the radio, called "Hung Over As The OVEN In Maida Vale"
Jan 19, '99 is the broadcast date, it was recorded sometime in 1998.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.??.98- VPRO Sessions
TRACKS:
John Hughes / Interview / Steve Reich / Interview / World Police / Moya
Notes:
Broadcasted in two portions, All but Moya in Feb '99, and
then Moya on 04.15.99.
Contains much interview material... the questions are in Dutch,
the answers in (thank god!) English.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.23.98- Highbury Garage, London, England
TRACKS:
JLH Outro / Moya / BBF3 / World Police / The Sad Mafioso
Notes:
With Frige and Amp opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.17.98- Sojus 7, Monheim, Germany
TRACKS:
Intro / The Dead Flag Blues / Moya / World Police / John Hughes /
JLH Outro
Notes:
With Runde 1 opening.
The Intro is a tape of the drone that opens up the F#A#oo record.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
03.16.99- Velinx, Tongeren, Belgium
TRACKS:
Moya / Gathering Storm (2nd Half) / World Police
Notes:
Part of the Velinx Festival
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.19.99- Instant Chavire, Paris, France
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / Monheim / JLH Outro / Gathering Storm / Moya /
John Hughes / Dead Metheny / World Police / The Sad Mafioso / BBF3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.25.99- Bowlie Weekender, Camber Sands, Sussex
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / Moya / Monheim / World Police / The Sad Mafioso
Notes:
Part of the Bowlie Festival, which also featured Mogwai.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.27.99- Improv Theatre, London
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / Moya / Monheim(Cut) / The Sad Mafioso / BBF3
Notes:
With Electric Sound Of Joy opening.
This recording has a gap occuring part way through Monheim until
the beginning of The Sad Mafioso. It misses the following:
JLH Outro / Dead Metheny / World Police
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.28.99- Brussels, Belgium
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / Moya / Monheim / JLH Outro / Dead Metheny /
World Police / The Sad Mafioso
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
05.24.99- Victoriaville Festival, Colisee des Bois-Francs, Victoriaville, PQ
TRACKS:
Moya / Monheim / Dead Metheny / The Sad Mafioso / BBF3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
07.13.99- Hop & Grape, Manchester, England
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / Monheim / Gathering Storm / World Police /
Dead Metheny / Moya
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
07.15.99- Union Chapel, London, England
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / Monheim / World Police / Gathering Storm /
Dead Metheny / John Hughes / Moya / The Sad Mafioso / BBF3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
07.18.99- Dachstock, Reitschule, Bern, Switzerland
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / Monheim / World Police / Gathering Storm /
Dead Metheny / John Hughes / BBF3 / JLH Outro / deadflagblues(outro) /
End Speech
Notes:
the "End Speech" is not so much a speech as a goodbye, where Dave
announces that one of their drummer's wrist is hurt (Bruce) and the other
is celebrating his birthday (Aidan), and suggests to the audience that
they all listen to pre-recorded material and have a drink.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
07.28.99- Goethe Universitat, Frankfurt, Germany
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / Gathering Storm / Dead Metheny / Monheim / Moya /
John Hughes / The Sad Mafioso / End Jam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
07.30.99- Koninklijke Museum, Antwerpen, Belgium
TRACKS:
Intro / Moya / Monheim / World Police / John Hughes / Gathering Storm /
3rd Part / Dead Metheny / BBF3
Notes:
"Intro" is a tape of "Terrible Canyons Of Static", from "Lift Yr..."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
08.08.99- So What!, Oslo, Norway
TRACKS:
The Dead Flag Blues / Monheim / Moya / Gathering Storm / Dead Metheny /
World Police / The Sad Mafioso / BBF3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.04.99- 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
TRACKS:
3rd Part / World Police / Gathering Storm / Monheim / John Hughes /
BBF3
Notes:
With Labradford opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.05.99- Mercury Lounge, New York City, NY
TRACKS:
3rd Part / Monheim / Gathering Storm / John Hughes / BBF3 /
The Sad Mafioso
Notes:
With Labradford opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.09.99- Middle East, Cambridge, MA
TRACKS:
3rd Part / Monheim / Gathering Storm / Dead Metheny / John Hughes / BBF3
Notes:
With Labradford opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.10.99- Olympia, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
3rd Part / Moya / Monheim / Gathering Storm / Dead Metheny / John
Hughes / BBF3 / The Sad Mafisoso
Notes:
With Labradford and Low opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.13.99- Lee's Palace, Toronto, ON
TRACKS:
3rd Part / Monheim / Gathering Storm / Moya / John Hughes / The Sad
Mafioso / Dead Metheny
Notes:
With Labradford opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.16.99- Lounge Ax, Chicago, IL
TRACKS:
3rd Part / Moya / Gathering Storm / Dead Metheny / John Hughes / BBF3 /
The Sad Mafioso
Notes:
With Labradford opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.20.99- Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA
TRACKS:
Intro / Moya / BBF3 / Monheim / 3rd Part / Gathering Storm / The Sad
Mafioso
Notes:
With Labradford opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.21.99- Starfish Room, Vancouver, BC
TRACKS:
Intro / 3rd Part / Monheim / Gathering Storm / Dead Metheny /
John Hughes / BBF3 / The Sad Mafioso
Notes:
With Labradford opening.
"Intro" is a tape of "Dead Flag Blues (reprise)" followed by an
instrumental intro.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.22.99- Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR
TRACKS:
Intro / 3rd Part / Monheim / Gathering Storm / Dead Metheny /
John Hughes / BBF3
Notes:
With Labradford opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.25.99- Casbah, San Diego, CA
TRACKS:
3rd Part / Monheim / Gathering Storm / Dead Metheny / John Hughes / BBF3
Notes:
With Labradford opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.26.99- Modified, Phoenix, AZ
TRACKS:
3rd Part / Monheim / Moya / Dead Metheny / John Hughes / The Sad Mafioso
Notes:
With Labradford opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.30.99- Mermaid Lounge, New Orleans, LA
TRACKS:
3rd Part / Monheim / Gathering Storm / Dead Metheny / John Hughes / BBF3
Notes:
With Labradford opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
03.20.00- Salle L'X, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
3rd Part / Monheim / 12-28-99 / World Police / Gathering Storm /
John Hughes
Notes:
With Hanged Up opening.
First of 3 "warm-up" gigs done prior to the early 2000 European tour.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
03.21.00- Salle L'X, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Monheim / Gathering Storm / John Hughes / 12-28-99 / 3rd Part / BBF3
Notes:
With Kepler opening.
Second of 3 "warm-up" gigs done prior to the early 2000 European tour.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
03.22.00- Salle L'X, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Monheim / 12-28-99 / World Police / Gathering Storm / Moya / BBF3 /
3rd Part
Notes:
With Steak 72 opening.
Third of 3 "warm-up" gigs done prior to the early 2000 European tour.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.03.00- Royal Festival Hall, London, England
TRACKS:
Spoken Introduction / Intro / 3rd Part / Chart#3 / World Police /
12-28-99 / BBF3
Notes:
With Sigur Ros opening. Fly Pan Am were also slated to open, but due
to bad weather, the show went on late, and FPA did not play. The show
was also shortened to meet the midnight curfew.
Spoken Introduction is similar to the one found on the 05.10.98 show,
spoken by Aidan.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.08.00- All Tommorrow's Parties Festival, Camber Sands, Sussex
TRACKS:
3rd Part / Dead Metheny / World Police / 12-28-99(No Ending) / Gathering
Storm / Moya / BBF3 / deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
Other bands at this festival included Mogwai, Sonic Youth, Sigur Ros,
Fly Pan Am and Labradford.
gybe! were slated as "Special Guests", and although rumours and
speculation guessed that they would be playing, it was not made
official until very very near when the show occured.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.09.00- Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium
TRACKS:
3rd Part / Dead Metheny / Chart #3 / World Police / 12-28-99 /
BBF3 / deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
With Fly Pan Am opening
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.21.00- Reitschule, Bern, Switzerland
TRACKS:
3rd Part / 12-28-99 / Chart #3 / World Police / Gathering Storm /
BBF3 / deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
With Fly Pan Am opening
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
08.10.00- Knitting Factory, New York City, NY
TRACKS:
World Police / Tazer Floyd / 12-28-99 / Gathering Storm / BBF3 /
deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
The first performance of Tazer Floyd.
