Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Encyclopedia
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (formerly punctuated Godspeed You Black Emperor! and commonly abbreviated to GYBE or GY!BE) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...

 band which originated from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 in 1994. They were the first outside act to release their recordings through Constellation
Constellation Records
Constellation Records is an influential Montreal, Quebec independent record label known for its contributions to experimental genres of music. It is most famous for releasing the albums of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, and Do Make Say...

, an influential independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 also located in Montreal.

After the release of their debut album
F♯A♯∞
F♯ A♯ ∞ is the debut album of the Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was released twice, first in 1997 by Constellation Records and then again on 8 June 1998, by Kranky as an expanded edition that ran for 63:27...

 in 1997, the group toured regularly from 1998 to 2002. In 2003, the band announced an indefinite hiatus in order for band members to pursue other musical interests. In the intervening period the group was occasionally rumored to have broken up, but the band finally reconvened for a tour in late 2010 and early 2011.

History

The band took its name from God Speed You! Black Emperor
God Speed You! Black Emperor
God Speed You! Black Emperor is a 1976 Japanese black-and-white 16 mm documentary film, 90 minutes long, by director Mitsuo Yanagimachi, which follows the exploits of a Japanese biker gang, the Black Emperors. 1970s Japan saw the rise of biker gangs, known as Bōsōzoku, which drew the interest of...

, a 1976 Japanese black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...

 documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 by director Mitsuo Yanagimachi
Mitsuo Yanagimachi
Mitsuo Yanagimachi is an award-winning Japanese screenwriter and film director.-Career:...

, which follows the exploits of a Japanese biker gang
Bosozoku
is a Japanese subculture associated with motorcycle clubs and gangs.-Traits and history:The word bōsōzoku is also applied to motorcycle gangs, who share an interest in modifications for motorcycles, such as removing the mufflers so that more noise is produced...

, the Black Emperors.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor was formed in 1994 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, by Efrim Menuck
Efrim Menuck
Efrim Manuel Menuck is a Canadian musician involved with a number of Montreal-based bands, most notably Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra...

 (guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

), Mike Moya
Mike Moya
Mike Moya is a Canadian rock musician. He is one of the founding members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. He left the band in 1998 to concentrate on his other bands Molasses, Set Fire to Flames and HṚṢṬA....

 (guitar), and Mauro Pezzente
Mauro Pezzente
Mauro Pezzente is a Canadian musician. He is best known as being co-founder of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.Pezzente, along with Efrim Menuck and Mike Moya, founded Godspeed You! Black Emperor in 1994. Along with Thierry Amar, Pezzente plays the bass guitar for the band.Pezzente was the first to...

 (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

). The band initially assembled after being offered a supporting act for another local band named Steak 72. Thereafter, the trio performed live on a few separate occasions, before ultimately deciding to produce an album. The cassette, All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling
All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling
All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling is the earliest release from Canadian experimental musical collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was published on cassette in December 1994 and limited to 33 copies. At this point, the group consisted only of Efrim Menuck, Mauro Pezzente, and Mike Moya...

, was self-released in December 1994 and limited to thirty-three copies.

After the limited release of the cassette, the band quickly expanded and continued to perform live periodically. According to Menuck, joining the group was quite simple: "It was like if anyone knew anybody who played an instrument and seemed like an okay person, they would sort of join up." In short order, the group's numbers ebbed and flowed. Local musicians would often join the band for a handful of performances, then depart. The revolving door nature of the group's membership frequently caused it strain before the release of F♯ A♯ ∞. After that release, the group stabilized around a nine-person lineup with Menuck, Moya and David Bryant on guitars, Pezzente and Thierry Amar on bass guitars, Aidan Girt and Bruce Cawdron on drums, and Sophie Trudeau and Norsola Johnson on violin and cello respectively. Moya would depart in 1998 to focus on HṚṢṬA
Hrsta
' is a Montreal post-rock band that records on Constellation Records. The band's leader, Mike Moya , was also one of the founding members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Hrsta's sound has been compared to that of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band...

, being replaced by Roger Tellier-Craig of Fly Pan Am
Fly Pan Am
Fly Pan Am, or Le Fly Pan Am, are a Canadian experimental rock band formed in Montreal in 1996. They release their albums through the Montreal-based Constellation Records, producing and collaborating on works with Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Shalabi Effect.-About the band:The band was formed in...

.

Although various members of the band are often pinned down as anarchists
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...

, no one in the band has explicitly subscribed to this label; however, there is a strong political component to the band's music. For example, the liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...

 to Yanqui U.X.O. describe the song "09-15-00" as "Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....

 surrounded by 1,000 Israeli soldiers
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

 marching on al-Haram Ash-Sharif
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Al-Aqsa Mosque also known as al-Aqsa, is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem...

