Silver Mt. Zion is a group led by founding Godspeed You Black Emperor! guitarist Efrim, together with other godspeed members Sophie and Thierry.
To some extent, Mt. Zion was born out of a desire on the part of the Godspeed players to work in a smaller musical ensemble; in effect, to escape some of the constraints that often accompany writing and arranging music democratically with nine musicians. As well, Efrim simply wanted a vehicle to realise some of his own musical ideas that would not necessarily work well within the context of Godspeed.
A Silver Mt. Zion had their live debut at Musique Fragile on March 6, 1999.
For the band's second record, the line-up has been expanded to six players, including Becky, Ian, and Jessica, and the band re-named as The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-la-la Band.