frequently asked questions

1. who are they and when did they form?

the lineup of the band is constantly changing, and they have always maintained that the music is far more important than the people playing it; however, if you wish to read a list of the current band members and their role in the group, click here.
godspeed you black emperor! hail from the montreal area of canada, and formed around 1993/1994. initially composed of just two members, the only document of these early gybe! days is the cassette all lights fucked on the hairy amp drooling - see the discography for more details.

2. where's their name taken from?

their name comes from the title of a documentary/film, released in about 1977, by the japanese director mitsuo yanagimachi. this description of the film in question comes from the article about yanagimachis' work which can be found here:
his (mitsuo yanagimachis') first film, buraku empororu (god speed you! black emperor), is in many ways his least successful film. it was shot between the autumn of 1974 and the summer of 1975. it is a documentary shot on grainy black-and-white 16 mm film, and it is about the exploits of a tokyo motorcycle gang. ostensibly, yanagimachi employs many tools of cinema verite: no narration, no script, no commentary or judgments, just handheld footage of events along with synchronized sound. unfortunately, the technical production values are so poor -- the lighting is much too dim to allow objects to be seen with any clarity, and the whirring of the camera often overwhelms whatever dialogue the microphone manages to record -- that the viewer spends more time trying to figure out what is being shown rather than pondering why it is being shown. nevertheless, early signs of yanagimachi's trademark themes are already apparent in this debut film.
interestingly, the title of the article is yanagimachi's concern is between society and nature, and it may well be that the band have been influenced by yanagimachis' philosophy and style of work, besides the name.

3. what do they sound like?

some excerpts taken from reviews of their music;
- "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" (transmission)
- "they produce a slow soundtrack of regret and desire, equal parts morose and expectant" (earshot/exclaim!)
- "a moody, atmospheric, romantic soundtrack for contemporary urban decay, or more appropriately, the industrially declined" (hour magazine)
- "a modern 'wall of sound' that's completely cinematic, incredibly powerful and exquisitely imposing" (magnet)
- "godspeed's sound, built on a few simple, endlessly repeated chord sequences, is superficially similar to the minimalism of philip glass and the electric-guitar choirs of glenn branca. yet godspeed's anguished melodicism and hellbent abandon give its music a searing immediacy that makes it more likely to appeal to rock fans than the work of either composer" (the new york times)

4. what releases of theirs can i buy and where?

their debut (proper) release was the album f#a#oo, released on vinyl by constellation records in october 1997 and on CD by kranky in june 1998. there's also the EP slow riot for new zero kanada, released by kranky in march 1999. other more low-key releases include the track sunshine & gasoline, available only on the free 7" that was given away with amazeine in august/september 1998, and the forthcoming split CD with the shalabi effect to be released on alien8 recordings. full details of all these recordings (plus bootlegs) in the discography.
for a list of excellent record stores that stock godspeed releases, check out the list of recommended stores at brainwashed.com.

5. is there a difference between the vinyl and cd versions of f#a#oo? if so, what?

yes. parts of the lp appear on the cd, a few parts of it don't, and some parts are different. the lp is on constellation records, whilst the cd is on kranky. both have different covers, liner notes, and artwork, and the cd is re-mastered from the vinyl. specifically: dead metheny is only on the cd, as is the hidden track at the end of the cd. slow moving trains and the sad mafioso both appear in different forms. the lp has an extra loop at the end of side 1, and ends with an infinite loop at the end of side 2.

6. how do the tracks on the cd version of f#a#oo break down into their various parts?

approximately:
the dead flag blues
00:00 - the dead flag blues (intro)
06:40 - slow moving trains
10:11 - the cowboy
14:30 - (;outro)
16:27 - [end]

east hastings
00:00 "...nothing's alrite in our life..."
01:38 /deadflagblues (reprise)
08:24 the sad mafioso
12:19 drugs in tokyo
16:05 black helicopter
17:58 [end]

providence
00:00 divorce&fever
02:45 dead metheny
11:00 kicking horse on brokenhill
16.40 string loop manufactured during downpour
21:14 [silence]
24:55 [unlisted track]
29:04 [end]

7. what is all lights fucked on the hairy amp drooling?

all lights... is the first ever gybe! release, written and performed by the two founder members of the group, efrim and mauro. only 33 cassette copies were ever produced, the whereabouts of which remain a mystery to all have tried to find one.

8. what is hung over as the queen in maida vale?

hung over... is the track gybe! performed in session for john peel. recorded in late 1998, and broadcast on 19th january 1999, the mp3 of the track is available in the sounds section of this site.
the track is not called hung over as the oven in maida vale, as was first assumed - john peel read the title of the track incorrectly when he announced it.

9. who is BBF3?

blaise bailey finnegan the third, a street preacher who gybe! taped in providence. he can be heard on BBF3, and on the beginning of providence, during divorce&fever. during BBF3, he infamously quotes iron maiden near the end...

10. iron maiden...?

the "poem" which he recites ("...to attack someone's mind is a social disorder..." etc) during BBF3 is an almost straight reading of the lyrics to their tune virus; the original lyrics can be found here.

11. when/where can i see them playing live?

the band have recently completed a european tour, and are currently touring north america. full details are in the tour dates section.

12. what other resources on the internet are there for the band?

there's the unofficial homepage at gybe.cx, as well as a couple of smaller sites at constellation records and southern records. if it's discussion you're after, head over to the mailing list housed at egroups.com.

13. any other projects?

molasses, whose records are available through alien8 records, feature members of godspeed - more information on them here. aidan from the band has a project called exhaust, also on constellation records.

14. any other bands i should listen to if i like them?

various groups have been compared to gybe!, including labradford, do make say think, low, mogwai, rachel's, rex, the dirty three, and cul de sac, but in truth they sound like nobody other than themselves.