 & provoking another Intifada," and the back cover of that album depicts the relationships of several major record labels to the military-industrial complex
Military-industrial complex
Military–industrial complex , or Military–industrial-congressional complex is a concept commonly used to refer to policy and monetary relationships between legislators, national armed forces, and the industrial sector that supports them...

. Several of their songs also incorporate voice samples which express political sentiments, most notably "The Dead Flag Blues" (on F♯A♯∞) and "BBF3" (on Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada).

Members of the group have formed a number of side projects, including Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, Fly Pan Am
Fly Pan Am
Fly Pan Am, or Le Fly Pan Am, are a Canadian experimental rock band formed in Montreal in 1996. They release their albums through the Montreal-based Constellation Records, producing and collaborating on works with Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Shalabi Effect.-About the band:The band was formed in...

, HṚṢṬA
Hrsta
' is a Montreal post-rock band that records on Constellation Records. The band's leader, Mike Moya , was also one of the founding members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Hrsta's sound has been compared to that of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band...

, Esmerine
Esmerine
Esmerine is an experimental instrumental group started by Bruce Cawdron and Beckie Foon, who have contributed to other Montreal-based bands as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Set Fire to Flames, and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band...

, and Set Fire to Flames
Set Fire to Flames
Set Fire to Flames is a post-rock band of thirteen musicians from Montreal, Canada, who have released two albums on Alien8 Recordings, FatCat Records....

.

The band released the CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 versions of its first two albums on the Kranky
Kranky Records
Kranky is an independent record label, located in Chicago, Illinois. It was started in 1993 by Bruce Adams and Joel Leoschke.The bands it houses are noted for combining experimental and often electronic influences with elements of more traditional rock structures, and many of the artists on Kranky...

 record label, and released the LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

s through Constellation Records
Constellation Records
Constellation Records is an influential Montreal, Quebec independent record label known for its contributions to experimental genres of music. It is most famous for releasing the albums of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, and Do Make Say...

. The LP and the CD of Yanqui U.X.O.
Yanqui U.X.O.
U.X.O. is the third studio album by the Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was produced and recorded by musician Steve Albini at the Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois in late 2001...

were produced by Constellation after their contract with Kranky ran out.

In 2004, long-time guitarist Roger Tellier-Craig left the band on amicable terms to devote more time to Fly Pan Am
Fly Pan Am
Fly Pan Am, or Le Fly Pan Am, are a Canadian experimental rock band formed in Montreal in 1996. They release their albums through the Montreal-based Constellation Records, producing and collaborating on works with Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Shalabi Effect.-About the band:The band was formed in...

.

The group was once misconstrued as being a band of terrorists
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

. After stopping at a local gas station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...

 for fuel in the town of Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore is a business, cultural and tourism city in and the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 24,283, while a 2007 estimate has the Ardmore micropolitan statistical area totaling 56,694 residents...

, during their 2003 tour of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the station attendant working that day believed the group of Canadians
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 to be terrorists
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

. She quickly passed a note to another customer also getting fuel to call the police. When the local police appeared, the group was held until they could be questioned by the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

. Although the police were suspicious of the band's anti-government documents and some photos they had (such as those of oil rigs), they found no incriminating evidence. After background check
Background check
A background check or background investigation is the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial records and financial records of an individual....

s were run, the ensemble was released from custody and continued on their way to their next show in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. Efrim Menuck
Efrim Menuck
Efrim Manuel Menuck is a Canadian musician involved with a number of Montreal-based bands, most notably Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra...

 later spoke to the crowd about what happened to them during their appearance in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 and speculated that their origin was a motive for being released quickly ("It's a good thing we're nice white kids from Canada"), hinting at racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

 in the police force. The incident was mentioned in Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...

's book, Dude, Where's My Country?
Dude, Where's My Country?
Dude, Where's My Country? is a 2003 book by Michael Moore dealing with corporate and political events in the United States. The title is a takeoff of the 2000 film Dude, Where's My Car?....

.

In 2010 the band reported they were reuniting for an All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....

 music event in the UK as well as further US dates . Mike Moya re-joined the band for the reunion, while original cellist Norsola Johnson declined to participate. The band played a full North American and European tour in 2011, and more dates in the UK including an appearance at the ATP 'I'll Be Your Mirror
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....

' music festival in London are confirmed for July.

In 2011, in an interview with Voir, band member Bruce Cawdon announced that the band was working on new material.

Live concerts

Film loop projections are an important aspect of the group's live show, explained by Efrim Menuck
Efrim Menuck
Efrim Manuel Menuck is a Canadian musician involved with a number of Montreal-based bands, most notably Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra...

 as "[putting] the whole into context".

Because the band is taper-friendly—that is, they allow audience members to record their live performances—fans often release new material before the band makes an official recording.

