BE’s debut album ONE has made #23 in the prestigious Rough Trade Shops Albums of 2016, and the new digital deluxe version will be released on Tuesday 22nd November, featuring new single Blue Lullaby, plus two new songs, 2 Feet of Snow and Swarm.
The band BE was formed as a collaboration between artist Wolfgang Buttress, musicians Tony Foster, Kev Bales, Deirdre Bencsik, Camille Christel, and 40,000 honey bees. Collectively, they created a soundscape for the multi award winning sculpture called The Hive that is now sited at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.
They will be performing in Nottingham at St Mary's Church on 16th and 17th December (full details below) and will also be live in session on BBC 6Music on 21st December for Mary Anne Hobbs.
The new single 'Blue Lullaby' incorporates previously unheard vibrational signals from the European honey bee derived from ground breaking research into how bees communicate from their fellow collaborator Dr Martin Bencsik. The haunting signals you can hear within the track are believed to be female worker bees ‘talking’ to the unborn larvae to guide them in their future roles within the beehive. Watch the video below...
BE - Blue Lullaby
https://youtu.be/kI5lr7_kYik
This short film explores the importance of the relationship between bee and man. The abstracted imagery is based on sculptural installations by artist Wolfgang Buttress and footage from Dr. Martin Bensciks’s groundbreaking scientific research into bee communications and interpretation. The piece is both visually seductive and melancholic in tone; the honey bee is an amazing creature which pollinates 30% of the food we eat. At the same time, they are a species in decline as a result of human impacts on the environment- climate change, lack of biodiversity and increasing use of pesticides.
'Blue Lullaby' is a seasonal song which evokes a communal atmosphere; like the honey bee we come together and move inside to survive the Winter. The sixteenth century Coventry Carol is referenced both musically and lyrically which suggests that we are connected to the past, future as well as the now.
LIVE PERFORMANCES / HAPPENINGS
Friday 16th December - St Mary's Church, Nottingham with St. Mary's Choir, doors 6.30pm (tickets)
Saturday 17th December - St Mary's Church, Nottingham with St. Mary's Choir, doors 3.30pm (tickets)
Saturday 17th December - St Mary's Church, Nottingham with St. Mary's Choir, doors 7pm (tickets)
Wednesday 21st December - Live session on BBC6Music for Mary Anne Hobbs
BE have played a series of acclaimed performances at various festivals including Glastonbury, Blue Dot, Caught By The River Thames and End Of the Road.
http://www.beeandman.com
Deluxe Edition Artwork:
Praise for
BE's ONE
#23 in
Rough Trade Shops' Albums of 2016
“ONE - not just a great record, but a statement on modern life itself” Tim Jonze, The Guardian
"Absolutely wonderful" Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC 6Music
“...it’s been a source of warmth and inspiration. One of the best records of 2016 thus far”
Luke Turner, The Quietus
“A meditative mind-meld of man and insect” Uncut
“Superior waggle dance music” Mojo 4*
“
A genuinely immersive experience” 4* The Guardian
(live review from Nottingham Arts Theatre)
