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For the film, see God Speed You! Black Emperor.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Also known asGodspeed You Black Emperor!
OriginMontreal, Quebec, Canada
GenresPost-rock
Years active1994 – present[1] (On indefinite hiatus since 2003)
LabelsConstellation
Kranky (1998 - 2002)
MembersNorsola Johnson
Efrim Menuck
Mauro Pezzente
David Bryant
Aidan Girt
Sophie Trudeau
James Chau
Thierry Amar
Bruce Cawdron
Past membersRoger-Tellier Craig
Mike Moya
Grayson Walker[2]
James Drayton[3]
John Littlefair
Thea Pratt
Websitebrainwashed.com/godspeed

Godspeed You! Black Emperor (formerly punctuated Godspeed You Black Emperor!; abbreviated to GYBE, GSYBE or GY!BE) is a Canadian post-rock band formed in 1994 in Montreal, Quebec. They were one of the first bands to publish their records through the influential label Constellation Records. Since inception, the group has released three proper albums, one extended play, and a split 7" single.

The nine-piece outfit is well-known for composing lengthy, segmented tracks that feature an array of field recordings and wide volume changes. They make use of a number of objects to alter their instruments' timbre, akin to bands such as Sonic Youth. The band is also known for their live performances, which include projected film loops and an open-taping policy.

A highly influential figure in its genre, the band has been credited as a driving force of the Montreal music scene.[4] Mauro Pezzente, co-founder of the band, personally owns a handful of performance venues on Saint Laurent Boulevard, a main thoroughfare of Montreal. Band members Efrim Menuck and Thierry Amar are co-owners of the Hotel2Tango, a recording studio located on the same street.

The band has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2003 with no foreseeable plans to reconvene. A misquoted interview in February 2008 reported the band had broken up, but this was later confirmed as false.[1][5]

History

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The band was formed in 1994 by bassist Mauro Pezzente and guitarists Efrim Menuck and Mike Moya.[6] They took their name from the 1976 Japanese documentary God Speed You! Black Emperor, which follows the exploits of a Japanese biker gang, the Black Emperors. After performing a small number of shows, they self-released the cassette All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling in 1994, limiting it to only thirty-three copies. The following year, Mauro Pezzente moved into a loft with his girlfriend and established the Gallery Quiva, a small performance venue in the Mile End of Montreal.[7] They were forced to vacate the loft after only six months because of the fumes from the mechanics garage below it.[7]

Shortly thereafter,


The band has had as many as twenty members at one time, but has tended to settle down to a group of nine. The instruments played vary with the lineup, but the music tends to be based around electric and bass guitars, strings and a percussion section. Other instruments such as the Glockenspiel and the French horn make more occasional appearances. The music on some of their records is accompanied by spoken samples recorded by the band across North America, including an apocalyptic street preacher from Providence, Rhode Island, an announcement at a gas station, a group of children talking and singing in French, as well as many recordings taken off shortwave radio.

The band members have in the past been reluctant to give interviews, and have expressed their distaste for the mainstream, corporation-owned music industry. This has given them a reputation as shadowy, even unfriendly figures, and not a great deal is known about them personally. They did, however, become considerably more widely known after appearing on the cover of British music magazine the NME in 1999.

The member who interacts with the press the most is Efrim Menuck, and for this reason he is sometimes presented as a front-man. However, he has strongly repudiated this label. In an interview conducted by Insound, Efrim and former band member Roger-Tellier Craig have a strong showing of their political views on corporate media.

Although various members of the band are often pinned down as anarchists, no one in the band has explicitly subscribed to this label[8]; however, there is a strong political component to the band's music.[9] For example, the liner notes to Yanqui U.X.O. describe the song "09-15-00" as "Ariel Sharon surrounded by 1,000 Israeli soldiers marching on al-Haram Ash-Sharif & provoking another Intifada," and the back cover of that album depicts the relationships of several major record labels to the military-industrial complex (image can be found at Constellation Records). 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, Hrsta, and Set Fire to Flames.

The band released the CD versions of its first two albums on the Kranky record label, and released the LPs through Constellation Records. The LP and the CD of Yanqui U.X.O. 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.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor announced an indefinite hiatus in mid-2003, and have no plans to reconvene in the immediate future.

The group was once misconstrued as being a band of terrorists.[10][11] After stopping at a local gas station for fuel in the town of Ardmore, Oklahoma, during their 2003 tour of the United States, the station attendant working that day believed the group of Canadians to be terrorists. 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. Although the police were suspicious of the band's anti-government documents and some stranger photos they had (such as those of oil rigs), they found no incriminating evidence. After background checks were run, the ensemble was released from custody and continued on their way to their next show in St. Louis, Missouri. Efrim Menuck later spoke to the crowd about what happened to them during their appearance in Missouri and speculated that their race was a motive for being released quickly ("It's a good thing we're nice white kids from Canada"), hinting at racism in the police force.[12] The incident was mentioned in Michael Moore's book, Dude, Where's My Country?.