Music in film and television

The band contributed the song "East Hastings" from their first album F♯A♯∞
F♯A♯∞
F♯ A♯ ∞ is the debut album of the Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was released twice, first in 1997 by Constellation Records and then again on 8 June 1998, by Kranky as an expanded edition that ran for 63:27...

to the UK film 28 Days Later
28 Days Later
28 Days Later is an acclaimed 2002 British horror film directed by Danny Boyle. The screenplay was written by Alex Garland, and the film stars Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, and Christopher Eccleston...

, though the song was heavily edited; this was an unusual step for the ensemble. However, the track is excluded from the CD soundtrack.

In 2005, the band allowed songs from Yanqui U.X.O. to be used in the documentary film Bombhunters
Bombhunters
Bombhunters is a 2006 documentary film produced and directed by Skye Fitzgerald, that documents the effects of unexploded ordnance on Cambodian people, both within their homeland and in the US.-Funding:...

, stating that while they didn't normally allow their music to be used in films, they could align with the social nature of the film.

A segment of the track "Providence" was used to promote the BBC drama series Superstorm
Superstorm (docudrama)
Superstorm is a three-part British docudrama miniseries written and directed by Julian Simpson, about a group of scientists that try to divert and weaken hurricanes using cloud seeding....

, which aired in April 2007.

The horror-movie documentary The American Nightmare used the song "Moya" from Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada
Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada
-Reception:Users of the website, Rate Your Music, rated the album as the greatest EP of all time. -Personnel:*Thierry Amar — bass guitar*David Bryant — guitar, tapes*Bruce Cawdron — drums, percussion, keyboards...

and "Providence" from F♯ A♯ ∞
F♯A♯∞
F♯ A♯ ∞ is the debut album of the Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was released twice, first in 1997 by Constellation Records and then again on 8 June 1998, by Kranky as an expanded edition that ran for 63:27...

as incidental music and over the closing credits.

The band is also referenced in the movie Pineapple Express
Pineapple Express (film)
Pineapple Express is a 2008 American stoner action comedy directed by David Gordon Green, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and starring Rogen and James Franco. Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story,...

when protagonist Dale Denton (Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...

) says to his girlfriend Angie (Amber Heard
Amber Heard
Amber Laura Heard is an American actress and model. She played the lead and title character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Heard's first starring role came in 2007 on the CW television show Hidden Palms...

) "You are gonna go to college next year. You'll get into
Godspeed You! Black Emperor and the fucking Shins, and you'll blow a bunch of dudes
and become a lesbian." Screenwriter Evan Goldberg has said that this reference was because "Jay Baruchel
Jay Baruchel
Jonathan Adam Saunders "Jay" Baruchel is a Canadian actor. He has had a successful career in comedy films, and has appeared in supporting roles in such box office successes as Million Dollar Baby, Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder, as well as starring in films like She's Out of My League, The Trotsky,...

 is from Montreal and loves Godspeed, so we did it to poke at Jay. But I like Godspeed, Godspeed's good."

A segment of the track "9-15-00" is used in Top Gear, during a review of the Tesla Roadster. The BBC did not clear this usage and Top Gear's producers subsequently apologized.

A shortened segment of "9-15-00" is used in a scene of the film Adoration
Adoration (film)
Adoration is a 2008 Canadian drama film directed by Atom Egoyan and starring Rachel Blanchard, Scott Speedman and Devon Bostick. It is Egoyan's first feature film since Where The Truth Lies....

during which Simon (Devon Bostick
Devon Bostick
Devon Bostick is a Canadian actor, best known for playing the lead role in the Atom Egoyan-directed film Adoration and Rodrick Heffley in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies.- Life and career :Bostick was born in Toronto, Ontario...

) describes various acts of terrorism.

Excerpts of Rockets fall On Rocket Falls were also used throughout the BBC documentary The Secret Life of the Berlin Wall.

The band also contributed music to Jem Cohen
Jem Cohen
Jem Alan Cohen is an award-winning New York City-based filmmaker known for his observational portraits of urban landscapes, blending of media formats and collaborations with music artists. He is the recipient of the Independent Spirit Award and many first place awards for feature filmmaking...

's Chain
Chain (film)
Chain is a "narrative/documentary" film written and directed by Jem Cohen. The movie is about two women, a corporate executive and a young drifter whose lives are changed by the loss of regional identity due to the similarity of retail culture worldwide...

.

On the Spanish internet series "Malviviendo", episode 8-No Girls, the storyteller and main character describes an album of Godspeed You! Black Emperor as "2 hours of music in only 4 tracks".

Parts of "Gathering Storm" were used in the Australia scene from skateboard company Cliché's film Bon Appetit.

Current

  • David Bryant – guitar
    Electric guitar
    An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

    , tapes
    Tape loop
    In music, tape loops are loops of prerecorded magnetic tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound. Contemporary composers such as Steve Reich and Karlheinz Stockhausen used tape loops to create phase patterns and rhythms...

