Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Slow Riot For A New Zero Kanada EP

Formed in 1994 in Montreal, Canada, the band has been highly influential within the post-rock genre. Working with orchestrated arrangements, the nine-piece group created tracks with wide dynamic ranges, a highly evocative use of instrumentation and sounds and uncompromising long form compositions. Their engrossing use of art and visuals in both album packaging and live performances creates an enigmatic aura.

Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada is the first EP released by Godspeed You! Black Emperor on the Montreal-based record label Constellation Records in 1999 (catalogue number CST006) and was re-released by Kranky Records (KRANK034.)

The album packaging makes only sparing reference to either the band or the album title: the outer packaging does not make any reference to Godspeed, but mentions them in the liner notes; the album title is only shown on the spine of the album cover. The song titles are not listed anywhere on the cover.

The cardboard album case is unusual in that it opens in the opposite direction of a conventional CD case; this is due to the Hebrew text being read from right to left.

The front of the album contains Hebrew characters, in transliterated form, "Tohu va bohu". This phrase is used in both Genesis 1:2 and Jeremiah 4:23. Lines 23-27 of Jeremiah appear on the inner sleeve of the album in both English and Hebrew. The dots and dashes above the letters are called trope. They dictate the tune and intonation and are found in the Torah as well as the rest of the Hebrew Bible. On the inside cover, this text is put into greater context, with Jer 4:23–27 provided in both Hebrew and English (seemingly the Jewish Publication Society version):

²³ I beheld the earth,

And, lo, it was waste and void;

And the heavens, and they had no light.

²⁴ I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled,

And all the hills moved to and fro.

²⁵ I beheld, and, lo, there was no man,

And all the birds of the heavens were fled.

²⁶ I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful field was a wilderness,

And all the cities thereof were broken down

At the presence of the LORD,

And before His fierce anger.

²⁷ For thus saith the LORD:

The whole land shall be desolate;

Yet will I not make a full end.

The back of the EP contains a diagram with instructions in Italian on how to make a molotov cocktail.

Moya

The song title is a reference to band member Mike Moya. Concert setlists sometimes refer to this song as Gorecki.

BBF3

The song title "BBF3" refers to the vox pop interviewee going by the name of "Blaise Bailey Finnegan III", whose eccentric ramblings form the core of the song. Finnegan recites a poem which he claims to have written himself. The poem is, in fact, mostly composed of lyrics from the song "Virus" by Iron Maiden that were written by their then-vocalist, Blaze Bayley, although Godspeed were apparently unaware of this at the time they released the EP. Blaise Bailey Finnegan III is also apparently the same person being interviewed at the beginning of F♯A♯∞'s "Providence," and indeed some concert performances of "BBF3" also incorporate that sample. Additionally, the "Providence" sample was used by the band to end their performance of "Steve Reich" during their live session for VPRO Radio in 1998.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Slow Riot For A New Zero Kanada EP