These NYC shows were a benefit for the "Anthology Film Archives", and
featured an hour of films by experimental Canadian filmmakers previous
to the band.
3rd Part was slated to be played before BBF3, but was not due to a delay
caused by the NY Fire Department temporarily shutting down the concert.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
08.11.00- Knitting Factory, New York City, NY
TRACKS:
World Police / Tazer Floyd / 12-28-99(No Ending) / Gathering Storm /
3rd Part / BBF3 / Monheim
Notes:
These NYC shows were a benefit for the "Anthology Film Archives", and
featured an hour of films by experimental Canadian filmmakers previous
to the band.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.05.00- Bloor Cinema, Toronto, ON
TRACKS:
Chart #3 / World Police / 12-28-99 / Tazer Floyd / John Hughes /
Dead Metheny / BBF3 / Gathering Storm (2nd Half)
Notes:
In lieu of an opener, the same four films shown at the two NYC Benefit
shows were played (this show was also a benefit).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.07.00- The Metro, Chicago, IL
TRACKS:
Moya / World Police / 12-28-99 / Gathering Storm / Tazer Floyd / BBF3 /
Dead Metheny / deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
With Bardo Pond opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.08.01- Oberlin College, Oberlin, MI
TRACKS:
Moya / Drone / World Police / Tazer Floyd / Dead Metheny / "Encore"
Notes:
With Bardo Pond opening.
"Encore" is a short (20 seconds) glockenspiel piece played by Bruce.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.27.00- Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA, Early Show
TRACKS:
Intro / Moya / Monheim / 12-28-99 / Gathering Storm
Notes:
With Jean Smith/Mecca Normal opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.28.00- Aladdin Theatre, Portland, OR
TRACKS:
World Police / Noise / Dead Metheny / John Hughes / 12-28-99 (No Ending)
/ Tazer Floyd / BBF3 / deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
With Jean Smith/Mecca Normal opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.30.00- Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
TRACKS:
World Police / Dead Metheny / 12-28-99 (No Ending) / Tazer Floyd /
Monheim / BBF3 / deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
First of two nights in San Francisco.
With Jean Smith/Mecca Normal opening.
gybe! joined Mecca Normal on stage for their final song.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.31.00- Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
TRACKS:
Moya / World Police / Gathering Storm / John Hughes / Tazer Floyd /
BBF3 / 12-28-99 (No Ending)(CUT)
Notes:
Second of two nights in San Francisco.
With Jean Smith/Mecca Normal opening.
gybe! joined Mecca Normal on stage for their final song.
12-28-99 is missing the last minute or so.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.06.00- Astro Hall, Tokyo, Japan
TRACKS:
Monheim / Tazer Floyd / 12-28-99 / Dead Metheny / World Police /
Gathering Storm / BBF3 / deadflagblues(outro)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.19.00- Scala, London, England
TRACKS:
Moya / Dead Metheny / Gathering Storm / Tazer Floyd /
12-28-99 (No Ending) / BBF3 / World Police / deadflagblues(outro) /
JLH Outro
Notes:
With Town & Country opening.
A long "jam" of sorts proceeds "12-28-99", in a similar vein to the
piece that is often played after the song.
First of four nights at the Scala.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.20.00- Scala, London, England
TRACKS:
12-28-99 (No Ending) / Gathering Storm / John Hughes / World Police /
Tazer Floyd / BBF3 / 3rd Part / deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
With Town & Country opening.
Second of four nights at the Scala.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.22.00- Scala, London, England
TRACKS:
Dead Metheny / Tazer Floyd / 12-28-99 (No Ending) / Gathering Storm /
The Sad Mafioso / Moya / deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
With Town & Country opening.
Fourth of four nights at the Scala.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.01.00- Somerville Theatre, Somerville, MA
TRACKS:
Intro Jam / Moya / 12-28-99 (No Ending) / Gathering Storm /
Dead Metheny / Tazer Floyd / BBF3 / deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
With Will Oldham & Mick Turner opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.02.00- St-John's Church, Baltimore, MD
TRACKS:
Moya / World Police / Gathering Storm / Tazer Floyd / The Sad Mafioso /
deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
With Will Oldham & Mick Turner and Sonna opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.10.00- Olympia Theatre, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Spoken Introduction / 12-28-99 (No Ending) / Tazer Floyd / John Hughes /
Dead Metheny / Gathering Storm / The Sad Mafioso / Moya / BBF3 /
deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
With Calla opening.
A benefit concert for CLAC (La Convergence des Luttes Anti-Capitalists)
The spoken introduction was by Efrim and Roger, reading in English
and French, respectively.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.27.01- Opera House, Toronto, ON
TRACKS:
Gathering Storm / 12-28-99 / Tazer Floyd / Tiny Silver Hammers / Moya /
BBF3
Notes:
With Dinner Is Ruined opening.
The debut of Tiny Silver Hammers.
A benefit concert for Tao Communications.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.28.01- Palais Royale, Toronto, ON
TRACKS:
Moya / Tazer Floyd / John Hughes / 12-28-99 / Tiny Silver Hammers /
Gathering Storm
Notes:
With Hangedup opening.
A benefit concert for Tao Communications.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01.13.02- Theatre Plaza, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Gathering Storm / Dead Metheny / Monheim / World Police / Tiny Silver
Hammers / Tazer Floyd / The Cowboy
Notes:
With Deep Dark United opening.
The first of four shows to warmup for the '02 European tour.
A benefit concert for Salle L'x and Burn All Prisons.
The debut of the new, extended version of Dead Metheny, as well as the
return of a reworked version of The Cowboy, absent from setlists
since early '98.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01.14.02- Theatre Plaza, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Tazer Floyd / 12-28-99 (No Ending) / Dead Metheny / Monheim / World
Police / Tiny Silver Hammers / The Sad Mafioso / deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
With Born Dead Icons opening.
The second of four shows to warmup for the '02 European tour.
A benefit concert for Salle L'x and Burn All Prisons.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01.15.02- Theatre Plaza, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Gathering Storm / Dead Metheny / Jam / Moya / World Police / Tiny Silver
Hammers / BBF3 / The Cowboy
Notes:
With Tim Hecker opening.
The third of four shows to warmup for the '02 European tour.
A benefit concert for Salle L'x and Burn All Prisons.
"Jam" is a shortish (5 minutes) improvisation which lead into Moya.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01.16.02- Theatre Plaza, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Tazer Floyd / 12-28-99 (No Ending) / Dead Metheny / World Police /
Tiny Silver Hammers / Gathering Storm / deadflagblues(outro)
Notes:
With Crackpot opening.
The fourth of four shows to warmup for the '02 European tour.
A benefit concert for Salle L'x and Burn All Prisons.
===============================================================================
MOLASSES
(This band contains Thierry and Norsola of gybe!)
===============================================================================
PART THREE:
OFFICIAL RELEASES
===============================================================================
You'll Never Be Well No More
CD 1999 Fancy/Alien8 Recordings FANCYCD1 CA
TRACKS:
Silver Cryst / Old Poe / Five Hundred Miles From Baltimore /
Drunkard's Lament / Sleeping Pill Blues / Sickbed Blues
Notes:
Dave (of gybe!) wrote the music to Sleeping Pill Blues.
Sickbed Blues is a hidden track, written by Skip James.
Beautiful handmade packaging.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trilogie: Toil & Peaceful Life
CD 2000 Fancy/Alien8 Recordings FANCYCD2 CA
TRACKS:
(Church Bells) / Saint Catherine(Idiot's Waltz) / Lisa's Waltz(Running
Away From Home) / Amazing Grace(Toil And Peaceful Life)
Notes:
"Trilogie" is french for Trilogy, a reference to Montreal.
