F♯ A♯ ∞
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
- The Dead Flag Blues
- East Hastings
- Providence
F♯ A♯ ∞ (pronounced "F-sharp, A-sharp, Infinity") is the debut studio album by Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. A first version was released on vinyl in August 1997, but the CD version of 1998 is very different, and the one listed here. This is music that is truly unique, sitting on the fence between avant garde classical music and post-rock. Three lengthy soundscapes (between 16 and 29 minutes), combining excellent playing (guitar, drums, bass, strings, keyboard, marimbas, and woodwinds), sound samples and snippets of spoken text. The mood is predominantly somber in a chillingly effective way, although there are rays of hope coming through at intervals. As one critic put it: "This music is inherently inexplicable, and this is its beauty". A fascinating album.
