Silver Mt. Zion is a group led by founding Godspeed You! Black Emperor guitarist Efrim. Joined by fellow GYBE members Sophie (violin) and Thierry (contrabass), SMZ debuted with a performance at Constellation’s Musique Fragile concert series in spring 1999 and went on to record their first record in November of that year. Built around Efrim’s simple piano figures, the debut SMZ album also marks the first recording to document Thierry’s move from electric to acoustic upright bass, and the first recorded instance of Efrim on vocals since a rare 1996 GYBE cassette release. The band expanded to six members in late 2000 with the addition of Beckie (cello), Ian (guitar) and Jessica (violin), and toured Europe in early 2001, returning to record a double album, released under the name The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band. With minor variations, the larger band has worked under this name ever since, releasing two more double albums in 2003 and 2005. These records h...[more]