BE

The band BE was formed as a collaboration between artist Wolfgang Buttress, musicians-Tony Foster, Kev Bales, Deirdre Bencsik, Camille Christel, scientist Dr. Martin Bencsik and 40,000 honey bees. Collectively they created a soundscape for the multi award-wining sculpture known as ‘The Hive’ that was the centrepiece of the UK Pavilion at Milan Expo 2015 and is now sited at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, U.K. The Hive highlights the decline of the world’s bee population by focusing attention on the importance of pollination for food production. The soundscape was released as ‘One’ on Caught by the River’s innovative record label Rivertones.

The initial recording session with cellist Deirdre Bencsik and vocalist Camille Christel was held on 12th February 2015 in Nottingham. A live feed of beehive sounds was played, while the musicians improvised to accompany this in the key of C. These recordings formed the basis for the album One.

At the heart of all the music is the sound of the bees, the hive drone and specific bee communications captured by Dr. Bencsik. The idea is that the musicians collaborate with the bees - it seems that they lead the way and the musicians let the music form naturally around them to create a symphony of bee and man.