"Toil & Peaceful Life" is an expression coined by Russian
Doukhabors, ancestors of Scott Chernoff, principle
songwriter for the band.
"Amazing Grace" was written by Captain John Newton.
"Church Bells" is just that... the sound of the bells from
the Notre Dame Cathedral in Montreal.
Like the first release, the packaging is very elaborate and
original.
Alexandre St-Onge contributes electronics and Martin Arnold contributes
hurdy-gurdy to "Lisa's Waltz"
===============================================================================
PART FOUR:
BOOTLEGS/LIVE RECORDINGS
(Not a complete list, by any means)
===============================================================================
10.26.99- Velvet Lounge, Washington, DC
TRACKS:
Insomnia / Saint Catherine / Sleeping Pill Blues / Sick Bed Blues /
Amazing Grace
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
06.07.00- Speak In Tongues, Cleveland, OH
TRACKS:
D Drone / Insomnia / Silver Cryst / Delirium / Valley /
Sleeping Pill Blues
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.14.00- Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
D Drone / Saint Catherine / Sleeping Pill Blues / Whitey Blues /
Lisa's Waltz / Valley / Amazing Grace
Notes:
Supported by Detention, which is comprised of Sam Shalabi and
Alex MacSween.
The first of two nights at the Casa Del Popolo to launch their
"Trilogie: Toil And Peaceful Life" disc.
The first performance of Whitey Blues.
Alex MacSween guested on drums.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09.15.00- Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
D Drone / Saint Catherine / Valley / Whitey Blues / Lisa's Waltz /
Delirium / Winter / Amazing Grace
Notes:
Supported by Ci Dy, which is comprised of Sam Shalabi and
Alexander St-Onge.
The second of two nights at the Casa Del Popolo to launch their
"Trilogie: Toil And Peaceful Life" disc.
Alex MacSween guested on drums.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.25.00- Miami, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
A Drone / Silver Cryst / Winter / Drunkard's Lament / Valley /
Old Poe / Sleeping Pill Blues
Notes:
Playing as "A Slow Messe"
The third annual "Blue Mass and Soup Kitchen for Orphans and Bums"
With David Curry (viola and trumpet) guesting.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.18.01- Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
D Drone / Insomnia / A Drone / Silver Cryst / Saint Catherine /
Winter / D Drone / Delirium
Notes:
Playing in between Chris Brokaw and Willard Grant Conspiracy.
Kate Lawrence (violin) was absent, and Chris Brokaw (guitar)
and David Curry (viola & trumpet) guested.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.19.01- Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
A Drone / Silver Cryst / Insomnia / Sleeping Pill Blues /
Saint Catherine / Valley / Delirium
Notes:
With Tiger Saw and Chris Brokaw opening.
Kate Lawrence (violin) was absent, and Chris Brokaw (guitar)
guested.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.22.01- Ted's Wrecking Yard, Toronto, ON
TRACKS:
D Drone / Insomnia / Silver Cryst / Winter / Saint Catherine /
Valley / Delirium
Notes:
Playing in between Tiger Saw and Royal City.
Kate Lawrence (violin) was absent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.30.01- Cafe Chaos, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Amazing Grace / Chinatown / Old Poe / Five Hundred Miles From
Baltimore / Death March
Notes:
Playing as "A Slow Messe"
The band was just Scott and Fluffy.
Opening for the Virgil Shaw Band.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
06.11.01- Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Chinatown / Insomnia / Silver Cryst / Saint Catherine /
Sleeping Pill Blues / Death March
Notes:
Opening for Shannon Wright and Azure Ray.
===============================================================================
A SILVER MT. ZION
(This band is contains Efrim, Thierry and Sophie of gybe!)
===============================================================================
PART FIVE:
OFFICIAL RELEASES
===============================================================================
He Has Left Us Alone, But Shafts Of Light Sometimes Grace The Corner
Of Our Rooms...
LP 2000 Constellation cst009 CA
CD 2000 Constellation cst009 CA
TRACKS:
Lonely as the Sound of Lying on the Ground of an Airplane Going Down //
The world is sickSICK (so kiss me quick)
Each track is made up of the following pieces:
Lonely as the Sound of Lying on the Ground of an Airplane Going Down:
Broken Chords Can Sing A Little / Sit In The Middle of Three Galloping
Dogs / Stumble Then Rise On Some Awkward Morning / Movie (Never Made)
The world is sickSICK (so kiss me quick):
13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed / Long March Rocket
Or Doomed Airliner / Blown-Out Joy From Heaven's Mercied Hole / For Wanda
Lineup:
Thierry Amar
Efrim Menuck
Sophie Trudeau
Additional Musicians:
Aidan Girt contributes drums to "Sit In The Middle..." and fireworks
to "Blown-Out Joy..."
Sam Shalabi contributes guitar to "Blown-Out Joy..."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upward
2x10" 2001 Constellation cst018 CA
CD 2001 Constellation cst018 CA
TRACKS:
Sisters! Brothers! Small Boats of Fire are Falling From the Sky! /
This Gentle Hearts Like Shot Bird's Fallen // Built Then Burnt (Hurrah!
Hurrah!) / Take These Hands And Throw Them In The River // Could've
Moved Mountains... / Tho You Are Gone I Still Often Walk W/You //
C'monCOMEON(Loose An Endless Longing) / The Triumph Of Our Tired Eyes
Lineup:
Thierry Amar
Beckie Foon
Ian Ilavsky
Efrim Menuck
Jessica Moss
Sophie Trudeau
Notes:
The band's name expands on this record along with the lineup, to:
"The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band"
Guest Musicians:
Jonah ?- Trumpet & Trombone
Eric Craven- Drums
Mischa ?- Voice
Sara ?- Voice
Frankie Sparo- Voice
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V/A- Constellation: Music Until Now
CD 2002 Constellation cst1comp CA
TRACKS:
A Silver Mt. Zion- 13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed /
Frankie Sparo- Here Comes The Future / Re:- Pent / Exhaust- Metro Mile
End / Hangedup- Powered By Steam / Sofa- Monotone / Fly Pan Am- Et Aussi
L'Eglairage De Plastique Au Centre De Tout Ces Compartiments Lateraux /
1-Speed Bike- (Seattle/Washington/Prague 00/68 Chicago/Nixon/Reagan
Circle-Fighting Machine) / Sackville- 4-Alarm Fire / Do Make Say Think-
The Landlord Is Dead
Notes:
A compilation featuring a track from all of the bands on Constellation
(except gybe!) in the years 1997-2001.
Made for release in Europe.
All tracks previously released.
===============================================================================
PART SIX:
BOOTLEGS/LIVE RECORDINGS
(Not a complete list, by any means)
Note: The live band for ASMZ consists of:
Efrim- Guitar/Piano/Vocals
Thierry- Bass
Sophie- Violin/Vocals
Ian Ilavsky- Piano/Guitar
Jessica Moss- Violin
Beckie Foon- Cello
===============================================================================
NOTES TO BOOTLEG SECTION:
The song "Faces, Mountains" that was played on
the 2001 tour is seperated into four tracks on
the "Born Into Trouble..." CD/2x10".
The four tracks are:
1) This Gentle Hearts Like Shot Bird's Fallen
2) Built Then Burnt (Hurrah! Hurrah!)
3) Take These Hands And Throw Them In The River
4) Could've Moved Mountains...
For obvious reasons, the bootlegs section will
use the title "Faces, Mountains".
===============================================================================
01.06.01- Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Broken Chords Can Sing A Little / Sit In The Middle of Three Galloping
Dogs / Stumble Then Rise On Some Awkward Morning / Movie (Never Made) /
Long March Rocket Or Doomed Airliner / Blown-Out Joy From Heaven's
Mercied Hole / Faces, Mountains / For Wanda
Notes:
The debut of "Faces, Mountains"
With Frankie Sparo opening.
