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“Beautiful, thrilling and exhausting. The Godspeed ethos of wordlessly eliciting universal truths remains as devastatingly effective as ever.” – The Guardian
“Sheer beauty…when [Godspeed] play, the rest of the world goes away.” – Pitchfork
One of the finest live spectacles in modern music.
A Godspeed You! Black Emperor performance is orchestral, prophetic, historic, bone-shaking, tear-inducing, thought provoking.
In March 2016, Split Works presents the long-awaited second coming of the legendary post-rock titans. Their appearances are “a triumph of sound and vision,” (Louder Than War) filled with “music that can make you glad to be alive” (Stereogum).
They’ll be imagining dystopias first in Shanghai (QSW Q.Hall, March 12) and then in Beijing (Hit FM Live, March 14) over two unforgettable performances.
Just ask the folks who were there the first time around, back in 2013.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor began with Efrim, Mauro and Moya in the early 90s, playing a handful of shows and recording a self-released cassette as a trio before deciding to transform the group into a large band. Recruiting numerous Montreal musicians through 1995-1996, GY!BE mounted sense-rattling wall-of-sound performances, featuring as many as 14 musicians and several 16mm film projectors, before recording their debut vinyl-only Constellation album in 1997.
They transformed a warehouse space into the Hotel2Tango, a DIY hive of activity with band rehearsal rooms, silkscreen and wood shops, and weekend shows that took place under the radar. The group settled into a permanent nine-member line-up by late 1998, with Aidan and Bruce on drums, Thierry and Mauro on basses, Efrim, Dave and Roger on guitars, and Norsola and Sophie on cello and violin respectively.
The band toured and recorded incessantly from 1998-2002 and gained a reputation for mesmerizing live shows marked by orchestral dynamics, epic rock power and haunting, beautiful film loops. After four records, GYBE announced an indefinite hiatus in 2003; which lasted until December 2010, when the band returned to curate and performs at All Tomorrow’s Parties in the UK, followed by extensive international touring. October 2012 saw the release of Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!, their first recorded work in a decade, to widespread critical acclaim. After headlining numerous international festivals and playing across the globe, GYBE slowly and steadily began work on a new album through late 2013 and 2014. In 2015, Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress emerged with a mighty slab of superlative sonics, shot through with all the band’s inimitable signposts and touchstones: huge unison riffage, savage noise/drone, oscillating overtones, guitar vs. string counterpoint, inexorable crescendos and scorched-earth transitions. The album topped a number of year-end lists, hailed as an “incredible work [that] finds them again evading the confines of formula” (Spin).
This spring, Godspeed You! Black Emperor return for their second China tour. There’s no band quite like them out there, and you won’t see anything quite like this. Stand by for epiphanies.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor China Tour Information
[Shanghai]
Date: March 12, Saturday
Venue: QSW Culture Center Q.Hall
Address: 179 Yichang Road, near Jiangning Lu (普陀区宜昌路179号，靠近江宁路)
Doors: 8:30pm
Tickets: 280 RMB (presale）/ 360 RMB（door）
Presale Link: https://yoopay.cn/event/GYBE2016SH
[Beijing]
Date: March 14, Monday
Venue: HIT FM Live 糖果
Address: 3/F, Tango, 79 Hepingli Xijie, Dongcheng District (东城区和平里西街79号 糖果3层)
Doors: 8:30pm
Tickets: 280 RMB (presale）/ 360 RMB（door）
Presale Link: https://yoopay.cn/event/GYBE2016BJ
Links
Split Works Official Website：www.spli-t.com
GY!BE Official Website: http://brainwashed.com/godspeed/
About Split Works:
Split Works has been rocking in the free (ish) world since 2006. Working with inspirational artists from across the globe, the good people at Split Works HQ have been a key contributor to the continued rise of China’s music scene.