Live concerts

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The group is known for their film loops, which they project behind them during performances. Efrim Menuck has explained that these loops, which are commonly produced by violinist Sophie Trudeau, are an important aspect of their concerts, because they "put the whole into context".[13]

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.[14] Examples of this include the songs "Albanian" and "Gamelan", which are thus far unreleased.

Music in film and television

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The band contributed the song "East Hastings" from their first album F♯A♯∞ to the UK film 28 Days Later, though the song was heavily edited; this was an unusual step for the ensemble. However, the track is excluded from the CD soundtrack, due to group ethics.

Samples of songs from F♯A♯∞ were looped extensively in the soundtrack of the Flash-animated film series Broken Saints, and much of the dialogue is taken from the spoken word portions, some directly, and some slightly altered.

In 2005, the band allowed songs from Yanqui U.X.O. to be used in the documentary film Bombhunters, 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, which aired in April 2007.

The horror-movie documentary The American Nightmare used the song "Moya" from Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada and "Providence" from F♯A♯∞ as incidental music and over the closing credits.

The band is also referenced in the movie Pineapple Express when the main character tells his girlfriend he is afraid she will go to college and "start listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor and The Shins and become a lesbian". Screenwriter Evan Goldberg has said that this reference was because "Jay Baruchel is from Montreal and loves Godspeed, so we did it to poke at Jay. But I like Godspeed, Godspeed's good." [15]

A segment of the track 9-15-00 is used in Top Gear, during a review of the Tesla Roadster

Members

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Former members

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Discography

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Self-released

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Studio albums

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EPs

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Live, compilations & other

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Efrim Menuck, Thierry Amar & Sophie Trudeau

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Efrim Menuck & Thierry Amar

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  • Vic Chesnutt (Production & playing on North Star Deserter)
  • Hannah Marcus (Performers on Desert Farmers, tracks 2-5, 8 & 9. Efrim Vocals on track 2)

Efrim Menuck

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Aidan Girt, Bruce Cawdron, David Bryant, Mike Moya, Roger Tellier-Craig, Sophie Trudeau & Thea Pratt

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Mike Moya, Norsola & Thierry Amar

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Aidan Girt

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Bruce Cawdron

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Thierry Amar

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Roger Tellier-Craig

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Roger Tellier-Craig & Sophie Trudeau

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Mike Moya & Sophie Trudeau

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Mike Moya

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Sophie Trudeau

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Mauro Pezzente

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David Bryant

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Norsola Johnson

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  • Sixtoo & Norsola (Colaboration)
  • Amon Tobin's Foley Room (Performer)

Various members

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  • Evangelista - Hello, Voyager (Efrim Menuck - Recording/Mixing/Guitar/Voice, David Payant - Drums, Sophie Trudeau - Violin, Thierry Amar - Double Bass [Contrebass])

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Amy Phillips (2008). "Godspeed Still on Hiatus, Not Completely Broken Up". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  2. ^ Carpenter, Lorraine (2003). "Easy Being Green: Frog Eyes Whip Up a Colourful Cabaret" (html). Communications Gratte-Ciel Ltée. Retrieved 2006-11-26.
  3. ^ GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR! Yanqui U.X.O. music reviews and MP3
  4. ^ Lamacq, Steve (2005). "Montreal or Nothing". OneMusic Documentaries. BBC. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  5. ^ "Godspeed You! Black Emperor quit over Iraq". NME. 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  6. ^ Constellation Records (2009). "Godspeed You! Black Emperor information". Bands index. Constellation Records. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  7. ^ a b Rahman, Ali and Carpenter, Lorraine (2000). "Deconstrucing the Mile-End "scene"". Montreal Mirror. Quebecor. Retrieved 2009-03-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Follos, Tim (2008). [1] Express Night Out. retrieved 2008 -12-01
  9. ^ Anarchistnews.org piece on Godspeed You! Black Emperor
  10. ^ Biehr, Steve, Marion Bornas, and Stefan Claudius. "Godspeed You! Black Emperor Collage" (jpg). Retrieved 2006-11-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Biehr, Steve. "Band Members Released After Terrorist Report" (html). The Daily Ardmoreite. Retrieved 2006-11-26.
  12. ^ Godspeed You Black Emperor! (2003). "Godspeed You Black Emperor! at Mississippi Nights (2003-03-16)" (shn). Live Music Archive. Internet Archive. Retrieved 2006-12-24.
  13. ^ Visser, Menno (2001). "Interview with Godspeed You Black Emperor!" (html). OOR Magazine. OOR. Retrieved 2006-12-24.
  14. ^ Godspeed You Black Emperor! (2003). "Godspeed You Black Emperor! at L'Olympic (2003-05-14)" (shnf). Live Music Archive. Internet Archive. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  15. ^ http://montrealfilmjournal.com/article.asp?A=A0000212
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