First of two warm-up shows for the '01 European tour.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01.07.01- Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Broken Chords Can Sing A Little / Sit In The Middle of Three Galloping
Dogs / Stumble Then Rise On Some Awkward Morning / Movie (Never Made) /
Long March Rocket Or Doomed Airliner / Blown-Out Joy From Heaven's
Mercied Hole / Faces, Mountains / For Wanda
Notes:
With Frankie Sparo opening.
Second of two warm-up shows for the '01 European tour.
===============================================================================
EXHAUST
(This band contains Aidan of gybe!)
===============================================================================
PART SEVEN:
OFFICIAL RELEASES
===============================================================================
230596
xCS 1996 No Label N/A CA
TRACKS:
Cat Face / Hork Pitou / Wool Fever Dub / That Just Cost You $116 /
High Aidan Diminished By Fists / The Bass And The Trouble //
Free Shuttle From Biftek / Bubbles Will Harm Nick / Tripolar Depression
Lineup:
Aidan Girt
Gordon Krieger
Mike Zabitsky
Notes:
Self-Released Cassette. The title comes from the date it was recorded.
Released previous to the birth of Constellation Records.
Some of this material was used on the Contellation LP.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S/T
LP 1998 Constellation cst004 CA
CD 2000 Constellation cst004 CA
TRACKS:
A History Of Guerilla Warfare / Metro Mile End / Homemade Maggot Beer /
We Support Iran In Their Bid To Win The 1998 World Cup // Two Years
On Welfare / This Is Our (Borrowed) Equipment / Wool Fever / A Medley Of
Late Night Buffet Commercials / Winterlude / The Black Horns Of H2T
Lineup:
Aidan Girt
Gordon Krieger
Mike Zabitsky
Notes:
Initially released on LP, later issued on CD.
"Wool Fever" is a re-recording of the track "Wool Fever Dub" from the
230596 cassette.
"We Support Iran...", "This Is Our..." and "A Medley Of..." are remixed
by 1-Speed Bike (Aidan).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V/A- Constellation: Music Until Now
CD 2002 Constellation cst1comp CA
TRACKS:
A Silver Mt. Zion- 13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed /
Frankie Sparo- Here Comes The Future / Re:- Pent / Exhaust- Metro Mile
End / Hangedup- Powered By Steam / Sofa- Monotone / Fly Pan Am- Et Aussi
L'Eglairage De Plastique Au Centre De Tout Ces Compartiments Lateraux /
1-Speed Bike- (Seattle/Washington/Prague 00/68 Chicago/Nixon/Reagan
Circle-Fighting Machine) / Sackville- 4-Alarm Fire / Do Make Say Think-
The Landlord Is Dead
Notes:
A compilation featuring a track from all of the bands on Constellation
(except gybe!) in the years 1997-2001.
Made for release in Europe.
All tracks previously released.
===============================================================================
PART EIGHT:
BOOTLEGS/LIVE RECORDINGS
(Not a complete list, by any means)
===============================================================================
02.24.01- Salle L'X, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
??? / ??? / ??? / ??? / Metro Mile End / ??? / A History Of Guerilla
Warfare
Notes:
Playing in between Zom-B and the headlining act, Fly Pan Am.
Roger Tellier-Craig of Fly Pan Am/gybe! joined in on guitar for
the 6th song.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
05.27.01- Ted's Wrecking Yard, Toronto, ON
TRACKS:
??? / ??? / ??? / ??? / ??? / ??? / Metro Mile End / ???
Notes:
With Hangedup opening.
The final song is the same as the 6th song from the 02.24.01 show,
with Genevieve Heistek from Hangedup/Sackville on viola instead of Roger
on guitar.
===============================================================================
FLY PAN AM
(This is the primary project of Roger from gybe!)
===============================================================================
PART NINE:
OFFICIAL RELEASES
===============================================================================
Fly Pan Am/Godspeed You Black Emperor!
x7" 1998 aMAZEzine! Maze001 CA
TRACKS:
L'espace au sol est redessine par d'immenses panneaux bleus //
Sunshine + Gasoline
Notes:
Initial 550 copies pressed on white vinyl, last 550 on black.
Came free with Montreal based aMAZEzine!, issue #4.
Apparently the copies pressed on black sounded better, but
I don't know if this is true.
The 'zine includes an interview with the band.
Side A (L'espace au...) is by Fly Pan Am, Side B (Sunshine..)
by gybe!.
Though they were on the B-Side, GYBE! were given top billing.
This was the first official release of FPA material.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fly Pan Am
2xLP 1999 Constellation cst008 CA
CD 1999 Constellation cst008 CA
Tracks:
L'espace au sol est redessine par d'immenses panneaux bleus /
Et Aussi L'Eglairage De Plastique Au Centre De Tout Ces Compartiments
Lateraux // Dans Ses Cheveux Soixante Circuits // Bibi A Nice, 1921 /
Nice Est En Feu!
Notes:
Norsola contributes vocals on "Nice Est En Feu!"
The Track "L'espace..." is an updated version of the song that appeared
on the Split 7" with gybe!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sedatif En Frequences Et Sillons
EP 2000 Constellation cst011 CA
CD 2000 Constellation cst011 CA
Tracks:
De Cercle En Cercle, Ressasser Et Se Perdre Dans L'Illusion Nee De La
Production De Distractions Et Multiplier La Statique Environnante! //
Efferant/Afferant / Micro Sillons
Notes:
The title translates roughly as "Grooved Frequency Sedative".
The first track is a remix of material from the first LP, and features
Norsola on vocals and Aidan on "enregistrements additonnels" (additional
recording, i think.)
Thierry and Efrim helped record and mix the disc.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ceux Qui Inventent N'ont Jamais Vecu (?)
LP 2002 Constellation cst019 CA
CD 2002 Constellation cst019 CA
Tracks:
Jeunesse Sonique, Tu Dors (En Cage) / Rompre L'Indifference De
L'Inexitable Avant Que L'On Vienne Rompre Le Sommeil De L'Inanime /
Partially Sabotaged Distraction Partiellement Sabote //
Univoque/Equivoque / Arcades-Pamelor / Sound-Support Surface Noises
Reaching Out To You / Erreur; Errance; Interdits De Par Leurs Nouvelles
Possibilites / La Vie Se Doit D'Etre Vecue Ou Commencons A Vivre
Notes:
Recorded by Thierry & Efrim (gybe!) as well as Fly Pan Am.
Tom Bernier & Jacques Gravel play clarinet, Thea Pratt plays french horn
& Alexandre St-Onge contributes "certaines manipulations digitales" on
"Rompre L'Indifference..."
Dave (gybe!) plays guitar on "Sound-Support Surface..." and
"La Vie Se Doit...".
Bruce (gybe!) plays bowed wok lid & clevises on "Erreur; Errance..."
Christof Migone contributes "brouillages soniques" and Sam Shalabi plays
"ghost guitars" on "La Vie Se Doit..."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V/A- Constellation: Music Until Now
CD 2002 Constellation cst1comp CA
TRACKS:
A Silver Mt. Zion- 13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed /
Frankie Sparo- Here Comes The Future / Re:- Pent / Exhaust- Metro Mile
End / Hangedup- Powered By Steam / Sofa- Monotone / Fly Pan Am- Et Aussi
L'Eglairage De Plastique Au Centre De Tout Ces Compartiments Lateraux /
1-Speed Bike- (Seattle/Washington/Prague 00/68 Chicago/Nixon/Reagan
Circle-Fighting Machine) / Sackville- 4-Alarm Fire / Do Make Say Think-
The Landlord Is Dead
Notes:
A compilation featuring a track from all of the bands on Constellation
(except gybe!) in the years 1997-2001.
Made for release in Europe.
All tracks previously released.
