A Silver Mt. Zion (as the band was first known) was formed by Efrim, Thierry and Sophie (all of GY!BE) at the beginning of 1999, and after a debut performance at Constellation’s Musique Fragile concert series, the trio recorded this sublime debut record on 8-track at the original Hotel2Tango in November of that year. Starting with simple, stirring piano themes written by Efrim, the music swirls and sways with multiple violin tracks from Sophie and plucked contrebasse from Thierry (his first recording on upright acoustic bass). What initially began as a single long, sparse chamber piece evolved into more fully-orchestrated movements, interspersed with tapes, drones and loops, along with some vocals. Guest musicians include Aidan Girt (GY!BE, Exhaust, 1-Speed Bike), Gordon Krieger (Exhaust) and Sam Shalabi (Land Of Kush). Additional taped fragments are from Efrim’s archives, with contributions from Aidan. The resulting series of plaintive ensemble pieces shivers with intimate sadness. He Has Left Us Alone… is among the most requested records in our catalogue for film projects. The album was dedicated to Efrim’s dog Wanda.

PACKAGING NOTES

LP comes in a thick paperboard jacket with foil-print artwork and credits insert.
 
CD comes in a custom paperboard mini-gatefold jacket with foil-print artwork and a CD dust sleeve.

 

CREDITS

Efrim Menuck: piano, guitar, organ, radio, voice
Thierry Amar: contrabass, electric bass
Sophie Trudeau: violin, voice


FEATURED GUESTS 

Aidan Girt: drums on Track 2; tapes on Track 8
Sam Shalabi: guitar on Track 7
Gordon Krieger: clarinet on Track 7


Recorded and mixed on 1/2" 8-track analog tape at Thee Mighty Hotel2Tango in Montreal by Efrim and Thierry, November 1999.
Mastered at Grey Market in Montreal by Harris Newman.