This phenomenal debut record by A Silver Mt. Zion was recorded & mixed in the month of November 1999 at the Hotel 2 Tango by Efrim & Thierry. Efrim chose a key and composed the main themes on piano in early 1999, then began arranging the music for strings with the participation of Thierry & Sophie on contrebass & violin respectively. What was initially a single long & sparse piece evolved into more fully-orchestrated movements, interspersed with tapes, drones & loops, along with some vocals. Guest musicians include Aidan (godspeed/Exhaust/one-speed bike) drumming on one piece, Gordon Krieger (Exhaust/The Radio Orchestra) on clarinet, and Sam Shalabi (The Shalabli Effect) on electric guitar. The tape pieces are from Efrim's archives with contributions from Aidan. The recorded result is a collage of plaintive ensemble pieces, shimmering with reverb-drenched sadness & warmth.