===============================================================================
PART TEN:
BOOTLEGS/LIVE RECORDINGS
(Not a complete list, by any means)
===============================================================================
10.16.98- Montomery Hall, Ottawa, ON
TRACKS:
Bibi A Nice, 1921 / L'espace au sol est redessine par d'immenses
panneaux bleus
Notes:
Playing in between Seppuku and gybe!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.05.99- Cheap Thrills, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Bibi A Nice, 1921 / Et Aussi L'Eclairage De Plastique Au Centre De
Tous Ces Compartiements Lateraux
Notes:
An In-Store performance in Cheap Thrills, a record store in Montreal.
The recording is incomplete.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.07.00- All Tommorrow's Parties, Camber Sands, Sussex, England
TRACKS:
L'espace au sol est redessine par d'immenses panneaux bleus / Bibi A
Nice, 1921 / Et Aussi L'Eglairage De Plastique Au Centre De Tout Ces
Compartiments Lateraux
Notes:
Other bands at this festival included gybe!, Mogwai, Sonic Youth,
Sigur Ros and Labradford.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
06.14.00- Spectrum, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Et Aussi L'Eglairage De Plastique Au Centre De Tout Ces Compartiments
Lateraux / Efferant/Afferant / Bibi A Nice, 1921 / Nice Est En Feu! /
L'espace au sol est redessine par d'immenses panneaux bleus
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
08.05.00- Darling Foundry, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Micro Sillons / Bibi A Nice, 1921 / Efferant/Afferant / L'espace au sol
est redessine par d'immenses panneaux bleus / La Vie Se Doit D'Etre Vecue
Ou Commencons A Vivre
Notes:
Playing with Do Make Say Think.
The debut of "La Vie Se Doit D'Etre Vecue Ou Commencons A Vivre"
They were joined by Bruce (gybe!), Genevieve (Sackville, Hangedup) and
Will Eizlini (Shalabi Effect) for "La Vie Se Doit..."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
02.24.01- Salle L'X, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Drone Intro / Efferant/Afferant / L'espace au sol est redessine par
d'immenses panneaux bleus / La Vie Se Doit D'Etre Vecue Ou Commencons A
Vivre / De Cercle En Cercle.. / Univoque/Equivoque / Partially Sabotaged
Distraction Partiellement Sabote / Rompre L'Indifference De L'Inexitable
Avant Que L'On Vienne Rompre Le Sommeil De L'Inanime
Notes:
With Exhaust and Zom-B.
"De Cercle En Cercle.." was (obviously) not played in its entirity, just
the portion which is a "remix" of "Bibi A Nice, 1921".
The debut of "Univoque/Equivoque", "Partially Sabotaged Distraction
Partiellement Sabote" and "Rompre L'Indifference De L'Inexitable Avant Que
L'On Vienne Rompre Le Sommeil De L'Inanime"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.01.01- John Walden Art Center, Bloomington, IN
TRACKS:
Efferant/Afferant / Rompre L'Indifference De L'Inexitable Avant Que L'On
Vienne Rompre Le Sommeil De L'Inanime / Partially Sabotaged Distraction
Partiellement Sabote / L'espace au sol est redessine par d'immenses
panneaux bleus / La Vie Se Doit D'Etre Vecue Ou Commencons A Vivre
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.04.01- 25th Broadway House, Indianapolis, IN
TRACKS:
Efferant/Afferant / Rompre L'Indifference De L'Inexitable Avant Que L'On
Vienne Rompre Le Sommeil De L'Inanime / Partially Sabotaged Distraction
Partiellement Sabote / L'espace au sol est redessine par d'immenses
panneaux bleus / La Vie Se Doit D'Etre Vecue Ou Commencons A Vivre
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
06.30.01- Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, Metropolis, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Efferant/Afferant / Rompre L'Indifference De L'Inexitable Avant Que L'On
Vienne Rompre Le Sommeil De L'Inanime / L'espace au sol est redessine par
d'immenses panneaux bleus / La Vie Se Doit D'Etre Vecue Ou Commencons A
Vivre
Notes:
Opening for Stereolab.
Jesse Levine (Keyboards) and Dave Bryant (gybe!)(Guitar) played
with the band.
===============================================================================
1-SPEED BIKE
(This is a solo project of Aidan of gybe!)
===============================================================================
PART ELEVEN:
OFFICIAL RELEASES
===============================================================================
Droopy Butt Begone!
LP 2000 Constellation cst014 CA
CD 2000 Constellation cst014 CA
TRACKS:
The Day That Mauro Ran Over Elwy Yost / (Seattle/Washington/Prague 00/68
Chicago/Nixon/Reagan Circle-Fighting Machine) / Yuppie Restaurant-Goers
Beware Because This Song Is For The Dishwasher / Just Another Jive-Assed
White Colonial Theft // Why Are All The Dogs Dying Of Cancer? / My
Kitchen Is Tiananmen Square / Any Movement That Forgets About Class Is A
Bowel Movement
Notes:
The tracklist is not listed on the LP, for some reason.
"Yuppie Restaurant-Goers..." is a remix of Fly Pan Am material, who
were working on their "Sedatif..." EP at the same time.
The second track is in brackets above, simply to indicate that despite
all the slashes, it is one track name... yeesh!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V/A- We Ear It Regular Differently
CDR 2001 We Ear It Regular Differently WD01 CA
TRACKS:
Darky- Gamestar / Blue Baboon- Boredom With Digital Entertainment /
1-Speed Bike- Toilets Descending From Heaven To Administer Justice Opun
Those That Would Melt The Polar Ice Cap / Aspic- Histamine / Navet
Confit- Endormi / DJ Dolly- Miss Blake / Les Gentils- Manger /
Navet Confit- Amqui Electronic Groove / Navet Confit- Cancel-Skip /
Quel es la Colore Rosso- Live Action Man / peat>re- Annie, The
Computer Takes Drugs / peat>re- Computer During Business Day /
peat>re- Computer In Love With A Daft / peat>re- Computer Meets
Silophone Via Silophone.net / peat>re- Computer Want the Silophone
Freedom / peat>re- Computer Fucking a PC/ peat>re- Computer Singing
Under a Shower In a Basement / peat>re- Talking in the Phone a Stupid
MS Indian Computer / Px- Improvisation Controlee
Notes:
A 1-Speed Bike track on a compilation that came with a 'zine titled
"We Ear It Regular Differently."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V/A- Constellation: Music Until Now
CD 2002 Constellation cst1comp CA
TRACKS:
A Silver Mt. Zion- 13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed /
Frankie Sparo- Here Comes The Future / Re:- Pent / Exhaust- Metro Mile
End / Hangedup- Powered By Steam / Sofa- Monotone / Fly Pan Am- Et Aussi
L'Eglairage De Plastique Au Centre De Tout Ces Compartiments Lateraux /
1-Speed Bike- (Seattle/Washington/Prague 00/68 Chicago/Nixon/Reagan
Circle-Fighting Machine) / Sackville- 4-Alarm Fire / Do Make Say Think-
The Landlord Is Dead
Notes:
A compilation featuring a track from all of the bands on Constellation
(except gybe!) in the years 1997-2001.
Made for release in Europe.
All tracks previously released.
===============================================================================
SET FIRE TO FLAMES
(This band features, among others, Dave, Aidan,
Bruce, Roger and Sophie of gybe!)
===============================================================================
PART TWELVE:
OFFICIAL RELEASES
===============================================================================
Sings Reign Rebuilder
2xLP 2001 Alien8Recordings Alien30LP CA
CD 2001 Alien8Recordings Alien30CD CA
2xLP 2001 130701/Fat Cat ??? UK
CD 2001 130701/Fat Cat ??? UK
CD 2001 P-Vine PCD-24097 JP
TRACKS:
'I Will Be True...' (from lips of lying dying wonder body #1)/Reign
Rebuilder[head] / Vienna Arcweld/Fucked Gamelan/Rigid Tracking // Steal
Compass/Drive North/Disappear / Wild Dogs Of The Thunderbolt/'they
cannot lock me up... i am eternally free' (from lips of lying dying
wonder body #2) / Omaha // There Is No Dance In Frequency and Balance /
Cote D'Abrahams Roomtone/'what's going on?...' (from lips of lying dying
wonder body #3) / Love Song for 15 Ontario (w/Singing Police Car) /
Injur:Gutted Two-Track / When I First Get To Phoenix // Shit-Heap-Gloria
Of The New Town Planning / Jesus-Pop / Esquimalt Harbour / Two Tears In
A Bucket / Fading Lights Are Fading.../Reign Rebuilder[Tail Out]
Notes:
A difficult record to list the track of... all slashes which do not
have spaces to each side are slashes in the actual song titles, not
song divisions.