  • Efrim Menuck
    Efrim Menuck
    Efrim Manuel Menuck is a Canadian musician involved with a number of Montreal-based bands, most notably Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra...

     – guitar, tape loops keyboards
    Keyboard instrument
    A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

  • Mike Moya
    Mike Moya
    Mike Moya is a Canadian rock musician. He is one of the founding members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. He left the band in 1998 to concentrate on his other bands Molasses, Set Fire to Flames and HṚṢṬA....

     – guitar
  • Sophie Trudeau
    Sophie Trudeau
    Sophie Trudeau is a Canadian musician. She is best known for being a member of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and co-founder of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band with Efrim Menuck and Thierry Amar...

     – violin
    Violin
    The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

  • Thierry Amar
    Thierry Amar
    Thierry Amar is a Canadian musician. He is most notable for participating in Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as being co-founder of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band with Efrim Menuck and Sophie Trudeau. Amar also participates with Black Ox Orkestar, a Yiddish folk...

     – contrebasse, bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

  • Mauro Pezzente
    Mauro Pezzente
    Mauro Pezzente is a Canadian musician. He is best known as being co-founder of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.Pezzente, along with Efrim Menuck and Mike Moya, founded Godspeed You! Black Emperor in 1994. Along with Thierry Amar, Pezzente plays the bass guitar for the band.Pezzente was the first to...

     – bass
  • Bruce Cawdron – drums, percussion
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

  • Aidan Girt
    Aidan Girt
    Aidan Girt is a Canadian drummer for the Montreal-based post-rock collectives, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Exhaust. He is also a solo electronic artist under the moniker 1-Speed Bike and occasionally Bottleskup Flenkenkenmike....

     – drums, percussion
  • Karl Lemieux -- film projections
    Movie projector
    A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures by projecting them on a projection screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras.-Physiology:...


Former members

  • Norsola Johnson – cello
    Cello
    The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

  • Roger Tellier-Craig – guitar
  • Grayson Walker – accordion
    Accordion
    The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....

  • James Chau – keyboards, harpsichord, guitar
  • Thea Pratt – French horn
    Horn (instrument)
    The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....

  • John Littlefair – film projections
    Movie projector
    A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures by projecting them on a projection screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras.-Physiology:...

  • Fluffy Erskine – film projections

Discography

  • All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling
    All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling
    All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling is the earliest release from Canadian experimental musical collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was published on cassette in December 1994 and limited to 33 copies. At this point, the group consisted only of Efrim Menuck, Mauro Pezzente, and Mike Moya...

    (1994, cassette limited to 33 copies)
  • F♯ A♯ ∞ (1997, initially in an edition of five hundred copies, numbered, with various inserts including a train-flattened penny, then in 1998 on CD, with different recordings/arrangements to the LP)
  • Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada
    Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada
    -Reception:Users of the website, Rate Your Music, rated the album as the greatest EP of all time. -Personnel:*Thierry Amar — bass guitar*David Bryant — guitar, tapes*Bruce Cawdron — drums, percussion, keyboards...

    (1999)
  • Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
    Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
    Disc two-Notes:*"Broken Windows, Locks of Love Pt. III" was originally named "3rd Part."*"She Dreamt She Was a Bulldozer, She Dreamt She Was Alone in an Empty Field" was originally named "John Hughes", presumably after the film director....

    (2000, also known as Levez Vos Skinny Fists Comme Antennas to Heaven)
  • Yanqui U.X.O.
    Yanqui U.X.O.
    U.X.O. is the third studio album by the Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was produced and recorded by musician Steve Albini at the Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois in late 2001...

    (2002)

See also

  • List of Quebec musicians
  • Music of Quebec
    Music of Quebec
    Being a modern cosmopolitan society, today, all types of music can be found in the Canadian province of Quebec. What is specific to Quebec though are traditional songs, a unique variety of Celtic music, legions of excellent jazz musicians, a culture of classical music, and a love of foreign rhythms...

  • Culture of Quebec
    Culture of Quebec
    The Culture of Quebec emerged over the last few hundred years, resulting from the shared history of the French-speaking majority in Quebec. It is unique to the Western World; Quebec is the only region in North America with a French-speaking majority, as well as one of only two provinces in Canada...

  • List of post-rock bands
  • List of rock instrumentals
  • Crème Brûlée fanzine
    Crème Brûlée fanzine
    Crème Brulée was a pioneer rock fanzine from France.Founded by Stéphane Sommet in 1996 after the title of a Sonic Youth song, Crème Brûlée became a reference for post-rock music. Due to its close relationships with bands such as Sonic Youth, Labradford and the independent labels, Crème Brûlée was...

  • Thee Silver Mt. Zion

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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