Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra Unveil New "Remix" EP

BY Alex HudsonPublished Apr 3, 2014

A few months back, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra's Efrim Menuck told us about the band's plans for a new Record Store Day 12-inch and EP, which they planned to release in the spring. Sure enough, the group have announced plans to issue Hang On to Each Other on April 29 through Constellation.

The two-track collection gets its name from a song from the band's 2005 album, Horses in the Sky. A press release calls it an "EP of 'remixes'" — with the word "remixes" in quotation marks — and clarifies that these are brand new recordings that use the titular song as a jumping-off point.

The new cuts are reportedly dancefloor-friendly and don't include any guitars. To sample, hear the thumping, synth-swirled "Birds Toss Precious Flowers" at the bottom of this page.

The EP will be exclusive to vinyl and digital formats (with no CD pressing). It will be available in stores and from the merch booth during the band's upcoming North American tour.

It's unclear if Hang On to Each Other is the RSD 12-inch Menuck initially mentioned (now obviously delayed a bit) or the EP, but either way, chances are we may get another new release from the band soon.

We'll leave you with a lengthy quote from the band about the project:

It's like that famous quote that Emma Goldman never said = "DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION"!

Somewhere around 1964 or thereabouts, we wrote a tune called "Hang On to Each Other". Acapella mostly, with just a few chords on harmonium. Recorded the thing in the woods 'round a campfire = heady times.

The chords to that tune are like house music chords, and we figured we'd re-record it someday, thusly and EARNESTLY. 4-on-the-floor. Drum machines and arpeggiators. Pink lasers and grape-flavoured smoke machines. Most important thing = No irony.

Because we love that kind of music, and impromptu dance parties too.

Guess it took a long time to manifest, but this past x-mas we finally rustled up the necessary gear and holed up in the snow to loop thee joyful noise = 808, Oberheim Two-Voice, bright yellow toy keyboard, low pass filter, auto-wah bass guitar, wooden drone-box, squeaky tape delay, broken oscillator, string machine, distortion pedal, and violin. No guitar.

We let the machines yell at each other until they were hoarse and wheezing. With a baby in her belly, Ariel Engle of AroarA did the kind of singing that we can't, and we are thankful. Outside of the studio, the city was frozen, and thin tendrils of fine snow whisped across the ice like dragons.

We made this thing like a for-real disco 12-inch, for to give to d.j.'s to play because we live in the kind of town where some d.j.'s maybe will. Much respect and much love to thee sweaty dancers, and the lost ones, and the ones who fell away.

- xoxoxox thee silver mt. zion memorial orchestra


Hang On to Each Other:

1. Any Fucking Thing You Love
2. Birds Toss Precious Flowers

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