In a somewhat-similar vein to the gybe! albums, it is a collection
of "songs" and more sound-based pieces.
Lineup:
Aidan Girt- Drums
Beckie Foon- Cello
Bruce Cawdron- Drums/Percussion
Christof Migone- Reel to Reel Motors/Banjo/Contact Mics
David Bryant- Guitar
Genevieve Heistek- Viola
Gordon Krieger- Bass Clarinet
Jean-Sebastien- Bass
Mike Moya- Guitar
Roger Tellier-Craig- Guitar
Sophie Trudeau- Violin
Speedy- Guitar
Thea- French Horn
===============================================================================
HRSTA
(This is the solo project of Mike Moya, formerly of gybe!.
It also features Bruce and Norsola.)
===============================================================================
PART THIRTEEN:
OFFICIAL RELEASES
===============================================================================
L'Eclat du Ciel Etait Insoutenable
CD 2001 Fancy FANCYCD3 CA
TRACKS:
L'Eclat Du Ciel Etait Insoutenable / Lime Kiln / Don't Let The Angels
Fall / City Of Gold / I Can Transform Myself Into Anyone I Want /
Jakominiplatz / 21-87 / Silver Planes / Blessed Are We Who Seem To Be
Losers / Lucy's Sad / City Of Gold (Reprise) / Whip / Novi Beograd
Guests:
Bruce Cawdron- Drums, Bowed Cymbals, Idiophones
Norsola Johnson- Cello
Fluffy Erskine- Saw, Bowed Cymbals
Scott Chernoff- Acoustic Guitar
Lea Grahovac- Voice on "I Can..."
===============================================================================
PART FOURTEEN:
BOOTLEGS/LIVE RECORDINGS
(Not a complete list, by any means.. although it might be)
===============================================================================
11.11.00- Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
L'Eclat Du Ciel Etait Insoutenable / Lime Kiln / City Of Gold /
Lucy's Sad / ??? / Whip / Silver Planes
Notes:
Opening for Frankie Sparo.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
02.09.01- Casa Del Popolo, Montreal PQ
TRACKS:
L'Eclat Du Ciel Etait Insoutenable / Lime Kiln / City Of Gold / 21-87 /
Silver Planes
Notes:
Bruce (of gybe!) played drums or glockenspiel on all tracks.
Norsola played cello on the first three.
With Michelle Meadorey opening.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
04.12.01- Centro Social Espanol, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Wagons / L'Eclat Du Ciel Etait Insoutenable (aborted) / Lucy's Sad /
Silver Planes / Lime Kiln / 21-87
Notes:
Opening for Arab Strap.
"l'Eclat..." was only played for a short while (2 minutes or so) because
of technical problems.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.18.01- Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
Lime Kiln / Whip / City Of Gold / Silver Planes / Blessed Are We Who
Seem To Be Losers / Wagons / 21-87
Notes:
Bruce, Dave and JS (Fly Pan Am) played drums/glockenspiel, guitar and
bass, respectively.
With Chris Burns opening.
The intended launch for the debut record, however, the record was
not ready due to a mistake in the printing of the packaging.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.09.01- Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
L'Eclat Du Ciel Etait Insoutenable / Wagons / Lime Kiln / City Of Gold /
Silver Planes / Blessed Are We Who Seem To Be Losers / Lucy's Sad /
Whip
Notes:
Bruce, Dave, JS and Gen played drums/glockenspiel, guitar, bass and
viola, respecitvely.
Opening for The Lonesome Hanks.
The launch for the debut record, "L'Eclat Du Ciel Etait Insoutenable".
===============================================================================
ET SANS
(This band is comprised of Alexandre St-Onge and Roger(gybe!))
===============================================================================
PART FIFTEEN:
OFFICIAL RELEASES
===============================================================================
l'Autre
CD 2001 Locust Locustno.2 US
TRACKS:
l'Autre
Notes:
One long piece comprised of Bass, Guitar and "Vocals".
The band's name translates as "And Without", and the title "The Other".
===============================================================================
PART SIXTEEN:
BOOTLEGS/LIVE RECORDINGS
(Not a complete list, by any means)
===============================================================================
01.11.01- Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, PQ
TRACKS:
l'Autre
Notes:
With Fonderie Darling opening.
===============================================================================
PART SEVENTEEN:
MISCELLANEOUS
===============================================================================
Hangedup- S/T
LP 2001 Constellation cst016 CA
CD 2001 Constellation cst016 CA
TRACKS:
Winternational / Propane Tank / Powered By Steam / New Blue Monday //
Tapping / Czech Disco Pt.II / Wilt / Bring Yr Scuba Gear
Notes:
A duo featuring Genevieve Heistek (Sackville) on viola and Eric Craven
on percussion.
Efrim (of gybe!) contributes "extra stuff" on "Bring Yr Scuba Gear" and
Ian Ilavsky (Sofa, Re:) plays bass on "Powered By Steam" and
"Bring Yr. Scuba Gear".
Efrim and Ian also mixed the record.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalabi Effect- S/T
2xCD 2000 Alien8Recordings AlienCD22 CA
TRACKS:
Wyoming / Vicious Triangle / Mending Holes In A Wooden Heart / Aural
Florida(Approach) / Aural Florida // Mokoondi / Amber Pets / Boardwalk At
Apollo Beach / Apparitions / On The Bowery / Leaving A Horse To Die / Return
To Wake Island /
Notes:
The album that evolved from the planned split-CD with gybe!
Deirdre Smith (of Strawberry) contributes vocals to "On The Bowery"
Sophie (of gybe!) contributes violin to "Mending"
Bryan Highbloom contributed soprano sax and bowl to "Aural Florida"
"White Rose" is the first film made that was spoken in Arabic.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sam Shalabi- On Hashish
CD 2001 Alien8Recordings AlienCD29 CA
TRACKS:
Outside Chance (Dreamfangs) / Soot / The Wherewithall
Notes:
Features Thierry & Norsola of gybe!, as well as:
Serge Boisvert, Jacques Gravel, Corinna Hagel, Bryan Highbloom,
Anni Lawrence, Kate Lawrence (Molasses), Gabriel Levine (Sackville),
Fluffy Erskine (Molasses), Delphine Measroch, Samuel Roy-Bois,
Alexandre St-Onge (Shalabi Effect, Klaxon Guele).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frankie Sparo- My Red Scare
LP 2000 Constellation cst013 CA
CD 2000 Constellation cst013 CA
TRACKS:
Bastard Heart / My Stunning Debut / Diminish Me NYC / A Citizen's
Farewell / Novak Again / The Lonliest Mademoiselle // Send For Me /
This Side Of Her / If You're Fancy Free / Here Comes The Future /
The Night That We Stayed In
Notes:
Thierry and Efrim helped record this disc (along with Ian of
Constellation). Efrim also contributes glockenspiel to the album.
Thierry and Sophie were also members of Frankie Sparo's live band
for his tour with A Silver Mt. Zion in early 2001.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frankie Sparo- Arena Hostile
CDEP 2001 Constellation cst017 CA
TRACKS:
Diminish Me NYC / The Night We Stayed In / Here Comes The Future /
I Am Waiting
Notes:
Recorded live at VPRO Radio in Amsterdam.
"I Am Waiting" is originally by The Rolling Stones.
All tracks played with the band that Frankie toured Europe with in
early 2001 (with ASMZ), except for "I Am Waiting", which is solo.