Split Works has launched five music festivals and promoted over 400 tours to 30 Chinese cities, always striving to stay true to a familiar refrain: the music has to be special, every single time. From Godspeed You! Black Emperor to Sonic Youth, from Thee Oh Sees to Mac Demarco and Shabazz Palaces, from Black Rabbit to JUE and Wooozy to Echo Park and More Music. We love music, we love China and we love you.[:zh]
“美丽、震撼、令人精疲力竭。他们无言地散发出世间真理的独特气质和破坏性的影响力。” ——英国《卫报》
“绝然纯粹的美…当GY!BE投入演奏时，整个世界凝神止息。” ——Pitchfork
这将是现代音乐史上最神圣的演出现场之一。
Godspeed You! Black Emperor的演出铺陈着宏伟的管弦乐，它如同先知预言，又富有历史喻意，必将震撼你的脊髓，拨动你的滚滚热泪和无限遐思。这支来自加拿大，被《NME》誉为“20世纪最后一支伟大的乐团”是后摇滚领域无可撼动的王者，也可以说，他们是凌驾于Post Rock意义之上，并带给无数后来者深刻影响的乐坛先驱。2016年3月，Split Works开功将荣幸呈现这一传奇后摇巨匠GY!BE的二度中国巡演。他们的出现是“听觉与视觉的凯旋胜歌”（《Louder Than War》），带来无限“让你庆幸自己还活着的音乐”(《Stereogum》)。
Godspeed You! Black Emperor于90年代初期由Efrim、Mauro和Moya三位元老创立，在决定扩张成庞大的乐团之前，他们参与的现场演出还屈指可数，并只出版过限量33张的卡带作品《All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling》。在1995至96年期间，乐队对当地的音乐人进行了大规模招募，在拥有了多达14位成员和数个16轨录音机后，乐团于97年投向Constellation名下，发表首张正式音乐专辑《F#A#∞》。这张以胶片形式发表的限定500张唱片，每份包装都是由乐队成员手工制作，内涵蓝图、丝印制品和一枚被火车压扁的铜币。据说，这些硬币是乐手在排练室Holtel2Tango（如今已成独立摇滚地标）后的火车轨道上，逐一置于铁轨让呼啸而过的火车压平而成。
GY!BE在1998年正式确立了固定的9人阵容，由三位吉他手、两位贝斯手、两位鼓手和两位大/小提琴手组成。随后新乐团开始了马不停蹄的世界巡演，由充满张力的管弦乐编排、史诗性的后摇滚力量和萦绕人心的优美影像堆砌的现场演出收获了良好的口碑。2000年，摄人心魂的代表作《Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven》一经推出就奠定了时代的丰碑。曾有网友这样描述他们的音乐“这张专辑将我以往聆听过的所有低调、死亡、不快、不安、无助、绝望、悲愤、孤寂的音乐元素全部结集在一起，化为一首首长篇的末世乐章。纵然GY!BE的音乐没有旋律与歌词，讯息亦只是透过零碎的街头演说及随意的录音片段来传达。但他们所交织出来的高潮迭起、动不动就20分钟长度的后摇滚交响乐曲，却要比很多有曲词唱的歌曲，来得更清晰，及更具感染力。”是的，在他们的作品里，你可以听到感情赤裸的人声采样，黑暗的氛围声效，提琴发出的悲泣哀鸣，吉他勾勒出的荒凉意境，并随时会转化为疯狂凌乱的自由弹奏，随着弹奏速度越加风驰爆裂，带着冲破任何规范教条般的不顾一切，直至你诚服于他们的脚下。
然而，乐队于2002年以《Yanqui U.X.O.》在乐坛投下炸彈后，进入了漫長的休眠期，天团的离去一度使后摇乐派进入群龙无首之态。终于，经过长达十年的蛰伏期后，乐团不负众望地携新专辑《Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!》回归宝座，将乐队人气推至新的巅峰。在《卫报》2012最佳专辑评选中，该作品名列TOP 40，并获得Pitchfork 9.3/10的高分赞誉。而时隔三年推出的续作《Asunder, Sweet And Other Distress》，更是发出了代表最高境界音乐的强有力之声，GY!BE再次以他们无人效仿的独特气质以及更丰富的尝试震彻乐坛——海量的合音副段，狂野的噪音嗡鸣，震颤的泛音，吉他对阵弦乐的复调对位，不可阻挡的渐强音浪，以及毁灭性的过度段落，更黑更压抑，也代表具备更深内力的最新作品在2015一系列年终盘点榜上位居第一，被誉为是一张“又一次摆脱了陈规束缚的、无与伦比的杰作！“(《Spin》)。
时隔3年后的春天，Split Works开功再度将Godspeed You! Black Emperor带给中国乐迷。当今乐坛无人比拟的后摇巨匠演出现场，就等候你来揭晓神迹！
演出信息
【上海站】
日期：2016年3月12日 星期六
场馆：浅水湾文化艺术中心一楼大剧场
地址：宜昌路179号， 近江宁路
时间：20:30
票价：280元（预售）/ 360元（现场）
预售链接：https://yoopay.cn/event/GYBE2016SH
【北京站】
日期：2016年3月14日 星期一
场馆：糖果 HIT FM Live
地址：和平里西街79号 糖果3层
时间：20:30
票价：280元（预售）/ 360元（现场）
预售链接：https://yoopay.cn/event/GYBE2016BJ
相关链接
Split Works官网：http://www.spli-t.com
GY!BE官网：http://brainwashed.com/godspeed/
关于Split Works：
Split Works开功 是一家基于上海和北京的外资音乐演出公司，一直与诸多国际品牌进行合作，始终围绕音乐、品牌、创意和青年文化组织和推广各类活动。2006年成立至今，Split Works共推出了5个音乐节品牌、覆盖30座城市的400多场巡演，并一直坚信并实践着：每一次音乐都必须是独特的。从Godspeed You! Black Emperor 到Sonic Youth，从Thee Oh Sees到Mac Demarco和Shabazz Palaces，从“黑兔”到《觉》音乐+艺术节，从“无解周末”到回声公园音乐节。我们热爱音乐，我们热爱中国，我们爱你。[:]