 Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, A Silver Mt. Zion (just one of its many names) came to life in 1999 as a project for Godspeed You! Black Emperor member Efrim Menuck in his attempt to learn to score music. The original idea was pushed aside, and the project would go on to become a group setting, and was more in touch with the idea of the organic growth and exploration of music than the heavily composed and arranged theoretical work of Godspeed. A Silver Mt. Zion uses a number of different variations of the name on different releases with respect to line-up changes.
A Silver Mt. Zion is a band formed in 1999, in Montreal, Quebec, by Godspeed You! Black
Emperor musicians Efrim Menuck, Sophie Trudeau and Thierry Amar. According to an interview
with VPRO Radio in The Netherlands, originally the project was for Efrim to learn how to
score music, but the idea was soon abandoned as Efrim decided that he preferred music not
to be defined by rules, preferring simply what sounds best. Despite this, he continued the
project out of a desire to experiment with ideas that would not work within the context of
Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The decision to record an album was partly inspired by the
death of his dog Wanda, who had died while Godspeed You! Black Emperor was on tour. He
wanted to record an album in her memory, but did not feel that he could effectively do
this through Godspeed’s collective, consensus format.
Unlike Godspeed You! Black Emperor, A Silver Mt. Zion’s music often features vocals. The
last few albums they have released contain no purely instrumental tracks. Efrim confessed
that he was uncomfortable with this at first, feeling “foolish” and uncomfortable with the
role of the singer in music generally. That is, he did not want to be the focus of the
band’s music but rather wished to use vocals as a stylistic tool. Some fans were initially
ambivalent about the use of vocals, but Efrim’s poetic lyrical style is now well respected
among fans. Furthermore, A Silver Mt. Zion’s fanbase has expanded, and they are no longer
seen merely as an offshoot of Godspeed You! Black Emperor but as a unique and separate
entity.
The addition of members has moved their music from a well weighted, and curiously empty
(in terms of space) sound to all encompassing and complex arrangements, recently focusing
more on vocal layers.
Other than the main three members, various other people joined the band for recording and
touring including: Beckie Foon, Ian Ilavsky, Jessica Moss and Scott Levine Gilmore.
Albums / Альбомы:
2000 - He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms... Length / Продолжительность: 00:47:10  Lonely as the Sound of Lying on the Ground of an Airplane Going Down
01. Broken Chords Can Sing a Little (08:39)
02. Sit in the Middle of Three Galloping Dogs (05:08)
03. Stumble Then Rise on Some Awkward Morning (06:04)
04. Movie (Never Made) (03:23)
The World Is SickSICK; (So Kiss Me Quick)!
05. 13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round the Side of Your Bed (04:00)
06. Long March Rocket or Doomed Airliner (04:00)
07. Blown-Out Joy From Heaven's Mercied Hole (11:00)
08. For Wanda (03:00)
2001 - Born into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward. Length / Продолжительность: 00:58:17  01. Sisters! Brothers! Small Boats of Fire Are Falling From the Sky! (09:07)
02. This Gentle Hearts Like Shot Bird's Fallen (05:47)
03. Built Then Burnt (Hurrah! Hurrah!) (05:41)
04. Take These Hands and Throw Them in the River (06:58)
05. Could've Moved Mountains... (10:59)
06. Tho You Are Gone I Still Often Walk W/You (04:48)
07. C'monCOMEON (Loose An Endless Longing) (08:06)
08. The Triumph of Our Tired Eyes (06:54)
2003 - This Is Our Punk-Rock, Thee Rusted Satellites Gather + Sing, Length / Продолжительность: 00:57:39  01. Sow Some Lonesome Corner So Many Flowers Bloom (16:27)
02. Babylon Was Built on Fire/StarsNoStars (14:44)
03. American Motor over Smoldered Field (12:05)
04. Goodbye Desolate Railyard (14:25)
2004 - Pretty Little Lightning Paw (EP) Length / Продолжительность: 00:30:16  01. More Action! Less Tears! (05:20)
02. Microphones in the Trees (09:47)
03. Pretty Little Lightning Paw (10:01)
04. There's a River in the Valley Made of Melting Snow (05:08)
2005 - Horses in the Sky Length / Продолжительность: 00:58:12  01. God Bless Our Dead Marines (11:44)
02. Mountains Made of Steam (09:28)
03. Horses in the Sky (06:39)
04. Teddy Roosevelt's Guns (09:45)
05. Hang on to Each Other (06:38)
06. Ring Them Bells (Freedom Has Come and Gone) (13:58)
2008 - 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons Length / Продолжительность: 00:59:10  01. (untitled) (00:05)
02. (untitled) (00:04)
03. (untitled) (00:04)
04. (untitled) (00:05)
05. (untitled) (00:06)
06. (untitled) (00:05)
07. (untitled) (00:06)
08. (untitled) (00:06)
09. (untitled) (00:06)
10. (untitled) (00:07)
11. (untitled) (00:07)
12. (untitled) (00:11)
13. 1,000,000 Died to Make This Sound (14:42)
14. 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons (16:45)
15. Black Waters Blowed/Engine Broke Blues (13:05)
16. BlindBlindBlind (13:17)
2010 - Kollaps Tradixionales Length / Продолжительность: 00:56:40  01. There Is a Light (15:19)
02. I Built Myself a Metal Bird (06:17)
03. I Fed My Metal Bird the Wings of Other Metal Birds (06:18)
04. Kollapz Tradixional (Thee Olde Dirty Flag) (06:09)
05. Collapse Traditional (For Darling) (01:29)
06. Kollaps Tradicional (Bury 3 Dynamos) (06:48)
07. 'Piphany Rambler (14:19)
2012 - The West Will Rise Again (2 × Vinyl, 7") Length / Продолжительность: 00:23:22  01. What We Loved Was Not Enough (Part 1) (05:13)
02. What We Loved Was Not Enough (Part 2) (05:35)
03. The State Itself Did Not Agree (06:15)
04. PSALMS99 (06:25)
2014 - Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything Length / Продолжительность: 00:49:17  01. Fuck Off Get Free (For the Island of Montreal) (10:22)
02. Austerity Blues (14:17)
03. Take Away These Early Grave Blues (06:47)
04. Little Ones Run (02:29)
05. What We Loved Was Not Enough (11:22)
06. Rains Thru the Roof at Thee Grande Ballroom (For Capital Steez) (03:57)
2014 - Hang on to Each Other (single) Length / Продолжительность: 00:23:16  01. Any Fucking Thing You Love (11:05)
02. Birds Toss Precious Flowers (12:11)
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