Frankie's band included Sophie Trudeau (violin) and Thierry Amar (bass),
as well as Jessica Moss (violin) and Ian Ilavsky (Keyboard).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Unireverse- Plays The Music Of Godspeed You Black Emperor* On The Moog
(*And Others)
CDR 2001 Total Zero TZCD07 CA
TRACKS:
Moonship Journey (Sun Ra) / You Better Believe It (Hawkwind) /
Invisible Sun (Sting) / Inna Godda Da Vida (Iron Butterfly) /
Excerpt from F#A#oo (gybe!)
Notes:
A Moog/Casio/drum machine trio performing covers of various groups.
The gybe! piece is "Kicking Horse On Broken Hill"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Unireverse- Katron
EP 2001 Total Zero TZLP0201 CA
TRACKS:
You Better Believe It (Hawkwind) // Lovefingers (Silver Apples) /
Excerpt from F#A#oo (gybe!)
Notes:
The gybe! piece (as well as the Hawkwind piece) were re-recorded
for this release.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
godspeed you black emperor!
music (click on red links for MP3 samples)
discography as text file
gybe!
yanqui u.x.o.
(to be) released: november 4, 2002 (europe), november 11, 2002 (north america)
09-15-00 [16:27]
09-15-00 [06:17]
rockets fall on rocket falls [20:42]
motherfucker=redeemer [21:22]
motherfucker=redeemer [10:10]
lift yr. skinny fists like antennas to heaven!
released: october 23, 2000
storm [22:32]
lift yr. skinny fists, like antennas to heaven... [00:00 - 06:15]
gathering storm [06:15 - 17:25]
"welcome to barco am/pm..." [l.a.x.; 5/14/00] [17:25 - 18:40]
cancer towers on holy road hi-way [18:40 - 22:32]
static [22:35]
terrible canyons of static [00:00 - 03:34]
atomic clock [03:34 - 04:43]
chart #3 [04:43 - 07:22]
world police and friendly fire [07:22 - 17:10]
[...+the buildings they are sleeping now] [17:10 - 22:35]
sleep [23:17]
murray ostril: "...they don't sleep anymore on the beach..." [00:00 - 01:10]
monheim [01:10 - 13:24]
broken windows, locks of love pt. III. / 3rd part [13:24 - 23:17]
antennas to heaven [18:57]
moya sings "baby-o"... [00:00 - 01:00]
edgyswingsetacid [01:00 - 01:58]
[glockenspiel duet recorded on a campsite in rhinebeck, n.y.] [01:58 - 02:45]
"attention...mon ami...fa-lala-lala-la-la..." [55-St.Laurent] [02:45 - 04:03]
she dreamt she was a bulldozer, she dreamt she was alone in an empty field [04:03 - 13:46]
deathkamp drone [13:46 - 16:55]
[antennas to heaven...] [16:55 - 18:57]
double cd released on kranky, double vinyl on constellation.
slow riot for new zero kanada
released march 8th, 1999
moya [10:51]
bbf3 [17:45]
cd released on kranky, vinyl (ep) on constellation. vinyl comes in a foil stamped jacket - side one (moya) plays at 45rpm, side two (BBF3) plays at 33rpm. cd doesn't name the two tracks or actually mention gybe! (other than in the liner notes). hebrew lettering on the front says "chaos" and "BBF3" stands for "blaise bailey finnegan III."
amazezine 7"
released august, 1998
godspeed you black emperor, "sunshine + gasoline"
fly pan am, "l'espace au sol est redessine par d'immenses panneaux bleus"
a 7" that came free with issue #4 of the montreal-based amazezine. the first 550 copies were pressed on white vinyl, all copies after that pressed on black. the 'zine also contains an interview with the band.
john peel session
recorded january 19, 1999
hung over as the queen in maida vale
monheim
chart #3
steve reich
the recordings have never been officially released
f# a# oo
released june 8th, 1998 by kranky
the dead flag blues [16:27]
the dead flag blues (intro) [00:00 - 06:37]
slow moving trains [06:37 - 10:10]
the cowboy... [10:10 - 14:27]
(;outro)... [14:27 - 16:27]
east hastings [17:58]
nothing's alrite in our life / dead flag blues (reprise) [00:00 - 01:35]
the sad mafioso... [01:35 - 12:19]
drugs in tokyo / black helicopter [12:19 - 17:58]
providence [21:15]
divorce & fever... [00:00 - 02:44]
dead metheny.. [02:44 - 10:51]
kicking horse on brokenhill [10:51 - 16:44]
string loop manufactured during downpour... [16:44 - 21:15]
j.l.h. outro [24:54 - 29:02]
re-issue of the constellation lp. remastered and changed in some areas, with some new material, and some material missing. completely different booklet/cover/liner notes, but as with the lp, each track is made up of several different segments
f# a# oo
released october 1997 by constellation
nervous, sad, poor...
bleak, uncertain, beautiful...
initially limited to 500 numbered copies, then repressed. hand-made jacket, with one of three actual photographs glued on to the front. comes with a bag of goodies, inlcuding a penny flattened by a train. each track fills a side, and is made up of different pieces.
all lights fucked on the hairy amp drooling
released on cassette in 1994 in a limited quantity of 33
side a
drifting intro open
shot thru tubes
three three three
when all the furnaces exploded
beep
hush
son of a diplomat, daughter of a politician
glencairn 14
$13.13
loose the idiot dogs
diminishing shine
random luvly moncton blue(s)
13. dadmomdaddy
side b
333 frames per second
revisionist alternatif wounds to the hair-cut hit head
ditty for moya
buried ton
and the hairy guts shine
hoarding
deterior 23
all angels gone
deterior 17
deterior three
devil's in the church
no job
dress like shit
perfumed pink corpses from the lips of ms. celine dion
the only document of early godspeed - a self-released cassette limited to 33 copies.
other projects
the silver mount zion memorial orchestra and tra-la-la band, "born into trouble as the sparks fly upward"
released october 15, 2001
sister! brother! small boats of fire are falling from the sky [9:07]
this gentle heart's like shot birds fallen [5:47]
built then burnt (hurrah! hurrah!) [5:41]
take these hands and throw them in the river [6:58]
could've moved mountains... [10:59]
tho you are gone i still walk miles with you [4:48]
c'mon come on (loose an endless longing) [8:06]
the triumph of our tired eyes [6:54]
the silver mount zion memorial orchestra's second release
a silver mt. zion, "he has left us alone but shafts of light sometimes grace the corner of our bedrooms"
released march 27, 2000
"lonely as the sound of lying on the ground of an airplane going down." [23:14]
broken chords can sing a little. [8:39]
sit in the middle of three galloping dogs. [5:08]
stumble then rise on some awkward morning. [6:04]
movie(never made). [3:23]
"the world is sickSICK;(so kiss me quick): [23:52]
13 angels standing guard 'round the side of your bed. [7:22]
long march rocket or doomed airliner. [0:05]
blown-out joy from heaven's mercied hole. [9:47]
for wanda. [6:38]
according to constellation website, "A Silver Mt. Zion is a group led by founding godspeed you black emperor! guitarist Efrim, together with other godspeed members Sophie and Thierry. The music was written by Efrim and arranged by the trio. Efrim plays mostly piano, some guitar, and provides the vocals on the one lyrical piece on their debut. Thierry contributes upright and electric bass, and Sophie plays violin. To some extent, A Silver Mt. Zion was born out of a desire on the part of these godspeed players to work in a smaller musical ensemble; in effect, to escape some of the constraints that often accompany writing and arranging music democratically with nine musicians. As well, Efrim simply wanted a vehicle to realise some of his own musical ideas that would not necessarily work well within the context of godspeed. "
bakunin's bum, "FIGHT TO WIN! (A benefit for The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty)"
released october 9, 2001
How far are you willing to go?
And the cops just go 'fuck'
A front, a middle, a back
What is OCAP?
