An ambitious collaboration between a group of musicians and 40,000 bees, under the name of Be, are set to release their latest single ‘Blue Lullaby’ soon which you can check out above.
Be were formed earlier this year in order to create a soundscape for an audacious structure titled ‘The Hive’, a piece originally constructed by the artist Wolfgang Buttress for the UK Pavilion, Milan Expo, and you may remember our coverage of their album One here on tQ earlier this year as a favourite in the first half of 2016.
Their latest single continues their exploration in combining live instrumentation with the seemingly non-musical sound of the bees. The sound which is produced by the hive is believed to be the female worker bees communicating with the unborn Larvae, instructing their future roles within the hive. ‘Blue Lullaby’ experiments with a new set of vibrational signals coming from the hive, and continues their aim to create ‘a dialogue between bee and human’. The group’s members Tony Foster, Kev Bales, Deirdre Bencsik and Camille Christel collaborate with Dr Martin Bencsik, who researches the way in which bees communicate, and has recorded the vibrational signals which are produced.
Given the alarming decrease in the honey bee species, the project is also attempting to show the benefits and need for collaboration rather than conflict. The hopeful message embodied by both ‘One’ and ‘Blue Lullaby’ are hoping to create a scenario in which bee and man are ‘harmoniously integrated in the record’. The multi-award-winning project will also feature live accompaniment, at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, from Be on September 28 and 29.
As well as their upcoming dates at the Royal Botanic Gardens, the group will also be playing at St Mary’s Church, Nottingham on the December 16 and 17, with the accompaniment of the St. Mary’s Choir. Their debut LP, and new single, can be found on Caught By The River’s label Rivertones.