Real 'Peace'
By any means necessary
It's too late for concessions
People already know
There's a place for everyone
We don't have 'show trials'
Hope, Pride & Dignity in fighting back
bakunin's bum is aidan on drums and norman nawrocki (rhythm activism and da zoque!). as the subtitle suggests, this is a benefit album for OCAP. the music is very similar to that of 1-speed bike (using some of the same loops in places), but also features spoken word speech by two anti-poverty activists that has been edited to the music.
1-speed bike, "droopy butt begone!"
released october 23, 2000
the day that mauro ran over elwy yost [6:30]
seattle/washington/prague 00/68 chicago/nixon/reagan circle-fighting machine [3:20]
yuppie restaurant-goers beware because this song is for the dishwasher [6:45]
just another jive-assed white colonial theft [6:20]
why are all the dogs dying of cancer? [3:35]
my kitchen is tiananmen square [5:16]
any movement that forgets about class is a bowel movement [4:26]
(untitled) [0:26]
1-speed bike is the solo, electronic project by godspeed! drummer aidan. "yuppie..." is a remix of fly pan am material from "sedatifs en frquences et sillons". this is the first 1-speed bike release, aside from three remixes on the self-titled exhaust album.
exhaust, "exhaust"
released august 31, 1998; cd released july 10, 2000
a history of guerilla warfare [6:03]
metro mile end [3:02]
homemade maggot beer [0:26]
we support iran in their bid to win the 1998 world cup [4:52]
two years on welfare [5:23]
this is our (borrowed) equipment [1:31]
wool fever [5:06]
a medley of late night buffet commercials [0:43]
winterlude [3:35]
the black horns of H2T [3:18]
exhaust's sophomore release. "we support...," "this is...," and "a medley..." are remixes by 1-speed bike.
exhaust, "230596"
released october, 1996
side a
cat face
hook pitou
wool fever dub
that just cost you $116
high aidan diminished by fists
the bass and the trouble
side b
free shuttle from bifteck
bubbles will harm nick
tripolar depression
exhaust is a trio featuring aidan from godspeed! on drums, as well gordon krieger and "mike." this release is their first, a self-produced cassette, and is now out of print.
fly pan am, "ceux qui inventent n'ont jamais vecu (?)"
released april 15, 2002
Jeunesse Sonique, Tu Dors (En Cage)
Rompre L'Indifference De L'Inexitable Avant Que L'On Vienne Rompre Le Sommeil De L'Inanime
Partially Sabotaged Distraction Pertiellement Sabotee
Univoque/Equivoque
Arcades-Pamelor
Sound-Support Surface Noises Reaching Out To You
Erreur, Errance; Interdits De Par Leurs Nouvelles Possibilities
La Viese Doit D'Etre Vecue Ou Commenconts Vivre
fly pan am, "sedatifs en frequences et sillons"
released october 23, 2000
De Cercle En Cercle, Ressasser Et Se Perdre Dans L'illusion Nee De La Production De Distractions Et Multiplier La Statique Environnante!
Efferant/Afferant
Micro Sillons
stolen from the constellation website, "roger, one of the group's two guitarists, was recruited by godspeed you black emperor! in the summer of 1998, but fly pan am remains his primary project. j.s., the group's bassist, also played in the now-defunct montreal hardcore band wisigoth. the band's other members include jonathan on guitar and felix on drums. all members contribute to the tape-based element of the music."
fly pan am, "fly pan am"
released october 20, 1999
L'Espace Au Sol Est Redessine Par D'Immenses Panneaux Bleus
Et Aussi L'Eclairage De Plastique Au Centre De Tout Ces Compartiments Lateraux
Dans Ses Cheveux Soixante Circuits
Bibi A Nice, 1921
Nice Est En Feu!
the debut album from fly pan am, features norsola on guest vocals
set fire to flames,"sings reign rebuilder"
released october 9, 2001
'I will be true...'
Vienna Arcweld/Fucked Gamelan/Rigid Tracking
Steal Compass/Drive North/Disappear
Wild dogs of the Thunderbolt
Omaha
There is no dance in frequency and balance
Cote D'Abrahams Room tone
Love song for 15 Ontario
Injur: gutted two-track
When I first get to Phoenix
Shit-heap-Gloria of the new town planning...
Jesus / Pop
Esquimalt Harbour
Two tears in a bucket
Fading lights are fading
"set fire to flames are a collective of thirteen musicians from the musical community of Montreal. Brooding and beautiful, haunted and haunting, sings reign rebuilder is so stunningly / lovingly played and skillfully assembled, infused throughout with a massive sense of slow-burning tension and periods of weighty, rousing release." - Alien 8. Includes Aidan, Bruce, David, Roger, and Sophie from Godspeed you black emperor!
hrsta, "l'eclat du ciel etait insoutenable"
released november 20, 2001
l'eclat du ciel etait insoutenable
lime kiln
don't let the angels fall
city of gold
i can transform myself into anything i want
jakominiplatz
21-87
silver planes
blessed are we who seem to be losers
lucy's sad
city of gold (reprise)
whip
novi beograd
hrsta is the solo project of former godspeed member mike moya. this, the debut album, features appearances by bruce and norsola, as well as several members of molasses.
molasses, "triloge: toil & peaceful life"
released october 1, 2000
untitled (bells of notre dame)
saint catherine (idiot's waltz)
lisa's waltz (running away from home)
amazing grace (toil & peaceful life)
molasses' second release on the alien8 associated fancy recordings
molasses, "you'll never be well no more"
released october 1999
silver cryst
old poe
five hundred miles from baltimore
drunkard's lament
sleeping pill blues
(untitled hidden track)
molasses is a montreal-based collective led by guitarist/vocalist scott chernoff and features godspeed members thierry and norsola along with sam shalabi (shalabi effect) and others.
shalabi effect
released june 2000
disc 1:
wyoming
vicious triangle
mending holes in a wooden heart
aural florida (approach)
aural florida
disc 2:
mokoondi
amber pets
boardwalk at apollo beach
apparitions
on the bowery
leaving a horse to die
return to wake island
(arabic for 'White Rose')
Shalabi Effect are a group from montreal featuring Sam Shalabi and Alexandre St-Onge. The create a unique blend of psychedelic, Middle-Eastern and improv music. On their debut CD, they're joined by godspeed member Sophie on violin and Deidre from Strawberry and The Brokenhearts on vocals. according to the alien8 website, this 2xCD debut was "originally slated for release as the flip side of a split cd/lp with godspeed you black emperor! entitled 'Aural Florida,' the release just kept growing and growing. 'White Rose' was the first film spoken in Arabic and is highly recommended by Sam Shalabi.
return home
c 1996-2003 Brainwashed
Member: SturgeonsLawyer
Date: 5/20/2004
Format: CD (Album)
You know this is something very different from the outset.
Lee Marvin's voice (or a reasonable facsimile) drone-drawls: "The car's on fire, and there's no driver at the wheel, and the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides, and a dark wind blows ... we're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine, and the machine is bleeding to death ..." Against these apocalyptic words, "the dead flag blues" begins to slowly unwind into your ears. Violin, cello, several guitars, God knows what-all else begin a slowly varying motive that turns, you'll never spot quite when, into another and then another.
Descended on one side from the ambient drones of Fripp and Eno's 1970s collaborations, and on another from the gradually-developing themes of Magma, Godspeed You Black Emperor! has, on their first full-length, f#a#(infinity sign) created something completely new and unexpected, something terrible and beautiful, and something - frankly beyond description, because to describe music presumes similarity to something already familiar, and this is not similar to anything I would care to assume you are familiar with. This music is fresh, coherent, cohesive, and lucid, and after thirty or forty listenings I'm still discovering new stuff every time.
GSYBE! are, I gather, some kind of collective who squat in a boxcar outside Montreal. That's cool. I suspect the players (who are not even named in the CD booklet) of being very good on their instruments, but I honestly don't know, because they don't do inyaface solos. They do play with a great deal of passion and musicianship.
But nothing I can say will tell you what it sounds like. So check out their Website, and the samples to be found thereon; then check out this mind-bogglingly beautiful album.
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